On June. 1st 1812. President James Madison made arguably one of the most controversial determinations of his presidential term ; President Madison decided to direct a missive to congress telling the American grudges against Great Britain. which finally ended in a congressional ballot to declare war against Great Britain. This marked the first clip in American history that war was declared on another state. Challenging the state that America succeeded from seemed to be a very premature determination. but to dispute the greatest naval fleet in the universe. seemed like pure insanity. Great Britain was moving as if they wholly failed to admit America as an independent state. Trade contentions. impressment. and Native American’s supported by Great Britain wholly led up to this declaration of war. Normally known as the “Forgotten War” . this is decidedly non a war to be forgotten. Had the tabular arraies turned. this quite perchance could hold been the terminal of America’s short life.
One of the chief causes of the war was Great Britain’s continued pattern of impressment. The British would board American ships claiming to be seeking for Royal Navy apostates and they would take any they could happen and if they needed excess work forces to function on their ship they would claim whatever Americans they wished. This profaned American rights in two separate ways. the British were get oning ships with no right to make so. and they were prehending American work forces that clearly did non wish to function in the British Navy. The British were wholly justified to board foreign ships due to their “Orders in Council” . The Orders in Council really justified that the British were allowed to board and seek any foreign ship and hunt for apostates. What they chose to go forth out of their Orders in Council. was that they were traveling to prehend American work forces to contend in a European war that Americans had no concern in. Impressment was non a new pattern to the British. this had been traveling on for many old ages and continually enraged Americans. Impressment became a serious issue into the 1800’s. when the British were at war with France and were in despairing demand for work forces so they began to claim more Americans than they of all time had. The British non merely tried to warrant their searching of American ships but they besides tried to warrant their seizing of American work forces by stating. “Once an Englishmen. ever an Englishmen” . This merely further displayed the English disregard to acknowledge America as an independent state.
The ultimate act of disrespect came on June 22. 1807. off the shore of Norfolk. Virginia. when the American Chesapeake began its everyday patrol responsibility like any normal twenty-four hours. Not far off the seashore the Chesapeake ran into the HMS Leopard. a British ship. The Leopard signaled to the Chesapeake as if they wanted to do some type of communicating and the Americans halted and allowed a British officer to come on board. The British officer came aboard the Chesapeake and demanded the return of four British apostates ; the American Captain James Barron refused to let go of the work forces so the British officer returned to his native ship and the HMS Leopard opened fire on the Chesapeake. The Chesapeake was damaged but was non submerged. headed back to shore.
This incident resulted in the really unpopular Embargo Act set Forth by the Americans. The Embargo Act prohibited all exports from America. This meant that no American ship could unclutter for foreign ports. unless it was empty. This act was about certainly traveling to set emphasis on the American economic system. but would finally stop impressment Acts of the Apostless. The Embargo Act about destroyed all export income. falling from $ 108 million in 1807 to $ 22 million in 1808. Import gross was besides struck by the Embargo Act. falling from $ 138 million in 1807 to less than $ 57 million in 1808. This destroyed occupations in the import-export booming communities of the nor’-east. Americans were put out of work and the economic system was about destroyed due to the Embargo Act. President Jefferson knew that the act was a error and lessened the clasp on transportation by replacing for the Non-Intercourse Act. The Non-Intercourse Act merely prohibited trade with the British and Gallic. who besides impressed and boarded American ships. but non to the extent of the British.
Another one of the chief causes of The War of 1812 was the Native Americans in Canada. The Native Americans became piercingly after being pushed back. twelvemonth after twelvemonth from their native land. The Shawnee Chief. Tecumseh became the leader of what would go one of the first Native American organized political motions. Tecumseh became ill of the American tendency of stealing Native American land and forcing them further and further into the West and Canada. Tecumseh went every bit far as Wisconsin to the Floridas. carrying folks to fall in him in an attempt to halt this coup d’etat of their land. With now 1000s of Indians organized to process the Americans off land they had taken from Native Americans. Americans became weary and decided to move. On November 7. 1811. General Harrison led over 1000 American soldiers against the Native American forces at Prophetstown in Indiana. With their leader Tecumseh off enrolling work forces. his brother. Tenskwatawa ordered his work forces to assail Harrison. General Harrison retaliated and pushed the Native Americans back. destructing Prophetstown. The Americans so aimed their choler at the British in Canada. It so became a countrywide thought that the Native Americans were backed by the British and it seemed as if war was the last possible solution.
Heavily influenced by the War Hawks. who were the immature leaders in Congress at the clip. President Madison sided with the War Hawks and pushed for war against Great Britain. America now found itself in its first declared war. against the greatest naval power in the universe. The Americans wanted to move rapidly as they pushed North to Canada and three separate onslaughts on Canada were all complete failures. This temporarily had American assurance down and American morale was about destroyed until a twine of winning American conflicts turned the tabular arraies on the British. One of the most of import figures was a immature US naval officer named Oliver Hazard Perry. merely 28 at the clip. took over the American attempt to recapture the Great Lakes.
Perry arrived and rapidly energized the building of a ten-boat fleet on Lake Erie. On September 9. 1813. on Lake Erie. Perry’s newly built ships with their inexperient crews challenged British commanding officer Barclay’s smaller but more experient fleet. All of Barclay’s officers died during the conflict. and the British fleet was forced to give up. Proctor retreated to Niagara. American General Harrison followed after. catching Proctor’s forces in early October at the Thames River. In the ensuing Battle of the Thames. the Americans defeated the British and their Indian Alliess. During the conflict. the Indian leader Tecumseh was killed along with his most committed Indian Alliess. Tecumseh’s Indian Confederation. which were Alliess to the British. rapidly collapsed.
One of the most memorable minutes of the war came after British General Robert Ross led his ground forces against the Americans at The Battle of Bladensburg in Maryland. General Ross easy dominated the Americans and marched into Washington D. C. and began to fire down the metropolis. President Madison and his married woman Dolly were really the last people to go forth the White House before it was burned down and gratefully they made it out of the Capital unharmed. After a series of back and forth triumphs and losingss in conflict. the realisation of a armistice came to footings with both sides. Even more so. after Napoleon had surrendered to the British. they could now concentrate all their energy on their war in America. The American citizens were besides disquieted and negotiations of a sequence by New England began to come up. with the War of 1812 being one of their major concerns.
The Treaty of Ghent. signed on Christmas Eve. 1814. ended the War of 1812 and established a new foreign policy moral force between the United States and Great Britain. Historians normally skip by the pact with small notice. explicating that it ended the war “status quo antebellum” which means. the war basically changed nil. In truth. nevertheless. it verified a new shared-power relationship between the former enemies. The War of 1812 was the 2nd war between the United States and Great Britain within 30 old ages. When it was over. England grudgingly accepted that the United States was here to remain. and the U. S. acknowledged that it still needed the umbrella of England’s planetary power. at least for a piece longer. to do its ain manner in the universe.
