WAR OF 1812
Officially, the War of 1812 began when the United States
Congress declared war on Great Britain on June 18, 1812.
The tensions that produced the war dated back to the 1790s
and had grown during the early 1800s as Britain found
herself at war once more with France. The major issues
revolved around trade restrictions as Britain sought to strike
at her enemy by cutting off trade with the United States.
Throughout the conflict with Great Britain, the American
press discussed and debated the various issues involved
while providing their readers with details of the war.
War almost broke out in 1807 when the British ship HMS
Leopard fired on the USS Chesapeake when her captain
refused to allow a search for deserters. American casualties
included three dead and eighteen wounded. Many Americans pushed for war, but President Thomas Jefferson was
able to avoid it at the time. Pressure built over the next five
years until war seemed unavoidable.
The American press played an important role in the
years of growing tension. Newspapers provided information about the arguments with Great Britain prior to
the war and details of the military conflict once war was
declared. But the role of the press in the War of 1812 was
complicated because of how it functioned prior to the
war. Political partisanship had dominated the American
media since the American Revolution, and those divisions
influenced the press coverage of the arguments with Great
Britain. The Republican press generally supported the
administrations of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison
as they responded to British actions, while the Federalist
newspapers initially urged caution and came out strongly
against the war once it had begun. Thus, the coverage of
the War of 1812 got caught up in the political partisan
battles of the early Republic.
Perhaps the most important newspaper during the
Republican administration of James Madison was the
National Intelligencer, edited by Joseph Gales Jr. and
William Winston Seaton. Throughout the war, Gales
and Seaton provided as much information as they could
acquire on military activities and the actions of Congress.
Their battle reports appeared in newspapers throughout
the nation because editors knew that Gales and Seaton, as
the semiofficial government paper, had good access to government reports.
The National Intelligencer also led the debate over
whether the war with Britain was a good idea. Even before
war was declared, Gales and Seaton urged Americans to
stand firm in face of British oppression. In the April 14,
1812, issue, they declared that “our wrongs have been great;
our cause is just; and, if we are decided and firm, success is
inevitable.” Once war was declared, they said that the time
for debate had ended. On June 27, 1812, Gales and Seaton
stated that “This is not the time for debating the propriety
of war. WAR IS DECLARED, and every patriot heart must
unite in its support.”
For Gales and Seaton, the time for discussion about
the war had ended. But for many other newspaper editors,
particularly those who supported the Federalist Party, the
war against Great Britain never made much sense. These
disagreements about the validity of the conflict continued
until war’s end. Some editors perceived the war as unavoidable, but the Federalists saw it as a big mistake. Throughout
the war, Federalists argued that the war was being fought
over meaningless issues and that it was a waste of lives and
money. Several leading Federalist newspapers came out
openly against the war with Britain. Included in this group
were the Federal Republican in Baltimore (Maryland), the
United States Gazette in Philadelphia, the Alexandria (Virginia) Gazette and New York Evening Post. As these papers
became more vocal in their opposition to the war, the issue
arose of how much press criticism could be allowed during
times of crisis. Madison, as author of the First Amendment
and a supporter of a free press, could not sanction government action against such critics, even when they seemed to
undermine the success of the government’s war effort. Many
people, however, did not agree with the president, and in
some parts of the country, opposition became increasingly
dangerous. Mobs drove both the American Patriot (Savannah, Georgia) and the Norristown Herald (Pennsylvania)
out of business in 1812. Crowds threatened other Federalist
editors with bodily harm if they did not end their opposition. The worst example of mob violence against a Federalist editor occurred in Baltimore in June 1812 when a mob
destroyed the office and equipment of the Federal Republican. Attacks on British sympathizers and anyone suspected
of secretly trading with the British continued in Baltimore
for two more months.
Once Congress actually declared war and Americans
braced for armed conflict, the press tried to keep readers informed about battles and other related events. News
reports about victories and defeats appeared on a regular basis. During most of the war, the news was not good
because the American military lost more than it won. By
and large, the Federalist press used losses to criticize the
war, while the Republican newspapers sought to put as
good a face as possible on the efforts of the U. S. military
forces. The U.S. Navy received great praise from all the
newspapers throughout the war because it succeeded very
well. During the fighting in 1812, it was the only branch
of the military that won anything. When covering land
engagements, many of which the United States lost, Republican newspaper editors sought to emphasize success and
downplay defeat. They reported every victory, no matter
how small. Blame for defeats, such as the loss of Detroit in
1812, fell on the generals in command. Such news stories
served as propaganda, and Republican editors continually
used them to urge Americans to fight until the United States
achieved victory.
The War of 1812 also spurred journalistic developments.
Since newspapers constituted the primary source of news
about the war, readers wanted current information. Editors
increasingly tried to get news in a timely manner. Larger
newspapers hired express riders to move news fairly rapidly around the country. Stories started appearing only days after
events, a great improvement over the several weeks time lag
that existed during the American Revolution. Newspaper
editors also encouraged better delivery of newspapers to
their readers. The postal service delivered newspapers on
an ever-increasing system of post roads. By the end of the
War of 1812, nearly forty-four miles of roads crossed the
country and stagecoaches were hired to improve mail delivery. The growth of post roads made acquiring a newspaper
fairly simple for Americans who lived near them.
Another development that slowly began at this time was a
desire for if not objectivity, at least political neutrality in the
press. Most newspapers during this era were far from objective, and few editors even considered it necessary. However,
there were some who thought the press should be less partisan. One of the first editors who tried to accomplish this goal
was Hezekiah Niles. He founded Nile’s Weekly Register in
Baltimore, in September 1811. He promised to be politically
neutral and sought to provide an unbiased printed record of
the actions of the national government. In his prospectus,
Niles promised that the Register would be open to people
of all political outlooks. During the more than twenty years
that he edited the Register, the journal never endorsed or
opposed any political candidate and Niles sought to present
a balanced view of the various political issues of the day.
Niles became one of the most respected journalists of the
era and set a standard that would become the goal of more
journalists by the end of the nineteenth century.
Newspapers continued to experience growth during the
War of 1812, but the rapid expansion of paper that had characterized the years since the end of the American Revolution ceased. As had been true earlier during the Revolution,
the war with Great Britain interfered with the press and discouraged its growth. When James Madison entered office
in 1809, 329 newspapers appeared throughout the country.
When peace finally came in 1815, the number had grown by
fewer than a hundred, to 413.
News of the war’s end and the signing of the Treaty of
Ghent elicited much comment in the newspapers. Many
Americans rejoiced over the news and public celebrations
took place throughout the country. People stopped working and joined together to rejoice over the heroic efforts of
soldiers and diplomats. For many Americans who believe
that the conflict, despite it setbacks, had been success, the
War of 1812 only confirmed the rightness of the republican experiment that had begun in 1776. The majority of
the American newspaper publishers in the United States
agreed with these sentiments. Even if they disagreed over
whether the war had been a good idea or not, both Republican and Federalist newspaper editors rejoiced that the war
had ended.
Further Reading
Humphrey, Carol Sue. The Press of the Young Republic, 1783–
1833. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1996.
Carol Sue Humphrey