War of 1812

• Identify the events that led to the War Hawks’ call for war.

• Analyze the major battles and conflicts of the War of 1812.

• Explain the significance of the War of 1812.

Objectives

Terms and People • Tecumseh – Shawnee who attempted to unite the Indian nations to resist

expansion by settlers• Battle of Tippecanoe – Gov. William Henry Harrison defeated the Shawnee in

1811• War Hawks – nationalistic western and southern Congressmen who urged

war with Britain in 1812• War of 1812 – war with Britain, 1812-1815• Andrew Jackson – defeated the Creek and Seminole Indians and then the

British at New Orleans

Terms and People (continued)

• Francis Scott Key – penned “The Star Spangled Banner” during the British attack on Fort McHenry

• “The Star-Spangled Banner” – Key’s poem that later became the national anthem

• Battle of New Orleans – American victory by Andrew Jackson routing the British in January 1815

• Treaty of Ghent – treaty ending the War of 1812 • Hartford Convention – meeting of New England Federalists who opposed the

War of 1812

Why did the United States go to war with Britain, and what was the outcome of that war?

In 1812, the United States found itself involved in a major war that tested its strength and the solidarity of its people.

Americans managed to fight the war and get the country back on track in its aftermath.

Americans faced trouble from Native Americans.

• Shawnee warrior Tecumseh and his brother tried to unite Native Americans to fight American expansion.

• Following victory at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811, William Henry Harrison burned Prophetstown, Tecumseh’s village.

• Westerners blamed the British in Canada for arming the Indians, and demanded action.

British Impressment

• 6000 American citizens impressed by 1812• 1807- U.S.S. Chesapeake attacked by British in

order to take some of its sailors

American Response• Embargo (1807)- Jefferson and Congress stopped all

trade• Non-intercourse Act (1809)- replaced the Embargo;

directed towards Britain and France; declared that the U.S. would resume trade with whichever country lifted its restrictions on the U.S.

• Macon’s Bill No.2- Restored trade, but said that if either nation lifted its restrictions, the U.S. would resume trade sanctions against the other– France said it would (but didn’t) and so the U.S.

imposed sanctions on Britain

In 1811, the War Hawks took the lead in Congress.

• They were led by John C. Calhoun of South Carolina and Henry Clay of Kentucky.

• They denounced Britain’s impressment of U.S. sailors and its support for Native Americans.

• They believed an invasion of Canada would stop British aid to the Indians and force Britain to respect Americaat sea.

Causes of the War of 1812

• British impressment• British Orders in Council (restrictions on

American trade)• American desire to wipe out Indian threat in

West and eliminate Canada as a sanctuary• Republican belief that war would restore

confidence in American democratic experiment

Arguments For/Against War• Pro-War

– British impressment of American sailors and confiscation of American goods

– U.S. can take Canada– Britain is instigating the

Native Americans; eliminate the Indian threat

– American honor– Defend American

sovereignty– America must fight to take

its place as a great nation

• Anti-War– Political parties are pushing for

war– U.S. should not get involved in

a European war– France/Napoleon is even more

dangerous than Britian– Britain is our most important

trading partner– Britain and U.S. share a

common culture– America should not be looking

to fight a war so that it can expand into Canada

– U.S. is not strong enough

The War of 1812 began when Congress declared war in June 1812.

• But the nation was totally unprepared with only a small army and navy.

• Thomas Jefferson advised Madison that an invasion of Canada would be easy.

• He proved wrongand repeated attempts to invade Canada failed.

Early on the British were occupied in Europe, allowing several American victories.

The small American navy did surprisingly well.

• The U.S.S. Constitution defeated H.M.S. Guerrière

• Oliver Hazard Perry defeated a British fleet on Lake Erie.

Americans won several victories against Native Americans.

• In 1813, Harrison killed Tecumseh who was aiding the British.

• But attacks on Canada failed

In 1814, Andrew Jackson defeated the Creek in Alabama.

• Jackson defeated the Seminoles and seized a fort at Pensacola.

In 1814, Britain defeated France and then launched a four-part offensive in America.

British troops occupied eastern Maine.

A second army invaded New York from Montreal but was turned back.

A third force invaded Maryland, burning Washington D.C., but failed to take Baltimore.

A fourth Army headed to New Orleans. They would be routed by Andrew Jackson.

12

3

4

The Americans’ worst humiliation came when British troops burned the White House and Capitol.

Major Battles

• Canada• - British repulsed American invasion of

Canada• - U.S. won naval battles on Lake Erie

and Lake Champlain• Washington D.C. burned (1814)• Baltimore defended (Fort McHenry)• Battle of New Orleans (1815)- American forces

led by Andrew Jackson defeated British

Map 12-1 p226

• Both sides agreed to return to pre-war boundaries.

• A commission was set up to discuss any future boundary disputes.

• Impressment and American neutrality were not discussed.

The Treaty of Ghent ended the war.

The British failure to take Fort McHenry in Baltimore inspired Francis Scott Key to write “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

In January 1815, Andrew Jackson crushed the British in the Battle of New Orleans. The battle took place after the war had officially ended. News of a treaty had not yet arrived.

Several events of the War of 1812 fostered American pride.

A group of Federalists held the Hartford Convention in December 1814 to consider secession

and making a separate peace with Britain.

After the Treaty of Ghent, these Federalists were discredited as traitors and by 1820, the Federalist Party had disappeared.

The war was not popular with everyone.

p228

The War of 1812

Results of the War

• U.S. gained new respect• Sectionalism was weakened

(temporarily)• Federalists ceased to be an effective

party• Andrew Jackson and William Henry

Harrison emerged as war heroes• U.S. manufacturing prospered• increased nationalism (spirit of national

consciousness or national oneness)

Nationalism

Sectionalism

• restriction of interest to a narrow sphere; undue concern with local issues