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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.
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====
====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 This proved disasterous to the New England shipping industry, and was quickly repealed and replaced with he Non-Intercourse Act.
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 This proved disasterous to the New England shipping industry, and was quickly repealed and replaced with he [[Non-Intercourse Act]].
====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.
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===
===Expansionism===
-british forts on american soil
Also at issue was American expansionism. After the [[American War of Independence]], the British continued to occupy several forts along the US-Canadian border, several of which were actually on American soil. 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.<ref>Stagg (1983)</ref>
===War Hawks===
-canadian conquest
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, DC]] (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==
==The War==
===Treaty of Ghent===
The [[White House]] was burned when the British invaded Washington, DC. The United States defeated the British at the [[Battle of New Orleans]], where General [[Andrew Jackson]] destroyed British units ironically after the war's end. As both sides had their shares of victories and defeats, at the peace settlements, the [[Treaty of Ghent]], American delegate [[John Quincy Adams]] was quoted saying "we'll call it a draw."
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.
==References==
==References==