Our Suffering Brethren: Foreign Captivity and Nationalism in the Early United States PDF
Preview Our Suffering Brethren: Foreign Captivity and Nationalism in the Early United States
IN OCTOBER 1785, American statesman John Jay acknowledged that the more DZUREC his countrymen “are treated ill abroad, the more we shall unite and consolidate at Our Suffering Brethren home.” Behind this simple statement lies a complicated history. From the British o impressment of patriots during the Revolution to the capture of American sailors by u Br Algerian corsairs and Barbary pirates at the dawn of the nineteenth century, stories R FOREIGN CAPTIVITY and NATIONALISM S of Americans imprisoned abroad helped jumpstart democratic debate as citizens E U acted on their newly unified identity to demand that their government strengthen T in the EARLY UNITED STATES F efforts to free their fellow Americans. Deliberations about the country’s vulnerabili- H F ties in the Atlantic world reveal America’s commitment to protecting the legacy of RE DAVID J. DZUREC III the Revolution as well as growing political divisions. ER NI Drawing on newspaper accounts, prisoner narratives, and government records, N David J. Dzurec III explores how stories of American captivity in North America, G Europe, and Africa played a critical role in the development of American political culture, adding a new layer to our understanding of foreign relations and domestic politics in the early American republic. “The scholarship in this book is very sound and up-to-date, and the author is clearly aware of, and conversant with, several different bodies of scholarship that bear on this topic.” —TODD ESTES, AUTHOR OF THE JAY TREATY DEBATE, PUBLIC OPINION, AND THE EVOLUTION OF EARLY AMERICAN POLITICAL CULTURE “Our Suffering Brethren deserves to be read by early Americanists and their stu- dents. Dzurec makes a compelling case for the development of American identity through foreign captivity and how Americans crafted their relationship with and understanding of their government.” —RICARDO A. HERRERA, AUTHOR OF FOR LIBERTY AND THE REPUBLIC: THE AMERICAN CITIZEN AS SOLDIER, 1775–1861 DAVID J. DZUREC III is associate professor of history at the University of Scranton. Cover design by Milenda Nan Ok Lee Cover art by James B. Dennis, The Battle of Queenston, Oct. 13, 1813, engraved by T. Sutherland. Courtesy River Bank Art Museum. umnivearsisty sofachusetts press AMHERST AND BOSTON www.umass.edu/umpress MASSACHUSETTS DZUREC_pbkcover_mechanical_FIN.indd 1 3/31/19 4:51 PM Our Suffering Brethren Our Suffering Brethren FOREIGN CAPTIVITY and NATIONALISM in the EARLY UNITED STATES DAVID J. DZUREC III University of Massachusetts Press Amherst and Boston Copyright © 2019 by University of Massachusetts Press All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America ISBN 978- 1- 62534- 407- 6 (paper); 406- 9 (hardcover) Designed by Sally Nichols Set in Minion Pro and Whitney Printed and bound by Maple Press, Inc. Cover design by Milenda Nan Ok Lee Cover art: James B. Dennis, The Battle of Queenston, Oct. 13, 1813, engraved by T. Sutherland Courtesy River Bank Art Museum. Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Names: Dzurec, David J., III, author. Title: Our suffering brethren : foreign captivity and nationalism in the early United States / David J. Dzurec III. Description: Amherst : University of Massachusetts Press, [2019] | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2018053113| ISBN 9781625344069 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781625344076 (paper) | ISBN 9781613766545 (ebook) | ISBN 9781613766552 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: United States—Foreign relations—1783–1815. | United States—Politics and government—1783–1809. | United States—Politics and government—1809–1817. | Captivity—Political aspects—United States—History. | Americans—Foreign countries—History. | Prisoners of war—United States—History. | Nationalism—United States—History. | Political culture—United States—History. Classification: LCC E310.7 .D98 2019 | DDC 327.73009/033—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018053113 British Library Cataloguing- in- Publication Data A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. Parts of Chapter 1 were first published as “Prisoners of War and American Self-I mage during the American Revolution,” War in History 20, no. 4 (2013): 430–5 1 by SAGE Publications Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2013 by David Dzurec. First published November 7, 2013. Available at http:// online.sagepub.com. Parts of Chapter 3 first appeared in “‘A Speedy Release to Our Suffering Captive Brethren in Algiers’: Captives, Debate, and Public Opinion in the Early American Republic,” The Historian 71, no. 4 (2009): 735–5 6. Copyright © 2009 Phi Alpha Theta. Published by John Wiley and Sons. First published December 4, 2009. Sections of Chapter 6 appeared in “Failure at Queenston Heights: The Politics of Citizenship and Federal Power during the War of 1812,” New York History 94, nos. 3– 4 (April 2014): 205– 20. Copyright © 2014 by The New York State Historical Association. For my family Contents Preface ix INTRODUCTION 1 1. “Obligations Arising from the Rights of Humanity” Prisoners of War and American Self- Image in the Revolution 16 2. “The More We Are Treated Ill Abroad” The Continental Congress, Public Opinion, and American Captives in Algiers, 1783– 1787 39 3. “A Speedy Release to Our Suffering Captive Brethren in Algiers” The Washington Administration and the Challenge of Public Opinion 61 4. “Millions for Defence, but Not a Cent for Tribute” Debate and Public Sentiment during the Tripolitan War, 1801– 1805 86 5. “We Shall Ever Be Prey of the Jealous and Monopolizing Spirit of the English” Impressment and Party Ideology in Jefferson’s Second Term 109 6. “Floating Hells of Old England” The Prisoner Debate and Federalist Opposition to the War of 1812 131 vii viii Contents 7. Mr. Madison’s Other War The Dartmoor Massacre, the End of the Barbary Wars, and American Self- Confidence, 1815– 1816 161 CONCLUSION “To Promote Each Other’s Welfare, and Mutual Feelings of Peace and Good Will” The Insecurity Bookending an Era of Free Security 191 Notes 199 Index 229
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