by ©2021 Sarah Becker The Art of a Nation “The art of a nation is one of its most refining influences, and is the highest expression of its civilization and culture,” The New York Times wrote in 1918. “Artistic endeavor must be preserved, for the history of a nation cannot be written without due regard to its artistic attainments: in many cases the art of a nation is the only thing that has come down to us.” August is Art Appreciation month and however cultural antiquities are defined—as art and or architecture—drawing, printmaking, painting, sculpture—monuments and or buildings—destruction is often associated with belligerent behavior. American history offers several examples of cultural destruction, including the British burning of Washington in 1814. Whether the loss is associated with the War of 1812, World Wars I&II, China’s Cultural Revolution, ISIS, or the January 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol the resulting devastation is undeniable. “Damage to the interior of the U.S. Capitol building was largely limited to shattered glass and broken furniture; the U.S. Capitol Rotunda doors; blue paint tracked through the hallways and graffiti,” The New York Times reported. “Statues including Virginia’s Thomas Jefferson, murals, and historic benches were damaged, as were several paintings. Chemical residue was found on two presidents portraits.” The events of January 6, 2021, were “difficult for the American people and extremely hard for all of us on campus to witness,” Architect of the Capitol J. Brett Blanton then said. Fortunately, “the eight monumental paintings in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, including The Baptism of Pocahontas, were assessed by a professional conservator following the assault and no significant damage was found.” Alexandria-born artist John Gadsby Chapman’s 12’ by 18’ oil on canvas—The Baptism of Pocahontas—was installed in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on November 30, 1840, and remains on…
They’re Burning Down the House! By Sarah Becker ©2018 President Donald Trump (R-NY) has done it again, he’s muddled history. On May 25, in a tetchy telephone conversation with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Trump unthinkingly said it was the Canadians, not the British who burned The White House in 1814. The British assault on Washington was in retaliation for an American attack on Ontario, then a British colony. The President referenced the War of 1812 when asked for what reason he claimed incoming Canadian steel and aluminum “a national security” issue. In the early 1800s the United States became inextricably involved in European affairs. Customs duties funded the federal government; British, French, and Spanish trading policies shaped local economies, and the ongoing commercial war between Great Britain and Napoleon’s France cost neutral American merchants unnecessarily. American merchants were little more than pawns. The North American continent was a showground of imperial competition. The British controlled Canada to the north, Spain controlled lands to the west and south. Both nations provided arms and encouragement to Native Americans, hoping to block American settlement beyond the Appalachian Mountains. As for Great Britain and France, “both sought to block the other’s commerce with America: through blockades, port closures, and the imposition of harmful customs duties,” Professor Michael Bottoms explained. “While both nations were equally guilty of abusing their American trading relationships, Americans focused their ire on Britain, partly because of Britain’s [sea-faring] impressment policy. The damage these policies did to the American economy, and to American prestige, led directly to war.” Georgetown resident and Federalist newspaper publisher Alexander Hanson, of Baltimore, described the War of 1812 as “without funds, without an army, navy or adequate fortifications.” Who were the War Hawks and to what extent did Americans support a second war with Great…
June begins my 20th year with the Old Town Crier and 228 columns later another begins…In celebration of Flag Day 2013 the Museum of the American Revolution replicated the American silk standard that marked Revolutionary War General George Washington’s presence on the battlefield. His Headquarters Flag, with its 13 stars, stood witness to the most pivotal battles of the American Revolution. Not all flags are as enduring. On June 14, 1777 the Continental Congress “resolved that the Flag of the thirteen United States” represented “a new constellation.” Yet eighty four years later the nation divided. During the Civil War General Washington symbolized not only the union’s togetherness (North), but also the second American Revolution (South). “Southerners generally associated George Washington’s image with rebellion,” Museum of the Confederacy historian John Coski explained. “That he was from Virginia made him all the more southern.” The city of Alexandria is located 100 miles north of Richmond, Virginia, the Confederacy’s 