Border Diplomacy
240 pages, 5 1/2 x 8 1/2
Paperback
Release Date:07 Mar 2005
ISBN:9780817351588
Border Diplomacy
The Caroline and McLeod Affairs in Anglo-American-Canadian Relations, 1837-1842
University of Alabama Press
How the United States began to mature and establish itself as a nation contributing to international law
Long after Americans and Britons signed treaties ending the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, ill will between the two nations simmered under the surface of their relations and periodically boiled over. In the mid-nineteenth century, Americans, the British, and British subjects in Canada continued to dispute borders, sovereign rights and responsibilities, and the American republican experiment.
Some of the antagonism arose from a fundamental difference in attitude toward democracy. Britons believed that democratic government was inadequate to control the baser elements of a population. Further, they disliked the aggressiveness and arrogance of their former colonists. Americans sensed and resented this contempt; in turn, they regarded British aristocratic pretensions with scorn and believed that country sought world domination. In view of such attitudes, even relatively minor incidents threatened to erupt into violence between the two nations. Such was the case in 1837, when British troops set fire to the American steamer Caroline in American waters, killing a United States citizen, and in 1840, when the state of New York arrested a Canadian, Alexander McLeod, for the murder.
These events, taken together, are not simply examples of diplomatic relations or political problems for particular administrations. The dash of attitudes and loyalties along the American-Canadian frontier also demonstrates the instability of the border region, socially as well as politically, and conflicting motives of patriotism and political opportunism in both the American and British governments. Thus, the Caroline and McLeod affairs, occurring as they did at a pivotal moment in American history, reveal how the republic began to mature in its relations with its long-established forebear, refined its own definitions of state and federal powers, and established itself as a nation contributing to, as well as influenced by, international law.
Long after Americans and Britons signed treaties ending the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, ill will between the two nations simmered under the surface of their relations and periodically boiled over. In the mid-nineteenth century, Americans, the British, and British subjects in Canada continued to dispute borders, sovereign rights and responsibilities, and the American republican experiment.
Some of the antagonism arose from a fundamental difference in attitude toward democracy. Britons believed that democratic government was inadequate to control the baser elements of a population. Further, they disliked the aggressiveness and arrogance of their former colonists. Americans sensed and resented this contempt; in turn, they regarded British aristocratic pretensions with scorn and believed that country sought world domination. In view of such attitudes, even relatively minor incidents threatened to erupt into violence between the two nations. Such was the case in 1837, when British troops set fire to the American steamer Caroline in American waters, killing a United States citizen, and in 1840, when the state of New York arrested a Canadian, Alexander McLeod, for the murder.
These events, taken together, are not simply examples of diplomatic relations or political problems for particular administrations. The dash of attitudes and loyalties along the American-Canadian frontier also demonstrates the instability of the border region, socially as well as politically, and conflicting motives of patriotism and political opportunism in both the American and British governments. Thus, the Caroline and McLeod affairs, occurring as they did at a pivotal moment in American history, reveal how the republic began to mature in its relations with its long-established forebear, refined its own definitions of state and federal powers, and established itself as a nation contributing to, as well as influenced by, international law.
This brilliant study . . . [is] a thoughtful, balanced treatise on two related events that had major impacts on international law and on federal-state relations within the United States. . . . Steven’s placement of the Caroline case within the context of contemporary international law adds an additional insight not often found in works on the history of American foreign relations.’
—Journal of the Early Republic
This is the first full-scale study linking the Caroline and McLeod affairs and evaluating their influence on Anglo-America-Canadian relations in the late 1830s and early 1840s. . . . This well-research and well-written study is a valuable contribution essential to those who seek a clearer understanding of the impact of the Caroline and McLeod affairs . . . and of the significance of these events to determination of federal authority over American foreign relations.’
—American Historical Review
[An] engaging study . . . Steven’s account of the initiation, prolongation, and ultimate settlement of the dual imbroglio is thorough, clear, and thoughtful.’
—Journal of American History
Kenneth Stevens is a professor of history at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. After serving four years in the U.S. Navy, Dr. Stevens returned to academia to pursue his Ph.D. at Indiana University, where he also worked as an editorial assistant at the American Historical Review. Books he has authored include two volumes of the Diplomatic Papers of Daniel Webster, and an annotated bibliography of President William Henry Harrison. At TCU he teaches courses in U.S. Constitutional History, the American Presidency, and the Age of Jackson.
