ed a loan of eleven million dollars, but no additional taxes.

[Map: Vote of House on the Declaration of War June 4, 1812]

From the first the war party had fixed upon Great Britain as the object
of attack. In the sober light of history, France appears to be quite as
much an enemy to American commerce. But so long as the Administration
maintained that Napoleon had withdrawn his decrees, and that England had
not, consistency required that Great Britain should be regarded as the
greater offender. Reparation had been made for the Chesapeake affair, to
be sure, but no guaranties had been given that the rights of
neutral vessels would be respected on the high seas. Besides, the group
of young Republicans led by Clay and Grundy had looked forward to the
conquest of Canada on the north and of Florida on the south as the
result of war. Madison was too keen a politician not to know that he
could not afford to alienate this group if he wished a second term in
office. On April 1, he recommended an embargo for sixty days, and two
months later, on June 1, he sent his famous war message to Congress.

In reciting the grievances of the United States, the President thrust
into the foreground "the continued practice of violating the American
flag on the great highway of nations, and of seizing and carrying off
persons sailing under it." No one could deny that these were real
grievances, but they had not been pressed in recent negotiations as a
possible cause of war. A second grievance was the blockade of American
ports by British cruisers. "They hover over and harass our entering and
departing commerce," said the President. "To the most insulting
pretentions they have added the most lawless proceedings in our very
harbors; and have wantonly spilt American blood within the sanctuary of
our territorial jurisdiction." This grievance was also real, but not of
recent date. When the President alluded to "pretended blockades" under
which "our commerce has been plundered in every sea," he touched upon
outrages which were still fresh in the minds of all. "Not content with
these occasional expedients for laying waste our neutral trade,"
continued the message, "the Cabinet of Great Britain resorted, at
length, to the sweeping system of blockades, under the name of Orders in
Council." Finally, the President did not refrain from the plain
intimation that the Indian hostilities on the frontier were due to the
influence of British traders and British