-
Period: to
The War of 1812
Eleanor Lisec
Per. 3 -
President Madison Takes Office
When James Madison took office, Native Americans were very angry with the Americans for taking their land with westward expansion. There was a lot of tension with Britian. They wouldn't stop impressing American sailors. -
War Hawks Take Power
War hawks are people who want to go to war with Britian. Some of the war hawks are Henry Clay of Kentucky and John C. Calhoun of South Carolina. A lot of New Englanders thought war with Britain would hurt trade in America. -
Relations with Great Britian Worsen
Britian refused to stop impressing sailors. Meanwhile, Native Americans were attacking American settlements on the frontier. Congress then declared war with Britian! -
Congress Declares War on Britian
Britain didn't want to avoid war. Americans were confident they would win the war. However, Jefferson spending cuts had made the military quite weak. -
America Is Not Ready For War
The strength of the American military was not very high. The Navy consisted of only 16 warships ready for action. The army was less than 7,000 ready to fight. -
Britian Blockades American Port
A blockade is the action of shutting a port or road to prevent people or supplies from coming in or out. The blockade was set up in the first few days of the war. The blockade consisted of 135 warships blocking many ports. By the end of the war Britain was able to close off all American ports. -
Invasion Of Canada
Even before the war, war hawks wanted to invade Canada. General William Hull invaded Canada from Detroit. Hull wasn't sure he had enough soldiers. British General Isaac Brock soon surrounded Hull and his army forcing them to surrender. -
USS Constitution Scores A Victory
The battle was fierce between the warships USS Constitution and Guerriere. The Americans nicknamed the USS Constitution "Old Ironsides" because the artillery seemed to bounce of the ship's strong hull. It seemed to be made of iron. -
Battle of Lake Erie
Controlling Lake Erie was really important. The battle was 3 hours in Put-In-Bay. Oliver Hazard Perry's ship was damaged and he had to switch to another ship. He said at the end of the battle, "We have met the enemy and they are ours." British and Native American allies retreated. -
Battle of Thames
After General William Henry Harrison followed the British back to Canada they pursued them and defeated them at the Battle of Thames. Tecumseh, a Shawnee war chief, died during the battle. Americans had won another victory! -
Battle of Horseshoe Bend
Native American warriors, Creeks, were attacking American settlements. Andrew Jackson took command of the forces in Georgia. Jackson won the battle at Horseshoe Bend, defeating the Creeks. He made a treaty forcing the Creeks to stop fighting with the Americans. -
Washington, D.C. Attacked & Burned
The British's strategy was to attack the capital, Washington D.C. James Madison's wife, Dolly Madison, got all President Madison's important papers and fled. The Americans were disappointed to learn the army couldn't defend Washington against Britian. -
Attack On Baltimore
First, the British went straight for Fort McHenry, which defended the Baltimore harbor. The attack seemed to go all night. Soon after the battle a young American, Francis Scott Key, saw the American flag flying over the fort. They had won the battle. -
Writing of The Star Spangled Banner
On the back of an old envelope, Key wrote a peom he said was "The Star Spangled Banner". It outlined what he saw the night of the battle. In 1931, it became our national anthem. -
Hartford Convention
A group of Federalists met in Hartford. Some delegates thought that the New England states should secede from the United States. The peace treaty arrived in the middle of the debate saying that the war was over. The convention ended soon after the treaty arrived. -
Treaty of Ghent
In Ghent, Belgium talks of peace began. On Christmas Eve, both America and Britian signed a peace treaty. Thus the war was ended. -
Battle of New Orleans
The peace treaty took many weeks to get to the US. During that time, General Andrew Jackson won a victory against the British at the Battle of New Orleans. The Americans had won another war against Britain.