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Kayla Drosihn
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In 1809 President James Madison took office. At that time, Americans were very angry at Britain for arming Native Americans, also resented the fact that the British continued to try to recruit American soldiers.
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In 1810, Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun became leaders in the House of Representatives. Clay and Calhoun had supporters and they were called War Hawks. War Hawks were known as people who were eager to start war with Britain. Many New Englanders did not want war as they knew it would hurt American trade.
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Relations with Great Britain worsened steadily in the early months of 1812. In spring, the British told the United States that they would continue impressing sailors. Native Americans in Northwest began new attacks on the frontier settlements. In June, Congress declared war on Britain
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In June of 1812, Congress declared war on Britain. It was not a good time for war for the British, they were still at war with Europe. They did not want to meet the demands of the Americans so they chose war instead.
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In June 1812 the United States was not prepared for war with Britain. Jefferson's spending cuts weakend the American military strength. Despite the lack of warships and men, the USS Constitution defeated the British Warship.
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The British set up a blockade on the American coast. They had 135 warships blocking American ports. By the time the war ended, the British closed off all American ports.
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In July 1812, General William Hull invaded Canada from Detroit. He feared that he did not have enough soldiers. He and his soldiers withdrew. The British took advantage of this and captured more than 2,000 American soldiers.
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There was a major sea battle in August 1812. The USS Constitution fought the British warship Guerriere. The American ship won, it fired a barrage and it tore off both of the Guerriere's masts. The British cannon balls bounced right off of the American ships.
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In 1813, a three hour battle took place in Put-In-Bay. Americans won after commander Oliver Hazord Perry switched to a new ship. They won control of Lake Erie, and the British were forced to leave Detroit.
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In October 1813, American General Willaim Henery Harrison followed the British back into Canada. Americans defeated them in the Battle of Thames. Tecumseh was killed in the battle.
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In March 1814, there was a conflict in the South between the Creek Warriors (Native Americans) and the American settlers. The Creek Warriors attacked the American settlers. March 1814, Andrew Jackson defeated the Creeks at the battle of Horseshoe Bend. The treaty that eneded the fight forced the Creeks to surrender millions of acreas of land.
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The British's new strategy was to attack the Nation's capital, Washington, D.C. In 1814, the British moved into the city and set fire to several government buildings, such as the White House. Americans were shocked that the army could not defend their capital.
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In September 1814, the British moved on to Baltimore. On September 14th 1814, British warships bombarded Fort McHenery, which defended the city's harbor. Frances Scott Key watched the whole attack. The next moring Frances saw the American flag flying over the fort.
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Frances Scott Key then wrote a poem called the Star Spangled Banner. It told his story of what had happened that night. It became popular and became a song. In 1913, Congress made it the United States National Anthem.
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In December 1814, federalists in Hartford, Conneticut thought about having the New England States withdraw from the United States because the war damaged New England trade. While they debated this, the war came to an end and so did the Hartford Convention.
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In December 1814, in Ghent Belgium, on Christmas Eve 1814, the British signed a peace treaty. This treaty ended the war. It was then called the Treaty of Ghent.
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Even though the treaty of Ghent was signed, it took several weeks for the news to reach the United States. Until they got the news, they fought one more battle. General Andrew Jackson led American forces to victory over the British. It was called "The Battle of New Orleans".
