wounded.* 1815. 8 Jan. THE HARTFORD CONVENTION. 189 General Gibbs, the second in command, was killed, General Keane, the third in rank, was wounded, and left the field. When the British reserves were brought up, they could only protect the retreat. The British loss was very heavy; the American was very slight. The battle of New Orleans was the last and the severest battle of the war. Peace had already been made, but the news had not reached America. THE ESSEX. 57. The daring cruise of the Essex, under Capt. Porter, was the most remarkable naval event of the year. Porter had sailed from the Delaware in the previous autumn. He captured many prizes off the coasts of South America, Africa, and the islands of the Pacific. He pursued his lonely wanderings over the great ocean, and sailed for the western coast of South America. The Essex was taken, near Valparaiso, by two British sloops-of-war, which had been dispatched for its destruction. THE HARTFORD CONVENTION. 58. Peace was much needed. The war had been very burdensome and very ruinous, without producing any result. Commerce was destroyed. Industry of all kinds was depressed. Taxes were increased. The public finances were in a deplorable state. The debt had risen to $150,000,000, and loans could be made only on the most disadvantageous The discontent of the New England States menaced terms. * The forces engaged, and the losses sustained, have been variously stated. The British loss has been put as high as two thousand one hundred killed and wounded, besides five hundred prisoners. The American loss has been reduced as low as seventeen. There was certainly wide disparity in the losses. The Americans fought with the deadly Western rifle from behind breastworks. The English advanced over the open plain. It is popularly asserted that the barricades consisted of cotton bales. Only a few cotton bales were used. + As the British approached the breastworks, Jackson called out to his men: "Don't waste your ammunition: see that every shot tells." 1814. 15 Dec. a serious revolt. The Massachusetts Legislature recommended a convention of the States opposed to the war. The convention met at Hartford, and demanded grave alterations in the Constitution. The return of peace put an end to the causes of complaint. The Hartford Convention* passed away, without having produced any action in accordance with the spirit displayed. THE TREATY OF GHENT. 59. Conferences had been opened at Ghent, with a view to the restoration of peace. The mediation of the Czar of Russia had been accepted by President Madison, in the second year of the war. It had been declined by England. 1814. After the overthrow of Napoleon, the conferences were held. The treaty signed there put an end to hostilities. None of the grievances which had caused the war were removed by it. The Senate ratified the treaty by a unanimous vote. 24 Dec. THE BARBARY WAR. 60. Algiers declared war, and renewed its attacks on American commerce, soon after the peace with Britain. Capt. Decatur captured the largest vessel of the Algerine navy, and the Dey accepted terms creditable to the United States. Tunis and Tripoli were then compelled to enter into satisfactory arrangements. THE RETURN OF PEACE. 61. Manufactures to supply home wants had engaged much attention during the war, after American ships had been driven from the ocean and foreign trade destroyed. The new * The Hartford Convention consisted of twenty-six delegates, from Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It adopted strong resolutions and recommendations to the other States, contemplating important changes in the Constitution and Government. An expectation prevailed at its adjournment that it would meet again for more definite and decisive action. The Treaty of Peace rendered this unnecessary. THE RETURN OF PEACE. 191 factories and industries were endangered on the return of peace. Foreign goods could be introduced and sold at a lower price than the cost of making them in America. Protection against this danger was sought. Thus the tariff question became prominent in politics. It has since divided parties and sections. The necessities of the Government were supposed to favor the demands of the manufacturers. Heavy duties were, in consequence, imposed on foreign commodities. * 62. A national bank, chartered for twenty years, was instituted at Philadelphia two years after the war. The Colonization Society, to provide homes for free negroes and liberated slaves, was established. It resulted in the foundation of a black republic, called Liberia, on the western coast of Africa. The slave trade had been prohibited nine years before the close of Madison's administration. Two new States, one in the South, and one in the North-Louisiana and Indiana—were received into the Union while Mr. Madison was President.† He was succeeded in his high office by James Monroe. THE FIRST ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES MONROE— 1817-1821. 63. Monroe's administration was called the era of good feeling. During this period the losses of the war ceased to be felt. The public revenues increased with the growth of the country. All branches of industry prospered. * A tariff is a list of duties charged on enumerated commodities, when imported or exported. The "tariff question" is the phrase employed in the United States to denote the controversy between those who favor the protection of American manufactures by heavy customs or duties on such articles when imported from abroad, and those who oppose such impositions and advocate low duties for the sake of revenue. + In 1811, during Mr. Madison's Presidency, the trading post of Astoria, at the mouth of the Columbia River, was established by John Jacob Astor, of New York. The breaking out of the war of 1812 necessitated the transfer of the settlement to the British Fur Company. ACQUISITION of florida. 193 JACKSON'S INROAD INTO FLORIDA. 66. The Creeks had been driven into Florida by the overwhelming disasters of the Creek war. They stirred up the Seminoles to hostilities. With a force larger than the whole Seminole nation, Jackson drove the Indians before him, and seized St. Mark's. He hanged two British subjects, on the charge of having excited the Indians to war. He then took Pensacola, and received the submission of Fort Barrancas, to which the Spanish Governor had fled. As Florida belonged, at this time, to Spain, these procedures were in violation of international law. They were sustained, however, by a majority in the Lower House of Congress. ACQUISITION OF FLORIDA. 67. The unscrupulous energy of General Jackson quickened the negotiations in progress for the acquisition of Florida, and for the determination of the western boundary of Louisiana. The Colorado had been proposed by Adams * as the frontier of that State. The Sabine was the limit fixed by the treaty. The Floridas were transferred to the United States in satisfaction of claims amounting to $5,000,000. These claims are not entirely settled yet. 1819. 22 Feb. THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE. 68. The application of Missouri for admission into the Union aggravated the discords between the Northern and Southern States, which, after forty years of further contro * John Quincy Adams (1767-1848), the Secretary of State, was the son of President John Adams. At fourteen he was private secretary of Dana, United States Minister to St. Petersburg. In 1794 he was Minister to the Netherlands, and afterwards to Portugal and to Prussia. In 1809 he was Minister to Russia. He was chief Plenipotentiary to Ghent in 1814; and next year, Ambassador at London. He became President in 1825. He was elected a member of the House of Representatives in 1831, and remained a member till his death. His fatal attack seized him while occupying his seat in the House. He was carried to the Speaker's room, where he died, on the second day. His last words were, "This is the end of earth; I am content." |