Negotiating in War and Peace: Perspectives

British Vice Admiral Alexander Cochrane’s April 1814 Proclamation made a promise that the British would welcome those who departed the United States. Aimed at enslaved African-Americans, Cochrane had a thousand copies distributed in the Chesapeake region. Runaway slaves could negotiate for their freedom by joining the British military, or by relocating as a free people to a British colony.

The impacts the War of 1812 had on tribes were simply devastating. Afterwards, the United States was firmly established as the preeminent power in North America, growing in size and power each passing year. With a military force at its disposal and an expanding need for land, tribal nations knew: accept the terms given by the United States, or face annihilation.

It was true during the War of 1812, and remains so today. There is no guarantee that personal, political, and ethnic loyalties match international borders.

Some Republicans expected the declaration of war against Great Britain to force concessions without spilling blood. Thus with the ink from the war’s declaration scarcely dry on the page, the Madison administration began initiating peace feelers immediately.