| War of 1812 Essay Answer the following: Is it valid to call the War of 1812 “America’s worst-fought war”? Was the cause of the failure essentially military, or was it an inevitable result of the political disunity over the war’s purposes? Provide support for your stance and “discredit” the opposing view. Maximum of 2 pages/ 15 Points The War of 1812 was fought between the United States and England. Ending in 1815 with the Treaty of Ghent, the war did not accomplish any of the issues it was being fought over. For the US, the War of 1812 seemed to just be one failure after another. Although the military suffered great failure during the war, these were the direct consequence of the failure of the citizens to unite for the causes of the war. Because of these failures, it is quite valid to call the War of 1812 “America’s worst-fought war”. When the war began, it was being fought by the Americans to address their grievances toward the British. This seemed like a justifiable cause for a war, however not all of the citizens shared the same sense of unity about the political issues the war was being fought over. The US was quite upset about the continuing impressments of American sailors into the British Navy and the seizures of American merchant trading vessels by the British. Another reason the United States wished to go to war with Britain was because of their dealings with the Indians in the West. The British were not only trading with the Indians, but they were also giving them weapons and encouraging them to attack American settlements. Along with these reasons, the Americans, now becoming hungry for land, dreamed of capturing British Canada and possibly Florida for the union. Also, the Americans still contained a certain degree of resentment from the Revolutionary War, which they were eager to take out on the British. Even though these were the causes the nation was supposedly fighting for, the entire nation lacked a major driving force to gain restitution for them. The nation was not really united for the cause, as backcountry farmers didn’t care about what was happening to coastal shipping businesses, as coastal shipping businesses didn’t care about what was happening to the backcountry farmers. Everyone was only concerned with their own problems, and not concerned with the problems facing the nation regarding the situations its citizens were enduring. Some would say that the nation really was united for the cause, but with each individual region only caring about its problems, how could the nation be united? As war always involves fighting between two opposing forces, war always has its consequences, such as reduction in foreign trade, and the possibility of enemy forces capturing your country. In the War of 1812, many groups had apprehensions to the war at hand. New England didn’t want a war, as it would cut down on their profitable shipping business. The Southern States were somewhat along the same line as the New England States as Britain bought most of their cotton and tobacco, and a war with Britain would definitely cut off the trade and leave many southern planters with extensive idle inventories of product. The Federalists also had one great apprehension towards the war. At this time, the Federalists were a dying party, partly because of their loss of power in the government, and because of their failing leadership and organization within the party. They feared that citizens of British Canada would infiltrate into the United States. The Federalists feared these Canadian “Commoners” because they would support the Jeffersonian Republicans if they did come into the United States, not the federalists. The Canadians were common workers, not aristocrats like dying breed who were trying in vain to keep the Federalists as an assertive party in American Politics. Because of these apprehensions toward the war, the citizens were not able to unite and join together to support the war that was going on around them. Even though the extremely weak military contributed toward the title of “America’s worst-fought war”, it was not the direct source of this title. However, the military did suffer very bad defeats for several reasons. One of the main reasons was that the military was extremely unprepared to go into war. During Jefferson’s presidency, he made drastic military changes which had not yet been rectified by Madison. Jefferson cut the standing army down to a bare minimum, and he weakened the navy. When the war came, these two agencies were still weak and could not be used as an effective fighting force. Besides the forces being weak, the leadership was also weak. The generals were all left over from the Revolutionary War, and had not had any fighting experience or realized the changes in warfare for twenty years. The citizens also greatly underestimated the power of the enemy. In example, the United States military thought Canada would be extremely easy to take. In actuality, the British forces in Canada held strongly and fought off all three attacks by the Americans. Even when the one general realized that he would need more forces, he attempted to persuade the New York militia to come help him. Since the New England states were against the war, the militia refused to come. If the citizens had their whole attention focused on the causes of the war, perhaps the militia would have gone and we could have captured Canada. Because of this lack of enthusiasm, the United States suffered great military losses. Near the end of the War, the Americans were even forced to turn on the defensive strategy from their past offensive strategy. Even though the military incurred great losses during the War of 1812, it was not the sole reason that the war can be correctly called “America’s worst-fought war”, but rather the effect from another more major reason; the lack of political unity for the war’s purpose. The only main reason that the military failed is because they did not have the support of the entire nation unified against a single cause. Overall, by the end of the War of 1812, both sides had accomplished exactly nothing except destroying little bits and pieces of the enemy. Neither side had settled any of the issues they were originally fighting over, nor had either side technically “won” according to the Treaty of Ghent (1814). The United States did gain some things indirectly from the war though, like another degree of respect from foreign nations and the identification of more war heroes. The war also proved that the Americans were able to survive completely separated from European Affairs. None of these results though were the desired ones from the war. If the Americans would have been able to put aside their regional selfishness and differences, perhaps the War of 1812 would have accomplished more for the United States than it really did. |
Old Glory
By Lindsey Williams
It’s a charming story – but Betsy Ross did not sew together the first American flag from a design by George Washington.
That claim was made by her grandson when he was an old man. He said Betsy, a widow seamstress, told him the story when he was an 11-year-old boy.
