D17 List some of the reasons that Americans thought war with Britain was a good idea: Lands to win Settle the score with Britain (revenge for impressment, etc.) Show the world how awesome we are, etc.

U.S. History I Ch. 9.4 The War of 1812, Part I Goals for Today: Today we will: Discuss the various battles that were part of the early War of 1812, and some of the heroes of these battles. Explain the losses of rights, etc. that Native Americans suffered from the War of 1812, and Andrew Jackson’s role in this

War Begins While the War Hawks sang of victory, the reality was much worse. The U.S. was unprepared for war, with just 7,000 regular soldiers. Yes, we had over 700,000 militia, but they were poorly trained and not suited for battle. Many states opposed the war, and the veterans from the American Revolution were too old to help. The Americans had bitten off more than they could chew. In July, 1812, General William Hull led an American force into Canada from Detroit. He was met by Tecumseh and his warriors, and a small British force, and the retreated (Battle of Ft. Detroit). VID Other attempts by the Americans, led by Gen. William Henry nearby failed as well. Over 2000 americans surrendered, made americans very sad.

Turning Points You may not know this, but several important sea battles occurred on the Great Lakes. The most crucial was the one called The Battle of Lake Erie, on Sept. 10, 1813, led by Oliver Hazard Perry. Battle of Lake Erie. The British and their allies, having lost Lake Erie, retreated to Detroit. Gen. William Harrison cut them off, and there we had the Battle of the Thames on Oct. 5th. Tecumseh was killed, and this was a big victory for the Americans, and a huge defeat for the enemy, especially the Natives, who depended on him as their uniting leader. The Battle of Lake Erie was a huge turning point in the war of 1812 The Death of Tecumseh VID

More Victories at Sea The war continued with some wins and losses on both sides. The U.S. conquered Toronto, Canada (then called York), burning some of the government buildings to the ground. Meanwhile, we captured and destroyed several British ships at sea; one of the most famous American ships was the U.S.S. Constitution: aka “Old Ironsides” VID, which you can still see. Also, American privateers, or “legal pirates” would also attack and demoralize the British, while giving Americans something to cheer about.

Setbacks for Natives After the death of Tecumseh, many of the Native Americans stopped fighting the Americans. The Creek, south nearby present day Alabama, did not. Andrew Jackson, a lanky Tennessee planter, in March 1814 led American forces against the Creek Indians there. They massacred nearly 600 men, women and children, thus ending just about all Native American resistance to the Americans, at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. This led to the Treaty of Fort Jackson, which took more Indian lands for Americans (23 million acres)

HW: Finish your Political Cartoon / Editorial Letter, or catch up any other late work you need to do 

BR D18 Write a short letter, as a Native American looking at the carnage that you have suffered as a result of the War of 1812. What do you say? How do you feel? Write this on an index card (4 sentences or so)

Part II: British Offensive The British weren’t finished, however. By the Spring of 1814, they had defeated Napoleon and the French in Europe, and could focus on the war in America.

U.S. History I Ch. 9.4 The War of 1812, Part II Goals for Today: Today we will: Discuss the low point of the War of 1812, including the burning of the White House Explain the important Battle of Fort McHenry, and its importance to the War as well as today Review the other battles that occurred as the war wound down, and the effect these had on the Federalist Party

Attack on the Capital Much like the Americans had done to Toronto, one of the main cities in Canada, the British arrived in large numbers in August, 1814 and marched on Washington, D.C. They burned anything and all things related to the government, including the unfinished White House. It was a dark time across the nation. Thankfully, a thunderstorm put the fire out. The British then marched against Baltimore, Maryland. Baltimore was much better prepared for the attack however, and they held off. The British attacked Fort McHenry in the harbor. This attack inspired Francis Scott Key to write the Star Spangled Banner, which would later become our National Anthem.

Defeat & finally Peace The British weren’t finished yet! They had a group, led by Gen. Sir George Provost, who led 10,000 troops from Canada to attack New York. He had better weapons, soldiers, supplies, etc.: In September, 1814, they met the Americans at the Battle of Plattsburgh. This setback convinced the British that the war was just not worth it (sound familiar…?). They and the Americans met at Ghent, Belgium in Dec. 1814. Though impressment was not discussed, with France defeated, that was not an issue. Ironically, the message took a while to get back to America. Britain launched one last attack on the Americans at the Dec. 1814 Battle of New Orleans.

American Nationalism New England Federalists had been very much against “Mr. Madison’s war” as they called it. In 1814, many of them gathered in Conn. at the Hartford Convention. Some wanted to secede from the rest of the U.S. to solve their problems, most weren’t that extreme. After the convention however, word of peace and Jackson’s victory in New Orleans left many Americans seeing the Federalists and their whining as unpatriotic. It was the end of the Federalist party as a result. Ironically, the ideas of a strong federal government were carried on by the War Hawks, who felt a powerful central gov. and army / navy would help them meet their goals of westward expansion, and development of the economy.

Quiz Time! Time to review for Ch. 9! Kahoot GROUP, Solo