War Hawk - Historical Group

Historical Group

The term originated with a historical group known as the War Hawks, consisting of Democratic-Republicans and were primarily from southern and western states. (The American West then consisted of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio, as well as territories in the Old Northwest that did not yet have votes in Congress.) Largely from the older block of the Congress and encompassing most Republicans, the War Hawks advocated going to war against Britain for reasons related to the interference of the Royal Navy in American shipping, which the War Hawks believed hurt the American economy and injured American prestige - though that did not directly affect the land-locked states. Of more direct concern to them, War Hawks from the western states also believed that the British were instigating American Indians on the frontier to attack American settlements, and so the War Hawks called for an invasion of British Canada to punish the British and end this threat.

The term "War Hawk" was coined by the prominent Virginia Congressman John Randolph of Roanoke, a staunch opponent of entry into the war. There was, therefore, never any "official" roster of War Hawks; as historian Donald Hickey notes, "Scholars differ over who (if anyone) ought to be classified as a War Hawk." Indeed, one scholar believes the term "no longer seems appropriate." However, most historians use the term to describe about a dozen members of the Twelfth Congress. The leader of this group was Speaker of the House Henry Clay of Kentucky. John C. Calhoun of South Carolina was another notable War Hawk. Both of these men became major players in American politics for decades. Other men traditionally identified as War Hawks included Richard Mentor Johnson of Kentucky, William Lowndes of South Carolina, Langdon Cheves of South Carolina, Felix Grundy of Tennessee, and William W. Bibb of Georgia.

The older members of the Party, led by United States President James Madison and Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin tried unsuccessfully to defeat the War Hawks movement. They felt the United States was not prepared for war.