A Republic, Not an Empire: Reclaiming America's Destiny

by Patrick J. Buchanan

Having seen how his neighbor and patron had written a glorious page in history with Louisiana, Madison was determined to write one of his own. “The acquisition of the Floridas,” the insightful French minister in Washington noted, “is the object of all of Mr. Madison’s prayers.”20 While Louisiana had given America control of the west bank of the Mississippi, on the east bank there extended a sliver of coastal land which ran like the barrel of a pistol along the Gulf of Mexico from Baton Rouge to Pensacola. This was West Florida, and it belonged to Spain. Some Americans insisted it had been part of Louisiana, but the U.S. claim was weak. Others had an idea how the claim might be strengthened. With Spain occupied with the Napoleonic Wars, American settlers in West Florida were encouraged to revolt. Seizing the Spanish fort at Baton Rouge, a mob tore down the Bourbon banner, dragged it through the dirt, and replaced it with a new flag—the flag of the Republic of West Florida. The “republic” immediately petitioned to join the Union. On October 27, 1810, Madison acceded. West Florida from the Mississippi to the Perdido River was declared U.S. territory, though Americans had cautiously occupied only the land from Baton Rouge to the Pearl River. John Quincy Adams, minister to Russia, undertook to explain it all to the tsar. Acquainted with Bonaparte, Alexander I replied pleasantly, “Everyone always grows a little in this world.”