History of the United States of America, Volume 9 (of 9) : $b During the second administration of James Madison — John Shaqi
History of the United States of America, Volume 9 (of 9) : $b During the second administration of James MadisonAdams, Henry
History
History of the United States of America, Volume 9 (of 9) : $b During the second administration of James Madison
Adams, Henry
United States -- History -- 1801-1809; United States -- History -- 1809-1817
These appointments were well received and readily confirmed by the
Senate; but Madison carried favoritism too far for the Senate’s
approval when, March 1, he nominated Major-General Dearborn to be
Secretary of War. Dearborn had few or no enemies, but the distinction
thus shown him roused such strong remonstrance that Madison hastened to
recall the nomination, and substituted Crawford in Dearborn’s place.
The Senate had already rejected Dearborn, but consented to erase the
record from their journal,[105] and Crawford became Secretary of War.
Thus the government in all its branches glided into the new conditions,
hampered only by the confusion of the currency, which could not be
overcome. The people were even more quick than the government to adapt
themselves to peace. In New Orleans alone a few weeks of alarm were
caused by extraordinary acts of arbitrary power on the part of General
Jackson during the interval before the peace became officially known;
but public order was not seriously disturbed, and the civil authority
was restored March 13. Elsewhere the country scarcely stopped to notice
the cost or the consequences of the war.
In truth the cost was moderate. Measured by loss of life in battle, it
was less than that reported in many single battles fought by Napoleon.
An army which never exceeded thirty thousand effectives, or placed more
than four thousand regular rank-and-file in a single action, could not
sacrifice many lives. According to the received estimates the number
of men killed in battle on land did not much exceed fifteen hundred,
including militia, while the total of killed and wounded little
exceeded five thousand.[106] Sickness was more fatal than wounds, but
a population of eight millions felt camp-diseases hardly more than its
periodical malarial fevers.
The precise financial cost of the war, measured only by increase of
debt, was equally moderate. During three years,--from February, 1812,
until February, 1815,--the government sold six per cent bonds at
various rates of discount, to the amount of fifty million dollars, and
this sum was the limit of its loans, except for a few bank discounts
of Treasury notes not exceeding a million in all. By forcing Treasury
notes on its creditors the Treasury obtained the use of twenty
millions more. After the peace it issued bonds and new Treasury notes,
which raised the aggregate amount of war debt, as far as could be
ascertained, to about eighty million five hundred thousand dollars,
which was the war-addition to the old nominal capital of debt, and
increased the total indebtedness to one hundred and twenty-seven
millions at the close of the year 1815.[107]
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