Mourning a Murder: The Death of John Pierce, Local Politics, and British-American Relations

Abstract:This essay examines how localities shaped federal policy and influenced foreign affairs in the early nineteenth century. By examining the local, national, and international response to the accidental killing of John Pierce on the Leander by British warships off the coast of New York in 1806, this piece argues for the importance of studying national issues, like national sovereignty, in local contexts. Building off of recent political and diplomatic histories that have recentered individuals and cultural politics in the study of foreign affairs, this essay traces how the local response to Pierce's death created a national outcry, directly affected on-going negotiations with the British empire, and laid the groundwork for future protests regarding national sovereignty. By expanding more traditional ideas of diplomacy to include local political leaders and the cultural politics of people in the street, this essay seeks to reinvigorate the diplomatic history of the early republic. The aftermath of the Leander affair demonstrates how diplomatic negotiations happened on a local, state, national, and international level between formal and informal political actors and how local issues helped define national priorities, create a national identity, and shape understandings of national sovereignty.