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This workbook is intended for anyone who is interested in learning Italian, whatever the reason. It is aimed primarily at adult learners of the language.
The workbook has been devised for use in conjunction with the Routledge Intensive Italian Course. The units closely follow the topics and language structures of the course. However, this workbook can also be used on its own or with any other coursebook for consolidation and practice.
The workbook covers all the activities and functions normally explored by a beginners’ syllabus, i.e. meeting people, making travel arrangements, etc., but it goes further, covering situations such as working, studying and renting an apartment in Italy, and including materials focused on the Italian media: cinema, television, the press and advertising.
In terms of grammar structures, the exercises contained in the workbook vary in level of difficulty, not only progressively through the book but also within the individual units, thus providing scope for a range of abilities and satisfying even the most demanding learners.
Flexible in its structure, the workbook offers a wide range of exercises from puzzles such as odd ones out, crosswords and anagrams, to more challenging activities based on articles and interviews. You can choose a vocabulary-based activity or a grammar drill, a language manipulation exercise or an up-to-date reading comprehension.
Because the book also contains an Answer Key, it will prove useful not only to tutors for consolidating specific points of grammar or focusing on a particular topic, but also to those students who want to practise the language through additional independent study.
Open-ended exercises have also been included to encourage learners to communicate more spontaneously, and to allow some autonomy and encourage creativity.
Additional materials and support for tutors are also available on the Routledge website.
We would like to thank our family and friends, colleagues and students for their support, especially those who gave advice in the preparation of this book. We’d also like to thank everyone at Routledge, especially Sophie Oliver, Suzanne Cousin and Sarah Butler for their help and infinite patience.
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Unit 1 Ciao, mi chiamo
Exercise 1 Supply the questions for the following answers. Example: Si chiama Antonia? Come si chiama?
a.Sono Marco, e tu?__________________________________________
b.No, non siamo inglesi.__________________________________________
Exercise 3 Match each famous place with its description. One is done for you.
1.Un’alta torre francese.a.Taj Mahal
2.Un grande museo spagnolo.b.Carnaby Street
3.Una bella piazza italiana.c.Tour Eiffel
4.Uno stupendo monumento indiano. d.The Empire State Building
5.Una famosa strada inglese.e.San Pietro
6.Un magnifico edificio americano. f.El Prado
Exercise 4 Find twelve nationalities hidden in the grid. They may be placed horizontally, vertically or diagonally.
H A M E R I C A N A
Z T P M O Q A D U P
G I A P P O N E S E
A I T A L I A N O W
D W T R X N D A R R
B O L A N D E S E P
N O C Y I I S Z Z A
I C X C N A E L Z U
Q S P A G N O L I X
D E H S L O W Y V O
R D E S E D E V S L
V E M U S C M T I D
O T W R E L X B R N
Exercise 5 Complete the statements by adding the appropriate nationalities. Example: Carla e Angelo sono _______.Carla e Angelo sono italiani.
a.Sean è _______. ____________________________________
b.Mary è _______. ____________________________________
c.Hans è _______. ____________________________________
d.Carmen e Pablo sono _______. ____________________________________
e.Antoinette è _______. ____________________________________
Exercise 6 Put the following dialogue in order, starting with c.
a.George White. E Lei?
b.È italiano, vero?
c.Buongiorno. Come si chiama?
d.Molto piacere. Io mi chiamo Enzo, Enzo Pernice.
e.No, sono svizzero.
Exercise 7 Change the dialogue in Exercise 6 from the formal (Lei) to the informal (tu) style of address.
Exercise 8 Find the correct expression for each situation described below.
a.How would you greet an Italian friend?
b.What do you say when you have just been introduced to someone?
c.During the day how would you greet a new acquaintance?
d.How would you part formally from someone at any time of the day?
e.What would you say just before going to bed?
Exercise 9 Find the odd one out in each line. The first one is done for you.
a.tramezzino, spremuta , pasta, cornetto
b.aranciata, acqua minerale, tè, limonata
c.dolce, caldo, bollente, tiepido
d.colazione, pranzo, spuntino, cena
e.cioccolata, caffè, espresso, cappuccino
Exercise 10 Insert the missing number in each sequence.
a.due , _______, sei, otto
b.uno, _______, cinque, sette
c.nove + sei – _______ = dieci
d.uno + _______ = sette
e._______ – due = sei
Exercise 11 Choose the correct indefinite article for each of the drinks below. Then insert one of the letters shown under that article in the box next to the drink. In the right order, the letters give the name of another famous Italian drink. The first one is done for you.
un’ (a)unaununo on, l l, m, c, l, oi, e
a._un__ analcolico l f. _______ amaro
b._______ Strega
c._______ Campari
g. _______ stravecchio
h. _______ Martini
d._______ acqua minerale i. _______ (birra) Nastro Azzurro
e._______ Sambuca
j. _______ cognac
Exercise 12 Unscramble the anagrams of the adjectives below. The first letter is in place.
