June 1,
1812, transmitted a special message to congress in which he reviewed
the whole controversy, and spoke in strong terms of the aggressions of
Great Britain upon commercial rights. The act declaring war between
Great Britain and America speedily followed. The president gave it his
approval on June 18, and promptly issued his proclamation calling upon
the people to prepare for the struggle, and to support the government.

A short delay would probably have defeated the policy of the war party,
and re-opened the old negotiations. A decree of the French emperor had
been exhibited to the United States minister to France, dated April 28,
1811, which declared the definite revocation of the Berlin and Milan
decrees, from and after November 1, 1810. In consequence of this, Great
Britain, on June 23, within five days after the declaration of war,
repealed the obnoxious orders in council in relation to the rights of
neutrals, and thus removed one of the main grounds of complaint on the
part of the American government.

On June 26, before the course of the British Cabinet was known in
America, Mr. Monroe, Secretary of State, wrote to Mr. Russell proposing
the terms of armistice. These were a repeal of the orders in council,
with no illegal blockades substituted, and a discontinuance of the
impressment of seamen. In the latter part of August, Mr. Russell, our
representative at London, received from the English Government a
definite refusal to accede to these propositions, as 'on various grounds
absolutely inadmissible,' he therefore returned to the United States.

In September Admiral Warren arrived at Halifax. In addition to his naval
command, he was invested with powers to negotiate a provisional
accommodation with the United States. A correspondence on the subject
ensued between himself and Mr. Monroe, as the representatives of the two
countries. The admiral proposed an immediate cessation of hostilities,
with a view to the peaceful arrangement of the points at issue.

Monroe replied that his government was willing to accede to this
proposition, provided Warren was authorized and disposed to negotiate
terms for suspending in the future the impressment of American seamen.
The British Government refused to relinquish the claim to this right and
nothing remained but war.

On March 4, 1813, Madison entered upon his second term of service. He
had received 128 electoral votes; his opponent DeWitt Clinton, 89 votes.
The congre