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Period: to
March 1, 1809 to January 31, 1815
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President Madison Takes Office
Madison was intelligent. He tried to keep th United States out of war. People thought this was too timid. People argued that we should stand up to the Native Americans. By 1812 we were calling for war with Britian. -
War Hawks Take Power
War Hawks had a strong sense of nationalism. War Hawks felt Britian was treating the United States as we were in a colony. Clay ( a War Hawk ) wanted revenge on Britian and to conquer Canada. -
Relations with Britian Worsen
The British told the United States they wouldn't stop impressing saliors. To most Americans, the country's pride was at stake. The War Hawks were eager for war with Britian. Relations with Britian grew worse steadily. In June, Congress declared war on Britian. -
Congress Declares War on Britian
The War Hawks were eager for war with Britian. The War Hawks were Henry Clay and John Calhoun. Many New Englanders believed war with Britian would harm American trade. Britian told the United States they were still going to impress saliors.Native Americans in the Northwest began new attacks on frontier settlements. -
America is Not Ready for War
Because Jefferson believed in a small federal government, the navy only had 16 ships ready. Many officers knew little about military. The British fleet was huge. Our (the United States) army was small and ill equipped. The government relied on volunteers to fight the war mainly. -
British Blockades American Ports
The Britsh set up a blockade on the American coast. By 1814 the British had 135 warships blockading American ports. The British were able to close off the ports by the end of the war. The Americans only had 16 warships ready. There were only 7,000 men in the American army. -
Invasion of Canda
General William Hull moved from Canada to Detroit. The Canadians only had a few untrained troops. They were led by a skillful and clever British leader. Brock had Canadians dress in red coats to make it seem they were serving the British. Brock's scare tactics worked. -
USS Constitution Scores A Victory
Iaasac Hull was the captian of the USS Constitution. It seemed as if the Guerriere, a British ship, on his way to Newfoundland. It seemed as if the USS Constitiution was made of iron. The ships got into position for nearly an hour. After a while the USS Constitution's guns fired at the British ship. -
Battle of Lake Erie
Captian Oliver Hazard Perry had no fleet, so he built and designed his own ships. The British battered Perry's own ship and left it helpless. Perry took the flag down, rowed over to another ship, flew the colors, and continued to fight. Americans won the battle. Captian Perry wrote the message on the back of an envelope. -
Battle of Thames
Tecumseh died in the fighting at Thames. The Indian confederation fell apart without his leadership. Yet his allies, (Temcuseh) the Creeks, in the South continued to fight. A Tennessee officer named Andrew Jackson took command of American troops. The Americans won this decisive battle. -
Horseshoe Bend
Andrew Jackson was commander in Georgia. In the summer of 1813 the Creeks attackied several southern American settlements. These Native Americans (Creeks) suffered a defeat in the South. Jackson defeated the Creeks at the battle of Horseshoe Bend. With the treaty to stop the fighting the Creeks were forced to give up millions of lands. -
Washington D.C. Attacked and Burned
American troops met British troops at Bladensburg while President Madison watched the battle. Dolley Madison waited for President Madison in the White House. Dolley Madison picked up important douments and a portrait of George Washington then left. The British went from Washington to Baltimore. Baltimore's defense was Fort McHenry. -
Attack on Baltimore
British rockets bombarded the harbor. The American flag was still there the next day. The British retreated the same the same morning. Francis Scott Key, a witness, then wrote a poem about the battle. Then we (the United States) adopted our National Anthem as it was put to music. -
Writing of the Star Spangled Banner
We saw the flag and the British withdraw. Later "The Star-Spangled Banner" was set to music. We claimed the song as our nation's anthem. British rockets were bombarding the harbor. In the early morning, when the fog lifted, we ( the United States) saw our flag over Fort McHenry. -
Hartford Convention
A group of Federalists met in Hartford. Some delegates there suggested the New England states withdraw from the United States. Delegates debated, and news of the peace arrived. The whole war was called "Mr. Madison's War". The convention ended soon since the war was over. -
Treaty Of Ghent
Both sides signed the Traty of Ghent and the war ended. After, the treaty helped for things to go back to the way they were. The news took several weeks to reach the United States. Only one more battle was fought in that time. The last battle was the Batlle of New Orleans. -
Battle of New Orleans
The Britiish were prepared to attack New Orleans. Afterwards, they wanted to attack Mississippi. Andrew Jackson was waiting for the British. Jackson took Pensacada from Spanish Florida to keep Britian for using it as a base. Jackson's force included thousands of frontiersman.
