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The War of 1812
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President Madison Takes Office
James Madison became the president. Madison was a quiet and scholarly man. He hehlped out a lot. He helped write the Constitution, and helped pass the Bill of Rights. Madison tried so hard to keep the United States out of war. -
The War Hawks Take Power
Henry Clay from Kentucky and John C. Calhoun of South Carolina became the leaders in the House of Representatives. The war hawks supported Clay and Calhoun. War hawks are those who are eager for war with Britain. War was strongest in New England. Many New Englanders believed war with Britain would harm American trade. -
Relations With Great Britain Worsen
Relations worsened steadily with Britain. The Americans were calling for war with Britain as well as they did in the early 1800's with the Native Americans. The Native Americans began new attacks on frontier settlements.The British told the U.S. they would continue impressing sailors. -
Congress Declares War on Britain
The war didn't come at a good time for Britain. They were already at war with Europe when Congress declared war with Britain. When the war began, the Americans were confident that they would win. Sad to say the Americans weren't ready for war. They only had 16 warships and had under 7,00 men! The British had 135 warships blockading American Ports. -
America is Not Ready For War
The Americans were confident that they would win the war until they found out that they were not ready for war.The American navy only had 16 warships and had less than 7000 men. The British had 135 warships and were reinforcing their troops. After they reinforcing their troops, they closed off American ports by war's end. -
Britain Blockades American Ports
The first few days of the war, the British set up a blackade of the American coast. A blockade is the action of shutting a port or road to prevent people or supplies coming into or leaving an area. The British had 135 warships blockading American ports. The British closed off all American ports after reinforcing their troops. -
Invasion of Canada
American troops under General William Hull followed the British back to Canada and invaded it from Detroit. Hull feared that he didn't have enough soldiers and retreadted. General Isaac Brook's army of British soldiers and Native American worriors quickly surrounded the American troops and forced them to surrender. The British captured more than 2,000 American troops. It was a serious defeat for the United States. -
USS Constition Scores a Victory
A sea battle was fought at the beginning of th war. The USS Constitution defeated the British warship Guerriere (gai-ree-air) in a fierce battle. The Americans nicknamed the USS Constitution "Old Ironside". The reason they nicknamed it "Old Ironsides" is because the British artillery fire bounced off the ship's thick wooden hull. To the Americans, it seemed as if the Constitution" was made of iron. -
Battle of Lake Erie
A 3-hour battle took place in the Westerm part of Lake Erie at a place called Put-In-Bay. The American flagship was badly damaged. American commander Oliver Hazard Perry switched toanother ship and contuinued to fight until it was won by Americans. Perry announced the victory and they now had control of Lake Erie and forced the British back to Canada. -
Battle of Thames
The American troops under General William Henry Harrison pursued the British. The British and their Native American allies retreated. The Americans followed the British in the Battle of Thames. Tecumesh, the Shawnee war chirf, was killed in this battle. -
Horseshoe Bend
Andrew Jackson took command of American forces in Georgia. Creek worriors attacked them. Jackson defeated the Creeks at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. The Treaty that ended the fighting forced the Creeks to give up millions of acres of land. The Americans now had more land. -
Washington D.C. Attacked and Burned
The British marched into the city of Washington D.C. and attacked. they set fire to many important government buildings including the White House. American army could not defend Washington. Dolley Madison, the President's wife, gathered all the president's important papers and rushed to the White House. After the attack the British moved to Baltimore. -
Writing the Star Spangled Banner
A young man named Francis Scott Key, watched the Attack on Baltimore. The Americans had beaten off the attack.After the attack, he still saw the American flag still flying over the fort. Key then wrote a poem on the back of an old envelope and called it the Star Spangled Banner. This poem told the story of that nights watch. The Star Spangled Banner became poopular and was set as music. Finally, later in 1931, Congress made it the national anthem for the United States. -
Attack on Baltimore
After the British attacked Washington D.C. they moved to Baltiomre. Their forst objective was Fort McHenry, which defended the city's harbor. british warships bombarded the fort throughout the night. A young American named Francis Scott Key watched the attack. After the attack, Key saw the American flag was still standing and thats when he wrote the Star Spangled Banner. -
Hartford Convention
The Hartford Convention threatened to leave the union if the war continued. News of the peace treaty arrived while the delegates debated what to do. With the war still going on, the protest was meaningless. This convention ended very quickly. -
Treaty of Ghent
People began peace talks in Ghent, Belgium. On Christmas Eve, two sides signed the Treaty of Ghent. Before the Treaty of Ghent hit the United States, the two sides fought one more battle. The Treaty of Ghent ended the war and everything went back to normal. -
Battle of New Orleans
The treaty of Ghent took several weeks to reach the United States. In that time the Americans and the British fought once more. Andrew Jackson was general at the time. General Andrew Jackson, of the Americans, won a stunning victory over the British.