-
Period: to
The War of 1812
-
President Madison takes office
James Madison served as Secretary of State for President Thomas Jefferson. He held that position until he was elected as the fourth President of the United States in 1808. The election results weren’t announced by Congress until February 8, 1809 and Inauguration Day for James Madison occurred in March 4, 1809. -
War Hawks Take Power
March 1810 a bunch of new men got into Congress. They believed in taking a stronger attitude toward Great Britain or any other country that threatened American rights. The Jeffersonians (who called themselves Republicans) supported the war especially the young members of Congress. Among them were thirty-five-year-old Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun at only twenty-nine years of age. These men and their supporters came to be known as the War Hawks. They were largely from the South and West. -
Relations with Great Britain Worsen
Because the British were angry towards the United States due to its new found independence, it did many things in attempt to slow its growth. Both Great Britain and France were interfering with American trade and were taking American ships. The United States believed that Britain still not treating it as an independent country, and was actually providing Native Americans with guns to attack American settlers. -
America is not ready for War
The United States was going to war not really prepared in 1812. The US was still a new nation, other than the Indian Wars, the War of 1812 was the US's first war. They did not have a strong Navy and they were tight on money, with an Army of 7,000 men and a Navy with 12 combat vessels. The United States could have prepared for the conflict and then declared war. -
Congress Declares War on Britain
On June 17, 1812, Congress passed a declaration of war. On June 18, 1812, President Madison signed the declaration of war starting the War of 1812. The vote totals in Congress, in the House 79-49 and in the Senate 19-13, indicated that the war was favored mostly by one political party, the Jeffersonian Republicans, and opposed by the Federalists. The opposition of the Federalists would continue throughout the war, and the conflict would be bitterly divisive in the United States. -
Britain Blockades American Ports
The strategy of the British was to protect their own merchant shipping to and from Halifax and Canada, and to enforce a blockade of major American ports. The British navy blockaded American ports to stop Americans from trading with other countries. The small American navy was unable to break the blockade. -
Invasion of Canada
More than half of the British forces were made up of Canadian militia. In the beginning of the war, British military experience prevailed over inexperienced American commanders. The American Brigadier General William Hull invaded Canada on July 12, 1812 from Detroit, with an army mainly composed of militiamen. British Major General Isaac Brock drove back the Americans and, with the aid of Shawnee Chief Tecumseh, forced Hull to surrender at Detroit on August 16. -
USS Constitution scores a victory
On August 19, Constitution engaged the British frigate HMS Guerriere. The British maintained a higher rate of fire than the Americans, firing three broadside for every two fired by the Constitution, but the American fire was both more accurate and more damaging. After a thirty five-minute battle, Guerriere had been dismasted and captured and was later burned. The clash between USS Constitution and HMS Guerrière was the first significant American victory of the War of 1812. -
Battle of Lake Erie
The morning of September 10, 1813, a lookout spotted six British vessels to the northwest of Put-in-Bay beyond Rattlesnake Island. Immediately Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry issued orders and sailed to engage the British. With Perry's fleet on Lake Erie the British supply route from Fort Malden to Port Dover had been cut. The British had to either fight, or abandon Fort Malden. The nine small, outgunned ships defeated a Royal Navy fleet.
“We have met the enemy and they are ours” O.H.Perr -
Battle of Thames
After the American victory at Lake Erie, forces crossed the lake into Canada at what became known as the Battle of Thames. British forces were forced to withdraw. The American forces caught up with the surrendering British and Indians and defeated them. Chief Tecumseh was killed in the battle. This was an important because Tecumseh had sought to form a confederacy of Indian tribes to stop white Americans from taking Indian land. Tecumseh's death marked the end of Tecumseh's Confederacy. -
Battle of Horseshoe Bend
General Andrew Jackson and an army consisting of Tennessee militia, United States regulars, and Cherokee and Lower Creek Indian allies attacked Chief Menawa and his Upper Creek, or Red Stick, warriors in the Horseshoe Bend of the Tallapoosa River, Alabama. The Red Sticks fought bravely but lost the battle. More than 800 Upper Creek warriors died at Horseshoe Bend defending their homeland. In a peace treaty signed after the battle, the Creeks ceded nearly 23 million acres of land to the U. S. -
Washington, D.C. Attacked & Burned
The British army of approximately 4,000 approached Washington. American defenders, including President James Madison, were quickly routed by the invaders in a battle at Bladensburg a few miles from the city. First Lady Dolley Madison and her staff fled by carriage across the Potomac River. President Madison and his cabinet had also fled to safety. The British then torched the White House, the Capitol, which then housed the Library of Congress, the navy yard, and several American warships. -
Attack on Baltimore & the Writing of the Star Spangled Banner
The British Navy unleashed a barrage of cannons on Fort McHenry for 25 hours straight. Baltimore was dark, except for the lights of the cannon shells exploding, casting a glow on the flag flying high above Fort McHenry, proving the fort was still standing. Francis Scott Key, watched as British cannons failed to do any significant damage to the fort. He wrote about it in a poem he called "Defence of Fort McHenry”. It was put to music and became known as "The Star-Spangled Banner". -
Hartford Convention
Many in New England believed that the war was unnecessary and that it was having a paralyzing effect on the economy. From December 15, 1814, to January 5, 1815, delegates from the states of Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont gathered at Hartford, Connecticut, to discuss their grievances. -
Treaty of Ghent
On December 24, 1814, The Treaty of Ghent was signed by British and American representatives at Ghent, Belgium, ending the War of 1812. The treaty says, all conquered territory was to be returned, and commissions were planned to settle the boundary of the United States and Canada. -
Battle of New Orleans
Before peace was concluded in December 1814, the British launched an effort to seize a portion of southern Louisiana, including the city of New Orleans. The Battle of New Orleans happened on January 8, 1815, after the Treaty of Ghent was signed. The treaty had allowed the fighting to continue until both sides formal approved the agreement and that did not occur until February 1815. American forces under Andrew Jackson, was a mismatched group of militia and pirates defeated the British.
