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James Madison • Does he really need an introduction? 1809-1817 Democratic- Republican Virginia
James Madison
• Does he really need an introduction?
1809-1817
Democratic-Republican
Virginia
Madison Overview…
• One of the “forgotten wars” in US History• Lasted 2+ years, ends in stalemate.
• Afterwards, once and for all confirmed American Independence.
War of
1812
AKA… “Mr. Madison’s
War” or the “2nd War
for Independence”
Causality of war? Debatable…
• Indirect Causes–a result of many long simmering
disputes with Great Britain. • Canadian borders, Baltimore and DC, the West
• Direct Cause– impressment of American soldiers by
the British.
…Something’s Amuck…
• 1810 – new Congress elected.
• “War Hawks” vs. “Doves”
• June 18, 1812, President James Madison declares war on England even though the US was not ready!
The USS Constitution• Gulf of St. Lawrence• August 19, 1812 • USS Constitution vs.
Guerriere, a fast British frigate mounting 49 guns.
• Twenty minutes later the Guerriere was a dismagted hulk, so badly damaged that she was not worth towing to port.
• The Americans had used the ship’s heavier broadside and superior sailing ability, while the British ship’s ammunition seemed to rebound harmlessly off Constitution’s hull.
“Old Ironsides”
1813
• Campaign of 1813 centered on Lake Erie. – General: William Henry Harrison (would later
become POTUS).– (WHH got “fame” at 1811 Battle of Tippecanoe)
• WHH led an army of militia, volunteers and regulars from KY with the object of retaking Detroit.
• Entire region now comes under US control.
General Harrison’s success• September 12, news reached
WHH that Commodore Oliver “Hazard” Perry had annihilated the GB fleet on Lake Erie.
• Harrison occupied Detroit and pushed into Canada, defeating the fleeing British and their Indian allies on the Thames River.
Ft. McHenry Attacked!
• Baltimore Harbor/Ft. McHenry attacked
• Francis Scott Key wrote a poem about seeing the American flag still flying during the battle.
The Star-Spangled Banner• 1813 Ft. McHenry: flag so big that "the
British have no trouble seeing it from a distance."
• Mary Young Pickersgill: creates flag with help from her daughter– 400 yards wool. – 15 stars, two feet across. – 8 red and 7 white stripes, two feet wide. – When finished it measured 30 by 42 feet
and cost $405.90.
National Anthem• Key’s poem, “The Defence of Fort
M'Henry”– added to the existing music “To Anacreon
Heaven”– by the English composer John Stafford,
combination become the “Star Spangled Banner”.
• Becomes American national anthem in 1931.
The Battle of Fort McHenry
Dolly Madison – Our Hero?
• August 24, 1814, the British burst into Washington, D.C.
• President Madison and his wife Dolly fled to VA.
• American morale was at an all-time low when the British captured the City of Washington and burned the White House.
1814• Another decisive turn in the war
– Commodore Thomas McDonough won a point-blank gun duel with a British flotilla on Lake Champlain in upper New York.
• Deprived of naval support, GB invasion force of 10,000 men retreated to Canada.
• At about the same time, the British fleet was harassing the Eastern seaboard with orders to "destroy and lay waste."
The End of the War…• GB and US negotiators both
demand concessions.
• GB concede, after McDonough's victory on Lake Champlain.
• Treaty of Ghent (Dec. 24th 1814) signed in Belgium = end of the war –LAME!
Oops! There was a treaty???• Unaware that a peace treaty
had been signed, the two sides continued fighting in New Orleans, Louisiana.
• General Andrew Jackson: Americans scored the greatest land victory of the war.
• Battle of New Orleans (Jan. 1815): HUGE US Victory
Old Hickory said we could take 'em by surprise if we didn'tfire our muskets 'til we looked them in the eye.We held our fire 'til we see'd their faces well, then weopened up our squirrel guns & really gave 'em WELL....Chorus IChorus II:They ran thru the briars and they ran thru the brambles andthey ran thru the bushes where a rabbit couldn't go.They ran so fast that the hounds couldn't catch 'em on downthe Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.We fired our cannon till the barrel melted down, then we grabbedan alligator & we fought another round. We filled his head withcannon balls, & powered his behind 'n when we touched thepowder off the gator lost his mind.Chorus IChorus II
Battle of New OrleansIn 1814 we took a little trip, Along with Colonel. Jacksondown the mighty Mississip. We took a little bacon, andwe took a little beans. And we fought the bloody British nearthe town of New Orleans.
Chorus I: We fired our guns and the British kept a comin'There wasn't quite as many as there was a while ago.We fired once more and they began a runnin on down the Misissippi to the Gulf of Mexico.
We looked down the river and we seen the British come,An there must have been a hundred of them beatin on thedrum.They stepped so high & they made their bugles ring, westood beside our cotton bails & didn't say a thing.Chorus I
James Monroe• “The Last Founding
Father”
• Secretary Of War• Secretary Of State• Governor of Virginia• Minister to UK• Minister to France• Senator• Confederation
Congress
1817-1825
Democratic-Republican
Virginia
Era of Good Feelings• mood of victory swept the nation
at the end of the War of 1812• political hostilities declined
because the Federalist Party had largely dissolved
• nationalizing trend that envisioned “a permanent federal role in the crucial arena of national development and national prosperity.”
• Monroe’s country-wide good-will tour in 1817 and 1819
American System• Clay, Calhoun, JQ Adams• three mutually reinforcing parts:
– tariff to protect and promote American industry
– national bank to foster commerce – federal subsidies for roads, canals,
and other 'internal improvements' to develop profitable markets for agriculture.
