Summary
Chapter 4 covers the host of challenges the United States faced in the generation after winning its independence, including internal revolts, hostilities with Indians, conflict on the high seas, and one large conventional war. Despite these challenges, political differences hampered the establishment of military institutions the young country needed. Early efforts to create a force suffered from political suspicions between those who favored strong national government and those who feared it. But by the early nineteenth century, American political leaders had worked out another compromise: the U.S. would maintain a small regular army and navy to confront more limited threats, and supplement them with militia and armed merchant vessels in case of a larger war. With this system, the U.S. successfully addressed a variety of threats in the 20 years after the Constitution was ratified. But over time, problems generated by the French Revolutionary Wars increased tensions between the U.S. and Great Britain, and by June 1812, these two countries were once again at war.
The conflict would demonstrate the weaknesses of America’s military institutions. The country had failed to maintain its militia system, and had not developed adequate administrative and logistical capacity to mount conventional land campaigns. Although U.S. warships won some early ship-on-ship battles, later the Royal Navy’s blockade effectively smothered American naval capabilities. As the origins of the war stemmed from broader hostilities between Great Britain and France, the end of the Napoleonic wars resolved disputes that had fueled the Anglo-American conflict. But poor performance by U.S. armed forces begged the question of how the country would reform its military institutions.
In this chapter, students will learn about how political differences shaped the development of U.S. military institutes and how the U.S. constitution addresses armed forces. Indian wars in the Old Northwest and the Old Southwest will be highlighted, as will the impact of the French Revolutionary Wars on the United States. Not only will students learn about America’s early naval wars but also the U.S. military’s performance in the War of 1812.
Glossary
Articles of Confederation- The first attempt at a constitution and the creation of a government by the thirteen American colonies; agreed to by the Congress in 1777 but not ratified by individual states until 1781.
Confederation Congress- The central government created by the Articles of Confederation in 1781.
Newburgh Conspiracy/Newburgh Addresses- A near mutiny of Continental Army in early 1783 over the lack of payment. Officers met in Newburgh, New York to discuss their grievances, but George Washington defused the situation in his Newburgh Address which counseled patience and convinced the conspirators not to confront Congress.
“Sentiments on a Peace Establishment”- General George Washington’s proposal in spring 1783 for a peacetime American military that attempted to balance the need for regulars with American fears of a standing army and reliance on militia.
Shays’ Rebellion- An uprising in western Massachusetts beginning in the summer of 1786. Angry about economic hardship and the lack of state reforms, protestors prevented the local governments and courts that adjudicated debt and tax collection cases from operating. The ineffectual response to the insurrection led to calls for a strengthened U.S. government.
Federalists- Political group in the United States who produced and promoted adoption of the U.S. Constitution. Favoring a strong national government, their support base consisted of large landowners and businessmen, mostly from the east.
Anti-federalists- Political group who opposed ratifying the U.S. Constitution. Favoring strong local and state governments rather than a powerful central government, they generally hailed from more agrarian areas such as the southern and western regions of the United States at the time.
Harmar’s expedition- A late 1790 campaign in the Northwest Territory by American troops led by Josiah Harmar in response to increasing frontier violence between Indians and settlers. Harmar’s embarrassing defeat led to calls for a more professional American military.
St. Clair’s defeat- A late 1791 campaign by American troops into the Ohio country targeting unfriendly native peoples. Led by the governor of the territory, Arthur St. Clair, the poorly trained force suffered one of the worst defeats in U.S. military history when ambushed on November 4, 1791 by about 1,000 Indians near present-day Fort Recovery, Ohio.
Legion of the United States- The expanded American military in response to continued frontier troubles in the Northwest Territory. Founded in 1792 and disbanded four years later, the well-trained force commanded by Anthony Wayne helped attain victory for the United States over Indians in the Northwest Territory.
Battle of Fallen Timbers- A frontier battle in August 1794 near Toledo, Ohio between the Legion of the United States and Indians led by Blue Jacket. The American victory helped cause the collapse of Indian resistance in the Northwest Territory.
Treaty of Greenville- A 1795 treaty between the United States and Indian chiefs that brought a declared end to hostilities in the Northwest Territory and turned control of land in present-day Ohio and Indiana to the United States.
Whiskey Rebellion- A 1794 insurrection in the American backcountry, particularly western Pennsylvania, over an unpopular tax on whiskey.
Calling Forth Act of 1792- An act passed by Congress that stipulated how the president of the United States could call militia into federal service, allowing him to do so on his own authority in the event of a foreign invasion or at the request of state officials in response to a rebellion.
