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He gives his opinion on the importance of impressment to the completion of negotiationsThe U.S. was unprepared for the War of 1812, and the fortunes of war proved vacillating. There were successes, such as William Henry Harrison?s victory in the northwest in the Battle of the Thames, in which Tecumseh was killed, and Oliver H. Perry?s victory on Lake Erie. But there were also failures, such as Gen. James Wilkinson?s expedition against Montreal; also, Fort Niagara was lost, Black Rock and Buffalo were burned, and great quantities of provisions and stores destroyed. The American hope of conquering Canada began to look like a dream, and the threat remained that the British and their Indian allies might yet gain a hold over territory in the American west in order to create an Indian buffer state between the U.S. and the Mississippi River. The British blockade of the U.S. eastern seaboard was constantly growing tighter; not a single American man-of-war was on the open sea. Meanwhile the discontent with the war prevailing in New England, which was destined to culminate in the Hartford Convention, continued to be active and to threaten rebellious outbreaks. But the most ominous event was the worstening and then downfall of Napoleon?s prospects, the likely conclusion of peace in Europe, and, in consequence, the liberation of the military, naval, and financial resources of Great Britain for a vigorous prosecution of the war in America. In 1813 the Americans agreed to mediation to end the war, but the British declined and instead in early 1814 offered direct peace talks to be held at Gothenburg on the west coast of Sweden. The U.S. accepted that offer.The head of the American negotiating team was John Quincy Adams, the U.S.?s most experienced diplomat. The four men who served with him were carefully selected by President Madison to reflect the varieties of political sentiment in the United States. Foremost among them was Henry Clay, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and a noted War Hawk. Albert Gallatin had served as Secretary of the Treasury for both Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. James Bayard was a U.S. Senator belonging to the Federalist Party who had been an opponent of the war, and was one of the 13 Senators to vote against declaring it. However, once the war began he supported the war effort. Jonathan Russell was acting U.S. ambassador to Britain when war was declared. In addition to being a negotiator, he was also serving as ambassador to Sweden and Norway. He proved instrumental in achieving the final peace terms. Adams, Gallatin and Bayard were already in Europe for the abortive mediation effort. Clay and Russell traveled from the U.S. to Europe, arriving at Gothenburg on April 14, 1814. There they found that the site of the negotiations had been moved to Ghent, Belgium, where they would go with some reluctance, as that city was garrisoned by British troops.William H. Crawford was sent as U.S. ambassador to France in 1813, with orders to demand the repeal of the Berlin and Milan Decrees (put in place by Napoleon to attempt to strangle the British Islands, but in doing so interfering with U.S. commerce), to protest violations of American trading interests, and to attempt to negotiate a commercial treaty. During the peace negotiations, he was responsible for superintending the American consuls in Europe and keeping them informed of developments. More than that, he was an advisor to the President on the happenings on the Continent. As Ambassador to the Court of one of the two major adversaries in the conflicts in Europe, he was also actively involved in the Ghent negotiation process, advising the negotiators and responding to their confidential communiqu?s. He would later serve as Secretary of War and Secretary of the Treasury under Presidents Madison and Monroe.In the Spring of 1814, Napoleon was sent to exile on the island of Elba and peace negotiations were well underway, diminishing the importance of France. Englan. Seller Inventory # 21352
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