What Led Up to the War
The war of 1812 is a war many people tend to forget about in the grand scheme of things. This war was and still is referred to as the “second war for independence”. What is not readily known is what happened to bring us to the point of war, and what resulted from it. Mostly this war is remembered for the creation of the Star Spangled Banner, but also how this war was fought changed how wars would be fought in the future. Although no land changed hands, this war and the results of it changed the future of this great country. After the Revolutionary war, the United States was experiencing growing pains that any brand new nation is to expect to have. Initially after the Revolutionary war, the Continental Congress enacted …show more content…
Leading up to the war of 1812 things started to get tense between the United States and Britain. In 1807, Britain enacted trade restrictions against the United States and France, which the United States contested as illegal under international law. During this time there were grumblings from Britain about the growing competition from the United States in marine exports and imports. At this point in time the United States had the largest neutral merchant marine fleet by far. Tensions grew even higher “when a British warship attacked the U.S. Navy vessel Chesapeake, killing three, wounding eighteen, and seizing four alleged deserters.” (Henretta, 215). This event known as the Chesapeake Affair put tensions at an even higher point. President Jefferson was quoted as saying in the aftermath "Never since the Battle of Lexington have I seen this country in such a state of exasperation as at present, and even that did not produce such unanimity." (Jefferson, 1900) Jefferson then worked to resolve these tensions somewhat peacefully by enacting the Embargo Act of 1807. This act “prohibited American ships from leaving their home ports until Britain and France stopped restricting U.S. trade.” (A, 216). This act did not have the desired effect and only caused a general panic among American merchant. Jefferson and Hamilton did not take into account exactly how much the French and …show more content…
What is called the first battle of the war of 1812 was the Battle of Tippecanoe between the US and the Shawnee led by Tecumseh. This battle was to protest the United States encroaching on the land of the Native Americans. The Native Americans took the American army led by William Henry Harrison by surprise at Prophetstown. The natives were outnumbered but the element of surprise helped their cause. They held their ground until they started to run out of ammunition after more than two hours of fighting. Though initially looked at as a resounding victory for the Americans (Harrison rode it all the way to the White House in 1840), historians now doubt the overall success of the mission. It was after this battle that James Madison declared war on Britain, this was met with protests and discord from the general
The war of 1812 is a war many people tend to forget about in the grand scheme of things. This war was and still is referred to as the “second war for independence”. What is not readily known is what happened to bring us to the point of war, and what resulted from it. Mostly this war is remembered for the creation of the Star Spangled Banner, but also how this war was fought changed how wars would be fought in the future. Although no land changed hands, this war and the results of it changed the future of this great country. After the Revolutionary war, the United States was experiencing growing pains that any brand new nation is to expect to have. Initially after the Revolutionary war, the Continental Congress enacted …show more content…
Leading up to the war of 1812 things started to get tense between the United States and Britain. In 1807, Britain enacted trade restrictions against the United States and France, which the United States contested as illegal under international law. During this time there were grumblings from Britain about the growing competition from the United States in marine exports and imports. At this point in time the United States had the largest neutral merchant marine fleet by far. Tensions grew even higher “when a British warship attacked the U.S. Navy vessel Chesapeake, killing three, wounding eighteen, and seizing four alleged deserters.” (Henretta, 215). This event known as the Chesapeake Affair put tensions at an even higher point. President Jefferson was quoted as saying in the aftermath "Never since the Battle of Lexington have I seen this country in such a state of exasperation as at present, and even that did not produce such unanimity." (Jefferson, 1900) Jefferson then worked to resolve these tensions somewhat peacefully by enacting the Embargo Act of 1807. This act “prohibited American ships from leaving their home ports until Britain and France stopped restricting U.S. trade.” (A, 216). This act did not have the desired effect and only caused a general panic among American merchant. Jefferson and Hamilton did not take into account exactly how much the French and …show more content…
What is called the first battle of the war of 1812 was the Battle of Tippecanoe between the US and the Shawnee led by Tecumseh. This battle was to protest the United States encroaching on the land of the Native Americans. The Native Americans took the American army led by William Henry Harrison by surprise at Prophetstown. The natives were outnumbered but the element of surprise helped their cause. They held their ground until they started to run out of ammunition after more than two hours of fighting. Though initially looked at as a resounding victory for the Americans (Harrison rode it all the way to the White House in 1840), historians now doubt the overall success of the mission. It was after this battle that James Madison declared war on Britain, this was met with protests and discord from the general