1. Chapter 5
Section 4 – pg 201
The War of 1812

2. Pg 201
To Move Toward War
Tension with Britain was high when James Madison took office in 1809
Americans were angry that the British had been arming the NA and stealing our sailors
Americans had a new sense of nationalism
Pride in one’s country
In 1810 Henry Clay and John Calhoun became leaders in the House of Reps
These men and their supporters were called war hawks, b/c they were eager for war with Britain
Others opposed war believing it would harm American trade

3. In the early months of 1812 relations with Britain got worse
Pg 201
In the early months of 1812 relations with Britain got worse
The British said they would continue impressing soldiers
Native Americas in the Northwest began new attacks on frontier settlements
In June of 1812, Congress declared war on Britain

4. Pg 202
Early Days of the War
The British were still at war with Napoleon when we declared war with them
They started providing the NA with support in order to protect British controlled Canada from invasion
America was not prepared for a war
Jefferson’s budget cuts left the military weak
The navy had only 16 war ships
The army had fewer than 7,000 men and many of the officers were poorly trained or too old for combat

5. Pg 202
In the first days of the war, the British set up a blockade off the American coast
Blockade: the action of shutting a port or road to prevent people or supplies from coming into an area or leaving it
By 1814, the British navy had 135 warships blockading American ports
A major sea battle was fought at the beginning of the war
In August 1812, the USS Constitution defeated a British warship
The Constitution was nicknamed
“ Old Ironsides” b/c British artillery
fire bounced off the ship’s thick
wooden hull

6. The War in the West and South
Pg 203
The War in the West and South
In the west, the Americans and British fought for control of the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River
Both had NA allies

7. Pg 203
Invasion of Canada
Even before the war, the war hawks were demanding an invasion of Canada
They believed that the Canadians would welcome a chance to throw off British rule
In July 1812, General William Hull marched his troops into Canada from Detroit
He was unsure that they could win and quickly retreated
British commander, General Isaac Brock, had his soldiers
and allied NA warriors quickly
surround them, forcing them
to surrender
They captured 2,000
American soldiers and took
control of Detroit

8. Pg
Both sides understood the importance of controlling Lake Erie
In 1813, a 3 hour battle took place at Put-In-Bay
American commander Oliver Hazard Perry won a victory there forcing the British to leave Detroit and retreat to Canada
The American soldiers pursued them into Canada and defeated them at the Battle of the Thames
Tecumseh was killed during this battle

9. Conflict in the South Pg 204
In the summer of 1813, Creek warriors attacked several southern American settlements
Andrew Jackson took command of forces in Georgia
In March 1814 Jackson defeated the Creeks at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend
The treaty that ended the
fighting forced the Creeks
to give up millions of acres
of land

10. Pg 204
Final Battles
In 1814, the British finally defeated Napoleon allowing them to send more troops to fight the US

11. The British Attack Washington and Baltimore
In August 1814 a British force marched into Washington D.C.
Set fire to several gov’t buildings, including the White House
Dolley Madison, the President’s wife, gathered important papers before fleeing
Repairs being made in 1948, the White House was almost condemned
Pg 204

12. After burning the White House the British troops moved on to Baltimore to Fort McHenry, which defended the city’s harbor
The port have been bombarded all night by British warships
Young American, Francis Scott Key, watched the attack and at dawn saw the American flag still flying over the fort showing that the US had beaten off the attack
Wrote a poem called “The Star-Spangled Banner”, which told of that night’s events
Later became popular and set to music
In 1931 Congress made it the national anthem
The flag that inspired the poem is on display at the Smithsonian
Pg 204

14. The War Ends Pg 204 By 1914, the British were tired of war
On Christmas eve 1814 the two sides met in Ghent, Belgium and signed the Treaty of Ghent, ending the war
News of the treaty took several weeks to reach the US
One more battle was fought: in January 1815 General Andrew Jackson won a victory over the British at the Battle of New Orleans

15. Protests and Peace Many Americans had been against the war Pg 205
New Englanders especially b/c it hurt their trade
In Dec 1814 a group of Federalists met to talk about New England succeeding (withdrawing) from the US
These talks ended when the war ended