Name_____________________________________________________
Period______
Date___________
War of 1812 – Guided Notes
Hawk = Let’s go to war!
Dove = No war, we want peace!
vs
I.
Causes - Why did the US go to war in 1812?
a. British interference with American S___________________________________
b. British i_____________________________ of American s_______________________________
c. British aiding N__________________________ A______________________________ violence on the frontier
d. British interference in America’s neighbor to the North – C___________________________
The War of 1812 is sometimes known as the Second War of American Independence. Why?
The war was fought both on L______________ and S_____________ and lasted almost 3 years.
II.
The US was largely unprepared for war. What evidence can you find to support this statement?
III.
The Fight
A. USS Constitution “OId Ironsides” forces a British surrender on the sea
B. The Americans invade C___________________ and burn the Parliament building
C. T__________________________ is killed in the Battle of the Thames
D. Oliver Hazard Perry wins the Battle of Lake Erie, preventing a British invasion
What heroism does Perry display in the Battle of Lake Erie?_________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
E. The British invade the C____________________________ B_________
F. They storm W_____________________________ and burn most of the city – including the White House and
the Capitol building (which housed the 3,000-volume Library of Congress at the time)
a. 63 year old Madison barely escapes capture! Dolley Madison bravely rescues some important
papers and a painting of George Washington as she flees the White House.
What role do documents play in our national identity? Imagine if the British had burned our original Constitution –
would the government continue to exist? Why or why not?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
G. The British move on to B__________________________
a. F____________________S_______________ K_________ was held aboard a British ship that had
bombed Baltimore’s Fort M________________________
b. All night long, they bombarded the fort, but the flag was still flying – this inspires Key to pen
The S_____________________ S________________________ B_____________________
1. Today, this song is our N_________________________ A_______________________
H. British plan to attack New Orleans – but A__________________J_________________________ was ready!
a. Jackson’s force was made up of frontiersmen, C______________________ Indians,
A_________________ A______________________ and many citizens from New Orleans!
b. Jackson’s force “digs in,” cannon and riflemen devastate the British until they finally retreat –
Jackson becomes a national h_____________!
III.
…to be continued
Treaty of G________________ ends the War of 1812 “Nothing was adjusted, nothing was settled”
a. No words about impressment or American neutrality
b. American fishing rights off coast of Canada, border between US/Canada restored
c. American manufacturing increases = helps begin the Industrial Revolution
d. Increases American P___________________________________
Fun Facts about the War of 1812 
●The British navy was the biggest in the world at the time, with more than 600 ships. How many did the U.S. Navy have? Only 18 sailable ships. It’s
no wonder Britain didn’t take the war seriously at first.
●During the war of 1812, Samuel “Uncle Sam” Wilson of Troy, New York, supplied meat to the US army. The barrels containing meat were marked
U.S. for United States, but many assumed that the initials stood for Uncle Sam. Soon, “Uncle Sam” became the nickname for the government of the
United States
●The saying “Don’t give up the ship!” comes from the War of 1812. Those were the dying words of Captain James Lawrence of the USS
Chesapeake as his ship was captured by Britain’s HMS Shannon.
●The US might have lost the war had it not been for the help of businessman Stephen Girard. In early 1813, the war was going badly and the
Treasury was nearly empty. Girard helped the gov’t raise over $8 million, and lent more than $2 million of his own money.
●Women, who often traveled with their husbands’ military units, sometimes acted as spies. Canadian Laura Secord walked 20 miles to inform the
British of a planned attack on the Niagara Falls area. The British then launched a surprise attack on U.S. troops and kept control of the peninsula.
●Francis Scott Key’s famous song about the Battle of Baltimore wasn’t originally called “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The initial name was
“Defense of Fort McHenry.” (Not exactly a catchy title.) It didn’t become the official national anthem until 1931.
●The final battle of the war took place after the peace treaty was signed. News of the Treaty of Ghent, which was signed on Dec. 24, 1814, didn’t
reach all of the United States for several weeks. So British and Americans battled in New Orleans on Jan. 8, 1815. The United States — led by
General Andrew Jackson — defeated the much larger British force.