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The '''War of 1812''' was a war declared by the United States against Britain (and its Empire), lasting from June 18, 1812 to February 18, 1815. The causes involved three American grievances against Britain: suppressing American trade with France, impressing (seizing) sailors with U.S. papers, and supplying and inciting hostile Indian raids in the west that attacked American settlers headed to Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Michigan.  The Americans also felt a strong need to uphold national honor in the face of British insults.  The Americans did not seek to permanently take over Canada, but wanted to seize western Ontario as a bargaining chip.  The main British war goal was to defeat France and therefore stop neutrals like the U.S. from helping France.  Britain also wanted to assert its dominance of the seas. A secondary British goal was the creation of a "neutral" Indian state in the area of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and Illinois, that would be "guided" (or controlled) by Britain and serve to block American expansion.<ref>Canadian opinion was not consulted, but the people favored the British and feared the Americans because they opposed monarchy and Catholicism. Relatively few Canadians volunteered to fight the Americans; the fighting was done by British regulars and their Indian allies.</ref>  The war followed a series of failed efforts by the U.S. to use economic pressure through the [[Embargo of 1807]].  Britain acted too late diplomatically to head off the conflict.   

The '''War of 1812''' was a war declared by the United States against Britain (and its Empire), lasting from June 18, 1812 to February 18, 1815. The causes involved three American grievances against Britain: suppressing American trade with France,<ref> According to [[Franklin Roosevelt]], "We engaged in the War of 1812 to vindicate our right to peaceful trade." [http://www.presidentialrhetoric.com/historicspeeches/roosevelt_franklin/fourfreedoms.html]</ref>

impressing (seizing) sailors with U.S. papers, and supplying and inciting hostile Indian raids in the west that attacked American settlers headed to Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Michigan.  The Americans also felt a strong need to uphold national honor in the face of British insults.  The Americans did not seek to permanently take over Canada, but wanted to seize western Ontario as a bargaining chip.  The main British war goal was to defeat France and therefore stop neutrals like the U.S. from helping France.  Britain also wanted to assert its dominance of the seas. A secondary British goal was the creation of a "neutral" Indian state in the area of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and Illinois, that would be "guided" (or controlled) by Britain and serve to block American expansion.<ref>Canadian opinion was not consulted, but the people favored the British and feared the Americans because they opposed monarchy and Catholicism. Relatively few Canadians volunteered to fight the Americans; the fighting was done by British regulars and their Indian allies.</ref>  The war followed a series of failed efforts by the U.S. to use economic pressure through the [[Embargo of 1807]].  Britain acted too late diplomatically to head off the conflict.   

The fighting at sea was characterized by a tight British blockade that shut down most American shipping, together with some dramatic naval battles that added glory to the small U.S. Navy. On land the war was a draw characterized by a series of invasions launched by the U.S. against Canada, and by the British against Washington, New York state, and New Orleans. All the invasions were abject failures. By late 1814, with Napoleon gone and Britain friends with France, and the Indian tribes defeated, the causes for the war had largely vanished, and a treaty was agreed to that left the prewar boundaries unchanged.   

The fighting at sea was characterized by a tight British blockade that shut down most American shipping, together with some dramatic naval battles that added glory to the small U.S. Navy. On land the war was a draw characterized by a series of invasions launched by the U.S. against Canada, and by the British against Washington, New York state, and New Orleans. All the invasions were abject failures. By late 1814, with Napoleon gone and Britain friends with France, and the Indian tribes defeated, the causes for the war had largely vanished, and a treaty was agreed to that left the prewar boundaries unchanged.