Less than 30 years after the end of the American Revolution, the United States and Britain went to war again, in the War of 1812. In some ways, the war was strange and unnecessary. Most of the issues had been settled before the fighting began. BackgroundThe war took place during the time of the Napoleonic Wars in Europe, when France was battling Great Britain. The United States, which had important ties with both countries, tried not to take sides in the European war. But this proved hard to do. The French closed the ports of Europe to the British. The British in turn forced neutral nations like the United States to pay a fee before they could trade with these ports. The British also began stopping United States ships to search them for British subjects. If British sailors were found, they were “impressed,” or forced, to serve on British ships. American sailors were sometimes captured as well. War nearly broke out in June 1807 when a British warship, the Leopard, fired on the Chesapeake, a United States ship that refused to be searched. President Thomas Jefferson avoided war by convincing Congress to pass the Embargo Act banning United States ships from dealing with foreign trade. However, many merchants (especially those in New England) were determined to continue trade regardless of any dangers. The ban on trading was ended in 1809. Beginning of the warMeanwhile, Americans in the West, unlike most New Englanders, favored war. They thought the British had been encouraging Native Americans to fight American settlers in the West. Congressmen known as “war hawks,” led by Henry Clay and John Calhoun, eventually convinced the government that war was necessary. The United States declared war on June 18, 1812, despite a British decision to reverse its policy towards United States shipping. - USS Constitution, escaping from the British fleet off the coast of New Jersey, July 18, …
The American leaders expected to conquer Canada and bring a quick end to the war. They were soon defeated in their attempts, however. Although vastly outnumbered, the American Navy was more successful in the early stages of the war. The Constitution (“Old Ironsides”) and other ships won clear victories. From 1813 most of the United States warships were blocked in ports or captured by British vessels. On September 10, 1813, however, a small fleet commanded by Captain Oliver Hazard Perry defeated British ships at Put-in-Bay on Lake Erie. In October, troops led by future U.S. President William Henry Harrison won an important victory at the battle of the Thames in Canada. There the Native American leader Tecumseh, who had fought with the British, was killed. The war in 1814By 1814 Napoleon had been defeated, and the British were able to focus on the war with the United States. In August 1814, British troops captured Washington, D.C., and burned the capitol, the president's house, and other public buildings. President James Madison barely escaped capture. The British then tried to capture Baltimore, Maryland, but failed. During the British naval bombardment of Baltimore's Fort McHenry, Francis Scott Key wrote the poem that became
"The Star-Spangled Banner"
. On January 8, 1815, at New Orleans, Louisiana, British soldiers attacked the forces led by another future U.S. president, Andrew Jackson. Marching in close formation, the British were cut down by sharpshooting frontiersmen. More than 2,000 British troops were killed, while less than 100 Americans died. The end of the warThe battle of New Orleans actually occurred after the war had officially ended. Both sides had become tired of the war and signed a peace treaty in Ghent, Belgium, on December 24, 1814. News of the treaty had not reached the United States in time to prevent the battle. Nevertheless, the battle was notable because it made Andrew Jackson a national hero. It also gave Americans the mistaken idea that the War of 1812 was a victory for the United States. Actually boundaries remained as they were before the war, and other problems were to be discussed in the future. One result of the war was that the United States became more independent from Europe and developed more of a sense of national identity. |