Gp+4.5+-+War+of+1812

= = =__The War of 1812 __=

=Political Causes of the War:=

==== Britain and France had been fighting each other since the 1790s and they started a war in 1803. Up until the early 1800s, America had used their policy of [|neutrality] and hadn't interfered. When Britain and France began interfering with trade at sea, and illegally [|impressing]American soldiers, it became a little bit more difficult. Britain accused American soldiers of leaving their navy, and began targeting American ships and taking them back into the navy. When this became more and more of a problem, James Madison offered to not trade with the enemy if they would stop impressing their soldiers. France agreed, but he secretly continued impressing the soldiers, whereas Britain refused and also continued. Britain and France weren't respecting America's neutrality at all, and that didn't go over well with them.====

====Another thing that made American's thirsty for war was that the British were supplying [|Native Americans]with guns to fight Americans. Some also believed that Britain was encouraging the Native Americans. The reason for the fighting between the Americans and Native Americans was that settlers were expanding a lot into their land. Even after the [|Treaty of Greenville], which allowed Americans to move into their land, they were rebelling. An especially troublesome Native American was [|Tecumseh]. He united the Native Americans against the Americans and resisted the power of the United States. ====

====These two major events cause a great amount of anger in America. People began wanting war. There were two main groups representing people's opinions on war. [|The War Hawks], who were mainly from the West and South, wanted war. They saw it as the only answer to British insults. They also planned on invading Canada and gaining more land for settlement. The opposition to this group was a group called the New England Federalists. They felt that war would be foolish and that instead of war, America should renew friendly business with Britain and France. Also, they knew that America's army wasn't prepared fro any kind of war, and that supplies would be limited. In the end, the War Hawks won the vote, and the War of 1812 started.====

=Economic Causes of the War:=

==== [|Thomas Jefferson's] Embargo Act Kept American farmers and merchants from being able to export their goods across the sea. The Embargo Act stated that American ships cannot leave or enter a country's ports for trade. While it didn't affect Britain or France very much in a negative way, it deeply hurt fellow Americans who now could not make any profit from selling their goods. This act also went against former president, [|George Washington's]opinion that trading with Britain would deeply affect the US's economy in a positive way. [|The Embargo Act]was vetoed by Congress, and American ships continued to export its goods.====

[[image:Hannapic.jpg width="327" height="253" align="right" caption="British and American Ships Fighting at Sea: Drawn by Hanna T."]]
==== The War of 1812 also brought up another act, the [|Non-Intercourse Act]. This act was formed so that trade with Britain and France would be banned, while trading with other countries could be resumed. This act ended up being no more successful than the Embargo Act, because it too banned trade with Britain, as well as with another important country, France. Without the trade of these two countries, the US's economic system would need drastic change in order to stay stable.====

==== These two acts passed constantly state an important factor to America's economic success. Without trade with Britain, America's Main trading port, the US's people may just have to start wondering how they are going to put dinner on the table.====

==== Another main economic cause of the war was the impressment from the British on American sailors. The [|impressment]forced the American sea surfers to randomly participate in the army and in war. It kept the sailors from exporting the American goods that were needed to be traded in order to keep the US economically stable.====

=Major Battles and Leaders:=

By Bret S.
======== ==== There were many important battles and leaders in the [|War of 1812]. One of the most importa nt battles in the War of 1812 was the battle of Tippecanoe Creek. The cause for this battle was the Americans in the Ohio and Mississippi Valley pushing the Native Americans off their land. Two Shawnee Indians, Chief Tecumseh and his brother the Profit, decided to fight back and take back their land. The two Shawnee Indians united Native Americans throughout the Mississippi River and fought with a militia force led by Indiana governor [|William Henry Harrison]. ==== ==== The battle of Tippecanoe Creek was one of the major causes of the War of 1812 because at the end of the battle the Americans found British guns on the battlefield. This outraged the Americans and sparked the War of 1812. ====

==== James Madison picked revolutionary war veterans to lead the Americans into battle, but because of the soldiers' lack of training and discipline to fight they failed to take Canada and were overwhelmed by Chief Tecumseh's forces. The American forces had become hardened by battle experience, and in the fall of 1813 a fleet of American warships led by [|Captain Oliver Hazard Perry]defeated British forces that had controlled [|Lake Erie]. This caused the British to retreat to Detroit, but the retreating British were chased by William Henry Harrison's forces and were defeated at the Thames River. This was probably the most important battle in the War of 1812 because it was a turning point of the war for the Americans since [|Chief Tecumseh]was killed. This caused the Native Americans to lose their will to fight. In December the Americans were pushed back out of Canada by the British. ====

==== [|Napoleon]was defeated in Europe by 1814. This allowed Britain to send more troops to Canada which stopped the Americans from conquering Canada. An army of British troops marched from Montreal to Washington D.C where they met little resistance. The British burned the White House and Capitol as James Madison fled for his life. The British also tried to take [|Fort Mchenry]by bombarding it. A man named Sir Francis Scott Key snuck onto a British ship to find a captured doctor and saw in the morning that the flag on top of Fort Mchenry was still there; He included this in the national anthem. ====

====The British also tried to take New Orleans A [|fleet] of British ships led by Sir Edward Pakenham sailed from Jamaica to the mouth of the Mississippi to try to take New Orleans. Farmers saw the fleet and warned General Andrew Jackson. General Andrew Jackson's troops [|ambushed]the fleet causing the British to retreat. [|Sir Edward Pakenham]was killed during the battle. The Battle of New Orleans was the greatest American victory during the war and also the most unnecessary because two weeks earlier America and Britain signed the treaty of Ghent which ended the war. ====

=Consequences of the War:=


The War of 1812 caused many difficult consequences for the newly independent United States of America. Many included American ships being stolen or destroyed, several Americans killed, and Native American enemies uniting together against the Americans. As you have learned in the previous chapter, the war between France and Britain resulted in the U.S. becoming involved in their fighting. Britain and France [|seized]American ships and the British impressed American sailors. After many Americans became fed up with the way that France and mainly Britain was treating them, Congress declared war on Britain. Countless battles and killing decided both countries’ leaders calling for a [|peace treaty]. The Treaty of Ghent never really solved any of the problems that caused the war. Even though the capturing of U.S. ships and impressment of American soldiers died down, there were many hard consequences America had to face.  The tough costs that our co untry had to pay were both good and bad. Some bad consequences including the war ending neutrality and [|isolationism], two of the policies that George Washington stressed to keep. Also, the Federalists and Republicans became more divided because of their different beliefs on the war.   Don’t get me wrong; there were plenty of good results of this war, such as people of color being allowed to fight in the war. The [|Star-Spangled Banner]was written based on the battle of Fort McHenry during the war. The American flag was created and hung over [|Fort McHenry]. Also, the Native American’s power dwindled down to be no longer a threat to the U.S., the federalist party weakened because of their feelings against the war and they never really recovered. Lastly, the United States citizens were filled with pride of their nation that stood up not once, but twice to the most powerful navy in the world.  = Chapter Summary:=

Press play to listen to this podcast:
   media type="file" key="1812 podcast.m4a"