James Madison - First U.S. President to Use Covert Operations to Overthrow a Foreign Government?

From Our views: Mr. Madison, spy master?

Participants in the recent Baton Rouge gathering honored the 200th anniversary of the West Florida Republic  and reflected on the wider history of independence movements in the Spanish colonies of the Western Hemisphere.

One such Spanish colony existed in what is now Louisiana. But in 1810, many area residents tired of the arrangement, captured a fort at Baton Rouge, and declared the area an independent state, the Republic of West Florida.

The fledgling republic included all of the Louisiana parishes from Slidell to Baton Rouge. Some residents were in favor of remaining independent, while others wanted annexation to the United States.

President James Madison resolved the dispute by proclaiming that the United States always had considered West Florida a part of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. In December 1810, Gov. William C.C. Claiborne of the Orleans Territory took control of the fort at Baton Rouge by force.

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~ West Florida Bicentennial Celebration ~