He stated a delegation consisting of Gen. Washington; Robert Morris, a member of the Continental Congress; and George Ross, the uncle of Betsy’s late husband, came to her Philadelphia home in May 1776. They asked her to make the first American flag of 13 stripes and 13 six-pointed stars.
Mrs. Ross was said to have accepted the job but recommended a five-point star that could be cut perfectly from folded cloth by one snip of a scissors.
Alas, the story is untrue.
There is no documentation to support the tale. Gen. Washington was desperately engaged that year repulsing the British from Boston and New York. The nation had not yet been declared nor a starred flag authorized by the Continental Congress.
Early Flags
An early American flag was that carried by the Bedford Minutemen when they faced the British Regulars at Concord. The banner consisted of a red field on which was superimposed a steel-clad arm reaching from a cloud. In the hand was a sword. Surrounding hand and sword was a golden scroll bearing the inscription “Vince Aut Morire (Conquer or Die)."
Realizing that a war was likely, the Continental Congress installed cannon on three merchant ships and commissioned a United States Navy on Dec. 3, 1775. At that time, the first “national” flag was designated which came to be known as the Congress Colors.
Washington, then commanding Continental troops besieging Boston, referred to the banner as the Grand Union flag. It consisted of 13 horizontal stripes alternate red and white with a British Union jack in the upper left corner.
Capt. John Paul Jones personally raised the first such flag on the U.S.N. Alfred that day.
The new flag was first displayed in battle a month later at Prospect Hill near Cambridge by Continental troops besieging British-Held Boston.
Two other early flags are of particular interest because either or both were carried in the fight which took place on Breed’s Hill -- mistakenly recorded as nearby Bunker Hill -- on June 17, 1776. One flag was blue the other red. Both featured the British Cross of St. George and a green pine tree.
It was the Congress Colors that was raised at the Philadelphia State House where the Declaration of Independence was adopted July 2, 1776, and proclaimed from the State House steps two days later when the resolution had been transcribed on parchment by Thomas Jefferson. It also was the one saluted at French and Dutch seaports in recognition of the new republic.
Stars And Stripes
Many theories have been advanced concerning the Stars and Stripes. The two elements existed in the flag of the British East India Company, the flag of Rhode Island and the heraldic shield of Washington’s ancestors in Britain.
Old Glory pretty much as we know it today, was adopted as the official flag by the Continental Congress in Philadelphia on June 14, 1877 – hence today’s Flag Day: “Resolved that the Flag of the United States be 13 stripes alternate red and white, that the Union be 13 stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.”
Washington explained the symbolism of the United States Flag as the stars representing the colonies taken from heaven, the red from England, and the white stripes added to indicate a separation from the mother country.
Inasmuch as the resolution was reported from the Marine Committee, the flag probably represented ideas from its members. The person most likely to have shaped the design was Francis Hopkinson. He was a New Jersey delegate to the Continental Congress, a member of the Marine Committee and a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
Hopkinson in 1779 sent a letter to the U.S. Admiralty Board stating he deserved remuneration for past services. These included: “A Great Seal for the United States of America with a Reverse, a seal for the Admiralty Board, and the Flag of the United States of America.”
His request was turned down because “he was not the only person consulted” in formulating the designs and therefore did not deserve full payment.
Another Legend
Another legend recounts that the first battle in which the Stars and Stripes was flown was at the British siege of Fort Stanwix in New York on Aug. 3, 1777. The American officers – upon being told of the new flag – are said to have hurriedly stitched one from a red petticoat, white shirt and blue cloak.
The defenders did sew a flag together, but the record clearly indicates it was the Congress Colors. In any event, the British were abandoned by their Indian allies and so prudently withdrew.
There was no uniformity in early versions of Old Glory. The stripes remained the same, but the resolution did not spell out the star arrangement. In most cases, all 13 stars were formed in a circle. Occasionally, though, the circle would consist of 12 stars with the 13th in the center. The stars sometimes contained five, six or eight points.
A favorite arrangement consisted of three horizontal rows of stars with four in the top and bottom rows and five in the middle.
A popular design reproduced during the U.S. Bicentennial was that of the Benington Militia of 1777. This arrangement featured a semicircle of stars around the numeral 76.
Star Spangled Banner
When Vermont and Kentucky were admitted to the union in 1794, the flag was officially altered to consist of 15 stripes and l5 stars. This is the flag Francis Scott Key saw waving over Fort McHenry during the War of 1812 – a sight that inspired him to compose “The Star Spangled Banner” song.
After five more states were admitted to the Union in 1817, Congress decided to return to the original 13 stripes and add a star for each new state.
Though Betsy Ross did not sew the first Old Glory, there was found among her papers after her death a voucher dated May 29, 1777, in the amount of 14 English pounds received for flags made for the Pennsylvania Marine guard.
Undoubtedly this was the source of her flag story – enlarged by patriotism and fond memory in her old age. Inasmuch as we don’t know who did sew that first United States flag, she might as well have the credit.
Lindsey Williams is a Sun columnist who can be contacted at:
Website: http://www.lindseywilliams.org with several hundred of Lin's articles written over 40 years, and his book "Boldly Onward," about the original explorers of America.
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