Josiah Quincy, a Notable Lawyer

Josiah Quincy, a notable lawyer, and congressional spokesman established a protest against the war and it was signed by thirty-four anti-war federalists. He said if the war requited what they lost, it would make the suffering less severe. He questions the purpose of the war and states that the United States is not going to benefit from the war. He did not want to be “deceived” by it and Quincy was a part of that time period and the thirty-four other anti-war federalists. They clearly saw that this war was futile and that retaliation is not going to benefit them. (Quincy, 1).

Due to the ill-defined causes and outcomes of the war, it can be deemed not only as a war that was unnecessary but also a war that was not satisfying. Most of the people of New England were against the war. It gained none of what they set out to gain from the British. The war also led to thousands of deaths for an outcome that didn’t have a major impact. It only ended up hurting the economy of the United States. When a part of the United States is against this war, it highlights that this war was not wanted by the people. They got lucky to end up concluding the war in better shape because if the British were not simultaneously involved in a larger conflict, the United States would have been utterly defeated.

The United States declared the ward first and lost it with no benefits. Is national honor a principle which thirsts after vengeance, and is appeased only by blood?” (Quincy, 1). This question clearly says that it was a nonsensical decision to take, going to war against a powerful country was not logical. The damage that it was caused could have well been predicted before the war. People lost their lives fighting for something that didn’t benefit them and give them what they wanted. The Era of Good Feelings was a misleading phrase to describe the time period. There was an economic depression that took place during this time.

Sectionalism existed which completely throws off unity and the Treaty of Ghent only helped in getting the United States to the condition it was in before the war. The two major outcomes, the Treaty of Ghent and the Era of Good Feelings did seem like it served as an advantage to the United States, but when carefully evaluated can be seen that it had little to no impact. From the indefinite causes and the outcomes, it can be said that the War of 1812 was impractical and insignificant that did not have a major impact. The end of war celebrations masked the fact that none of Madison's stated goals in the War of 1812 were achieved. (Heidler, 1).

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