A history of the United States . d ; but it was tardyand lacking in cos-mopolitan breadth ofview. 300. Outlook for theWar of i8i2. —Notonly was the War of1812 a political blun-der in so far as itlielped Napoleon byharassing Great Brit-ain, but also owing to the condition of America at thetime of its inception. The national finances were by nomeans adequate to its cost, and the incompetence of Gallatinssuccessor in the Treasury Department made the borrowingthat had to be undertaken especially burdensome. Thearmy, too, was small and poorly officered at the first. Thevolunteers were brave and in
A history of the United States . d ; but it was tardyand lacking in cos-mopolitan breadth ofview. 300. Outlook for theWar of i8i2. —Notonly was the War of1812 a political blun-der in so far as itlielped Napoleon byharassing Great Brit-ain, but also owing to the condition of America at thetime of its inception. The national finances were by nomeans adequate to its cost, and the incompetence of Gallatinssuccessor in the Treasury Department made the borrowingthat had to be undertaken especially burdensome. Thearmy, too, was small and poorly officered at the first. Thevolunteers were brave and in the West were very anxious toserve, but they and their leaders absurdly overrated the easewith which Canada could be conquered. Henry Clay actuallyboasted that his Kentucky constituents could accomplish this 1 This statement, put thus baldly, is probably an exaggeration, but it is cer-tain that strong pressure was brought to bear on Madison, and that he finallyyielded to the War Hawks, as the party opposed to peace was John C. Calhoun. 228 ADMINISTRATIONS OF MADISON, 1809-1817. [§ 301 exploit without assistance. Besides, the political discontent ofNew England, where the Federalists were English sympathizers,and where much capital was invested in shipping which wouldbe cooped up during the war, made it difficult to secure militiafrom the very portion of the country nearest the chief seat ofoperations. Volunteers were indeed obtained from New Eng-land, and after a while both officers and men made a bettershowing in the field. But when all is said, the land operationsof the war, except in the splendid instance of the battle ofNew Orleans, afford little cause for patriotic gratification. Aprediction to this effect might have been made about the navy,for the less than two score American vessels seemed but a baga-telle in comparison with the British navy, which contained aboutfifty times as many.^ But in the end the exploits of our seamenformed almost the sole bright spot
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