Example: chiagacito ghiacciato
a.dalcoc_________
b.altosas_________
c.cledod________
d.telenblob________
e.forddef_________
Exercise 13 For each adjective you found in Exercise 12, choose all the foods and drinks it can apply to and change both nouns and adjectives into the plural.
Exercise 14 Fill in the blanks in the following sentences.
a._________ me una birra.
b.Una bibita e _________ toast.
c._________ un caffè e una pasta.
d.E per _________, Signore?
e._________ un tè, Mauro?
f.E Lei, che cosa _________?
Exercise 15 A group of friends is at a bar. Look at the menu and work out from their preferences described below what each is likely to order and how much each bill will be.
PARADISO
Espresso0,75Pizzette1,30
Cappuccino1,30Toast1,80
Caffè freddo1,00Tramezzini1,50
Tè freddo alla pesca/limone1,00Paste assortite1,30
Gelati in coppa1,80
Bibite lattine1,30
Acqua naturale0,75 gassata0,75
Succhi di frutta1,00
Spremute1,55
Birra nazionale2,00 estera2,50
Superalcolici2,00
1.Pippo is thirsty and would like a fizzy drink. He is also very hungry and will eat two sandwiches.
2.Alessandro loves Italian beers. He always has two of these and a toasted sandwich.
3.Sergio adores ice creams, accompanied by freshly squeezed orange juice.
Exercise 16 Place the words below in the correct column.
Exercise 1 Find the female equivalent of the following family members. Example: Cognato cognata
a.Cugino________f.Nipote________
b.Figlio________g.Nonno________
c.Fratello________h.Padre________
d.Genero________i.Suocero________
e.Marito________j.Zio________
Exercise 2 Solve the puzzles.
Example: È il fratello di mio padre. Mio zio.
a.È la madre di mio padre.________
b.È anche lei figlia di mia madre.________
c.Sono i figli di mio fratello.________
d.È la sorella di mia madre.________
e.È il figlio di mio zio.________
f.Sono i genitori di mio padre.________
Exercise 3 Complete the sentences by joining the two halves. The first one is done for you.
1.Questa qui è a.americano.
2.Sì, mio padre èb.nonni materni.
3.Ho solo due c.la mia sorella più piccola.
4.Mia zia èd.cugini ma sono simpatici.
5.Io sono più grande die.molto divertente.
6.No, loro sono if.mio fratello.
Exercise 4 Draw Elisabetta’s family tree from her description below.
Mi chiamo Elisabetta e sono ‘single’. Ho due sorelle più grandi. Mia sorella Marta è sposata e ha due figli, Sergio di cinque anni e Laura di due.
L’altra sorella si chiama Antonia, anche lei è sposata e ha una bambina, Miriam, di undici mesi.
Il marito di Marta, Ernesto, ha un fratello, Giorgio, e una sorella, Maria.
Aldo, invece, il marito di Antonia, è figlio unico.
Mio padre ha tre fratelli: Gabriele, Maurizio e Corrado; mia madre invece ha solo una sorella, Francesca.
Exercise 5 Read Elisabetta’s description of her family tree again and answer the following questions in Italian, making full sentences.
a.Quanti fratelli e sorelle ha Elisabetta?________
b.Chi è Sergio?________
c.È sposata Elisabetta?________
d.Come si chiama il marito di Marta?________
e.Quanti figli ha Antonia?________
f.Come si chiama la madre di Elisabetta?________
g.Chi sono Gabriele, Maurizio e Corrado?________
h.Quanti anni ha Laura?________
i.Chi è Giorgio?________
j.Ha fratelli Aldo?________
Exercise 6 Fill in the blanks with the correct possessives, and then place them in the crossword grid. Placed in the right order, the letters entered already will give you the Italian word for foreigner.
1.Questo è mio fratello con ________ figlio.
2.Sì, è di Paolo e Angela. È il ________ cane.
3.Che sorpresa...Marco, Chiara! E i ________ bambini?
4.Tuo padre?!? Allora questa è ________ madre!
5.No, abbiamo solo una bambina. È la ________ prima figlia.
6.Ti presento i ________ genitori.
