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The War of 1812
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President Madison Takes Office
Tension with Britian was very high when President Madison took office. American were infuriated. Britian was arming Native Americans in the Northwest. Also Britian kept impressing sailors. -
War Hawks Take Power
Henry Clay of Kentucky and John C. Calhoun of South Carolina became the leaders of the House of Represenitives. They were very strong nationalists. These men and their followers were called war hawks. War hawks were eager to go to war with Britian. Now that they had infected Congress, war was becoming unavoidable. -
Relations With Great Britian Worsen
The ralations with Britian got steadaly worse. Britian kept impressing American sailors. Also Britian started arming Native Americans. The natives started to use these guns to attack Northwest settlements. -
Congress Declares War On Great Britian
The United States was between a rock and a hard place. If they declared war then they would be ignoring George Washington's advice of remaining neutral. On the other hand, if they didn't declare war Britian would keep impressing sailors. Also the Native Americans would continue to attack American settlements. Congress made its final disicion, they declared war on Great Britian. -
America is not Ready for War
The Americans were not ready for war. Thomas Jeffersons spending cuts greatly weakend the American army. The army had a mere sixteen navel war ships. There were only seven-thousend men in the army. -
Britian Blockades American Ports
In the early days of war, Britian blockaded the American coasts. Britian had 135 war ships within the blockade. By the end of the war, Britian had blockaded all American ports. -
Invasion Of Canada
Even before the war with Britian started the war hawks wanted to invade Canada. Americans thought Canada wanted to be free of British rule. William Hull and his troops invaded Cananda from Detroit. Hull wasd unsure about his ability to lead his troops so he retreated. British General Isaac Brock saw the weakness and confusion in the American troops as a opportunity to strike. Brocks' soilders quickly sourounded and captured Hulls' army. America lost 2,000 soilders that day. -
USS Constitution Scores a Victory.
The USS Constitution was nicknamed "Old Ironsides". It had two foot thick sides. On August 19, 1812 "Old Ironsides" attacked the Guerriere. The British bullets bounced harmlessly of the hull of "Old Ironsides". The Americans sunk the Guerriere. -
The Battle of Lake Erie
American force had some good fortune at the Battle of Lake Erie. Both sides knew the importance of controling the lake. During the three hour battle the American flagship took a lot of damage. Oliver Hazard Perry switched his fortces to another ship and won the battle. Americans now controled Lake Erie. -
The Battle of Horseshoe Bend
Creek warriors were attacking southern settlements. Andrew Jackson took control of the Georgian soilders and attacked. Jackson won. The treaty that ended that battle caused the Creeks to give up millions of acres of land. -
Washington D.C. Attacked and Burned
Britian moved in to attack Washington D.C.. Dolly Madison, President Madisons wife, gathered up some important presidential documents and fled the city. British forces burnt down the many government buildings including the White House. It was a depressing loss for America. -
Writing the Star Spangled Banner
A young man named Francis Scott Key watched the Battle of Baltimore. It went all through the night. At dawn he noticed that the American flag was still there. this inspired him to write a poem he titled "The Star Spangled Banner". He wrote it on the back of an emvolope. In 1931 it was put to music and declared the national anthem. -
Hartford Convention
New England was mad. They were losing money because of the British Blockade. Their ships couldn't get through. The New Englanders blamed Madison. They assembled the Hartford Convention to disscuss this matter. When news of the Treaty of Ghent arrived, this idea was quickly dimminished. -
Treaty of Ghent
Britian and America were both tierd of war. Talkes of peace started in Ghent. On Christmas eve the Treaty of Ghent was signed. Everything returned to normal. -
Battle of New Orleans
The news of the treaty hadn't reached America yet. Andrew Jackson defeated the British at New Orleans. It was a stuning victory. This was the final battle of the War of 1812
