Unit 3 Topic 2B

War of 1812
7.1.3, 7.9.3, 7.10.5
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 War of 1812: Causes of the War
War in Europe and Grievances in the United States
France and Britain, Europe's two most powerful nations, had battled almost constantly since 1793, and their warfare directly affected
American trade. American presidents from Washington to Madison tried to keep the United States neutral during these conflicts, but both
France and Britain deliberately ignored the rights of neutral countries.

While in office, Thomas Jefferson passed the Embargo Act of 1807 to avert war with Britain and France; this act was a ban on trade
between the United States and all foreign countries. However, the embargo shut down New England trade and left the South and West with
unsold goods thereby crippling the U.S. economy. Many Americans smuggled illegal goods between the United States and Canada. To rectify
the surmounting trade deficit, the Non-Intercourse Act of 1809 was passed. The Non-Intercourse Act banned trade (or placed an embargo)
on Britain and France, only. Nevertheless, troubles continued to brew between the countries.

The War of 1812, which lasted from June 18, 1812 to February 18, 1815, was a military conflict between the United States, Great Britain,
and Great Britain's American Indian allies on the North American continent.

After the American Revolution, the United States and Great Britain were hardly on good terms. To achieve victory, the United States
had accepted aid from France, Great Britain’s longtime enemy, and imperial rival. Tempers flared again in the early 1800s when the
Napoleonic Wars between France and Britain led the British to implement a number of military measures aimed at weakening France.
Unfortunately, Americans were caught in the crossfire, despite US neutrality in the war. First, the British had begun the practice of
impressment, or forcing American sailors into British military service. Britain also imposed trade restrictions on the United States, refused to
recognize US neutrality in the European war, and routinely violated neutral shipping rights. These measures were designed to prevent the
United States from providing France with aid, supplies, or support.
 Embargo Act Political Cartoon Analysis
1. Is the cartoon for or against
the act?

2. What is the man with the

barrel trying to do?

3. To whom does
the ship belong?
 Check for Understanding: War of 1812 (Part A)
1.) Why did Britain impress Americans into its navy?
a.) Desertion rates in the British Navy were high, and in order to get an upper hand in the
Napoleonic
Wars, Britain needed manpower.
b.) Impressment was just a flimsy excuse to loot American ships.
c.) Most American sailors were in fact British soldiers who had deserted.

2.) One of the factors that led to the War of 1812 was the British practice of impressment. What did this entail?

a.) The Royal Marines would perform drills day and night on Boston Common, attempting to
intimidate or “impress” Americans into joining their service.
b.) The British Navy would capture Americans and force or “impress” them into naval service.
c.) Nicholas Vansittart, the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, wouldn’t allow any American goods
into the Port of Bristol that hadn’t been impressed with a Royal Seal.
Mr. Betts’ War of 1812
 War of 1812: The Battle of theThames
The British had also allied with Native American tribes in the Northwest Territory (encompassing the modern-
day states of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin). Comprised of several tribes, including the Shawnee,
Kickapoo, Sauk, Fox, and Winnebago, a Native American confederacy led by Shawnee prophet Tenskwatawa and his
brother Tecumseh had arisen to challenge US settlement in the territory. The British supported this confederacy in an
effort to halt US westward expansion and protect British interests in Canada by creating an Indian buffer state between
US territory and British Canada. These were the primary grievances of the United States against Britain, and the major
reasons that war broke out in 1812.

The seizure of American ships and sailors, combined with the British support of Indian resistance, led to strident
calls in Congress for war against Great Britain. The loudest came from the “war hawks,” led by Henry Clay from
Kentucky and John C. Calhoun from South Carolina, who proclaimed that they would not tolerate these British insults
to American honor. Many Federalists opposed the war since they believed it would disrupt the maritime trade on
which many northeastern Americans depended. In a narrow vote, Congress authorized the President to declare war
against Britain in June 1812.

Henry Clay John C. Calhoun

 Check for Understanding: War of 1812 (Part B)
1. Tecumseh and his brother Tenskwatawa organized multiple Native tribes into a confederacy to oppose the
United States, and its incursion into the Northwest Territory. What states make up the Northwest Territory
today?

a.) Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin

b.) North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Minnesota
c.) Washington, Oregon, California, and Idaho

2. Why did Great Britain seek an alliance with Tecumseh’s confederacy?

a.) Both parties had an interest in preventing westward American expansion.

b.) The British foreign minister was a follower of Tecumseh’s brother, the prophet Tenskwatawa.
c.) The British were hoping to deprive the French of any potential Native American allies.
 War of 1812
The US military strategy focused on seizing parts of Canada in the hopes of forcing British concessions on
Indian issues and neutral shipping rights. However, the US army was small, disorganized, and poorly equipped.
Despite these shortcomings, the Americans managed two significant victories over the British in battles on or
near Lake Erie in the fall of 1813. In the Battle of the Thames, Tecumseh was killed and the American Indian
resistance was crushed. The British would never again attempt to create an Indian buffer state between the
United States and Canada.