Democratic Republicans- A political group formerly known as the Anti-Federalists, known most often as Republicans (not to be confused with the current Republican party).
Jay’s Treaty- A 1796 peace treaty between Great Britain and the United States during the French Revolution when fighting had broken out between France and Great Britain. The political fallout of the treaty eventually led to an undeclared war between the United States and France, known as the Quasi-War.
XYZ Affair- (1797-1798), An incident resulting from President John Adams sending a delegation to France to alleviate tensions caused by French raids on American shipping. French refusal to receive the American envoys, and demands for bribes and loans before negotiations could begin, led to the undeclared Quasi-War.
Benjamin Stodderd- (1751-1813), The first U.S. secretary of the navy, responsible for building a modern naval infrastructure.
Quasi-War- An undeclared low-intensity naval war from 1798 to 1800 between France and the United States. Resulting from French anger over Jay’s Treaty and the resulting commerce raiding of U.S. vessels, the Americans responded in kind by raiding French commercial shipping in and around the Caribbean Sea.
New Army- Part of 1798-1799 military reforms by the Federalist-controlled Congress that expanded the regular U.S. Army due to fears of invasion or insurrection. Consisting of twelve infantry regiments, it was a highly politicized force with the officer corps comprised mostly of Federalists.
Convention of Mortefontaine- Signed on September 30, 1800, it ended the Quasi-War between France and the United States.
Military Peace Establishment Act of 1802- President Thomas Jefferson’s attempt to depoliticize the U.S. Army. It also established the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York and a permanent Army Corps of Engineers.
Tripolitan War- Lasting from 1801 to 1805, it was the America’s first projection of force overseas when the United States Navy reacted to pirates from the Barbary States threatening Mediterranean shipping.
Barbary States- A group of North African states made up of Tripoli, Algiers, Morocco, and Tunis, against whom the United States fought during the Tripolitan War, 1801-1805.
Edward Preble- Commander of the U.S. Navy’s Mediterranean Squadron during the Tripolitan War. Preble is best known for ordering Stephen Decatur to launch a raid that destroyed the USS Philadelphia after the ship had run aground in Tripoli’s harbor.
War of 1812- A war between the United States and Great Britain and their respective Indian allies from 1812-1815, stemming from issues related to the French Revolutionary Wars. Regarded by some as the “second war for Independence” for its consolidation of American control of much the continent, American victory did not bring much profound change, as the belligerents agreed to status quo ante bellum – returning to relations as they were before the war began.
Chesapeake-Leopard Affair- An 1807 incident between the frigates USS Chesapeake and the British HMS Leopard. Ostensibly looking for deserted sailors, the British captain stopped the U.S. ship off the coast of Virginia, and opened fire on the Chesapeake when the American captain refused the search. The loss of three sailors and eighteen wounded outraged the American public and led to an embargo against Britain and heighted American militarism.
Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa- (1768-1813 and 1775-1836) Shawnee Indian leaders and brothers who attempted to unite Indians into a confederation to oppose encroachment by white settlers down the Ohio River and into the Trans-Appalachian regions. During the War of 1812 they aligned with the British, but with the death of Tecumseh in 1813 during the Battle of the Thames, his native alliance crumbled and helped end British provocations in the Old Northwest.
William Henry Harrison- (1773-1841), Ninth president of the United States, and also the commander during the American victory at the Battle of Tippecanoe and the October 5, 1813 Battle of the Thames when his army defeated 800 British soldiers and killed the Shawnee Indian leader, Tecumseh.
Battle of Tippecanoe- A War of 1812 battle on November 7, 1811 in present-day western Indiana between William Henry Harrison’s force of regulars and militia and Indian warriors led by the brother of Tecumseh, Tenskwatawa. The American victory undermined the Indian leader’s support and showed that the British were supplying native leaders.
War Hawks- A group of young Republican Congressmen before the outbreak of the War of 1812 who agitated for war with Great Britain in order to assert America’s autonomy.
Uniform Militia Act of 1792- An American law that required all capable male citizens from 18 to 45 years old to maintain their own weapons and equipment for use in militias.
Battle of Lake Erie- A War of 1812 naval battle on September 10, 1813. American Commodore Oliver Perry sailed across Lake Erie and destroyed a British squadron based at Fort Malden, giving the Americans control of shipping on the lake and forcing the British to abandon Forts Detroit and Malden.
Battle of the Thames- A War of 1812 battle on October 5, 1813 in Canada where the Shawnee Indian leader, Tecumseh, was killed by William Henry Harrison’s forces.
