a bit of history

 It was on this day that James Madison, and the congress of the United States of America, declared war upon Great Britain. June 18, 1812. The United States had had enough. Britain was involved in a war with the French, Napoleon flexing his muscles. As a result of that action Britain was impressing American sailors to serve on their ships! The British were also trying to block us from trade with the French, hurting pocket books in the new country. It was also suspected that the Brits were funding the Native Americans in the west to attack settlers. So, we called out the strongest military in the world! Almost immediately we scored several victories at sea. Monroe was aware our Army couldn't match the British on the ground and so the sea was chosen. Old Ironsides went into battle and defeated the British! Oliver Hazard Perry is possibly the great Admiral of that war. He is interred at the Naval Academy in Annapolis Maryland. Perry forced the surrender of an entire British flotilla, an event never before having taken place in British history! In doing so he sent his famous message, " We have met the enemy and they are ours. " With that defeat American forces on the ground were able to advance into Canada and defeat Tecumseh. With the death of Tecumseh any chance for a alliance of Native American tribes was destroyed also. Westward expansion of the United States would continue unchecked. The war ended in a stalemate on February the 17, 1815. Most of us only remember that in was in the war of 1812 that Washington was burned and that the Star Spangled banner was written by Francis Scott Key as he watched the battle at Fort McHenry. And some remember the battle of New Orleans, Jackson fought that battle after the war was technically over, the forces there just didn't know it. Sometimes called the second War of Independence that war is often forgotten about altogether. 

 The end of that war also marled the end of the Federalist party. By 1850 the name Republican was used in place of Federalist. Although the parties share many of the same ideals they are not exactly the same. The federalist party was formed by Monroe, Hamilton and Jay primarily to advocate for the ratification of the Constitution. What the Constitution says is what they believed. Basic tenets of the party are a strong central government, the three branches of government to contain power, and a fiscally responsible federal budget. With some exceptions that is what the Republicans want today. It would take someone far more informed than I to explain all of that. If you read the federalist papers you would get a good understanding of their thought processes. Perhaps they were a bit naïve in some respects, believing a bit more in honor, morals and ethical behavior than is expected today. Remember these were men that would die for an ideal. At the very least that would be the public persona. Yes, they were just men like all others I have no illusions about that, but perhaps a bit more committed. Public service was an honor and an obligation to those men, not a profitable position. An interesting note is Harry Truman, a Democrat said, "no young man should go into politics if he wants to get rich or if he expects an adequate reward for his services. " Sounds like something Hamilton would have said as Secretary of the Treasury. 

 Well that's a bit of history for this day. The War of 1812. Did you know if you served in that war you were entitled to a land grant? Yes, the government would grant you, as a bounty, 160 acres of land. Many who served received these grants but never lived upon them. Imagine that, 160 acres of land, free of charge.