THE ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES MADISON 203
Hartford to consider the state of public affairs. After long
discussion, behind closed doors, the convention made a report
which strongly hinted that the time might come when the States
would be justified in withdrawing from the Union. “Acts of
Congress in violation of the Constitution,” the report went on to
say, “are absolutely void, and States that have no common um-
pire must be their own judges and execute their own decisions.”
Here was the doctrine of the Kentucky Resolutions, the doctrine
of nullification (p. 166), over again. Nothing important came of
the doings of the Hartford Convention, for the war ended al-
most before the report was made. MNevertheless the report
caused the leaders of the convention to become very unpopular,
and, since those leaders were Federalists, the convention did
much to hasten the death of the already dying Federalist
party.
151. The Battle of New Orleans.— Late in 1814 the British
sent a fleet of fifty vessels and an armıy of 16,000 veterans
under Sir Edward Pakenham against New Orleans. "The
purpose of Pakenham was to wrest the whole province of
Louisiana from the United States. If the British should be
successful in this purpose the great work of Jefferson would be
undone and the United States would lose half its territory.
Surely it was a great prize Pakenham was to fight for! The
defense of New Orleans was given over to Andrew Jackson,
who had an army of 6000 raw troops. Among Jackson’s men,
however, there were a great many Tennessee and Kentucky rifle-
men, who generally hit what they shot at. Jackson fortified the
city by throwing up earthworks. After several skirmishes
Pakenham made a last bold charge (January 8, 1815) upon the
banks of earth. The Americans did not fire until the British
were close at hand. Then the riflemen began to shoot, and
whole platoons of the British fell in their tracks. In twenty-five
Minutes Jackson had won the victory. The British lost their
ctommancder and 2500 men. The American,loss was 8 killed and
13 wounded.“ So Louisiana was saved to the United States,
152, The Treaty of Ghent; Results of the War,——If there
had been such a thing as a telegraph system in 1815, the battle
