[USA] - 4th President of the USA James Madison - Part 2

James Madison	Birth: 16 March 1751
	Died: 28 June 1836
	Party: Democratic-Republican
	Presidency: 1809 ~ 1817
	Vice President: George Clinton, Elbridge Gerry
	Nickname: Father of the Constitution

 

● 1812 – War with the British & The Invasion of Canada

Since the Leopard-Chesapeake incident, Great Britain’s disrespect towards the United States neutrality, and the British’s influence on the Native Americans, the young War Hawks urged James Madison to declare war on Great Britain.

James Madison resisted to the voices of war but eventually had to put the declaration of war into congress. For almost 20 days, Congress had debated over the declaration of war and approved it in a very close vote.

 

 

The Federalists of New England were resistant to the declaration of war. New England residents refused in joining the army and even some even sold merchants to Great Britain. It was extremely difficult to progress war with Great Britain. James Madison avoided naval battles with Great Britain, instead as there was demand he decided to invade British held Canada.

 

 

However, General William Hull miserably failed during the first attack of Canada. The British Major-General Sir Isaac Brock who was the commander of all British forces of Canada even attempted a counter attack to New York.

Eventually, Sir Isaac Brock was killed in battle along the Canadian side of the Niagara River against American captain James E. Wool but Wool’s troops were obliterated by the British.

 

 

● Washington D.C. in flames  

James Madison took his second office in March 1813. However, the invasion of Canada miserably failed and the British were on their march to Washington D.C. Tecumseh’s rival and future president general William Henry Harrison held the line by winning the battle of the Thames River.

 

 

However, later on, the British burns the city of Buffalo, New York and in 1814, they started to punch through the Chesapeake Bay and burn Washington D.C. In 25 August 1814, the British started with the Capitol which was still in construction then they burned president’s residence and the city on fire.

 

 

● The Treaty of Ghent and The battle of New Orleans

The British and the US were already negotiating terms of peace in January of 1814. John Quincy Adams who was the son of John Adams (the 2nd president of the USA) and Henry Clay’s mission was to negotiate terms with the British. Great Britain initially demanded more territory for themselves and their allied native Americans as well as more authority in the Newfoundland.

 

 

However, Henry Clay and John Adams took their time as they knew the Great Britain had larger problems with France and Napoleon.

Eventually the British agreed to ‘quo ante bellum’ which means ‘agreement to putting the status as it existed before war’. Both countries agreed to the Treaty of Ghent which was signed at Ghent, Belgium.

 

 

However, transportation and information were slow during these days. The War of 1812 continued until January of 1815. The British launches an attack on the heavily fortified New Orleans. 8,000 British soldiers attacked New Orleans.

However, the US General Andrew Jackson took extraordinary command and successfully defend New Orleans. The British suffered a loss of more than 2,000 men.

 

Battle of New Orleans / Andrew Jackson's statue

 

● Francis Scott Key and the National Anthem 

Francis Scott Key was a lawyer that was kept prisoner during the War of 1812. He witnessed the British attack on Fort McHenry located in Baltimore Maryland. After the attack and at dawn, Francis Scott Key witnesses the Stars and Stripes waving above he bombarded fortress of Fort McHenry.

He was inspired to write ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’, which is the current national anthem of the United States of America. The Star-Spangled Banner became the national anthem latter on in 1931.

 

 

The Star-Spangled Banner

Oh, say can you see,

by the dawn's early light.

 

What so proudly we hailed

 

at the twilight's last gleaming?

 

Whose broad stripes and bright stars,

 

through the perilous fight,

 

O'er the ramparts we watched,

 

were so gallantly streaming?

 

And the rockets' red glare,

 

the bombs bursting in air,

 

Gave proof through the night

 

that our flag was still there.

 

O say, does that star-spangled

 

banner yet wave

 

O'er the land of the free

 

and the home of the brave?

 

 

● Uncle Sam  

Samuel Wilson was butcher in New York who owned the business Ebenezer & Samuel Wilson. He also haㅇ long worked with the military since the American Revolution.

As the War of 1812 broke, Samuel Wilson supplied beef to the U.S. Army. Samuel Wilson’s nickname was ‘Uncle Sam’ and he stamped the ‘E.A. U.S’ on the barrels that were supplied to the army.

 

 

These initials stood for Ebenezer & Samuel United States which indicated that the barrels were for the U.S. government supply. The ‘U.S.’ initials concurred with Samuel Wilson’s nickname ‘Uncle Sam’.

This slowly became a phrase to refer to the U.S. government. During the World War 1, James Montgomery Flagg drew the utmost famous Uncle Sam poster to recruit troopers for the war.

Samuel Wilson's actual photograph