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War Hawks Inflame the Nation
John C. Calhoun

Engraving of John C. Calhoun, 1873
Tennessee Historical Society Picture Collection

Convincing Congress to declare war against one of the mightiest military powers in the world was no easy task. Many Democratic-Republican members of the Twelfth Congress, which convened in November 1811, insisted that Great Britain had violated America's honor once too often. Young, energetic politicians, mostly from the South and the West and known as War Hawks, initiated legislation designed to steer the United States towards war.

Leaders of this group included Henry Clay of Kentucky, John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, and Felix Grundy of Tennessee. Grundy, in particular, set the tone for the War Hawks by proclaiming he would rather have war than further "submit" to British insults. Opponents of the War Hawks cynically blamed the War of 1812 on "James Madison, Felix Grundy, and the Devil." The rhetoric of the War Hawks, much of it published in the newspapers of the day, succeeded in inflaming the anti-British sentiments that had been festering since the American Revolution. It was not by coincidence that the War Hawks called the impending contest with Great Britain the "second war for independence."

Tennessee's War Hawks:

 

John Sevier

John Sevier
Library Photograph Collection

John Sevier
(1745-1815)

John Sevier led Continental forces to victory at King's Mountain during the American Revolution and fought countless battles with Native Americans prior to Tennessee statehood. He served as the first governor of Tennessee and was elected to Congress in 1811. He headed the Military Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives during the War of 1812.

Felix Grundy

Felix Grundy
Tennessee Historical Society Picture Collection

Felix Grundy
(1775-1840)

Felix Grundy of Nashville served in the U.S. House of Representatives and emerged as a national leader of the War Hawks. He was known as the greatest defense attorney in both Tennessee and Kentucky and he later served in the U.S. Senate and as Attorney General of the United States under President Martin Van Buren.

George Washington Campbell

George Washington Campbell
Library Photograph Collection

George Washington Campbell
(1768-1843)

George Washington Campbell was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1811 and served as Chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs. He resigned from the Senate in 1814 to accept the position of Secretary of the Treasury in President James Madison's cabinet.

John Rhea

John Rhea
Tennessee Historical Society Picture Collection

John Rhea
(1753-1832)

As a representative of Sullivan County in the Tennessee General Assembly, John Rhea led the committee that drafted the guiding rules of the legislature. He entered into national politics in 1802 and was a member of the House of Representatives until 1823. Rhea was a champion of states' rights and an advocate of higher education. Among other early institutions, he was a founder of Blount College, which later became the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

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Henry Clay

Engraving of Henry Clay by James Barton Longacre
Tennessee Historical Society Picture Collection

Andrew Jackson

Engraving of Andrew Jackson by W. H. Dodd, 1855
Library Photograph Collection

Andrew Jackson

Engraving of Andrew Jackson
Library Photograph Collection

Andrew Jackson

Portrait of Andrew Jackson by Thomas Sully
Tennessee Historical Society Picture Collection



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