Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume X.djvu/832

 826 JAMES MADISON this demand, on the ground that there was no official evidence of the repeal of the French decrees, and the act of non-intercourse was ac- cordingly declared in full force against Great Britain. In March, 1811, the emperor Napo- leon disavowed the statement of the duke of Oadore, and declared that "the decrees of Berlin and Milan were the fundamental laws of the empire." American vessels had been seized and sequestrated by France even after the president's proclamation, and every overture on the part of the American min- ister at Paris toward the reestablishment of friendly relations between the two coun- tries was viewed with indifference, and com- pletely failed. The country was slowly but surely drifting toward a war, which no ex- ertions on the part of the administration seemed adequate to prevent. Madison pushed his pacific views to an extent which proved displeasing to many of the most prominent of the republican party. Bills were passed for augmenting the army, repairing and equip- ping ships of war, organizing and arming the militia, and placing the country in an atti- tude to resist an enemy ; for all 4vhich con- gress appropriated $1,000,000. Madison acqui- esced in this policy with extreme reluctance, but on June 1, 1812, transmitted a special message to congress in which he reviewed the whole controversy, and spoke in strong terms of the aggressions of Great Britain upon com- mercial rights. The act declaring war between Great Britain and the United States speed- ily followed. The president gave it his ap- proval on June 18, and promptly issued his proclamation calling upon the people to pre- pare for the conflict, and to support the gov- ernment. A short delay would probably have defeated the policy of the war party, and re- opened the old negotiations. A decree of the French emperor had been exhibited to the United States minister to France, dated April 28, 1811, which declared the definite revoca- tion of the Berlin and Milan decrees, from and after Nov. 1, 1810. In consequence of this, Great Britain, on June 23, within five days after the declaration of war, repealed the ob- noxious orders in council in relation to the rights of neutrals, and thus removed one of the great grounds of complaint on the part of the American government. On June 26, be- fore the course of the British cabinet was known in America, Mr. Monroe, secretary of state, wrote to Mr. Russell, proposing the terms of an armistice. These were a repeal of the orders in council, with no illegal blockades substituted, arid a discontinuance of the im- pressment of seamen. In the latter part of August Mr. Russell, United States charge d'af- faires at London, received from the English government a definite refusal to accede to these propositions as "on various grounds ab- solutely inadmissible," and thereupon returned to the United States. In September Admiral Warren arrived at Halifax. In addition to his naval command, he was invested with powers to negotiate a provisional accommodation with the United States government. A correspon- dence on the subject ensued between himself and Mr. Monroe, as the representatives of the two countries. The admiral proposed an im- mediate cessation of hostilities, with a view to the peaceful arrangement of the points at issue. Monroe replied that his government was willing to accede to this proposition, pro- vided Warren was authorized and would agree to negotiate terms for suspending in future the impressment of American seamen. The British government refused to relinquish the claim, and nothing remained but war. On March 4, 1813, Madison entered upon his sec- ond term of service. He had received 128 electoral votes; his opponent, De Witt Clin- ton, 89 votes. The congressional elections had resulted in a large majority in favor of the ad- ministration, and the war policy thus appeared to be acceptable to the great body of the peo- ple, though a strong party were opposed to it, and endeavored to obstruct the measures ne- cessary for the prosecution of hostilities. The contest commenced in earnest with the appear- ance, in February, 1813, of a British fleet in the Chesapeake bay ; and in March the whole coast of the United States, with the exception of Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, was declared in a state of block- ade. The long series of engagements on land and water, during the war which followed, find their proper place in the general history of the country. In March, 1813, soon after the commencement of hostilities, the Russian min- ister to the United States communicated to the American government a proposal from the emperor Alexander to mediate between the belligerents. The proposition was accepted, and the president appointed commissioners to go to St. Petersburg, to negotiate under the mediation of the emperor. Great Britain de- clined the Russian mediation in September; but in November the American government was informed that that power was prepared to negotiate the terms of a treaty of peace. Steps were at once taken to meet this proposal. Mr. Clay and Mr. Russell were added to the commission previously appointed, and in Jan- uary, 1814, joined their associates in Europe. In August of the same year the country was deeply aroused by the attack upon the capi- tal. A British force of 5,000 men ascended the Chesapeake, landed on the shores of the Patuxent, and marched on Washington. The few troops hastily called together were wholly unable to offer any effective resistance, and retired before the enemy, who proceeded to the city, burned the capitol, the president's house, and other public buildings, and returned without loss to their ships. The president and several members of his cabinet were in the American camp, but were compelled to aban- don the city in order to avoid capture. The enemy gained little by their movement, and