-
Period: to
The War of 1812
-
President Madison Takes Office
President Madison took office in atime of great tension with Britain. Britain had continued impressing American sailors and handing out arms to Native American tribes so they could attack the United States. -
War Hawks Take Power
The many war hawks in America were strong nationalists and preferred to fight with Britain rather than lose their country's honor. -
Relations With Great Britain Worsen
Britain was warned, but they said they would keep impressing American sailors. The now armed Native Americans begin attacks on the frontier. -
Congress Declares War on Britain
Britain had gone too far to be ignored. On June 18, 1812, Congress declared war on Britain. -
America is not Ready for War
President Jefferson's cuts on the government and military left America with hardly anything to fight with. They only had 7,000 men in the army and 16 warships in the navy. -
Britain Blockades American Ports
Since the American navy was so weak, Britain was able to blockade all American ports with 135 warships along the coast. -
Invasion of Canada
The war hawks wanted to invade Canada and drive the British out of there too. They expected the Canadians to be happy to throw off the British, so the started the attack. -
The USS Constitution Scores a Victory
The Constitution, which had a very strong and thick hull, badly defeated the British warship it was fighting. -
Battle of Lake Erie
A three-hour long battle that would decide who controlled a key lake was won by the Americans. -
Battle of Horseshoe Bend
The Creek indians were defeated and forced to give up millions of acres of land. -
Washington DC attacked and burned
The Brithish attack DC and burn the White House but the president's wife saved the important papers. -
Writing the Star Spangled Banner
The British tried to capture Fort McHenry, but failed. A young mom watched the fight, go on through the night and wrote a poem about American victory which later became the national anthem. -
Hartford Convention
The Hartford Convention was a convention that discussed wether New England should withdraw from the United States. The convention eventually broke up because of the Treaty of Ghent. -
Treaty of Ghent
Britain was tired of war and peace talks began in Ghent, Belgium. On Christmas eve, 1814, the two sides signed the treaty; the end of the war. -
Battle of New Orleans
Since the news of the treaty took a while to spread, there was one more battle at New Orleans where the Americans won a stunning victory.