Compensating Civilian Losses in the War of 1812: Navigating Politics and Slavery

Abstract

Course name Instructor’s name Assignment due date Applying Research Principles to Couse Material Article 1 [Name] The War of 1812 is one of the topics covered in Section 4 learning material and it describes the long-lasting effects the war had on American politics. It is an event that led to the burning of Washington alongside other military infrastructure by the British military. The article by Hollander (2020) describes the effects of the war on military infrastructure and later calls for the government to compensate the sufferers for their losses. In the article from the JSTOR database, the sufferers refer to the American citizens who lost their property as a direct result of the war. It was a time when Congress and the federal government deliberated in an issue of significance importance in the United States. Compensating Americans for losses they incur resulting from events beyond their control became an important issue after the end of the war in February 1815. One of the techniques that the military on both sides used was to cause damage to resources that could benefit their opponents. By burning civilians homes suspected of supporting the American soldiers, the British hoped to deter retaliation from the United States forces. Soon after the war, the sufferers and their advocates began deliberating on the suitable approach to recover their lost resources. Hollander (2020) demonstrates that they faced significant opposition from congressmen who criticized the efforts to compensate civilians from their losses. On the one hand, there were efforts to expand the compensation for lost private property from the war. However, there was opposition to such measures for those who felt that the federal government should not be responsible for the damages occurring during the war. An issue that arose during the deliberations was the role of the government in compensating slave owners for lost slaves. While the North and the South had united on the front for supporting more compensation for civilians, the issue of slavery caused a major shift in sectional politics. The South felt that slaves should be deemed as property and compensated in the same way as other property such as buildings and other structures. The support for the sufferers had caused representatives from both sides to agree to more resources for compensation. However, the representatives from the North argued that the federal government could not sanction slavery by compensating owners for losses. While slavery was a factor causing division in the early years of the United States, it became a significant force that led to more compensation for the sufferers on both sides. Connection to Section 4 Material The article describes the events occurring during and after the War of 1812 particularly concerning the loss of private property by American citizens. Strategies used by the military on both sides led to the destruction of government and private infrastructure. The course material in Section 4 describes the significance of the War of 1812 to the United States political and military development. British forces intended to hurt the morale of the American soldiers by targeting government buildings particularly in Washington. According to the video by American Battlefield Trust (2020), civilian infrastructure was also targeted in the destruction as a strategy by the British forces. The video describes the destruction of Washington as one of the most significant victories of the British during the war. The presser describes that during the destruction of government buildings in the war, “There was rampant looting and so even the private citizens didn’t get off scot-free from the burning. This is arguably America’s darkest hour” (American Battlefield Trust, 2020). Section 4 shows that the burning and looting of private property was a major issue during the War of 1812. Similarly, the article describes the significance of the war in shaping the government’s responses to losses incurred by citizens for events beyond their control. Additionally, both the article and the course material describe the War of 1812 as a major event that shaped the American political environment even after its end. According to the article, the issue of slavery emerged during the debate on compensation. The author demonstrates that the compensation issue showed the extent and limit to which the Northern and the Southern representatives would agree on the issue of sufferers. The advocates of sufferers on both sides agreed that Congress should allocate more resources to compensate the sufferers for all their losses including those caused by the American forces. However, the Northern representatives could not support any form of government response that showed support for slavery in the United States. Additionally, the course material highlights the role of the War of 1812 in shaping the political and military environment of the United States. By burning Washington, the British intended to embarrass the United States military and the government. They achieved this goal by forcing President James...