2 2-2 The War of 1812

Why War Now?

• Renewed fighting between the British and the French threatened US ability to trade.
  • Great Britain sets up a blockade of goods from Napoleon’s Europe to prevent ships from entering or leaving.
    • 1807 - seized more then 1,000 US ships carrying goods to Europe
  • British impressment of US Sailors - Seizing them and forcing them to join the British Navy.

Why War Now?

• The Chesapeake Incident - June 1807

  • British commander demanded to board US Ship Chesapeake and seize its goods.
  • When US Captain refused, British opened fire killing 3 Americans and wounding 18.

• Jefferson convinced Congress to declare an embargo or a ban on exporting products to other countries. He believed that the Embargo Act of 1807 would hurt Britain and the other European powers and force them to honor American neutrality.

Why War Now? Tecumseh’s Confederacy

• General William Henry Harrison (Indiana Territory Governor) convinced Native American Tribal leaders to sign away 3 million acres of tribal land.
  • Chief Tecumseh believed that the only way for Native Americans to protect their homeland against intruding white settlers was to form a confederacy, a united Native American nation.
  • Tecumseh began negotiations with the British for assistance in what seemed like an inevitable war with the Americans.

Cont’d

• Battle of Tippecanoe (1811) - general Harrison burned Shawnee Capital to the ground.
  • Discovered that British Canada was arming the Natives.
• War Hawks, like John C Calhoun (SC) and Henry Clay (KY) begin to pressure Congress and President Madison to declare war.

Monroe Declares War

• By Spring of 1812, Madison decides to declare war on Great Britain.
  • Madison believed that Britain was trying to strangle the American trade and cripple the American economy..
• Congress declares war on Great Britain in June of 1812

Andrew Jackson

• a general in the War of 1812. Jackson won a series of battles in the southern theater that all but wiped out Native American strength in the south.
• in 1815 Jackson’s troops defeated a superior British Force at the Battle of New Orleans. Incidentally the battle came after the signing of the peace treaty.

Treaty of Ghent & Armistice

• The Treaty of Ghent was signed Christmas Eve 1814. It declared an Armistice or end to the fighting. Although it did not address the issues of impressment or neutral shipping rights Americans were eager for peace and welcomed the treaty.

War of 1812 Highlights

• Battle of Baltimore - Francis Key Scott pens the poem “The Star Spangled Banner”
• British Burn DC - First lady Dolly Madison saves portrait of George Washington as the British Canadians burn the White House.
• Hartford Convention - Demise of the Federalist Party (seen as un-American)

Effects of the War of 1812

• Showed a united Amiercan identity and increased nationalism.
• Native Americans lose out once again
• Encouraged the beginning of manufacturing - 1st Industrial Revolution.