Chapter 10.4 “The War of 1812”

War of 1812 Essential Question: What took place during the War of 1812, and what were the effects of the war?

War of 1812 T-Chart Phase One Phase Two_______________ The Battle of Lake Erie Washington D.C. Who: When: What happened: When: The Battle of Lake Champlain What happened: Who: The Battle of the Thames What happened: Who: The Battle of New Orleans When: Who: What happened: What happened:

Vocabulary 1. Oliver Hazard Perry – Commodore in charge of the naval fleet in the Battle of Lake Erie 2. Battle of the Thames – Battle which ended the British threat to the Northwest Territory. 3. Frances Scott Key – Washington lawyer who wrote United States national anthem 4. Treaty of Ghent – Treaty which ended the War of 1812; no territory was exchanged and no trade disputes were resolved

Vocabulary 5. General Andrew Jackson– Army officer who helped defeat the British in the Battle of New Orleans 6. General William Harrison– Army officer who helped defeat the British in the Battle of the Thames 7. Dolley Madison– When British troops marched on Washington this person stayed behind to save historical objects from the White House

Focus Questions 1. What were the weaknesses of the U.S. military at the start of the War of 1812? 2. Which battle of the war was considered the most important naval victory? 3. Which battle put an end to the British threat to the Northwest? Why? 4. What happened to Washington DC in August of 1814?

Focus Questions 5. What inspired Francis Scott Key to write our national anthem? 6. Describe the Battle of Lake Champlain and the battle of New Orleans. (see chart) 7. Why was the Battle of New Orleans unnecessary and what was the Treaty of Ghent? 8. What were the four positive results of the War of 1812?

The War Begins! Great Britain did not really want a war with the United States. They were already involved in a war with France. Britain announced they would no longer interfere with American shipping. Unfortunately, the mail was so slow, it didn’t reach the United States until weeks after Congress had already declared war! The War of 1812 had two main phases.

The War Begins! The United States military was weak when the war was declared. Democratic Republicans had reduced the size of the armed forces. The navy only had about 16 ships The army had fewer than 7,000 men poorly trained and ill-equipped. They were led by inexperienced officers.

The First Phase of the War The most important U.S. naval victory took place on Lake Erie The winter of 1812-1813, Oliver Hazard Perry took charge of the small navy and set out on the ship the Lawrence on Lake Erie to meet the enemy He waved a banner “Don’t give up the ship!” After two hours of exchanging cannon fire, the Lawrence began to sink!

The First Phase of the War Under British fire, Perry jumped into a rowboat and sailed with his banner to another ship. In the second ship, Perry took command and destroyed two of the enemy’s ships. They forced the British to surrender. After the battle, Perry sent the message, “We have met the enemy, and they are ours!”

The First Phase of the War

The First Phase of the War After hearing Perry’s message, General William Henry Harrison transported his army across Lake Erie to Detroit, Michigan to attack the British. The British had already retreated back to Canada. Harrison pursued the British into Canada. The Battle of Thames took place in October of 1813.

The First Phase of the War The Battle of Thames took place near present day Ontario, Canada. The victory put an end to the British threat in the Northwest More importantly, Tecumseh, the Shawnee chief died in the battle fighting for the British.

The Battle of the Thames

The Second Phase of the War Great Britain finally defeated France in April 1814. Britain turned its attention to the United States. In August 1814, the British attacked Washington D.C.! They burned the Capitol building and the White House. British Redcoats attacked Fort McHenry in The Battle of Baltimore.

The British occupied Washington DC for 26 hours until a hurricane and tornado hit! The British were spooked and returned to their ships.

The Second Phase of the War Francis Scott Key, a Washington lawyer, was sent on board a British ship to negotiate the release of American prisoners. While on board, he witnessed the all night battle on Fort McHenry! At dawn, Key discovered that the American flag was still flying at the fort.

The Second Phase of the War The sight of the flag inspired Key to write the poem, “Defense of Fort McHenry” It was later put to music and retitled “The Star Spangled Banner” Congress proclaimed it our national anthem in 1931.

The Second Phase of the War The Star Spangled Banner Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light, What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight, O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming? And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there. O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

The Second Phase of the War In the north, the British sent a force from Canada across Lake Champlain. Its goal was to push south and cut off New England. The Battle of Lake Champlain took place in September, 1814. The American fleet defeated the British. This ended the final invasion of the northern states by Britain.

The Second Phase of the War In the south, the British moved against the port of New Orleans. The Battle of New Orleans took place in December, 1814. Dozens of ships carrying 7,500 British Redcoats approached Louisiana. General Andrew Jackson led the American forces.

The Second Phase of the War The British attacked Jackson’s army on January 8, 1815. Protected by earthern walls, American riflemen mowed down the advancing Redcoats. The battle was a great victory with 71 American casualties and 2,000 British casualties.

The Second Phase of the War The Battle of New Orleans was tragic because it was unnecessary. The Treaty of Ghent, a treaty which ended the War of 1812, had been signed two weeks before. The war was officially over. Slow mail from Europe had delayed the news! The battle, however, made Andrew Jackson a hero.

The Legacy of the War The treaty showed there was no winner, no territories changed hands, and trade disagreements were still left unsolved. There were four positive consequences of the War of 1812. 1. The heroic exploits of Keys and Jackson increased American patriotism. 2. The war broke the strength of the Native Americans who sided with the British.

The Legacy of the War 3. The war encouraged the growth of U.S. manufacturing. (When war interrupted trade, many Americans were forced to make for themselves the goods they needed.) 4. The United States proved that it could defend itself against the mightiest military power of the era.