A special episode on the Election of 1800 is now available!
March 12, 2023

4.18 - Put Your Best Plot Forward

4.18 - Put Your Best Plot Forward

Year(s) Discussed: 1811-1812

In 1811, President Madison brought in a new US Minister who he felt might actually be able to navigate the complicated diplomatic intrigues of the Napoleonic French government to bring about a resolution to long-standing issues with that government as he and his administration worked with Congress to set the nation on a path of war with Great Britain. Meanwhile, on the border with East Florida, American agents gathered supplies and plotted to take that Spanish colony for the US. Sources used for this episode can be found at https://www.presidenciespodcast.com.

Special thanks to Allen of the Political History of the United States for reading the opening quote for this episode and to Christian of Your Podcast Pal for his audio editing work on this episode!

The transcript for this episode can be found here.

  • Ammon, Harry. James Monroe: The Quest for National Identity. Charlottesville, VA and London: University Press of Virginia, 1999 [1971].
  • Armstrong, Thom M. Politics, Diplomacy and Intrigue in the Early Republic: The Cabinet Career of Robert Smith 1801-1811. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co, 1991.
  • Buel, Richard, Jr. Joel Barlow: American Citizen in a Revolutionary World. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2011.
  • Cusick, James G. The Other War of 1812: The Patriot War and the American Invasion of Spanish East Florida. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 2007 [2003].
  • Elder, Robert. Calhoun: American Heretic. New York: Basic Books, 2021.
  • Hill, Peter P. Joel Barlow: American Diplomat and Nation Builder. Washington, DC: Potomac Books, 2012.
  • Johnson, David. John Randolph of Roanoke. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 2012.
  • Kaminski, John P. George Clinton: Yeoman Politician of the New Republic. Madison, WI: Madison House, 1993.
  • Ketcham, Ralph. James Madison: A Biography. Charlottesville, VA and London: University Press of Virginia, 1994 [1971].
  • Landry, Jerry. The Presidencies of the United States. 2017-2023. https://www.presidenciespodcast.com.
  • Madison, James. “Proclamation—Convening an Extra Session of the Congress, 24 Jul 1811.” Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/205317. [Last Accessed: 1 Jan 2023]
  • Masterson, William H. Tories and Democrats: British Diplomats in Pre-Jacksonian America. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, 1985.
  • Perkins, Bradford. Prologue to War, 1805-1812: England and the United States. Berkeley, CA; Los Angeles, CA; and London: University of California Press, 1974 (1961).
  • Rauch, Steven J. The Campaign of 1812. Washington, DC: Center of Military History, United States Army, 2013.
  • Risjord, Norman K. “Election of 1812.” History of American Presidential Elections 1789-1968, Volume I. Arthur M Schlesinger Jr, ed. New York: Chelsea House Publishers and McGraw-Hill, 1971. pp. 249-272.
  • Skeen, C Edward. John Armstrong, Jr. 1758-1843: A Biography. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1981.
  • Taylor, Alan. The Internal Enemy: Slavery and War in Virginia 1772-1832. New York and London: W W Norton & Co, 2013.
  • “VENABLE, Abraham Bedford 1758-1811.” Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/V000083. [Last Accessed: 8 Jan 2023]

Featured Image: "Plan of Amelia Island in East Florida" by Thomas Jeffreys [c. 1777], courtesy of Wikipedia

Intro and Outro Music: Selections from “Jefferson and Liberty” as performed by The Itinerant Band