war of words with britain and maine
TRANSCRIPT
War of Words With Britain and Maineby Victoria Fernandez, Darian Weiand, Devin Ramos
Third war between Britain and America
Bloodless war through wordsAmerican debt to British
lenders. Maine boundary dispute
Tensions Between American and Britain
Tension between America and Britain still existed after two AngloAmerican wars.
ProBritish Federalist died out leaving no support for them in America.
American population made up of mostly Americanborn natives shaping their own culture.
Aristocratic British scorned upon everything that the Americans were.
Travel books were published by the British painting America in a negative light.
War of Words
Attacks on America in British magazines discussing Yankee “shortcomings.”
Americans fired back arguing the British arguments were hypocritical.
All fighting was done in literature no blood was shed or formal words exchanged by the governments.
Lack of a copyright right law angered British authors, including Charles Dickenson.
American Debt to British Lenders
In the nineteenth century Americans began building canals and railroad which were costly.
Britain creditors lended money to Americans
Britain creditors were not popular with Americans.
British felt like the Americans owed them.
Panic of 1837 cause many Americans to default on their bonds or renounce them.
“Yankee Doodle borrows cash,
Yankee Doodle spends it,
And then he snaps his fingers at
The jolly flat [simpleton] who lends it.”
Revolt in Canada
Americans provided military supplies and assisted the armed forces.
America had a neutrality law but they couldn’t enforce the unpopular law.
British attacked the America steamer Caroline who was carrying supplies to Canada over Niagara river violating neutrality.
A Canadian man, McLeod, admitted to taking part in the attack and indicated for murder and the London Foreign office declared his execution would result in war. He found an alibi and was cleared.
Tension arose again in 1841 when British officials offered 130 Virginia slave asylum.
Maine Boundary Dispute
The British wanted to construct a road westward from the harbor of Halifax to Quebec which stretched through disputed territory claimed also by Maine in the Peace Treaty of 1783.
The road was desire to provide defensive precaution against Yankees when the St. Lawrence River froze during the winter.
Both Maine and Canada entered the territory with the local militia.
The small collide was called the Aroostook War.
The Maine Boundary Settlement
Before the dispute expanded into a fullblown war, the London Foreign Office sent an Lord Ashburton, an unofficial diplomat who was married to an American woman.
Cordial relations with Secretary Webster established quickly and the two men came to the compromise.
Americans gained 7,000 of the 12,000 square miles.
Britain won the HalifaxQuebec rote. CanadianAmerican boundary was adjusted
further west and resulted in a gain of 6,500 square miles that contained the Mesabi iron ore of Minnesota.