This article describes the federal government's little-known effort to remunerate civilians who lost private property during the War of 1812. It shows how wartime “sufferers” pressured their congressional representatives for redress. In response, their representatives created a new federal office to adjudicate claims for lost property. But this office quickly came under scrutiny for making allegedly erroneous disbursements. Although Congress curtailed the office's power, representatives of the claimants continued to push for a more generous policy. To garner more free state support, they pointed out that officials had sought indemnities for the slaves the British had liberated during the war, but not for other forms of lost property. To remedy this preferential treatment, most northern congressmen began to support enacting a more generous compensation policy. In response, southerners demanded payment for slaves who had been lost in the war. Ultimately, northerners joined with the representatives of the sufferers from the South to pass a new law. However, this law only offered remuneration for buildings, which, in effect, tabled the discussion over slavery. This article therefore reveals how legislators employed the politics of slavery to build a coalition to create a law, which, in turn, was limited by those same politics.

中文翻译：

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“公民抱怨”：对 1812 年战争中财产损失的联邦赔偿

这篇文章描述了联邦政府为补偿在 1812 年战争期间失去私人财产的平民所做的鲜为人知的努力。它展示了战时“受难者”如何向他们的国会代表施压以寻求补偿。作为回应，他们的代表创建了一个新的联邦办公室来裁决丢失财产的索赔。但该办公室很快因涉嫌错误付款而受到审查。尽管国会削弱了该办公室的权力，但索赔人的代表继续推动更慷慨的政策。为了获得更多自由的国家支持，他们指出，官员们已经为英国在战争期间解放的奴隶寻求赔偿，但没有为其他形式的财产损失寻求赔偿。为了弥补这种优惠待遇，大多数北方国会议员开始支持制定更慷慨的补偿政策。作为回应，南方人要求为在战争中丧生的奴隶付款。最终，北方人与南方受难者的代表一起通过了一项新法律。然而，这项法律只为建筑物提供了报酬，这实际上是对奴隶制的讨论。因此，本文揭示了立法者如何利用奴隶制政治来建立联盟来制定法律，而法律又受到同样的政治的限制。提出了关于奴隶制的讨论。因此，本文揭示了立法者如何利用奴隶制政治来建立联盟来制定法律，而法律又受到同样的政治的限制。提出了关于奴隶制的讨论。因此，本文揭示了立法者如何利用奴隶制政治来建立联盟来制定法律，而法律又受到同样的政治的限制。