Exercise 7 Match each adjective to the corresponding picture. annoiatostancocontentostupidoloquace intelligentetriste
Exercise 8 Put the words below in order, to make complete sentences. a.un metro e 60, calma, sono, abbastanza, snella, alta, e, simpatica b.verdi, ha, di media statura, capelli, occhi, e, neri, è c.serio, noioso, molto, fratello, mio, antipatico!, è, è, chiuso, e d.bassa, con, grassa, ma, mia, capelli, nonna, i, e, dinamica, è, bianchi, molto, è e.gemelli, capelli, sono, occhi, siamo, più, abbiamo, e, castani, ma, alto, biondi, io f.l’altro, e, triste, due, è, loquace, stupido, fratelli, allegro, uno, sono, intelligente, è, pigro, sempre
Exercise 9 Find the odd one out in each line. The first one is done for you.
a.noioso, vario, monotono, ripetitivo
b.divertente, spiritoso, allegro, generoso
c.alta, bassa, grassa, media
d.tranquillo, stancante, pesante, faticoso
e.aperti, impegnativi, estroversi, simpatici
f.bruna, mora, chiara, scura
g.egoista, introverso, taciturno, chiuso
h.castani, brizzolati, bianchi, grigi
Exercise 10 A monster or a being from outer space? Look at this strange creature and complete its description, using the words below. orecchiepiediocchigambeditatestemaninasobraccia
Questa strana creatura ha due ______. Una è molto grande con quattro ______, un ______ largo e tre narici. L’altra è più piccola, con la ______ stretta e due ______. Ha solo due ______ molto piccole. Non ha ______ ma tre antenne. Ha quattro ______ e due ______ per braccio. Una mano ha dieci ______. È molto alto e magro con due ______ soltanto ma ogni gamba ha tre ______.
Exercise 11 Rewrite all the words you have used to complete Exercise 10, changing singular words into the plural and plural words into the singular.
Exercise 12 Put the following dialogue in order, and guess what Enrico’s job is. Start with c.
a.Bene, bene ma sono un po’ stanco.
b.Son tante, se stai in piedi tutto il giorno!
c.Ciao. Come stai?
d.Lavori troppo tu! Quante ore fai?
e.Beh, sì. O dietro al bar o tra i tavoli.
f.Mah...dipende. Di solito otto ore.
g.Povere gambe!! Devi cercarti un lavoro meno pesante.
Exercise 13 Mary needs some help. She has her people and jobs all muddled up. Can you help her? Link each Italian word with its English equivalent. Then write the job under the corresponding picture with the correct indefinite article.
1.CHEMIST attore
2.TEACHER dentista
3.SECRETARY parrucchiere
4.LAWYER farmacista
5.DOCTOR regista
6.DENTIST bibliotecario
7.HAIRDRESSER cuoco
8.ACCOUNTANT insegnante
9.LIBRARIAN avvocato
10.CHEF segretaria
11.ACTOR commercialista
12.FILM DIRECTOR medico
Exercise 14 Below are the descriptions of some professions. Give their names, choosing from those listed in Exercise 13.
a.Lavora in un ristorante e cucina bene.____________________________
b.Dà e riceve molti libri.____________________________
c.Lavora con il computer e scrive lettere.____________________________
d.È spesso al cinema.____________________________
e.Spiega e usa libri.____________________________
f.Vede molte bocche ogni giorno.____________________________
g.Lavora con capelli corti e lunghi.____________________________
Exercise 15 Each time you find questo in the sentences below replace it with quello and vice versa.
Example: Non hanno più questa automobile.Non hanno più quella automobile.
a.Vorrei leggere questo libro.____________________________
b.Viviamo in questa città da dieci anni.____________________________
c.Usa sempre quelle scarpe vecchie.____________________________
d.Guardo spesso quel programma.____________________________
e.Beve sempre questi superalcolici.____________________________
f.Questi sono i figli di Mario e quelli di Franco.____________________________
Exercise 16 Write questions for the following answers. Example: No, Marco è figlio unico. Ha fratelli, Marco?
a.Mio fratello studia architettura.____________________________
b.Sono un ricercatore.____________________________
c.Ornella è un bel tipo: carina, intelligente . . .____________________________
d.Suo padre fa il pediatra.____________________________
e.No, io non sono sposata.____________________________
f.Siamo in quattro: mia madre, mio padre, mia sorella e io.____________________________
Exercise 17 In Italian, how would you . . .
a.ask a friend how old his son is?____________________________
b.ask a woman formally if she is married?____________________________
c.say that you are an accountant?____________________________
d.ask a friend if his girlfriend is blonde and tall?____________________________
e.say that your job is boring and tiring?____________________________
f.ask how many people there are in your friend’s family?____________________________
g.say that Patrizia is a cheerful and open girl?____________________________
Unit 3 In viaggio
Exercise 1 Find either the opposite (opp.) or the synonym (syn.) as instructed, of the words below.
