Politics of war extra Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Politics of war extra - Essay Example The Captain of the Chesapeake refused to be boarded and the ship was fired upon by the Leopard; as a result, about three men of the Chesapeake were killed and 18 were wounded. The Captain then gave in to the inspection, whereupon, four members of the crew who were allegedly deserters were removed from the Chesapeake. When the maimed Chesapeake later returned to Norfolk, outrage from across the country was expressed by the American people. As a result, â€Å"American opinion not only supported, but demanded war† (Coles, p. 7). The present international laws and regulations on war were not in place in the 1800s. The existing international and legal policies surrounding the declaration of war during the 1800s lay in each state’s right to exist and declare war. â€Å"In the United States, it is confided to the federal legislature where it resides with the people and is retained by them as a portion of sovereign power; it must be exercised by them in their collective capacity as provided by constitutional law†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Halleck, p. 351). On June 4th 1812, President James Madison asked the Congress to declare war; the latter immediately approved Madison’s proposal. After much debate, and only by six votes, the Senate also approved Madison’s proposal (Katcher, et.al., p. 3). Based on this approved process of declaring war existing at such time, the War of 1812 is considered legal. The primary causes of the War of 1812 are the policies of impressment and trade imposed by the British Empire. Impressment subjected British subjects to compulsory military service and in service to the war being fought by the British Empire against Napoleon Bonaparte. Many British subjects who did not want to serve in the British military found work in many of the US ships and other American workplaces. Some Americans were also illegally impressed into service by the British military. This angered many Americans. Due