Presidential Election of 1812
madwar
President James Madison
• Born in Virginia, 1751
•Enlisted in Continental Army
but too small
•Attended Princeton University
and became a lawyer.
•Father of the Constitution and
Bill of Rights.
•Secretary of State during
Jefferson’s Presidency
•President, 1809 to 1817
•Had to deal with Jefferson’s
policies after he left office
Tecumseh
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Tecumseh (Shawnee warrior) & the Prophet (his brother)
formed a union of tribes east of Mississippi to fight white
intrusion
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Supplied by the British
led Indian cultural renewal
1809: General William H. Harrison appointed as governor of
Indiana Territory by President Jefferson.
President Jefferson at the time instructed Harrison to
convince Tecumseh to stop attacking American settlements.
This continued under Madison’s presidency
Tecumseh vs Harrison
“Sell a country! Why not
sell the air, the clouds and
the great sea, as well as the
earth?
Did not the Great Spirit
make them for the use of
his children?”
Tecumseh
Tecumseh
Tecumseh reflected bitterly
on the white man’s
treatment of his people.
“We gave them forest-clad
mountains and valleys full
of game and in return what
did they give our warriors
and our women? Rum,
trinkets (jewelry) and death”
impressment
France and Great Britain are at war
England continued to
close ports under French
control to foreign
shipping (including the
US)
England continued to
seize US ships &
impressed Americans.
Non-Intercourse Act
1809 - Replaced the Embargo of 1807. Unlike the
Embargo, which forbade American trade with all
foreign nations, this act only forbade trade with France
and Britain. It did not succeed in changing British or
French policy towards neutral ships, so it was replaced
by Macon’s Bill No. 2.
Macon’s Bill No. 2
1810 - Forbade trade with Britain and France, but
offered to resume trade with whichever nation lifted its
neutral trading restrictions first. France quickly
changed its policies against neutral vessels, so the U.S.
resumed trade with France, but not Britain.
madwar
War Hawks
John C. Calhoun
South Carolina
Henry Clay
Kentucky
New members of Congress, John
C. Calhoun and Henry Clay want
war why Great Britain….Why?
•U.S. must defend its neutrality
•Stop impressment (destroying US
Economy)
•British forts still on US soil
•Tecumseh (arming of Native
Americans)
•Desire for Canada
•Considered British as disrespectful
• New England states
(many were Federalists)
did not want the war
• The War Hawks
successfully convinced
Congress to fight British
• Congress was not aware
that London repealed
impressment policy two
days prior to declaration
of war
United States vs. Britain
Map war1812
•US unprepared for
war but fought
valiantly
•Failed invasion into
Canada.
•British blockade
hurt US economy…
highlights
Washington, D.C. burned by
British, 25th of August 1814
Dolly Madison escaped
from White House and
took many pieces of
art, furniture from the
White House before the
British destroyed it.
The Battle of Thames
River, Oct. 5, 1813
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US military victory led by General William H. Harrison
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Tecumseh was killed during this battle
The Battle of Lake Erie was probably the most
important naval battle of the war
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US Naval tradition develops during the War of 1812
highlights
U.S. Flag which flew
over Fort McHenry to
inspire Francis Scott
Key to write the Star
Spangled Banner.
September 13th, 1814
Battle of Fort McHenry,
1814
Oh Say Can You See
By the Dawn’s Early Light…
-- Francis Scott Key
New orleans
•10,000 British troops reached the mouth of the Mississippi
River and were threatening the Louisiana Purchase.
•4,500 U.S. troops led by Andrew Jackson, the British were
defeated on January 8, 1815
New orleans
•Considered greatest
U.S. victory to that
time
•Defeated British’s
best without help
from any country
•US gains respect
after this battle.
•Kept Louisiana
Purchase under the
control of the U.S.
The Treaty of Ghent
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War of 1812 is considered a
“stalemate”…Dec. 1814
Results:
 A halt to the fighting
 The return of all conquered
territory to the prewar
borders
 Recognition of the prewar
boundary between Canada
and the United States
Radical New England Federalists met to discuss their
grievances & find solutions to their problems:
•U.S. Govt. fighting an unnecessary war against the wrong
enemy
•New Englanders continued to trade with the British during the
war
•Talked of secession
•When people found out what the Federalists were planning,
they became extremely unpopular
The War’s Legacy
U.S. gained the respect of other nations
 U.S. came to accept Canada as a neighbor and a part of the British
Empire
 The Federalist party came to an end as a national force
Talk of nullification and secession in New England set a precedent that
would later be used by the South
 Gained US neutrality and became isolated from Europe
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Native Americans in the West were forced to surrender large areas of
land and move west.
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More U.S. factories were built
War heroes such as Andrew Jackson and William Henry Harrison would
eventually become Presidents.
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Growth of American nationalism
The War of 1812 won new respect for
America among many British. Michael Scott,
a young lieutenant in the British navy wrote,
“I don’t like Americans; I never did, and never
shall like them…..I have no wish to eat with
them, drink with them, deal with, or consort
with them in any way; but let me tell the whole
truth, nor fight with them, were it not for the
laurels to be acquired, by overcoming an
enemy so brave, determined and alert, and in
every way so worthy on one’s steel, as they have
always proved”.
Respect from the Europeans