Meanwhile, events in Europe continued to influence the course of the war. With the abdication of Napoleon
in April 1814, the British were able to devote more of their resources to the war with the United States. The end of
the war in Europe, moreover, made some of US President James Madison’s demands, such as the return of
neutral shipping rights and the immediate cessation of impressment, irrelevant. With the British no longer at war
with France, these practices were abandoned before the end of the war with the United States.

In the Battle of Bladensburg in August 1814, the British sacked and burned Washington, DC, plundering the
White House and wounding US national pride. The British continued their march north but were unable to capture
Baltimore in the Battle of Fort McHenry, during which Francis Scott Key penned the poem that would later
become the US national anthem, the Star-Spangled Banner.
 Interpreting Lyrics...Star Spangled Banner (excerpted) by Francis Scott Key

O! say can you see by the dawn's early light,

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous ght,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our ag was still there;
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
 War of 1812
The Hartford Convention
The War of 1812 was very unpopular in New England because it disproportionately affected the region,
which was the most dependent on maritime commerce. The war sparked a resurgence of the Federalist Party in
New England. Many Federalists deeply resented the power of the slaveholding Virginians (Jefferson and then
Madison), who appeared indifferent to how the embargo’s economic impact affected their region. In December
1814, twenty-six Federalists called a meeting in Connecticut to discuss the economic tumult. At the Hartford
Convention, some attendees issued calls for New England to secede from the United States. But by suggesting
secession during wartime and condemning the new American government, Federalists appeared unpatriotic. The
Hartford Convention discredited the Federalist Party and sowed the seeds for the party’s demise.
 The Treaty of Ghent
Popular anti-war sentiment increased, and the military conflict effectively stalemated by 1815. The Madison
administration then entered into peace negotiations with the British. The Treaty of Ghent, which formally ended the
war, involved no significant change in pre-war borders or boundaries. With the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the British
had already abandoned their policy of impressing American sailors and had informally lifted restrictions on neutral trade.
According to the terms of the treaty, the British returned nearly four thousand Americans who had been classified as
prisoners of war and forced into British service. The end of hostilities ushered in the “Era of Good Feelings,” during
which US-British relations improved. The nation’s sense of victory and unity was enhanced by the dissolution of the
Federalist Party and the easing of bitter partisan divisions.

In the aftermath of the War of 1812, the American people began to think of the United States as a proud and
independent nation rather than a collection of formerly colonial territories. For this reason, the war is sometimes referred
to as the “Second War of Independence.” The war also resolved one of the United States’ major grievances: British
support for Native American tribes in an effort to halt US westward expansion.
 Interpreting maps: War of 1812
Connect Geography & History Questions
 War of 1812
The War of 1812 and American Indians
For American Indians, the war was devastating. General Andrew Jackson destroyed the military capabilities
of the Creek Nation in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in March of 1814. The battle occurred in the Mississippi
Territory, which Jackson sought to clear for US settlement. Approximately 15% of the entire Creek population was
killed. The Treaty of Fort Jackson forced the Creeks to surrender twenty-three million acres of land and to
promise to never again ally with the British or Spanish against the Americans.

The US victory and the death of Tecumseh in battle ended any prospect of a Native American alliance
system or confederation, and the British essentially abandoned their Native American allies. With no protection
from the British and very little tribal cohesion, Native Americans would suffer further defeats as the United States
continued to expand ever westward.

Andrew Jackson, virtually unknown before the war, emerged as a national hero after his triumph at the
Battle of New Orleans, which actually occurred after the Treaty of Ghent was signed but before the news had
reached New Orleans. As President, Jackson would preside over the further removal, relocation, and destruction
of American Indians and their way of life.
Interpreting Charts: War of 1812 (Part A)
Interpreting Charts: War of 1812 (Part B)
 War of 1812 Discussion Questions
What was the difference between the Embargo Act of 1807 and the Non-Intercourse Act of 1809?

This Act lifted all embargoes on American shipping except for those bound for British or French
ports. Its intent was to damage the economies of the United Kingdom and France.

Why did the United States and Britain go to war in 1812?

The United States declared war on Britain in 1812. It did so because Britain refused to stop
seizing American ships that traded with France—Britain's enemy in Europe. Sometimes there
were also seizures of American sailors. These seizures were known as impressment.

What was the impact of the war on the American Indians?

The War of 1812 created a lasting impact on several tribes whose communities were involved.
For Native Americans, the War of 1812 created Indian heroes, established historic places, and
dispossessed ancient home areas.

What do you think were the most significant consequences of the War of 1812?

In fact, the war had a far-reaching impact in the United States, as the Treaty of Ghent ended
decades of bitter partisan infighting in government and ushered in the so-called “Era of Good
Feelings