War Sparks Northern Secession Movement

18 June 1812 

On this date in 1812...

U.S. President James Madison signed a congressional declaration of war against Great Britain, marking the beginning of the War of 1812. The war would be bitterly opposed by New England states and led to their threatened secession at the Hartford Convention despite the fact that the war was mainly fought by Southern troops on Southern soil.

Other Years:

• 1730 - Seven Cherokee representatives met with Britain's King George II at Windsor Castle in London to acknowledge him as the sovereign of all the Cherokee people.
• 1864 - The federal siege of Petersburg, Virginia began.
• 1948 - The United Nations Commission on Human Rights adopted its International Declaration of Human Rights, a document the United States government has steadfastly refused to sign. 
• 1959 - Governor of Louisiana Earl K. Long was committed to the Louisiana State Mental Hospital. Still acting as governor, Long responded by firing the hospital's director and replacing him with a supporter.  The new director immediately proclaimed Governor Long to be perfectly sane.

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