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Katie Smith
Period 9 -
Tension with Britain was high when James Madison took office in 1809. Americans were angry at Britain for arming Native Americans in the Northwest. They also resented the continued impressment of American sailors by the British.
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Two strong nationalists, Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun, became leaders in the House of Representatives. Henry, John, and their supporters were called war hawks. Many New Englanders thought that war with Britain would harm American trade.
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Relations with Britain steadily worsened in early 1812. British told the United States that they would continue impressment of sailors. Native Americans began new attacks on frontier settlements in the Northwest.
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British were still at war with Europe when Congress declared war. Britain was not willing to meet American demands to avoid war. They provided Native Americans with support to protect Canada from invasion of the Americans.
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Americans were confident that they would win. They soon found out that they were not prepared for war. Jefferson's spending cuts weakened American military strength. The navy only had 16 warships ready and the army was also small, with fewer that 7,000 men.
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The British set up a blockade on the American Coast. In 1814, the British navy has 135 warships blockading American ports. By the end of the war, the British were able to close off all American ports.
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Warhawks were demanding an invasion of Canada before the war had started. They expected Canadians to take the chance to throw off British rule. Hull and his troops invaded Canada from Detroit in 1812, they soon retreated. The British captured more than 2,000 American soldiers, it was a serious defeat for the United States.
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A major sea battle happened at the beginning of the war. In August of 1812, the USS Constitution defeated the British warship "Guerriere" in a fierce battle. American sailors nicknamed the Constitution "Old Ironsides" because British artillery fire bounced off the ship's thick wooden hull. It seemed as if the Constitution were made out of iron.
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Americans had better luck on Lake Erie. Both sides were aware of the importance of controlling the lake. A key three-hour battle took place at Put-In-Bay, in the western part of the lake. During battle the American flagship was damaged badly. Oliver Hazard Perry, the American commander, switched to another ship and continued fighting until it was won. With Americans in control of the lake, the British were forced to leave Detroit and retreat back to Canada.
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When the British and their Native American allies retreated, the Americans under Harrison pursued them. They followed British into Canada and defeated them in the Battle of Thames. Tecumseh was killed in the battle.
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Native Americans got defeated in the South. Creek warriors attacked several southern American settlements. Andrew Jackson took command of American forces in Georgia. In March 1814, Jackson defeated the Creeks at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. The treaty ended the fighting forced the Creeks to give up millons of acres of land.
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A British force marched into the city in August 1814. Dolley Madison, the President's wife, got all of the President's important papers and fled the White House. The British set fire to the White House and several other government buildings. Americans were shocked that their army could not defend Washington.
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The British moved on to Baltimore. Their first objective was Fort McHenry, which defends the city's harbor. British warships attacked the fort during the night of September 13, 1814.
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Francis Scott Key watched the attack. At Dawn, he saw the American flag still flying over the fort. The Americans had beaten off the attack. Key wrote a poem that he called " The Star-Spangled Banner" on the back of an old envelope. It became popular and in 1931, Congress made it the national anthem of the United States.
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In December 1814, a group of Federalists met in Hartford, Connecticut. Some of the delegates suggested that the New England states secede from the United States. While the delegates debated, news of the peace treaty arrived. With the war over, the convention ended.
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Britain had tired of war. Peace talks began in Ghent, Belgium. On Christmas eve 1814, the two sides signed the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the war. The treaty made things the way they were before war.
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The news of the treaty took several weeks to reach the United States. During that time, the two sides fought one more battle. In January 1815, American forces under General Andrew Jackson won a stunning victory over the British.
