This double-sided broadside reprints a message to Congress by James Madison (June 10); a report from the Committee on Foreign Relations; the declaration of war, signed by Henry Clay and William Crawford, and approved by James Madison (June 18); a proclamation by the president, signed by James Madison and James Monroe (June 19); and a letter to the citizens of West Tennessee from Felix Grundy (June 25). President Madison’s message lays out the provocations by Great Britain and the decision process that led to declaring war, as well as the abuses by France and the expectation that war will not be necessary with that country. The committee’s report provides additional evidence of Great Britain’s oppression and the United States’ forbearance before recommending “an immediate appeal to ARMS.” The formal act of war authorizes the president to use the army and navy and to commission private vessels as needed. The president’s proclamation announces the war and exhorts the people to preserve law and order and to support the measures adopted by the government. Felix Grundy’s letter calls on the people to preserve the liberty their fathers fought to give them so that posterity won’t say they allowed it to “perish in their hands.”