Example: partenza (opp.) arrivo
a.andata (opp.)_______
b.sovrapprezzo (syn.)_______
c.riservato (syn.)_______
d.in orario (opp.)_______
e.ratifica (syn.)_______
f.assegno (opp.)_______
Exercise 2 Match the descriptions of the different types of trains with their names listed below.
a.Treno lento che fa moltissime fermate intermedie.
b.Treno che viaggia tra una regione e l’altra facendo molte fermate.
c.Treno più veloce e che fa meno fermate dei primi due.
d.Treno veloce con poche fermate su cui si paga un supplemento.
e.Treno superveloce con pochissime fermate che unisce paesi diversi.
f.Treno superveloce simile ad un aereo che viaggia entro l’Italia senza fare fermate intermedie.
1.Eurocity4.Espresso
2.Interregionale5.Pendolino
3.Intercity6.Regionale
Exercise 3 Reread the descriptions of the trains in Exercise 2. What type of train will you choose if you:
a.need to go from Roma to Parigi?__________________________________
b.want to reach a small town between Verona and Venezia?__________________________________
c.want to go from Roma to Milano the fastest way possible?__________________________________
d.are in Milano and want to go to Torino but are not in a hurry?__________________________________
e.want to go from Bologna to Firenze in a hurry but without paying a fortune?__________________________________
Exercise 4 Unscramble the anagrams below to find eight things you would see in a railway station and insert each word or phrase into the correct sign. The numbers in brackets show how many letters there are in each separate word. The first one is done for you.
e.tronpo cosorscop_____(6) ________(8)
f.stodepio glabigad_______(8) _______(7)
g.gottige marstirio______(7) ________(8)
h.raibiniaa_(2) ______(6)
Exercise 5 Answer the following questions in full, using the words given in brackets.
Quanto ci vuole . . .
Example: per arrivare ad Alessandria? (quattro ore) Ci vogliono quattro ore.
a.ancora? (pochi minuti)
b.in macchina? (un’ora, un’ora e mezza)
c.da Milano a Lodi? (mezz’ora circa)
d.a piedi? (dieci minuti)
e.con la metropolitana? (un quarto d’ora)
Exercise 6 Answer each question by writing the correct time in numbers next to it. Use the 24-hour clock.
Che ore sono a . . .
a.New York quando a Londra sono le tre e venti del mattino?
b.San Francisco quando a Londra è l’una del pomeriggio?
c.Lima quando a New York è mezzanotte?
d.Lisbona quando a Londra sono le cinque meno cinque del pomeriggio?
e.Delhi quando a Londra è mezzogiorno?
f.Pechino quando a New York sono le due e un quarto del pomeriggio?
g.Sydney quando a New York sono le undici meno un quarto del mattino?
Exercise 7 Find hidden in the grid the Italian for the means of transport given below. Which is the only one that requires a preposition other than in? A few letters have been highlighted to help you.
Exercise 8 You are travelling from Milano to Pisa and need to be reassured by the controllore (ticket inspector) about something. Complete the dialogue by inserting the missing questions.
C:Buongiorno Signori. Biglietti prego. Scusi, Signora, non ho capito. Cosa vuol sapere?
Exercise 11 Where are the items in column A normally found in a hotel room?
First supply the missing prepositions and articles in column B, then match the items in column A with the locations in column B. The first one is done for you.
AB
1.la poltrona a. ________ comodino
2.la lampadab. ________ muro
3.il fon c. vicino al letto
4.il quadrod. ________ cassetto
5.il telefonoe. ________ finestra
6.la tendaf. ________ tavolo
7.l’elenco telefonicog. ________ bagno
Exercise 12 Solve this crossword about hotels.
ORIZZONTALIVERTICALI
3.Quella con...costa di più.1.È un posto dove mangiare.
6.Aiuta ad arrivare ai piani alti.2.Si chiama per bisogno.
8.È la prima stanza dell’albergo.4.Serve per comunicare.
9.Un albergo ne ha molti.5.È nel bagno ma non è il bagno.
10.Aiuta ad avere il numero corretto.7.Sono più economiche degli hotel. 11.Soffia aria calda.
Exercise 13 Match the sentences on the left with their meaning on the right.
1.No, non ho capito.a.Could you speak more slowly, please?
2.Scusi, può parlare più lentamente?b.Could you repeat, please?
3.Mi scusi, può ripetere?c.Does anybody here speak English?
4.Che cosa ha detto?d.I am sorry but I don’t understand.
5.Mi dispiace ma non capisco.e.Excuse me, please!
6.C’è qualcuno che parla inglese?f.No, I haven’t understood.
