America’s Vaguest Conflict
Donald Hickey’s history of the War of 1812 closely examines the international diplomatic incidents and political infighting that shaped what would essentially become America’s second war for survival. The international situation, dominated by the conflict between Britain and France, complicated the exchange of commerce between the new American republic and Great Britain. Hickey’s account of the prelude to war, and the war’s prosecution, reveals that the war’s desultory outcome, which ended in America’s survival, was remarkable in itself considering the incompetent military and administrative performance of the Americans.
Keywords: Donald Hickey, War of ...
