History

The War of 1812, which is considered the second war of independence, helped to consolidate the independence of the United States. This war took place during the 19th century and it has represented a relevant context in the history of the U.S. In fact, historians have helped to preserve the importance of this war; however, in some cases they might differ in their historical content. The authors A.J. Langguth, George C. Daughan and Donald R. Hickey are recognized history writers who have decided to address this part of the U.S. history in their own particular way. Hence, through the analysis their books, the most important aspects of the War of 1812 will be recovered and at the same time the inconsistencies of historical facts will be revealed.

The first book Union 1812: The Americans Who Fought the Second War of Independence by A.J. Langguth recaptures the history of the War of 1812 by providing a broad context of the events before, during and after the war. The book begins by giving a general background of the founding fathers of the United States. To illustrate, the first three chapters cover the role of George Washington, who was, by the time, the most important veteran war of the Revolutionary War of 1776 and became the first president of the country; the Philadelphia convention of 1787, in which the Constitution of the United States was written in order to replace the Article of Confederations. In this way, each chapter of the book introduces characters who performed a relevant role in the War of 1812 such as Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Oliver Perry, Andrew Jackson, Isaac Brock, and more.

According to Langguth, since the early 1800s, a lot of circumstances led up to the War of 1812 but specially the incident that happene...

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...arlotte and Detroit; however, Perry decisively transferred to U.S.S. Niagara which was intact at the moment. At the end, Perry defeated the Royal Navy aboard the U.S.S. Niagara. After the description of the battle, Daughan points out a celebrated phrase that Perry wrote to General Harrison: “We have met the enemy and they are ours.” Today, this phrase has a common use in the U.S army. In respect to this, in the documentary film “Extreme History with Roger Daltrey” by History Channel the American war strategies during the battle on Lake Erie are illustrated in detail. This film displays the style of life and obstacles of American naval officers aboard of the American ships and the victory of General Oliver Hazard Perry in order to intensify the relevance of this victory in the history of the U.S. Both the book and the film create a heroic image of General Perry.