"Mr. Madison's War"

1812 : The War That Forged a Nation, by Walter R. Borneman

Often ignored as a "lesser" war in some circles, author Walter R. Borneman presents a view of the War of 1812 as one that took eighteen very provincial states and forged them -after considerable trials- into one nation poised to expand across the American continent.

While this thesis is not in itself original, I give Borneman credit for making good use of his sources to develop a solid case that the War of 1812 did have roots in essentially nationalist issues. There were three of these, any one of which alone probably would not have precipitated war, but taken together were enough.

Great Britain routinely stopped American ships and impressed sailors into its navy and seized American ships as part of trade restrictions resulting from the Napoleonic wars. This alone was not enough, since France did much the same. Yet many Americans also held Great Britain responsible for Native American unrest on the frontier [eg, the Midwest] and wanted to invade Canada in order to clear the British from American shores.

Some partisan wranglings seem almost familiar to us in the present day: For instance, there were a large number of Americans- mostly Federalists concentrated in New England- who were too concerned with economic and political risks to support "Mr. Madison’s War". This problem was present from the very beginning, with the closest declaration of war in U.S. history. The House of Representatives passed the declaration 79 to 49 after what some termed was "too hasty" a business. The Senate voted down a variety of amendments, but finally passed the declaration by a narrow vote of 19 to 13. This was to be a persistent division that badly handicapped the American war effort. Some New England states maintained Trade relations- including for arms- with the British. The New York Militia refused to cross the borders of New York into Canada. A coalition of Federalists contemplated Secession.

Yet these were primarily Regional differences, as much a result of differing economic realities as culture or party affiliation. The Northeast was ever outwards-looking, dependent on maritime Trade and the goodwill of its trading partners and thus wanted peace. The South was more bent on expansion to the interior, securing the Mississippi, and conquering, or at least isolating, Spanish [and British-protected] Florida. Examined from the point of view of a nation, which the United States were not used to doing at the time, they were surrounded by a preying 'superpower'. Every State, a power unto it's own in a way that would seem unlikely to us in the present, had differing regard for the war and it's aims.

Article Author: Urthshu

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