19th century capital. Alexandria, politically speaking, is a southern remnant and the Confederate flag flew proudly until 1969. It waved on special occasions. “Alexandria flies the [Confederate] flag [because] it has a special place in the hearts of those who honor their noble, albeit defeated, ancestors,” the Alexandria Gazette wrote. Black citizens who “equated the flag with slavery…and Jim Crow challenged the practice.” In 1969 “a band of black citizens marched on City Hall and ripped the [Confederate] banner to shreds.” Alexandria resident James M. Thomson, Democratic majority floor leader of the Virginia House of Delegates, complained. A segregationist, Thomson defended “the rights of those who cherish the [Confederate] flag as part of Virginia’s heritage.” A Byrd relative, Thomson “based his political strength on Alexandria’s white power structure.” “These days a flag has become less a clear symbol of allegiance and more a signal…
In the early 1800s the United States became inextricably involved in European affairs. Customs duties funded the federal government; trading policies shaped local economies and the ongoing commercial war between Britain and Napoleon’s France cost neutral American merchants unnecessarily. Great Britain controlled the high seas. In 1807 the British 52-gun frigate H.M.S. Leopold fired on the American 39-gun frigate U.S.S. Chesapeake three plus miles off Virginia’s shore. Four sailors were forcibly removed from the Chesapeake and impressed. Economic battles, President Jefferson’s Embargo Act followed. Ports closed, New Englanders protested, sectional politics intensified, the Act failed and impressment continued. War hawks dominated America’s foreign policy. US Senators Henry Clay (KY), Felix Mundy (TN) and John C. Calhoun (SC) were among them. They favored war with Great Britain. “Such a course,” war hawks argued, “was necessary to prevent British trade policies from further damaging the American economy.” War Hawks also believed the British were behind the on-going Indian attacks along the western frontier. The maritime dilemma was often debated and on June 18, 1812 President James Madison signed America’s declaration of war. Virginia Congressman John Randolph of Roanoke opposed Mr. Madison’s War with Great Britain. On May 29, 1812, he resolved that “under existing circumstances it [was] inexpedient to resort to war.” Randolph’s House colleagues disagreed. “[War] was not declared on the part of the United States until it was made on them, in reality though not in name,” President Madison said in his March 4, 1813 Second Inaugural Address. “On the issue of the war are staked our national sovereignty on the high seas and the security of an important class of citizens, whose occupations give the proper value to those of every other class.” America split politically. Marylanders aligned with Madison’s Democratic-Republican Party attacked Federalist publisher A.C. Hanson’s Baltimore newspaper…
By 1812 Virginia’s political dynasty was well entrenched. Democratic-Republican President James Madison, who succeeded Democratic-Republican President Thomas Jefferson, was preparing for re-election. Madison’s Secretary of State James Monroe was also Democratic-Republican. Treachery dominated the high seas, the 1806 Monroe-Pinckney Treaty failed and American sailors remained in peril. England and Napoleon’s France were at war. “To go to war with England and not France divides the Republicans, and arms the Federalists with new matter,” President James Madison wrote on May 25, 1812. “To go to war against both presents a thousand difficulties.” America declared war, Mr. Madison’s war on Great Britain on June 18, 1812. For army Major General, later Federalist Congressman Henry “Light-horse Harry” Lee the War of 1812 was deja vu. Henry Lee—born in Leesylvania, Virginia in 1756—was commissioned to serve but did not. British impressment was not his issue. National unity was. Like George Washington Lee—a Virginia dragoon in the Continental Army—understood the complexities of war. He “placed professionalism above regional ties” and favored a strong central union. Without a federal union, Lee felt commercial states like Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Delaware would “become ‘tributary disunited provinces’ of warring European nations.” In 1814 Massachusetts Governor Caleb Strong “went so far as to seek a separate peace.” “I went up to Alexa[ndria] to an Election of a Representative,” retired President George Washington wrote on April 24, 1799. Washington voted for Federalist Henry Lee. “Light-horse Harry” Lee was a Princeton College graduate who served under General Washington in the Revolutionary War, then—as Virginia Governor—mustered with President Washington to suppress Pennsylvania’s Whiskey Insurrection in 1794. It was US Representative Lee who, upon Washington’s death proclaimed him “first in war, first in peace…” Unlike George Washington Lee’s political career was not wholly successful. Lee resented Jefferson’s rampant ambition. He also…