Winfield Scott- (1786-1866), An American army general known for his effective military instruction and ability. Scott was an American military institution, fighting in multiple conflicts including the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, Black Hawk’s War, the Second Seminole War, and the Civil War.
Battle of Chippewa- Part of an American offensive into Canada on July 5, 1814 during the War of 1812 where American commanders, including Winfield Scott, tactically bested British regulars and led their forces to victory.
Battle of Lundy’s Lane- The most intense combat of the War of 1812, fought mostly at night next to Niagara Falls, Ontario on July 25, 1814, constituting an operational and strategic victory for the British.
Battle of Lake Champlain- A War of 1812 battle fought from September 6 to 11, 1814. The American naval victory ended a British offensive from Canada as well as the last major northern campaign of the war.
Battle of Bladensburg- A battle during the War of 1812 near Bladensburg, Maryland on August 24, 1814. The American defeat by British regulars was partly due to the poor performance of militia, but also to tactical mistakes on the part of American leadership. The defeat also allowed the British to continue to Washington, D.C. where they burned the Capitol Building, the Library of Congress, and the White House.
Andrew Jackson- (1767-1845), An accomplished military leader during the War of 1812, where he became a hero during the Battle of New Orleans, as well as The Creek War, and the First Seminole War. Jackson went on to become the seventh president of the United States.
The Creek War- A war in the American southeast from 1813-1814 involving the United States and its Indian allies against the Red Strick Creek. Ending with the American victory at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, Andrew Jackson negotiated a treaty that saw the United States gain much of present-day Alabama and southern Georgia.
Battle of Horseshoe Bend- The decisive battle on March 27, 1814 during the Creek War that ended the Red Stick Creek resistance and led to American victory.
Treaty of Fort Jackson- The August 1814 treaty between Andrew Jackson and the Red Stick Creek that declared an American victory and ended the Creek War, ceding half of Red Stick Creek lands to the United States, including much of present-day Alabama and southern Georgia.
Battle of New Orleans- The last major engagement of the War of 1812 and an American victory over the British led by Andrew Jackson on January 8, 1815, occurring after the two belligerents had agreed to peace.
Treaty of Ghent- The peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain. Signed on December 24, 1814, the agreement did not see many appreciable gains by either party, as they agreed to end the war on the basis of the status quo ante bellum –returning to relations as they were before the war began.
Flashcards
Annotated Bibliography
Calloway, Colin G. The Victory with No Name: The Native American Defeat of the First American Army. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015.
Colin Calloway has written recent narrative of the conflict in the Old Northwest that led one of the worse failures in U.S. military history, the 1791 Battle of the Wabash, or St. Claire’s defeat, examining both U.S. and native forces.
Crackel, Theodore J. Mr. Jefferson’s Army: Political and Social Reform of the Military Establishment, 1801-1809. New York and London: New York University Press, 1987.
Thomas Jefferson has often been depicted as pursuing anti-military policies. Crackel argues that his policies were not anti-military, but rather reflected efforts to depoliticize the army after the tensions of the 1790s, for Jefferson’s Republican administration inherited an officer corps that was overwhelmingly Federalist. By creating the United States Military Academy and the Corps of Engineers, the new president provided routes by which young Republicans could become officers, thereby making the army more politically neutral. Crackel also demonstrates that Jefferson needed the U.S. Army to enforce government policies.
Cress, Lawrence Delbert. Citizens in Arms: The Army and the Militia in American Society to the War of 1812. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1982.
Lawrence Cress traces moderate and radical Whig ideas on armed forces from seventeenth-century England to eighteenth-century America. His book details the debates over the use of standing armies and militia before and during the American Revolution, their role in questions about the national government for the new United States, and political crises between Federalists and Republicans in the 1790s.
Hickey, Donald. R. The War of 1812: A Forgotten Conflict. Bicentennial Edition. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2012.
One of the best overviews of the War of 1812, Donald Hickey examines political, economic and diplomatic issues as well as land campaigns and naval warfare. The book approaches the war from the U.S. perspective, offering critical assessments of the Madison administration.
Hogeland, William. The Whiskey Rebellion: George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and the Frontier Rebels Who Challenged America's Newfound Sovereignty. New York: Scribner, 2006.
Hogeland’s well-written narrative recounts the 1794 rebellion, devoting attention both the Pennsylvania “rebels” as well as key officials and leaders. The book also demonstrates that the crisis raised issues beyond taxes, finance, and use of militia to suppress revolts, in effect questioning the legacy of the American Revolution.
Kohn, Richard. Eagle and Sword: The Federalists and the Creation of the Military Establishment in America, 1783-1802. New York: The Free Press, 1975.