7.Senta, scusi.g.What did he say?
Exercise 14 Fill in the blanks with the adjectives given below. Attenzione! Remember the agreements.
comodopiccolograndeeleganterumorosotranquillo
a.È un albergo centrale, molto ________ e naturalmente molto caro.
b.Ci sono 250 camere. È veramente ________.
c.Questa camera è troppo ________! Non c’è neanche una sedia.
d.La pensione è senz’altro ________. Fuori città non c’è molto traffico.
e.Le stanze più ________ sono quelle sulla piazza principale.
f.Ho proprio tutto in camera. È davvero ________!
Exercise 15 Put the following dialogue in the correct order. Start with f.
a.Due notti soltanto, dal 22 al 24.
b.Mi dà un documento per favore?
c.Per quante notti, Signore?
d.€90 a notte, colazione compresa.
e.Sì, ne abbiamo tre; una con vista sul mare.
f.Buongiorno. Avete una camera singola per domani?
g.€75 inclusa la colazione.
h.Ah, bene. Quant’è quella con vista sul mare?
i.E le altre due?
j.Bene. Prendo quella con vista sul mare.
k.Sì, ecco il passaporto.
Exercise 16
Read the list of services provided by the Hotel Centrale and indicate whether the statements that follow are true or false by circling either V (vero) or F (falso).
a.You can eat in the hotel after 11 p.m.V/F
b.On Monday at 9:30 a.m. you can have your hair cut in the hotel.V/F
c.I am staying in room 345. To talk to me you need to dial 6345.V/F
d.In the hotel they sell stamps.V/F
e.You have stained your suit and you can dial 851 to get it cleaned by the hotel.V/F
f.There is something wrong with the shower. You dial 871.V/F
SERVIZIO TELEFONICA HOTEL CENTRALE
Tel. (06) 8877 – Telex 164263
SERVIZIO IN CAMERA ORARIO 06.30/10.00 12.00/15.00 19.00/22.30 851
LAVANDERIA – STIRERIA – LAVAGGIOA SECCO 52067
SVEGLIA 871/872
MEDICO 871/872
RISTORANTE SELF-SERVICE ORARIO 06.30/10.00 12.00/15.00 19.00/22.30 851 BAR HALL ORARIO 07.00/24.00 876
SHOPPING CENTER 07.00a.m.–23.00p.m. (profumeria,articolidaregalo, sigarette,francobolli,etc.) 51204
MANUTENZIONE 871/872
ATTENZIONEPREGO!!!
Per comunicare con un’altra camera dell’albergo formare il numero 6 prima del numero della cameradesiderata. Qualora il numero della camera richiesta terminasse con la lettera “B”, bisogna formare due volte il numero 6 seguito dagli ultimi 3 numeri della camera desiderata. Esempio: per la 3301/B bisogna formare6/6/301.
Exercise 17 In Italian, how would you . . .
a.say you want a return ticket for Venezia?________________________________
b.ask if you need to change trains?________________________________
c.ask if the train is on time?________________________________
d.ask at what time is the connection?________________________________
e.say sorry but you haven’t understood?________________________________
f.ask for a double room for three nights?________________________________
g.say that the phone doesn’t work?________________________________
h.ask if breakfast is included in the price?________________________________
i.say that the room is noisy?________________________________
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CHAPTER VI.
The war fever of 1811 swept far and wide over the country, but even at its height seemed somewhat intermittent and imaginary. A passion that needed to be nursed for five years before it acquired strength to break into act, could not seem genuine to men who did not share it. A nation which had submitted to robbery and violence in 1805, in 1807, in 1809, could not readily lash itself into rage in 1811 when it had no new grievance to allege; nor could the public feel earnest in maintaining national honor, for every one admitted that the nation had sacrificed its honor, and must fight to regain it. Yet what honor was to be hoped from a war which required continued submission to one robber as the price of resistance to another? President Madison submitted to Napoleon in order to resist England; the New England Federalists preferred submitting to England in order to resist Napoleon; but not one American expected the United States to uphold their national rights against the world.
Politicians of the old school looked coldly on the war spirit. Nations like individuals, when driven to choose between desperate courses, might at times be compelled to take the chances of destruction, often destroying themselves, or suffering irreparable harm. Yet the opponents of war could argue that Americans were not placed between desperate alternatives. They had persevered hitherto, in spite of their leaders, in the policy of peace; had suffered much injury and acute mortification, but had won Louisiana and West Florida, had given democracy all it asked, and had remained in reasonable harmony with the liberal movement of the world. They were reaping the fruit of their patient and obstinate husbandry; for Russia and Sweden were about to fight their battles without reward. Napoleon offered them favors more or less real, and even England could not long resist the pressure of her interests. Jefferson’s policy had wrought all the evil it could cause,—perhaps it had cost the highest price the nation could pay; but after the nation had suffered
the evil and paid the price, it had a right to the profit. With more force than in 1798, the old Republicans pleaded that if they should throw aside their principles and plunge into hostilities with England, they would not only sacrifice the results of six years’ humiliation, but would throw the United States athwart the liberal movement of Europe, destroy the hopes of pure government at home, and with more eagerness than they had shown for the past ten years in stripping government of its power, must devote themselves to the task of rebuilding a sovereignty as terrible in peace as in war.
