Opposition to the War of 1812 in the United States
Opposition to the War of 1812 was widespread in the United States, especially in New England. Many New Englanders opposed the conflict on political, economic, and religious grounds. When the Embargo Act of 1807 failed to remedy the situation with the United Kingdom, with Britain refusing to rescind the Orders in Council (1807) and the French continuing their decrees, certain Democratic-Republicans known as war hawks felt compelled to persuade the United States government to declare war on the British. A number of contemporaries called it, "The second war for independence."[1] Henry Clay and John Calhoun pushed a declaration of war through Congress, stressing the need to uphold American honor and independence. Speaking of the impact of the depressed cotton trade upon his fellow Southerners, Calhoun told Congress that:
- They see, in the low price of their produce, the hand of foreign injustice; they know well without the market to the continent, the deep and steady current of supply will glut that of Great Britain; they are not prepared for the colonial state to which again that Power [Great Britain] is endeavoring to reduce us. The manly spirit of that section of our country will not submit to be regulated by any foreign Power.[2][3]
Vehement
Federalist Party
Federalists were opposed to war with the United Kingdom before 1812, which can be seen in their opposition to the
This is not to say the region as a whole opposed the national war effort. Much of the financing and a substantial portion of the army and navy came from the region. In the number of recruits furnished the regular army, only New York supplied more. Elbridge Gerry, the Vice President, and William Eustis, the secretary of war, hailed from Massachusetts. A distinguished U.S. general, Henry Dearborn, came from New Hampshire, and talented naval officers such as Isaac Hull, Charles Morris, and Oliver Perry were New Englanders. Just as importantly, New England sent more officially sanctioned privateers to sea than other states in the war.[8]
Throughout the war, Federalists in Congress stifled bills that levied more funding for the war, and in September 1814, when Madison issued a conscription bill to increase the number of men within the professional army, Federalists publicly opposed the bill and likened it to
Popular opposition
At the outbreak of war, there was widespread resistance by many Americans, with many militias refusing to go to war, and bankers even refusing to back a Federal currency and relieve the government of its debt.[11] A Massachusetts paper, the Salem Gazette, reprinted Madison's Federalist No. 46, in which Madison made the argument for defending states' rights against a national government, in response to the national government trying to press the state militia into national service.[12] While a sense of patriotism offered support for the war, outside Federalist strongholds, as the war dragged on and the U.S. suffered frequent reversals on land, opposition to the war extended beyond Federalist leaders. As a result, the pool of army volunteers dried. For example, after the British captured Fort Niagara, General George McClure tried to call up the local militia to drive them back but found that most would not respond, tired of repeated drafts and his earlier failures. Even those who did appear, McClure wrote, were more interested "in taking care of their families and property by carrying them into the interior, than helping us to fight."[1] There were many examples of other militias refusing to enter Canada, and either disobeying or simply refusing orders to move into Canadian territory. Political opinions even interfered with communication between officers at the beginning of the war.[13] This was shown in national recruitment efforts as well. While Congress authorized the War Department to recruit 50,000 one-year volunteers, only 10,000 could be found, and the Army never reached half of its authorized strength. A national conscription plan was proposed in Congress, but defeated with the aid of Daniel Webster, though several states passed conscription policies. Even Kentucky, the home state of the best-known war hawk Henry Clay, was the source of only 400 recruits in 1812. It was not until the war was concluded that its retrospective popularity shot up again.[2]
Backlash
Many members of the Democratic-Republican Party viewed opposition as treasonous or near-treasonous once the war was declared. The Washington National Intelligencer wrote that, "WAR IS DECLARED, and every patriot heart must unite in its support... or die without due cause." The
Legacy
The War of 1812 was the first war declared by the United States, and some historians see it as the first to develop widespread antiwar sentiment. (However, there was also anti-war sentiment during the Quasi-War and the First Barbary War.) There is little direct continuity between the opponents of the War of 1812 and later antiwar movements, as the Federalist party's objections weren't based on pacifism, and as this same "antiwar" party effectually disappeared soon after peace was concluded. The end of the war also influenced the growing unpopularity of the Federalist party, as The Hartford Convention was quickly condemned by Republicans, especially in light of the American victory at New Orleans.[15] However, the war did result in the formation of the New York Peace Society in 1815 in an effort to prevent similar future wars. The New York Peace Society was the first peace organization in the United States, lasting in various incarnations until 1940. A number of other peace societies soon formed, including eventually the American Peace Society, a national organization that exists to the present day. The American Peace Society was formed in 1828 by the merger of the Massachusetts Peace Society and similar societies in New York, Maine, and New Hampshire.[6] The War of 1812 is less well known than 20th-century U.S. wars, but no other war had the degree of opposition by elected officials. Nevertheless, historian Donald R. Hickey has argued that "The War of 1812 was America's most unpopular war. It generated more intense opposition than any other war in the nation's history, including the war in Vietnam."[7]
See also
- Pacifism in the United States
- List of peace activists
- List of anti-war organizations
- Opposition to the War of 1812 in Britain
Notes
- ^ Hickey (1990), pp. 54–5
- ^ Hickey (1990), p. 142
- ^ Hoey (2000), web
- ^ Hickey (1990), p. 55
- ^ Hickey (1990), pp. 56–58
- ^ Hickey (1990), pp. 64–66
- ^ "Guide to the Microfilm..." (2006), web
- ^ Hickey (1990), p. 255
References
- ^ Eric Foner, Give Me Liberty (2008) vol 1 p 270.
- ^ William M. Meigs, The Life of John Caldwell Calhoun (1917) 1:126.
- ^ Calhoun, John C. (1811-12-12). "Speech on the Resolution of the Committee on Foreign Relations" (PDF). Calhoun Institute.
- ^ James H. Ellis, A Ruinous and Unhappy War: New England and the War of 1812 (New York: Algora Publishing, 2009), p. 80
- ^ Brown. The Republic in Peril: 1812. Page 42.
- ^ Brown. The Republic in Peril: 1812. Page 165.
- ^ Buel. America on the Brink: Federalism during the Jeffersonian Ascendancy Page 157.
- ^ Ellis, p 2
- ^ Buel. America on the Brink.
- ^ Banner. To the Hartford Convention, Page 88.
- ^ Bickam. WEIGHT OF VENGEANCE: the United States, the British Empire, and the War of 1812. Page 172.
- ^ Bickam. WEIGHT OF VENGEANCE: the United States, the British Empire, and the War of 1812. Page 185.
- ^ Strum. New York Federalists and Opposition to the War of 1812." World Affairs, vol. 142, no. 3, 1980, pp. 169–187.
- ^ Bickam. WEIGHT OF VENGEANCE: the United States, the British Empire, and the War of 1812. Page 187.
- ^ Stoltz. A Bloodless Victory.
Bibliography
- Ellis, James (2009). A Ruinous and Unhappy War. New York: Algora Publishing. ISBN 978-0-87586-690-1.
- Hickey, Donald (1990) [1989]. The War of 1812. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-06059-8.
- Hoey, John B. (Winter 2000). "Federalist Opposition To The War Of 1812". The Early America Review. 3 (1). DEV Communications, Inc. ISSN 1090-4247. Archived from the originalon 2006-10-20. Retrieved 2006-04-02.
- "Guide to the Microfilm Edition of the Records of the New York Peace Society 1818-1843, 1906-1940". Thomson Gale. Archived from the original on 2005-01-25. Retrieved 2006-04-20.