References and Topics 251 Carpenter, Code of Victor Jallot. Hale, Man Without a Country; - Wilson, Am. Topics Answerable from the References Above (1) Thomas Jefferson as a young man, or at college, or as a planter. [8 156] — (2) Jefferson's republican simplicity." [§ 156] — (3) Incidents of the Barbary wars. [§ 156] — (4) Negotiations for Louisiana in Paris. [§ 159] — (5) Adventures of Lewis and Clark in 1804, or in 1805. [§ 160] — (6) Settlement at Astoria. [§ 160] (7) First American exploration of the Pikes Peak region. [§ 160] — (8) Burr's visits to the West. [§ 161] — (9) Attack on the frigate Chesapeake. [§ 163] — (10) Objections to the Embargo. [§ 164] Topics for Further Search (11) Officeholders turned out by Jefferson. [§ 157] (12) Why did Napoleon want Louisiana? [§ 158] — (13) Why did Napoleon give up Louisiana? [§ 158] — (14) Why did the people of Louisiana object to the new government? [§ 159] — (15) Was West Florida part of Louisiana? [§ 159] — (16) Was Burr a traitor? [§ 161] — (17) Jefferson's gunboat system. [§ 163] — (18) What was Napoleon's Continental System? [§ 163] CHAPTER XV WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN (1809-1815) 166. MADISON'S DIPLOMACY (1809-1811) JEFFERSON was glad to follow Washington's example in retiring from the presidency at the end of his second term. He secured the office for his Secretary of State, James DOLLY MADISON, ABOUT 1810. James Madison, a famous social From the portrait by Stuart.) Madison, who was elected President in 1808 over the Federalist C. C. Pinckney, by 122 electoral votes to 47. Madison no longer showed his earlier spirit (§§ 117, 152), was not a good party leader, and his Cabinet, with the exception of Gallatin, was weak. All the efforts of President Madison to adjust the troubles with Great Britain failed; a fair treaty was signed (Mrs. by the British minister, leader. Erskine, in 1809, but Great Britain refused to. ratify his work. The next minister, James Jackson, accused the President and Secretary of State of lying, and noted in his private correspondence that "a more despicable set I never Coming on of War 253 met with before," which was his way of complaining because the United States government absolutely refused to have any more dealings with him; but he was received and welcomed by New England Federalists. Congress had no better success. It passed a "Non-Intercourse Act" (March 1, 1809), prohibiting commerce with France and Great Britain, but the commerce went on indirectly. In 1810, by the "Macon Bill No. 2," Congress feebly attempted to play off one enemy against another. Napoleon in August, 1810, publicly announced, "His Majesty loves the Americans; their prosperity and their commerce are within the scope of his policy"; on the same day he showed his affection by a secret decree ordering the confiscation of all American ships in his ports. 167. COMING ON OF WAR (1811-1812) Upon the western frontier, two Indian leaders had arisen the brothers Tecumseh and the Prophet. Tecumseh was perhaps the greatest Indian in American history, because he was the only one to grasp the idea of throwing the whites back by forming a confederation of all the frontier tribes from north to south. He succeeded in controlling 5000 warriors, a force which, if it would only act together, could defeat any army that the United States was able on short notice to bring into the field. In 1811, while Tecumseh was absent, William Henry Harrison, governor of Indiana Territory, forced the fight by marching with 1000 men against the Indian town of Tippecanoe, on the Wabash River. Harrison took it and burned it. A few months later war broke out on the southern frontier, where Fort Mimms, near the Alabama River, was captured by the Creeks and about 500 people were killed. General Andrew Jackson was put in command of the southwestern troops, and in several campaigns during 1813 and 1814 nearly crushed out the opposing Indians. Meanwhile the public feeling of wrath and indignation steadily rose against France, and still more against England. In the new Congress, which met in December, 1811, Henry Clay of Kentucky was chosen Speaker of the House; he organized it with a view to war, and made young John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina, chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs. War had at last become popular in the majority of the Republican party which controlled both houses. The West had no patience with the timidity of the shipowners, for to the frontiersmen nothing seemed easier than to conquer Canada, and, as Clay said, to "negotiate the terms of a peace at Quebec or Halifax." The country was then prosperous; manufactures were springing up, and nearly $200,000,000 worth of goods Land and Sea Campaigns of 1812 255 were made in the country in a single year. But the "War Hawks" in Congress did not consider that the national revenues were falling off, that the army numbered only 7000 men, and that there were no good roads to the Canadian frontier. President Madison could not stand the pressure, and war was formally declared against Great Britain, June 18, 1812. The official reasons for the war were as follows: (1) the insolence of the British cruisers on the coast; (2) the capture of over 900 American vessels since 1803; (3) blockades and other unrighteous practices under the British Orders in Council; (4) the stirring up of Indian hostilities; (5) impressment. An apology had been made for the Chesapeake affair; at the last moment the British partly withdrew the offensive orders; and we now know that it was an error to suppose that the British government instigated the Indian wars. Nevertheless, two substantial grievances remained the capture of our merchantmen and the impressment of about 4000 seamen, of whom many were still prisoners on British cruisers. The real reason for the war was a sense of indignation at the overbearing conduct of Great Britain, shown not only in the search and capture of vessels but in the refusal to withdraw the Orders in Council and in the contemptuous tone of such diplomats as Jackson. The British felt that they were fighting for the freedom of mankind against a despot, and that the American claims to neutral trade and seamen's rights were simply methods of preventing the British from destroying Napoleon's power. They looked on the American claim of the right to change allegiance, which was part of the contest with regard to impressments, as a new and dangerous idea. 168. LAND AND SEA CAMPAIGNS OF 1812 The Americans set out to decide the war by a single land campaign, and their campaign began in an effort of General Hull to seize the part of Canada north of Lake Erie. The tables were unexpectedly turned when the British captured Detroit |