A special episode on the Election of 1800 is now available!
April 30, 2023

4.20 - Once More Unto the Breach

4.20 - Once More Unto the Breach

Year(s) Discussed: 1812

With the path to war set, the Madison administration had to develop a strategy to prosecute warfare against Great Britain. On top of logistical difficulties, having a Secretary of War and a Secretary of the Navy with little to no military experience didn't help matters, and Congress hoped to force Madison's hand at changing up his Cabinet. Meanwhile, agents spurred on by the American government launched attacks against Spanish authorities in East Florida with the goal of delivering that colony to the United States. Sources used for this episode can be found at https://www.presidenciespodcast.com.

Year(s) Discussed: 1812

With the path to war set, the Madison administration had to develop a strategy to prosecute warfare against Great Britain. On top of logistical difficulties, having a Secretary of War and a Secretary of the Navy with little to no military experience didn't help matters, and Congress hoped to force Madison's hand at changing up his Cabinet. Meanwhile, agents spurred on by the American government launched attacks against Spanish authorities in East Florida with the goal of delivering that colony to the United States. Sources used for this episode can be found at https://www.presidenciespodcast.com.

Special thanks to Kevin and Ryan from the Almost Presidents Podcast for providing the intro quotes 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.

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  • Madison, James. “To Thomas Jefferson, 24 April 1812,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/03-04-02-0365. [Original source: The Papers of James Madison, Presidential Series, vol. 4, 5 November 1811–9 July 1812 and Supplement 5 March 1809 – 19 October 1811, ed. J. C. A. Stagg, Jeanne Kerr Cross, Jewel L. Spangler, Ellen J. Barber, Martha J. King, Anne Mandeville Colony, and Susan Holbrook Perdue. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1999, pp. 345–347.] [Last Accessed: 5 Mar 2023]
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Featured Images:

  • "Isaac Brock" [c. 1908], courtesy of Wikipedia
  • "Portrait of William Hull" by James Sharples Jr [c. 1800], courtesy of Wikipedia

Intro and Outro Music: "Hull's Victory," as performed by David and Ginger Hildebrand, courtesy of the Colonial Music Institute at George Washington's Mount Vernon