America on the Brink: How the Political Struggle Over the War of 1812 Almost Destroyed the Young Republic

326 Pages·2005·3.29 MB·English

by  Richard Buel

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America on the Brink
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America on the Brink: How the
Political Struggle Over the War
of 1812 Almost Destroyed the
Young Republic
By Richard Buel Jr.
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AMERICAONTHEBRINK
© Richard Buel,Jr.2005.
All rights reserved.No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any
manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief
quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
First published 2005 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN™
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Houndmills,Basingstoke,Hampshire,England RG21 6XS
Companies and representatives throughout the world.
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of
the Palgrave Macmillan division of St.Martin’s Press,LLC and of
Palgrave Macmillan Ltd.Macmillan® is a registered trademark
in the United States,United Kingdom and other countries.
Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union
and other countries.
ISBN 1–4039–6238–3 hardback
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Buel,Richard,1933–
America on the brink:how the political struggle over the war of 1812 almost
destroyed the young republic / by Richard Buel,Jr.
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1–4039–6238–3 (alk.paper)
1.United States—Politics and government—1789–1815.2.Federal Party (U.S.)
I.Title.
E310.B83 2005
320.973(cid:2)09(cid:2)034—dc22 2004052428
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd.,Chennai,India.
First edition:January 2005
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America.
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Also by Richard Buel Jr.
In Irons: Britain’s Naval Supremacy and the American Revolutionary Economy
(1998)
The Way of Duty: A Woman and her Family in Revolutionary America
(with Joy D. Buel, 1984)
Dear Liberty: Connecticut’s Mobilization for the Revolutionary War
(1980)
Securing the Revolution: Ideology and American Politics, 1789–1815
(1972)
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For Margaret and Liz
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Contents
List of Illustrations xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction 1
1. The Combustibles 13
2. Massachusetts Ablaze 35
3. Dividing to Conquer 61
4. Paying the Piper 89
5. The Struggle over Declaring War 123
6. Resistance to the War 155
7. Toward the Hartford Convention 189
8. Denouement 219
Postscript 237
Abbreviations 245
Notes 249
Index 291