The moment for fighting, conservatives argued, had come in 1807, had passed in 1809; and henceforward good policy called only for perseverance in the course that had been so persistently preferred. Not merely old Republicans, but an actual majority of the people probably held these opinions; yet the youthful energy of the nation, which had at last come to its strength under the shelter of Jefferson’s peaceful rule, cried out against the cowardice of further submission, and insisted on fighting if only to restore its own selfrespect.
The course of Massachusetts had much to do with changing the current of opinion. Hitherto this State had barred the way to a British war. Although the Republican party in Massachusetts several times elected their candidate for governor by majorities more or less decisive, they failed to gain full control of the State legislature before 1811. In 1810 they elected Elbridge Gerry and a majority of the representatives, but they still lacked one vote to give them control of the Senate. In April, 1811, Gerry succeeded once more, defeating Christopher Gore, the Federalist candidate, by a majority of three thousand votes; while the House, which consisted of some six hundred and fifty members, chose a Republican speaker by a majority of thirty-one. For the first time the Republicans controlled also a majority, though only of one vote, in the State Senate. This success, gained in spite of the unpopular Non-importation Act, gave extraordinary confidence to the Government, and left the Federalists powerless. Timothy Pickering lost his seat in the United States Senate, and Speaker Varnum received it. The Republicans hastened
to introduce, and to carry through the Massachusetts legislature, measures that threatened to upturn the foundation of Federalist society. Other measures still more radical were expected. Jefferson’s hopes of reforming Massachusetts were almost fulfilled; but the success which gave reality to them removed the last obstacle to war with England.
As the autumn advanced, the Republican newspapers broke into a general cry for war. The British minister’s refusal to withdraw the Orders in Council, the return of Pinkney from London, the affair of the “Little Belt,” the notorious relations between the northwestern Indians and the British traders,—all served to increase the ill-temper of a public trying to lash itself into an act it feared. Even the battle at Tippecanoe, although evidently contrary to British interest, was charged to British influence. As though England had not already given cause for a score of wars, the press invented new grievances; and became as eager to denounce imaginary crimes as to correct flagrant and chronic wrongs.
The matter of impressments then began to receive the attention which had never yet been given it. Hitherto neither Government nor people had thought necessary to make a casus belli of impressments. Orders in Council and other measures of Great Britain which affected American property had been treated as matters of vital consequence; but as late as the close of 1811, neither the President, the Secretary of State, nor Congress had yet insisted that the person of an American citizen was as sacred as his property. Impressments occurred daily. No one knew how many native-born Americans had been taken by force from the protection of the American flag; but whether the number was small or great, neither Republican nor Federalist had ventured to say that the country must at all hazards protect them, or that whatever rules of blockade or contraband the belligerents might adopt against property, they must at least keep their hands off the persons of peaceable Americans whether afloat or ashore. President Madison had repeated, until the world laughed in his face, that Napoleon no longer enforced his decrees, and that therefore if England did not withdraw her
blockade, war would result; but he had never suggested that America would fight for her sailors. When he and his supporters in earnest took up the grievances of the seamen, they seemed to do so as an afterthought, to make out a cause of war against England, after finding the public unwilling to accept the cause at first suggested. However unjust the suspicion might be, so much truth existed in this Federalist view of Madison’s course as warranted the belief that if England in July, 1811, had yielded to the demand for commercial freedom, the Government would have become deaf to the outcry of the imprisoned seamen. Only by slow degrees, and in the doubtful form of a political manœuvre, did this, the worst of all American grievances, take its proper place at the head of the causes for war.
Winter drew near, finding the public restless, irritable, more than half afraid of its own boldness, but outspoken at last. British frigates once more blockaded New York, seizing ships and impressing men without mercy, while the British prize-courts, after a moment’s hesitation, declared that the French Decrees were not repealed, and that American vessels sailing to France were good prize. Under these irritations the temper of the American press became rapidly worse, until war was declared to be imminent, and the conquest of Canada became the favorite topic of newspaper discussion.
