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The War of 1812
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President Madison Takes Office
James Madison was elected as president of the United States in 1809. At that time, relations were worsening between the U.S and Britain and the U.S's honor was at stake. -
War Hawks Take Power
Early in 1810, two war hawks named Henry Clay (Kentucky) and John C. Kalhoun (South Carolina) became leaders in the House of Representatives. -
Realation With Great Britain Worsen
U.S relations began to get worse with Britain early in 1812. Then in spring, Britain informed the U.S that they would continue impressing American sailors. -
Congress Declares War on Britain
Since relations had worsened with the U.S and Britain, there were war hawk in the House of Representatives, and Britain was still impressing the U.S's sailors, congress declared war on Britain on June 18, 1812. -
America is Not Ready For War
Having had budget cuts from Jefferson, America's army was not ready for war. The Navy had only 16 warships and the Army had fewer than 7000 men. -
Britain Blockades American Ports
In the first days of the war, Britain had blockaded the American coast. The British Navy bhad 135 warships blocking America's ports. By the end of the war, Britain had all American ports blocked. -
Invasion of Canada
On July 12 1812, Americans led by Gneral William Hull marched to Canada from Detroit. In Hull's confusion, British General Issac Brock won by surrender. The British captured about 2000 American soldiers. -
USS Constitution Scores a Victory
The American ship the USS Constitution was nicknamed 'Old Iron Sides'.The British opened fire at the ship but their cannon balls bounced off of the nearly two-foot thick sides. It was a fierce battle at the beginning but the Americans ended up winning easily. -
Battle of Lake Erie
The battle of lake Erie was fought for control over the lake as it would prove very helpful in the war. The battle lasted for three hours and both sides had Native American allies. The American General was Oliver Hazard Perry. During this battle an American flagship was badly damaged, but was switched out and the Americans continued fighting the battle until it was over. -
Battle of Horseshoe Bend
In the summer of 1813, Creek warriors attacked several settlements in the south. Andrew Jackson then took control of Georgia forces and in March 1814, they defeated the Creek warriors at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. -
Washington, D.C Attacked and Burned
The British had a new stratagy- to attack and burn Washington, D.C, the nation's capital. The president and his wife grabbed the important papers and fled, and then several government buildings and the White House were set on fire by the British when the American army could not successfully defend their capital. -
Writing of the Star Spangled Banner
When the moved on to Baltimore, they attacked Fort McHenry, which defended the harbor, first. An American named Francis Scott Key, saw the bombardment on the fort and, at dawn after the Americans had won, saw the American flag still standing. He then wrote a poem about it on the back of an old envelope and called it "The Star-Spangled Banner". It told what had happened the night earlier. The poem became popular and was set to music and later made the national anthem of the U.S. -
Hartford Convention
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 were debating, the news of the peace treaty arrived. With the war over, the Convention quickly ended. -
Treaty of Ghent
By this point, Britain had gotten tired of the war. After talk of peace had been spreading, the two sides finally signed the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the war and made things the way they were before. One more battle was fought, however, because news of the treaty took several weeks to get to the U.S. -
Battle of New Orleans.
This was the final battle of the war. Since news of the treaty ending the war hadn't reached the U.S yet, they didn't know that the war had ended. In the battle, the Americans under General Andrew Jackson won a final victory over the British.
