War Of 1812 Dbq Essay

After the Revolutionary War, the United States of America was born into a world of aggressive European nations, and it would have to fight to stay alive.The Treaty of Paris was signed by Britain in 1783, and America finally had room to breathe. After the treaty, however, the relationship between Americans and their British cousins was unclear. The nations would continue to trade with each other, until Britain began to impress American merchant ships. This angered many Americans, and it was then that people realized the unfriendly relations they had with the crown. The Redcoats still operated military Forts within North America, and the Americans realized that they had been arming the Native Americans, which was another incentive for war. By

An example of this would be the Orders of Council that Britain passed beginning in 1806. These acts stated that Britain could attack any merchant ship going into French controlled ports, including American ships. The French passed a similar act, which prohibited trade in British ports, which also included American Ships. The Americans thought that the British and French could do whatever they wanted for the Americans. This angered many of them, especially in Congress. Another example would be the impressment of American Ships. To be even more specific, in the year 1807, came the Chesapeake affair. An American ship and a British ship were out in the Chesapeake Bay off the coast, and the British Ship demanded to allow them to board. The Americans did not allow this, and eventually the ship would open fire upon the American ship. The outcome of this was 3 people were killed and 18 were wounded or injured. This affair angered many, including the “War hawks”, calling for war upon Britain. Just before the war of 1812 was to begin, the Americans were tense with the British, and they remembered the affair from several years ago. This played a major role in pushing the Americans to war later that

Americans such as Lewis and Clark, were sent to explore the new land Thomas Jefferson had acquired via the Louisiana Purchase. This expedition was inspired by the ideals of the “common man”, and wanting to find more farm land for the markets of America. Their “priceless maps” that they returned with, played a significant role in American desire for westward expansion. Since the British had given the Natives guns, Westward expansion had become significantly harder for Americans. This would be a factor in which people began to call for war against Britain. Another key example of conflicts with the natives, would be the proceedings at the Battle of Tippecanoe. Tecumseh, a native of the Shawnee tribe, advocated to unite all the tribes in the area around Tippecanoe. He, along with British aid, was successful in doing so, which is what ultimately led to the fiasco that occurred. While the Americans eventually won the battle, the native Tecumseh would serve in the British army for a part of the war of 1812. American conflict with the British aided natives, was a key factor that eventually led to the