Yet the true intentions of the President and his Cabinet were as uncertain as those of the Twelfth Congress, which had not yet met. A very large part of the public could not believe war to be possible, and the Government itself shared so far in the doubt as to wait for Congress to give the impulse so often refused. When the President and his Cabinet met in Washington to prepare for the session of Congress called for November 4, a month earlier than usual, neither the Cabinet nor the congressmen felt a certainty of the future; and so little did the outside world believe in war, that Madison, Monroe, and Gallatin were supposed to be aiming at a diplomatic rather than at a military victory. In truth they had no well-defined plan. The process by which a scattered democracy decided its own will, in a matter so serious as a great and perhaps fatal war, was new to the
world; bystanders were surprised and amused at the simplicity with which the people disputed plans of war and peace, giving many months of warning and exact information to the enemy, while they showed no sign of leadership, discipline, or union, or even a consciousness that such qualities were needed. Men like Josiah Quincy, Rufus King, John Randolph, and even Madison and Gallatin, seeing that the people themselves, like the machine of government they had invented, were incompetent to the work of war, waited with varied emotions, but equally believing or fearing that at last a fatal crisis was at hand.
Monroe was far from easy; but he had accepted, as was his wont, the nearest dominating will, and he drifted without an effort, although his old friends had already parted company with him. Though obliged to support the President in holding that Napoleon’s decrees were withdrawn so that they had ceased to violate the neutral commerce of the United States, he showed that he did so, not so much because he thought it the truth, as because England gave him no choice. To Serurier, the French minister, Monroe made little concealment of his real wishes; and when Serurier first called at the Department after Monroe’s return from Virginia, he heard nothing that greatly pleased him.
“I found the Secretary of State,” wrote Serurier, October 23,[122] “nearly in the same state of mind in which I left him at his departure for Virginia. He told me at the outset that although the information received by the President during the last two months had added to his hopes, it had not yet completed his conviction on the decrees; that he could not believe them entirely repealed so long as there remained in our ports a single vessel captured by our privateers since November.... He pretended that very recent advices from Naples announced an order sent lately from Paris to sell the American prizes, and this news had been very disagreeable to the Executive, and had thrown it into new uncertainties.... He returned again to our customs-tariff, and the indispensability of its reduction.”
Serurier exerted himself to infuse what he called proper spirit into the secretary’s temper, complaining that England was actually
engaged in making war on American commerce with France while enjoying all the advantages of American trade,—
“A very dangerous situation for an alliance, I added, where all the advantage is for your enemies, and all the loss is for your friends. Mr. Monroe agreed to all this; but he pretended that this false position could be viewed only as a transition to a more decided state of things; that the present situation was equally burdensome and intolerable to the citizens, and little suited to the dignity of the Government; that it was necessary to wait for despatches from Mr. Barlow. Then he fell back once more on his theme,—that whenever they should be perfectly satisfied on the side of France, and also of the Emperor’s friendship, they would certainly adopt very energetic measures toward England.... ‘We shall not go backward,’ said Mr. Monroe to me; ‘we shall be inflexible about the repeal of the Orders in Council. But in order to go further, to bring us to great resolutions, the Emperor must aid us; private and public interest must make the same demand. The President does indeed hold the rudder of the Ship of State; he guides, but it is public opinion which makes the vessel move. On France depends the winning of public opinion; and we wish for it, as you can well conceive that in our position we should.’”
Serurier knew no more than this, which was no more than all the world could see. The British minister was not so well informed. After an exchange of notes with Monroe, which left matters where they were, Foster learned from Monroe, October 30, that the Government was waiting for Barlow’s despatches, and if these should prove unsatisfactory, some restriction of French commerce would be imposed by way of retaliation on the restrictions imposed by Napoleon.[123] Foster hoped for a turn in affairs favorable to himself, and tried to bring it about, not only by suggesting to Lord Wellesley the wisdom of concessions from England, but also by offering a frank and fair reparation for the “Chesapeake” outrage. He wrote, November 1, to the Secretary of State renewing the formal disavowal of Berkeley’s unauthorized act, and offering to restore the men to the vessel from which they had been taken, with compensation to themselves and families. Somewhat coldly Monroe accepted the offer. The two surviving seamen were in due time brought from their prison at Halifax and restored to the deck of the
“Chesapeake” in Boston harbor; the redress was made as complete as such tardy justice could ever be, but the time had passed when it could atone for the wrong.
