The War of 1812

The Move Towards War Tensions with England are again high when James Madison takes office England has been capturing American ships and forcing the sailors to join the Royal Navy or go to jail – this is known as impressment Henry Clay of Kentucky and John C. Calhoun of South Carolina begin to argue that America should declare war with England – they are called “War Hawks” Many Americans felt a new sense of pride in our nation (nationalism) and pressed the president to declare war, the New England States’ economy was based on trade with England did not want war, this also begins to cause a rift between northern and southern states In early 1812, England refused to stop taking American ships and begins attacking settlements over the Appalachian Mountains Shortly after news of this hit the states, Congress votes and declares war with England

Early Days of the War The war was very unpopular in England as the Redcoats were also fighting France England again promised to give all lands back to the Natives if they helped attack America, a promise they never intended to honor When the war began, Americans were over confident that they would win and soon found out how strong the Redcoats really were Jefferson’s spending cuts had also weakened the military to a point that they couldn’t protect us or break through naval blockades off our coast Early in the war, America did manage to win one naval battle between the USS Constitution (nicknamed “old ironsides”) against the HMS Guerriere, the Constitution’s hull was so think that cannonballs bounced off of it, giving it the nickname “old iron sides”

The Invasion of Canada Thinking that Canadians would be happy to be free from English rule, America invaded Canada to gain their military support General Hull invaded Canada from Detroit and was soon badly beaten The British realized how disorganized the Americans were and sent a fleet of navy ships to patrol the great lakes and attack cities on the coastline Most of our troops in the Canadian invasion were killed or captured, a devastating loss for America America responded by sending the limited ships we had in our navy into down the St. Lawrence River and into Lake Erie where the fleet was very successful in destroying English ships. Admiral Oliver Hazard Perry commanded the Lake Erie Fleet

Conflict in the South General Andrew Jackson is sent to control the Native American attacks in the south, he fights a major battle with the Creek Tribe The result of Jackson’s Native campaign is that the more harsh he treats the tribes, the more easily they surrender their land and refuse to help the English In 1814, England finally defeats France in Europe and is now free to commit as many Redcoats as needed to the war in America

Final Battles As the war lingered on, England’s strategy changes. Feeling that the war will continue for years, England decides to attack our major cities and capital to force a surrender, 1st on the list Washington DC The Redcoats set fire to the White House but not before 1st lady Dolly Madison saved as many pictures and documents as possible and escaped Seeing our capital burning to the ground many citizens wanted to give up, feeling that victory was close, the Redcoats decide to next attack Baltimore Maryland – a key port where supplies went in and out of Baltimore was defended by only 1 small military base named Fort McHenry, the Royal Navy decided to bombard the base with it’s heaviest cannon fire of the entire war. All night the bombs exploded, the city burned, soldiers fought; but in the morning when the sun arose, the American Flag was still waiving over Fort McHenry. Seeing how bad the fort had been attacked and never surrendered, the American troops rally and begin to fight like they never have before. It was at this battle that a young lawyer watched the attack on Fort McHenry and being so moved he wrote a poem called “The Star Spangled Banner” In 1814, England finally tires of fighting both the Americans and the French and agrees to terms of surrender. The treaty is signed in Ghent Belgium and called the Treaty of Ghent The Treaty took many months to write, finalize and agree upon. During this time of surrender, General Andrew Jackson did not know that the British had agreed to stop fighting and attacked them at New Orleans. His tactics were harsh and his treatment was brutal. The English were decisively beaten and no longer wished to control any land in America. From the Beginning the war was very unpopular with certain states. Many states thought war could have been avoided and relations kept with England, others saw that England would never stop until the USA was again a colony of England. This war is sometimes called “Mr. Madison’s War” When the war is over, the New England states begin to threaten secession over how the federal government spoke on behalf of the states. This movement is quickly halted in 1816 After the war, America goes through a national change, citizens no longer consider themselves British and identified with American ideals. We also experienced a long period of no war – which resulted in the desire to expand our borders west