Message from the President of the U. States, Recommending an Immediate Declaration of War, Against Great Britain.
In his speech to Congress on June 1, 1812, President James Madison enumerated the several injustices and wrongs committed by Great Britain against the United States, including, among other grievances, the impressment of American sailors into the Royal Navy, the harassment of merchant vessels, and the blockading of commerce. Madison also spoke of the renewed hostilities between indigenous nations and the American settlers moving westward. It was believed that the British provided arms and ammunition and encouraged some indigenous peoples to attack American settlers.
With Madison’s long list of American grievances, Congress had the justification it needed to declare war on Great Britain. The House of Representatives voted 79 to 49 in favor of war, with the Senate following suit with a vote of 19 to 13. On June 18, 1812, Madison signed the declaration into law. It was first time the United States had officially declared war on another nation.
This pamphlet was printed and distributed by Roger C. Weightman in Washington, D.C.
Creator
Roger C. Weightman (printer)
Date Created
1812
Medium
Paper, Ink
Dimensions
[H]8 1/2 in. [W]5 in.
Catalog Number
1578.1
Credit Line
USS Constitution Museum Collection.
Terms of Use
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
