Peace Without Hope: A Summary

The War of 1812 is often referred to as the United States’ second war of independence because, like the Revolutionary War, it was fought against Great Britain. The Conflict resulted from the clash between American nationalism and the war Britain and its allies were waging against the empire of Napoleonic France. Many Americans believed that England sought to humiliate the United States, limit its growth, and perhaps even impose a quasi‐colonial status upon its former colonies.

Years” before the war on December 3rd 1775, John Paul Jones hoisted the first American Flag over the Continental Naval Ship Alfred. The first American Flag was the Grand Union Flag. The Grand Union Flag which had thirteen red and white stripes was taken directly from

Our Society has a number of manuscripts in its collections related to the public response to the Chesapeake incident. In “Peace Without Dishonor, War Without Hope,” a “Yankee Farmer” appealed to the reason of his readers and argued against a rush into war. “If we succeed in the war, we gain the right to cover a few British deserters, whom we do not want, and which…will bring little profit; but we hazard our lives, our liberties, our government,” he wrote. Others, however, were not so interested in peace. “Illustrations on the Fulfillment of the Prediction of Merlin” contains a poem titled “The Chesapeake Massacre,” which was written by “Revolutionist of

Jefferson at that time chose to respond with a ban or embargo rather than go to war with Britain, but his decision was controversial. Because the embargo was hurting American industries and was difficult to enforce. Despite Jefferson’s attempt to avoid war, the British navy’s act of aggression sowed a seed that ultimately contributed to war between the United States and Great Britain. Thomas Jefferson envisioned a peaceful, agricultural society that used diplomacy, rather than military might, to execute America’s foreign policy.

Because of this Jefferson believed that a large standing army was an invitation to dictatorship, and he drastically reduced the size of both the American Army and Navy. However, events in the Mediterranean quickly challenged Jefferson’s decision and forced him to re-evaluate his philosophy about the use of force. Due to the fact that on the Barbary Coast of North Africa, rulers of Algiers, Morocco, Tunis, and Tripoli extorted money from countries wishing to send cargo ships through their waters. For years, American shipping was safe because Britain regularly paid the