War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a three-year conflict between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United States of America, lasting from June 18, 1812 to February 18, 1815. The war resulted in little change, and neither side claimed victory in the subsequent Treaty of Ghent.

Reasons for War

Trade interference

At the time, Europe was embrioled in the Napoleonic Wars. The French Emperor was rapidly expanding his territories, and an alliance, including Britian, was set against him. The United States, as urged by George Washington in his Farewell Address, had declared neutrality. Both England and France, however, sought to sabotage and/or restrict American efforts to trade with their enemy. Because Britain had a superior navy, the British attempts were more successful, and compounded the grievence of impressment. Because of this, the French incursions were largely disregarded by the American public.

Impressment

The British Royal Navy suffered from low enlistment rates, and to 'recruit' new sailors, British vessels frequently boarded American merchant ships, under pretences of reclaiming deserters. Most notable of such encounters was the Chesapeake-Leopard Affair of 1807. The HMS Leopard fired upon and boarded the USS Chesapeake in American coastal waters, killing three and impressing four. Three of the 'deserters' were actually American citizens.

Embargo Act of 1807

Napoleon in 1806 issued his Continental System, which put an embargo on trade with Britain. In response, Britain issued the Orders in Council, blockinig trade with France. To avoid a declaration of war, President Thomas Jefferson pushed for an Embargo Act in 1807. This law prohibited the United States from trading with any foreign nations. This proved disasterous to the New England shipping industry, and was quickly repealed and replaced with the Non-Intercourse Act.

Non-Intercourse Act

The Non-Intercourse Act was slightly more effective than the Embargo Act, but still did not achieve much. This act prohibited trade solely with beligerent nations, in an effort to continue trade but remain neutral. James Madison, the new President, also ensured that if one country recognized the free trade rights of the United States, the US would cease trade with its enemy and resume trade with that country. Napoleon quickly promised to stop interference with American shipping, and the embargo resumed on British goods. Napoleon, who had no intention of following through on his promise, only wished to add to the American-British tension, and he succeeded.

Expansionism

Also at issue was American expansionism. After the American War of Independence, the British continued to occupy several forts along the US-Canadian border. In the Treaty of Paris, which ended the Revolutionary War in 1783, the British had agreed to give up control of these stations. Rather than fufil their agreement, however, the British had held the posts and even supplied local Native American tribes with weapons, and encouraging them to raid American settlements to prevent expansion.

War Hawks

Several Senators, seeing their countrymen pressed into foreign navies and raided by Indians inspired by foreign powers, cried for war with Britain. Prominent among these so-called War Hawks was Henry Clay of Kentucky. Most of the War Hawks hailed from Western and Southern states, while New England and the now-regional Federalist Party adamantly opposed war. At the Hartford Convention in late 1814, New England even threatened secession. Many of the War Hawks also looked at Canada, believing it to be poorly-defended while the British were tied up in the Napoleonic Wars. Some also thought that an American invasion would be greeted by the Canadians as a liberation. Thomas Jefferson in 1812 wrote that "the acquisition of Canada this year, as far as the neighborhood of Quebec, will be a mere matter of marching, and will give us experience for the attack of Halifax the next, and the final expulsion of England from the American continent." The assumptions of the Americans would be proven wrong soon into the war. On June 18, 1812, after hearing a speech by President Madison, Congress declared war on Great Britain.

The War

Invasions of Canada

The first phases of the war featured repeated American invasions of Canada. The Americans invaded from the west, near Detroit, rather than first striking the more strategic cities of Montreal and Quebec. The first invasion was repulsed by the British under Major General Isaac Brock, who continued south and captured Detroit without a fight on August 16. At the Battle of Queenston Heights, the Americans (now attempting an invasion from New York) were met by Brock in Ontario. The Ameican forces were once again decisevly repelled, but General Brock was killed in the battle.

Northwest campaign

General William Henry Harrison, given control of the American Army of the Northwest after the fall of Detroit, tried unsuccessfully to retake the fort in 1813. The British Colonel Henry Procter, with an Indian alliance under the command of Tecumseh (Harrison's nemesis from the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811), invaded Ohio. At the naval Battle of Lake Erie, the Americans under Captain Oliver Hazard Perry, defeated the British for control of the Lake, forcing the British Army to withdraw from Detroit for fear of being cut off and surrounded. After the battle, Perry famously reported to Harrison, "We have met the enemy and they are ours." Harrison then again invaded Canada, and decisively defeated the Indian coalition at the Battle of the Thames on October 5. Tecumseh himself was among the dead. The loss of his leadership destroyed the coalition. Meanwhile, American forces under General Henry Dearborn had burned York (now Toronto) after the Battle of York. The famous American explorer and soldier, Zebulon Pike, was killed in the battle. Winfield Scott and Zachary Taylor, both of whom would be high-ranking generals in the Mexican-American War, earned experience commanding small forces in the American West during the War of 1812.

Washington and Baltimore

The British successfully captured and burned Washington, D.C. (including the White House), in 1814, in retaliation for the destruction of York a year earlier. First Lady Dolley Madison famously removed valuables from the White House, including the portrait of George Washington, moments before their arrival. The British Navy had blockaded the Atlantic Coast for most of the war, while allowing anti-war New England to enjoy some open ports. The British often bombarded coastal forts. The unsuccessful bombing of Fort McHenry in 1814 during the Battle of Baltimore inspired Francis Scott Key to write The Star-Spangled Banner, which would eventually become the National Anthem.

Battle of New Orleans

With Tecumseh rallying Native Americans in the Northwest, many Southwestern tribes rose up against the Americans during the war. Some historians include these conflicts with the War of 1812, while others argue that they were distinct wars in themselves. In 1814, General Andrew Jackson led a Tennessee militia into victory over Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. On Christmas Eve of 1814, delegates met in Ghent, Belgium to discuss peace. The Treaty of Ghent was ratified by Congress on February 16. Fifteen days after the signing (but due to the travel time between Europe and the United States, news of the peace would not reach for over another month), General Jackson led his militias to defend a British assult into the New Orleans area. At the Battle of New Orleans, Jackson routed the invaders. Fame from the victory eventually made Jackson so popular he was elected president in 1828 and 1832. Soon after the battle, news of the treaty arrived, and both sides laid down their arms.

Impact of War

Treaty of Ghent

The American delegation, consisting of John Quincy Adams, James A. Bayard, Sr., Henry Clay, and Albert Gallatin, had no chips to bargain with to greatly influence the peace terms. As both sides had their shares of victories and defeats, the British faced the same problem. As Napoleon had been defeated in 1814 by the Sixth Coalition, the issues of impressment and trade interference were no longer relevent. The Native Americans had been suppressed. Pre-war boundaries were re-established, and peace was declared.

Era of Good Feelings

After the so-called Second American Revolution, in which the Americans felt they had successfully resisted the British a second time, an era of strong nationalism and unity took hold. The weakening Federalist Party, due to its opposition of the war, finally collapsed for good.