War hawk
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A war hawk, or simply hawk, is a term used in politics for someone favoring war in a debate over whether to go to war, or whether to continue or escalate an existing war. War hawks are the opposite of doves. The terms are derived by analogy with the birds of the same name: hawks are predators that attack and eat other animals, whereas doves mostly eat seeds and fruit and are historically a symbol of peace.
Historical group
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."[2] One scholar believes the term "no longer seems appropriate".[3] 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 include 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.[1]
The notion that this loose faction of congressional War Hawks pressured President James Madison to pursue armed conflict with Great Britain is both enduring and dubious. Historians such as Clement Eaton claim that Madison and Treasury Secretary Albert Gallatin felt that the United States was unprepared for war and unsuccessfully attempted to defeat the War Hawk movement.[1] However, as J.C.A. Stagg notes, this is unlikely due to the relationship between the legislative and executive branches in the early Republic. Congress was loosely organized and rarely took policymaking initiative. The President set the legislative agenda for Congress, providing committees in the House of Representatives with policy recommendations to be introduced as bills on the House floor.[4]
Variations of the term
In modern American usage "hawk" means a fierce advocate for a cause or policy, such as "deficit hawk" or "privacy hawk".
The term also created the term "chicken hawk", referring to a war hawk who avoided military service.
The term liberal hawk is a derivation of the traditional phrase, in the sense that it denotes an individual with "socially liberal" inclinations coupled with an aggressive outlook on foreign policy.
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Donald Hickey, The War of 1812: A Forgotten Conflict (Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 1989), p. 334n.8.
- ↑ Daniel M. Smith, The American Diplomatic Experience (Boston, 1972) p.60
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
