rivals, contributing more than any other single event to make this war
indeed a "second war of independence." "Now," declared Henry Clay when
the news reached him in Paris, "I can go to England without
mortification." Finally, the battle brought Andrew Jackson into his
own as the idol and incarnation of the West, and set the western
democracy decisively forward as a force to be reckoned with in
national affairs.




CHAPTER III


THE "CONQUEST" OF FLORIDA

The victory at New Orleans made Jackson not only the most popular man
in the United States but a figure of international interest.
"Napoleon, returning from Elba to eke out the Hundred Days and add the
name Waterloo to history, paused now and then a moment to study
Jackson at New Orleans. The Duke of Wellington, chosen by assembled
Europe to meet the crisis, could find time even at Brussels to call
for 'all available information on the abortive expedition against
Louisiana.'"[3]

While his countrymen were sounding his praises, the General, however,
fell into a controversy with the authorities and people of New Orleans
which lent a drab aspect to the closing scene of an otherwise
brilliant drama. One of his first acts upon arriving in the
defenseless city had been to declare martial law; and under the decree