Section 4
The War of 1812
War breaks out again between the United States
and Britain in 1812.
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SECTION
4
The War of 1812
The War Hawks Demand War
British and French Rivalries
• British blockade French ports to prevent ships
from entering
• Britain, France (1000, 500) seize American ships,
confiscate cargoes
Grievances Against Britain
• Impressment—seizing Americans, drafting them
into British navy
• Federalist party (pro-Brit) shrinks in popularity
• Chesapeake incident further angers Americans
• Jefferson convinces Congress to declare
embargo, or ban on exports
• Embargo, meant to hurt Europe, also hurts U.S.
- Congress lifts it, except with Britain, France Continued . . .
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The Chesapeake incident
The actual number of Americans pressed into service in the Royal Navy is
unknown, but it is estimated that a thousand American seamen per year
were illegally pressed into British service. The British removed four
“deserters” from the Chesapeake’s crew. Only one of them was British –
the rest were American seamen who had been impressed into British
naval service. The Leopard then sailed to England so that the men could
be tried.
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continued
The War Hawks Demand War
Tecumseh’s Confederacy
• William Henry Harrison (Gov. of Indiana territory)
makes land deal with Native American chiefs
• Shawnee chief Tecumseh tries to form Native
American confederacy:
- tells people to return to traditional beliefs, practices
- presses Harrison to leave land, negotiates British
help; many tribes don’t join
The War Hawks
• Harrison is hero of Battle of Tippecanoe but suffers
heavy losses
• Broke Tecumseh’s plans for unity
• War hawks—want war with Britain because natives
used British arms
--Henry Clay of Kentucky leads the War Hawks
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The War Brings Mixed Results
Americans’ Advantages
• Canadian population still strongly French
• British have to send troop reinforcements 3000
miles across the stormy Atlantic
• British worn out from recent wars with France and
Spain
• American ships strongest in the world, manned by
skilled sailors
--Most famous ship, the Constitution, named
because Paul Revere did the metalwork
American Disadvantages
• Northeast against the war, contributes little and
even helps the British at times
• Old and incompetent war generals
Continued . . .
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The War Brings Mixed Results
The War in Canada
• Madison (wins landslide presidential election of
1808..Dem-Rep.) chooses war, thinks Britain is
crippling U.S. trade, economy
• U.S. army unprepared; early British victories in
Detroit, Montreal
• Oliver Hazard Perry defeats British on Lake Erie;
U.S. wins battles on Atlantic Ocean
• Native Americans fight on both sides; Tecumseh
killed in battle
• British blockade U.S. ports along east coast
Election of 1812
• Madison defeats Federalist, anti-war candidate
DeWitt Clinton (mayor of NY)
• Sectional results: Madison wins South and westContinued . . .
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continued
The War Brings Mixed Results
British Burn the White House
• By 1814, British raid, burn towns along Atlantic
coast
• British burn Washington D.C.
The Battle of New Orleans
• General Andrew Jackson fights Native
Americans, gains national fame
• Jackson defeats Native Americans at Battle of
Horseshoe Bend
- destroys military power of Native Americans in
South
• In 1815, defeats superior British force at Battle
of New Orleans (the Yorktown of War of 1812)
Continued . . .
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British burn Washington D.C. and the White
House
The individual states, while eager to defend themselves, felt no obligation
to defend D.C. This was the only time in history that D.C. was occupied.
President Madison and the rest of the government was forced to flee to
Virginia. The British set fire to the Capitol building and other public
buildings. The Executive Mansion was painted white to hide some of the
effects of the fire and it has since been known as the White House.
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continued
The War Brings Mixed Results
The Treaty of Ghent
• Treaty of Ghent, peace agreement signed
Christmas 1814
• Declares armistice or end to fighting; does not
resolve all issues
• 1815, commercial treaty reopens trade between
Britain and U.S.
• 1817, Rush-Bagot agreement limits war ships on
Great Lakes
• 1818, northern boundary of Louisiana Territory set
at 49th parallel
• Agree to jointly occupy Oregon Territory for 10
years
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Battle of Fort McHenry
During a night-long bombardment of Fort McHenry, an American lawyer was on one of the ships
trying to negotiate the release of an aged physician, a friend of his who was captured in Washington.
He spent an anxious night wondering if Fort McHenry would be forced to surrender. When the
dawn was breaking, the old doctor kept asking “Is the flag still there?”. Inspired Key wrote a poem
“The Defense of Fort McHenry”. It was noted that the words could be made to fit an old drinking
song called “To Anacreon in Heaven”, and the poem sung in this fashion became the “Star Spangled
Banner”