A seminal study of the early republican period in U.S. history, Eagle and Sword follows the efforts of the Federalists to create a permanent military force, squarely placing the birth of the U.S. Army within the politics of the day. In tracing their successes and failures, Kohn highlights the impact of specific events (including the ratification of the Constitution, Indian wars in the Old Northwest, and the Quasi-War) on Federalist policies and legislation, as well as the role of their political opposition – initially Anti-federalists, later Democratic Republicans.
Lambert, Frank. The Barbary Wars: American Independence in the Atlantic World. New York: Hill & Wang, 2007.
Frank Lambert provides an on overview of relations between the U.S. and the Barbary states of North Africa from the end of the American Revolution until the Second Barbary War of 1815. The book describes how the administrations of early U.S. presidents shifted between policies of appeasement and confrontation as the young republic sought to protect its commercial interests while coping with other challenges, such as relations with Britain and France during the French Revolutionary wars.
Latimer, Jon. 1812: War with America. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2007.
Jon Latimer’s book addresses the war from the British point of view, including perspectives of Canadians and Native Americans. As with Donald Hickey’s work, it offers a comprehensive overview of the war, addressing land operations and battles, the naval war, as well as political diplomatic and economic developments. Given his emphasis on British views, Latimer refutes notions that the U.S. won the war, or that it constituted a “second war of independence,” noting it erupted while Britain was preoccupied fighting Napoleon, and that the Madison administration never achieved its aim of conquering Canada.
Skeen, C. Edward. Citizen Soldiers in the War of 1812. Lexington, Kentucky: University of Kentucky Press, 1999.
Edward Skeen’s book analyzes the performance of state militias during the War of 1812. His coverage is fair, noting that militia could fight well when properly led and trained. Skeen observes, though, that no system had developed to guarantee an adequate minimum level of military proficiency among state militiamen prior to 1812, producing many combat failures during the war.
Stagg, J.C.A. Mr. Madison’s War: Politics, Diplomacy, and Warfare in the Early American Republic, 1783-1830. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1983.
J.C.A. Stagg demonstrates how military policies adopted in the early Republic undermined the Madison administration’s ability to prosecute a major war against Britain. Most of the book addresses the War of 1812, detailing not just land campaigns and battles, but domestic political issues, mobilization and logistical problems, and leadership and planning failures, especially regarding efforts to invade Canada.
Toll, Ian. Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2006.
Six Frigates tells the history of the early U.S. Navy, from the 1790’s when Congress authorized the construction of the first naval vessels since the Revolution, up through the War of 1812. It richly describes sea battles and naval life in the age of sail, while also addressing political and administrative issues that shaped naval issues in the early republic.
Expanded Bibliography
Brown, Wilburt S.The Amphibious Campaign for West Florida and Louisiana, 1814–1815: A Critical Review of Strategy and Tactics at New Orleans. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1969.
Budiansky, Stephen. Perilous Fight: America’s Intrepid War with Britain on the High Seas, 1812–1815. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2011.
Bunn, Mike, and Clay Williams. Battle for the Southern Frontier: The Creek War and the War of 1812. Stroud, Gloucestershire: The History Press, 2008.
Daughan, George. 1812: The Navy’s War. New York: Basic Books, 2011.
Edmunds, R. David. Tecumseh and the Quest for Indian Leadership. Boston: Little, Brown, 1984.
Fowler, William M., Jr.Jack Tars and Commodores: The American Navy, 1783–1815. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1984.
Gaff, Alan D. Bayonets in the Wilderness: Anthony Wayne's Legion in the Old Northwest. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2008.
Horsman, Reginald. The War of 1812. New York: Knopf, 1969.
Jacobs, James Ripley. The Beginning of the U.S. Army, 1783–1812. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1947.
Laxer, James. Tecumseh and Brock: The War of 1812. Toronto: House of Anansi Press, 2012.
McCranie, Kevin D. Utmost Gallantry: The U.S. and Royal Navies at Sea in the War of 1812. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2011.
McKee, Christopher.A Gentlemanly and Honorable Profession: The Creation of the U.S. Naval Officer Corps, 1794–1815. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1991.
Owsley, Frank Lawrence. Struggle for the Gulf Borderlands: The Creek War and the Battle of New Orleans, 1812–1815. Gainesville: University Presses of Florida, 1981.
Palmer, Dave Richard. 1794: America, Its Army, and the Birth of the Nation. Novato, CA: Presidio, 1994.
Palmer, Michael A.Stoddert's War: Naval Operations During the Quasi-War With France, 1798–1801. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1987.
