The war of 1812 was the unfinished revolution that America was fighting. It was requested by President James Madison to protect American ships and U.S. sailors from being captured by the British. The war also had other purposes such as trying to prevent the British from creating alliances with Native Americans on American Frontier. Some people called this War of 1812, “Mr. Madison’s War,” others viewed it as a “second War of Independence,” a chance for Americans to protect their rights and freedoms. Furthermore, the War Hawks, loudly demanded war as a means to retaliate against the British for the economic outbreak caused by the blockade and for the resistance for Britain’s support of expansion for the United States. Yet, there
The War of 1812 was a war between Britain and the United States fought primarily in Upper Canada. It had many causes, few which involved British North America. The results of the war include the fact that there was no clear winner or loser among them. The only real losers in the situation were the Natives in the region. They were driven out of their lands and customs. None of the borders was changed by the war, though many attempts were made. The Treaty of Ghent, which ended the war, did nothing to advance the state of the countries. It went so far as to end the war and put things back the way that they were, but the main causes of the conflict were not addressed or dealt with. In order to evaluate the significance of this war, Canadian victories and losses, as well as overall results, must be analyzed.
The War of 1812 has often been called America’s forgotten war. Wedged between the Revolutionary and Civil War, its causes, battles, and consequences are unknown to most Americans. The major causes of the War of 1812 were a series of economic revisions passed by the British and French against the United States as unintended consequences of the Napoleonic Wars and American unhappiness at the British practice of impressment, especially after the Chesapeake incident of 1807. In response to the 1806 British Orders in Council, which hurt American trade, the US (under Thomas Jefferson) first tried various retaliatory embargoes against the British. However these embargoes hurt the US far more than they did Britain, angering American citizens and helping the cause of War Hawks (people who favored going to war) in Congress like Henry Clay. In 1812, after defeating DeWitt Clinton in the presidential election, James Madison asked Congress to declare war against Britain which they did. There were numerous battles fought in Canada, and the Northern United States, as well as naval battles, but neither side could gain a definitive advantage. By mid 1814, the War of 1812 was becoming more costly and had lasted longer than either side had anticipated. Britain, which had other issues to deal with, chief among them the Napoleonic Wars, began to look for a way to get out of the war. In the Belgian city of Ghent American negotiators met with British diplomats. After considerable argument the treaty of Ghent was signed, officially ending the war.
The War of 1812 was an armed conflict between the United States and Great Britain that lasted 3 years from 1812 till 1815. In this war, often labeled as “the second independence war”, there were a number of battles that cost both sides countless lives and resources. It followed a period of great tension between the two nations as a result of the treatment of neutral countries by both France and England during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.
On June 1st, 1812, President James Madison declared war on the British for many reasons. In his war message, Madison brought three unpardonable British acts to Congress’s attention. The first, impressment. “Thousands of American citizens, under the safeguard of public law and of their national flag, have been torn from their country and from everything dear to them,” (War Message to Congress, Paragraph 4). British Navy ships would stop American ships to search for British deserters. This often resulted in natural American citizens being apprehended and forced into the British navy. During this time, Britain was at war with Napoleon and wanted to hurt France economically. To do so, Britain tried to restrict French trade with other nations, including America. “Not content with these occasional expedients for laying waste our neutral trade, the cabinet of Britain resorted at length to...
The battles of this war were primarily fought on US soil. The British military was surprised by the United States military. They had underestimated of the young country that was blossoming and flourishing on freedom. The battl...
The War of 1812 was the second time we had gone to war with Great Britain, and the second time we had not lost. Never again would our Independence as a nation be called into question. Early naval wins such as the battle won by Thomas Macdonough instilled hope in the hearts and the minds of Americans. Restoring themselves after almost losing the battle, the American Flagship turned itself around, facing the enemy with a fresh side and defeated the British navy. The writing of our “National Anthem” also called the Americans to join forces. The British, after burning down the capitol, went to destroy Baltimore. Despite “the bombs bursting in air,” Francois Scott Key set the most unifying words on paper.
Before 1805, it was a chaos in Europe. Britain was at war with France. For years, the wars had seen France lose most of its colonial empire. The Louisiana Territory was sold to United States of America and France was kicked out of North America. Also British threatened France to establish any colony outside Europe. Britain had the greatest industrial capacity in Europe and it has developed navy to build up considerable economic strength through trade. The British’s goal was to defeat France. It would require commercial blockade. According to a historian named Reginald Horsman from “The Causes of The War of 1812”, He said that it was necessary to have some restrictions on neutral commerce for England in that period, which was the same method that British defeated Napoleon. This affected the United States and this was the first of the causes of the war in 1812 because the United States saw that was a violation of neutral with both sides.
Introduction With the ongoing battles between England and France in the early 19th century, the newly formed United States found itself thrust in the middle of this struggle. In the early part of the century Napoleon was on a mission to once again establish a mighty French empire of early years. But with the build up of the royal British Navy the English were trying fiercely to hold Napoleon in check. The United States was determined to stay neutral and continue its trading with both nations. However several mandates passed by both France and England made this very difficult. With England’s naval blockade and the repeated search and seizure of American trade vessels, the United States, led by an aggressive group of leaders in congress known as the Young War Hawks, took a very aggressive approach to Britain and its royal navy. However, the War Hawks and President Madison also had plans of expansion in mind, to extend its boarders to the North Pole, home to royal colonies of the now hated Great Britain. With this plan and the negative feeling toward Britain, the war was just around the corner. And in June of 1812, a full-fledged war was upon them. The war, which lasted approximately two years, was a very bloody and costly battle to both the United States and Britain. Systematic Analysis To begin to look at this war we must take a look at the system the world was in at the time. The world was dominated by a bi-polar system, with France and England being the two poles.
During the Napoleonic wars, Britain and France had disrupted US shipping, confiscated American goods, taking US seamen into the British navy, and both sides had blockaded each other's ports. This caused great annoyance to American traders, and Britain's abduction of American sailors especially caused great uproar and indignation at home. Many called for war, although it is interesting to note that it was southerners and westerners, the so-called war hawks led by Clay and Calhoun, who supported war who were least affected by Britain's actions. Some historians attribute this to their desire to take British Canada and Spanish Florida in the process of war. The Republican administration, traditionally supportive of France, finally declared war on Britain in 1812, ironically two days after Britain had lifted their trade embargo.
The War of 1812 was when the United States went up against Great Britain in a conflict that would result in an enormous impact of the young country's future. Great Britain fought alongside Ireland, its Northern colonies and its Native American allies. This military conflict lasted about two and a half years. The United Staes declared war on June 18, 1812, which was significant because this was the first war declared by the United States on another nation. Also, the Congressional vote would prove to be the closest vote to formally declare war in American history. It ended on February 18, 1815, exactly four months before its third anniversary.