Both Foster and Serurier felt that the people were further advanced than the Government in hostility to England, and that this was especially true in the matter of impressments; but no one, even at the White House, knew certainly what to expect from the new Congress assembling at Washington Nov. 4, 1811. That this body differed greatly from any previous Congress was clear, if only because it contained some seventy new members; but another difference, less easily measured, was more serious. The active leaders were young men. Henry Clay of Kentucky, William Lowndes, John Caldwell Calhoun, David R. Williams, Langdon Cheves of South Carolina, Felix Grundy of Tennessee, Peter Buell Porter of New York, Richard Mentor Johnson of Kentucky, had none of them reached his fortieth year; while Madison and his Cabinet belonged to a different generation. None of the new leaders could remember the colonial epoch, or had taken a share in public life except under the Constitution of 1789, or had been old enough to feel and understand the lessons taught by opposition to the Federalist rule. They knew the Federalists only as a faction, more or less given to treasonable talk, controlling some thirty or forty votes in the House, and proclaiming with tedious iteration opinions no one cared to hear. The young war Republicans, as they were called, felt only contempt for such a party; while, as their acts showed, they were filled with no respect for the technicalities of their Executive head, and regarded Gallatin with distrust. Of statesmanship, in the old sense, they took little thought. Bent on war with England, they were willing to face debt and probable bankruptcy on the chance of creating a nation, of conquering Canada, and carrying the American flag to Mobile and Key West.
After ten years devoted to weakening national energies, such freshness of youth and recklessness of fear had wonderful popular charm. The reaction from Jefferson’s system threatened to be more violent than its adoption. Experience seemed to show that a period
of about twelve years measured the beat of the pendulum. After the Declaration of Independence, twelve years had been needed to create an efficient Constitution; another twelve years of energy brought a reaction against the government then created; a third period of twelve years was ending in a sweep toward still greater energy; and already a child could calculate the result of a few more such returns.
Had the majority of the House been in a gentler mood, its choice for Speaker should have fallen on Macon, once more a sound party man prepared to support war; but Macon was set aside. Bibb of Georgia, a candidate of the minority, received only thirty-eight voices, while seventy-five were given for Henry Clay. Clay was barely thirty-four years of age, and was a new member of the House; but he was the boldest and most active leader of the war Republicans. He immediately organized the committees for war. That on Foreign Relations, the most immediately important, was put into the hands of Porter, Calhoun, and Grundy. Military affairs were placed in charge of David R. Williams. Langdon Cheves became chairman of the Naval Committee. Ezekiel Bacon and Cheves stood at the head of the Ways and Means.
November 5 the President’s Message was read, and its account of the situation seemed to offer hardly the chance of peace. England, it said, had refused the “reasonable step” of repealing its Orders in return for the extinction of the French Decrees; while the new British minister had made “an indispensable condition of the repeal of the British Orders, that commerce should be restored to a footing that would admit the productions and manufactures of Great Britain, when owned by neutrals, into markets shut against them by her enemies,—the United States being given to understand that in the mean time a continuation of their Non-importation Act would lead to measures of retaliation.” Instead of repealing the orders, the British government, “at a moment when least to have been expected,” put them into more rigorous execution; “indemnity and redress for other wrongs have continued to be withheld; and our coasts and the mouths of our harbors have again witnessed scenes not less
derogatory to the dearest of our national rights than vexatious to the regular course of our trade.” In some respects Madison’s statement of grievances sounded almost needlessly quarrelsome; yet even in this list of causes which were to warrant a declaration of war, the President did not expressly mention impressments, in comparison with which his other grievances sank, in the afterthought, to insignificance.
Of France, also, the President spoke in language far from friendly. Although the decrees were revoked, “no proof is yet given,” he said, “of an intention to repair the other wrongs done to the United States, and particularly to restore the great amount of American property seized and condemned under edicts ... founded in such unjust principles that the reparation ought to have been prompt and ample.” In addition to this, the United States had much reason to be dissatisfied with “the rigorous and unexpected restrictions” imposed on their trade with France, which if continued would lead to retaliation. Not a word did the Message contain of friendly or even civil regard for the French government.
Then followed the sentences which could be read only in the sense of an invitation to war:—
“I must now add that the period has arrived which claims from the legislative guardians of the national rights a system of more ample provisions for maintaining them. Notwithstanding the scrupulous justice, the protracted moderation, and the multiplied efforts on the part of the United States to substitute for the accumulating dangers to the peace of the two countries all the mutual advantages of reestablished friendship and confidence, we have seen that the British Cabinet perseveres not only in withholding a remedy for other wrongs so long and so loudly calling for it, but in the execution, brought home to the threshold of our territory, of measures which, under existing circumstances, have the character as well as the effect of war on our lawful commerce. With this evidence of hostile inflexibility in trampling on rights which no independent nation can relinquish, Congress will feel the duty of putting the United States into an armor and an attitude demanded by the crisis, and corresponding with the national spirit and expectations.”
