Prologue to War

Prologue to War: England and the United States, 1805-1812 offers a fresh and compelling reevaluation of the diplomatic tensions that culminated in the War of 1812. While numerous studies have explored aspects of this conflict, few have synthesized its various causes in a comprehensive manner since the work of Henry Adams. This volume seeks to fill that gap by drawing upon previously untapped manuscript materials, contemporary newspapers, and political pamphlets, with a particular focus on British policy—a dimension often oversimplified in American historiography. The study challenges prevailing interpretations that prioritize rational and material causes, arguing instead that emotion, national pride, and diplomatic missteps played equally decisive roles in shaping U.S.-British relations during this period.

The book positions the War of 1812 within a broader narrative of America's evolving quest for national identity and independence from European influence—an aspiration extending beyond mere recognition of statehood in 1783. By examining this struggle from 1805 to 1812, and ultimately into the postwar years, the study reveals the deep-seated tensions that influenced American foreign policy, from the frustrated ambitions of Jefferson and Madison to the more pragmatic approach of Monroe and John Quincy Adams. With its rigorous scholarship and critical reassessment of Anglo-American relations, Prologue to War offers essential reading for historians and political scholars seeking to understand the complex forces that shaped early U.S. diplomacy and national development.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1961.