Chapter 7
Ye Parliaments of England,
Ye lords and commons, too,
Consider well what you’re about,
And what you’re goin’ to do;
Your’re now at war with Yankees,
And I’m sure you’ll rue the day
Ye roused the sons of liberty,
In North Americay.
Who do you think is singing this song? (be specific)
Who are they singing it to?
The U.S. army
consisted of fewer
than 7,000 troops
The states had between
50,000 to 100,000 militia
But they were poorly
trained
Public support?
Many states opposed
“Mr. Madison’s War”
Americans
underestimated the
strength of the
British and their
Why had Jefferson slashed the size of the army and navy?
To reduce the national debt
July 1812
William Hull
Led the army from
Detroit into Canada
William H.
Harrison
Also tried to capture
British-held Canada
Hull met by
Tecumseh and his
warriors
He was unsuccessful
Fearing a massacre,
Hull surrenders Ft.
Detroit to the British
Realized British
control of Lake Erie
prevented an
American victory
September 10, 1813
Oliver Hazard Perry
Perry’s orders were
to seize control of
Lake Erie from the
British
After a bloody
battle, Perry’s fleet
defeated the British
naval force
“We have met the enemy
and they are ours.”
Republicans had reduced the size of the navy to
national debt .
help lower the
However, the navy still boasted three of the fastest
frigates afloat. A frigate is a
.
warship
American privateers also staged spectacular
attacks on British ships and captured numerous
vessels. A privateer is an…
armed private ship
Battles, Continued…
Battle of
Thames
• With Lake Erie in
American hands,
the British and
their N.A. allies
tried to pull back
from the Detroit
area.
• Harrison and his
troops cut them
off. In the fierce
Battle of the
Thames on
October 5, 1813, the
great leader
Tecumseh was
killed.
Battle of York
• Americans also
attacked the town
of York (presentday Toronto,
Canada).
• The American
forces burned
down the
buildings of
parliament.
• Though the
Americans won
some battles on
land and sea,
Canada remained
unconquered.
U.S.S.
Constitution
• The Constitution
was one of
America’s fastest
frigates.
• The Constitution
destroyed two
British vessels –
the Guerriere and
the Java.
• After seeing a shot
bounce off the
Constitution’s hull
during battle, a
sailor nicknamed
the ship “Old
Ironsides.”
In March 1814, Andrew Jackson led an attack against the Creeks
in Alabama. His forces slaughtered more than 550 of the Creek
people. Their defeat broke the Creeks’ resistance and forced
them to give up most of their lands to the U.S.
With the war with France over, the British were able to send much of their
navy and many more troops to deal with the United States…
In August 1814, the
British sailed into
Chesapeake Bay.
Their destination was
Washington, D.C.
On the outskirts of
D.C., the British
troops quickly
overpowered the
militia.
“They proceeded, without a moment’s delay,
to burn and destroy everything…”
The Capitol Building, the
president’s mansion, the
Library of Congress, and the
Fortunately, a violent
U.S. Treasury Building were
thunderstorm putamong
out thethe buildings burned.
fires before they could
do more damage.
The White House ruins after the
conflagration of August 24, 1814
“We shall rebuild Washington.
The enemy cannot frighten a free
people.” – Dolley Madison
The United States Capitol after
the burning of Washington, D.C.
1. Surprisingly, Britain didn’t
try and hold D.C., but sailed
to Baltimore.
2. Baltimore was ready and
waiting – barricaded roads,
blocked harbor, 13,000
militiamen.
3. Britain launches a
ferocious attack on Ft.
McHenry from the harbor.
The fort successfully protects
the city.
In the thick of the War of 1812 , Baltimore lawyer Francis Scott Key
approached British authorities in the hopes of learning the
whereabouts of a physician friend thought to have been
incarcerated by the British for “unfriendly acts.” Key was detained
on one of the British warships that had sailed into Baltimore Harbor
to attack Fort McHenry, the cities last defense against British
occupation.
The attack, which Key witnessed from the ship’s deck, began at
night on September 13, 1814, with a massive naval bombardment of
Fort McHenry. Thousands of salvos “bursting in air” were fired
against the fort, but to Key’s astonishment, the “dawn’s early light”
revealed that the American flag – Old Glory – “was still there.”
1. General Sir George Prevost
led more than 10,000 British
troops into NY from Canada
2. Goal: to capture Plattsburgh,
a key city on Lake Champlain
3. The invasion was stopped
when an American naval
force defeated the British
fleet in September 1814
4. The British forced to retreat
to Canada
After the Battle of Lake Champlain, the British decided the
war in North America was too costly and unnecessary.
The Treaty of Ghent
Signed in Ghent, Belgium
December 24, 1814
•Battle was culmination of a month of minor skirmishes
•Treaty of Ghent ending the war had been signed several
weeks before, unbeknownst to combatants
•Led by Andrew Jackson, a rag tag group of Americans
caused 3000 British casualties in 40 minutes
•They fought behind cotton bales that could not be
shipped because of the British naval blockade
•Andrew Jackson becomes a hero and later uses his fame to
become President in 1828
Overview
Causes of the War:
•Impressment of American sailors at the hands of
the British
•Violation of American neutral rights on the
open seas
•Encouragement of Native Americans to attack
white settlers in the western United States
Outcomes of the War:
New American Nationalism
Growth in American Manufacturing
Native American issues are settled
No territorial exchanges between the US and Britain
1. This American general surrendered Detroit to a small British force
in July 1812.
2. He successfully seized control of Lake Erie.
3. Tecumseh was killed during this battle in October 1813.
4. What is a “frigate”?
5. What is a “privateer”?
6. What American led an attack on the Creek in March 1814? What
was this battle called?
7. What was the result of this battle?
8. Who wrote the Star-Spangled Banner?
9. What led the British to decide that to continue fighting would cost
them too much?
10.Name the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812. When was it
signed?
11.Who led the Battle of New Orleans?
12.Why did the Federalist Party lose power and influence after the War
of 1812?