On July 2, 1812, Captain David Porter raised a banner on the USS Essex proclaiming A free trade and sailors rights, thus creating a political slogan that explained the War of 1812. Free trade demanded the protection of American commerce, while sailors' rights insisted that the British end the impressment of seamen from American ships. Repeated for decades in Congress and in taverns, the slogan reminds us today that our second war with Great Britain was not a mistake. It was a contest for the ideals of the American Revolution bringing together both the high culture of the Enlightenment to...
On July 2, 1812, Captain David Porter raised a banner on the USS Essex proclaiming A free trade and sailors rights, thus creating a political slogan t...