Quimby, Robert S. The U.S. Army in the War of 1812: An Operational and Command Study, Vols I and II. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 1994.
Silverstone, Scott A. Divided Union: The Politics of War in the Early American Republic. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2004.
Skaggs, David Curtis, and Gerald T. Altoff. A Signal Victory: The Lake Erie Campaign, 1812–1813. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2000.
Stuart, Reginald C. The Half-Way Pacifist: Thomas Jefferson’s View of War. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1978.
Stuart, Reginald C. War and American Thought: From the Revolution to the Monroe Doctrine. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 1982.
Sword, Wiley. President Washington's Indian War: The Struggle for the Old Northwest, 1790–1795. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1985.
Symonds, Craig L.Navalists and Antinavalists: The Naval Policy Debate in the United States, 1785– 1827. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1980.
Taylor, Alan. The Civil War of 1812: American Citizens, British Subjects, Irish Rebels, & Indian Allies. New York: Vintage Press, 2011.
Watson, Samuel J. Jackson’s Sword: The Army Officer Corps on the American Frontier, 1810–1821. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2012.
Annotated Weblinks
Site: Library of Congress, The First American West: The Ohio River Valley, 1750-1820
URL: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award99/icuhtml/fawsp/fawsp.html
Description: This website provides visitors a detailed history of the Ohio River Valley before, during, and after the American Revolution. With exhibits on settlers moving into the valley, settler-native conflict, the clash of empires, and the Ohio River Valley in popular memory, the Library of Congress’s website is truly thorough and useful.
Site: National Humanities Center, Primary Resources on U.S. History & Literature
URL: http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/pds/livingrev/expansion/expansion.htm
Description: This National Humanities Center website offers primary documents from the period of American history immediately following the Revolutionary War. Part of a larger exhibit entitled Living with the Revolution: America, 1789-1820, this particular link, called “Expansion,” provides primary sources that outline the difficulties of expanding west after independence.
Site: Papers of the War Department, 1784 to 1800
URL: https://wardepartmentpapers.org/s/home/page/home
Description: An extraordinarily unique website, Papers of the War Department is an undertaking by the Center for History & New Media at George Mason University to present an online collection of more than 55,000 documents, with searchable metadata linked to digitized images of each documents. If you are researching this era on any topic, from army and militia matters to Indian, veteran, and naval affairs, be certain to start here.
Site: Metro Parks Toledo, Fallen Timbers Battlefield
URL: https://metroparkstoledo.com/explore-your-parks/fallen-timbers-battlefield-ft-miamis/
Description: This website is a great resource to understand not only the Battle of Fallen Timbers but the context that surrounded it and what it looks like today. If interested in visiting the battlefield, visit this site. If you would like to visit any battlefield in the United States, the National Park Service’s websites are always the first place to start.
Site: The War of 1812 Website
URL: http://www.warof1812.ca/
Description: This link takes you to an amateur historian website, complete with useful articles, opinions, and videos. A Canadian website, the information contained within offers a counterbalance to the usually American-centric analysis of the war.
Site: PBS, War of 1812
URL: http://www.pbs.org/wned/war-of-1812/home/
Description: This website is designed to accompany the PBS production The War of 1812. Among various resources, the “Essays” tab offers perspectives on the war from different participants, such as those of Canadians, Native Americans, etc., as well as a discussion of the Treaty of Ghent which ended the war
Site: presidentialrhetoric.com, James Madison’s War Message to Congress, 1 June 1812
URL: http://www.presidentialrhetoric.com/historicspeeches/madison/warmessage.html
Description: For insight into the grounds for war President James Madison presented to Congress on 1 June 1812, read his war message here.
Site: The Historic New Orleans Collection, William C. Cook War of 1812 in the South Collection
URL: http://www.hnoc.org/BNO/william_cook.html
Description: Private collector William C. Cook spent forty years acquiring the largest collection of documents regarding the War of 1812 in the South. Visit this collection to gain insight into what the War of 1812 meant for the South, particularly through documents about the Creek War, the war in the Gulf of Mexica, and the Battle of New Orleans.
Site: The White House Historical Association Online Journal
URL: http://ourwhitehouse.org/primary-sources-the-war-of-1812/
Description: Designed for teachers, this site offers electronic transcripts of a number of different primary sources on the War of 1812, with links to articles, other web sites on the war, as well as a bibliography.
Site: Creek War
URL: http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/creekwar.html
Description: This is on the few websites that actually exists about the First Creek War. It provides a narrative history of all the major battles and skirmishes of the conflict.