Box. But no, no, no. Im very happy and honored to be here with such a distinguished set of scholar and an even lovelier audience. Thank you so much to bill and to the White House Historical association, to the u. S. Capitol Historical Society and, of course, James Madisons mountpilyer for having me here. The slogan dont give up the ship, the figure of uncle sam, the star spangled banner, the proliferation of symbols that emerged from the war of 1812 constitutes a paradox. Though, as this conference demonstrates, much recent scholarship on the causes, conduct, and legacies of the war has produced fresh insights about the costs and gains of the war, even the combatants. At the time the treaty was signed, americans understood that peace gained them little and policy, International Power or territory. So on the one hand it seems contradictory that such a wealth of symbolism emerged at such a fectless endeavor. On the other hand, the very futile nature of the war. The victory that contempor
Government buildings at york, canada. Perhaps only one government building and perhaps not the American Army after all. This provided the burning of the public buildings provided opponents of the location with an opportunity to argue for removal without having to did he mean the city. During the month prior to convening of congress in late september 1814, residents expressed fears that the opponents of the city might prevail. Washington socialite eliz a, granddaughter of washington, went so far as to accuse secretary of war john armstrong, jr. , of allowing the british to capture the city in order to give ammunition to those who wished to move from the potomac and win himself Political Support in what might have been upcoming campaign. The 13th congress reconvened in the Patent Office on september 19th. While members talked privately about the possibility of an immediate removal, president James Madison assured them that the buildings were only the burning of the buildings were only a
Indeed less dangerous to their interests. The continental system, not this continent but the european continent, was beginning to destroy the economies of other european states. Napoleon protected france from the economic war by asset stripping all of the conquered territories. First country to rebel would be russia, napoleons only serious ally, and a Major Trading nation with a big export trade geared towards supplying the british market. Inside the continental system from 1807 to 1811 russia saw their economy collapse. Being part of napoleons team was very bad for your business. In 1811 the czar of russia, alexander, realized that if he carried on like this his country would be bankrupt and he would follow his father to an early grave. The last time russia had made war on brittain the czar was murdered and they changed the government. Basically most of the landowners in russia relied on selling goods to the british to pay their bills. So the czar decided that bankruptcy and debt was
And newspaper reports of the early republic has been regarded by historians as a form of capitol dmen tear and not the least because theyre quite colorful. Men and women reported back home on what dolly wore, served, how she moved, and how she treated people. But, we have to look at these descriptions not just as mere celebrity mentions. The people who regarded dolly so minutely, whether members of the ruling elite or ordinary americans and europeans invested in the republican experiment, what they were looking for and how she looked and how she behaved, they were looking for signs and clues about the madisons themselves, maybe a specific political event, especially the declaration of war. And even for the fate of the republic. Some theres a lot at stake in these descriptions. After the American Revolution at a time of flux and change with very few real political structures in place. These new americans focussed on the persons of their leaders and the number one person they subjected t
The symbol had survived and even increased in power and roosevelt dismissed any critics of the remodeling as yahoos. Thats all he said. The white house was lived in hard for the next some 40 years. World war i and ii passed by. Very little in world war i, world war ii. They lived it down. And it also was threatened with being dangerous for bombs and things during the war. We thought wed be attacked. Ms. Roosevelt wrote in the summer of 43 and said qun father expects los angeles to be bombed this summer. So the Great Depression was battled from its walls in world war ii. president coolidge in the 20s tore off the attic and added a lowprofile third floor. President franklin met with the corps of engineers after pearl harbor, and among the many negative documents, a particular one brought a week after pearl harbor called the house a fire trap. Roosevelt simply dismissed the report. I dont want to hear it. In 1945 came a president no one had ever heard much about. Harry s. Truman was a Pro