"The United States," says Henry Adams, "had a superfluity of only too good causes for war with Great Britain." (Adams: Life of Albert Gallatin, 445.) Adams emphasizes this: "The United States had the right to make war on England with or without notice, either for her past spoliations, her actual blockades, her Orders in Council other than blockades, her Rule of 1756, her impressments, or her attack on the 'Chesapeake,' not yet redressed,—possibly also for other reasons less notorious." (Adams: U.S. v, 339.) And see Roosevelt, chaps, i and ii.
[101] Annals, 12th Cong. 1st Sess. 1675-82.
[102] Salem Gazette, July 7, 1812, as quoted in Morison: Otis, i, 298.
[103] Story to Williams, Aug. 24, 1812, Story, i, 229.
[104] Pickering to Pennington, July 12, 1812, N.E. Federalism: Adams, 389.
[105] Of course the National courts were attacked: "Attempts ... are made ... to break down the Judiciary of the United States through the newspapers, and mean and miserable insinuations are made to weaken the authority of its judgments." (Story to Williams, Aug. 3, 1813, Story, i, 247.) And again: "Conspirators, and traitors are enabled to carry on their purposes almost without check." (Same to same, May 27, 1813, ib. 244.) Story was lamenting that the National courts had no common-law jurisdiction. Some months earlier he had implored Nathaniel Williams, Representative in Congress from Story's district, to "induce Congress to give the Judicial Courts of the United States power to punish all crimes ... against the Government.... Do not suffer conspiracies to destroy the Union." (Same to same, Oct. 8, 1812, ib. 243.)
Jefferson thought the people were loyal: "When the questions of separation and rebellion shall be nakedly proposed ... the Gores and the Pickerings will find their levees crowded with silk stocking gentry, but no yeomanry." (Jefferson to Gerry, June 11, 1812, Works: Ford, xi, 257.)
[106] Stoddert to McHenry, July 15, 1812, Steiner: Life and Correspondence of James McHenry, 581-83.
[107] "To the Citizens of the United States," in the Spirit of Seventy-Six, July 17, 1812.
[108] Stoddert refers to this person as "Jo Davies." By some this has been thought to refer to Marshall's brother-in-law, "Jo" Daveiss of Kentucky. But the latter was killed in the Battle of Tippecanoe, November 7, 1811.