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War of 1812
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President Madison Takes Office as U.S. President
1) Tension with Britain was high when James Madison took office in 1809.
2) Americans taking over more Native American land out west.
3) Congress passes law that reopened foreign trade with every country except for Britain and France.
4) Americans were angry at Britain for arming Native Americans in the Northwest
5) Americans also resented the continued impressment of American sailors by the British. -
War Hawks Take Power
1) Henry Clay of Kentucky and John C. Calhoun of South Carolina became leaders in the House of Representatives.
2) They and their supporters were called the war hawks.
3) Even before the war began the war hawks were demanding an invasion of Canada.
4) They expected the Canadians to welcome the chance to throw off the british rule.
5) They were very eager to fight Britain. -
Relations with Britain Worsen
1) Britain begins to impressment American sailors
2) Britain arms Native Americans
3) Britain takes over Canada
4) British is still in America
5) Native Americans started new attacks on Americans on thier frontier. -
Congress Declares War on Britain
1) British is still at war with Europe.
2) Britain not willing to agree to US demands.
3) Britain supports Native Americans
4) Britain wanted to protect Canada from Americans
5) Britain decides to fight a war against America. -
America Isn't Ready for War
1) Jefferson's spending cuts had weakend the American millitary strength.
2) The Navy had only 16 warships ready for action.
3) The army also was small with fewer than 7,000 men.
4) America was overly confident that beating the British would be easy.
5) America saw that the British had more men and weapons. -
Britain Blockades American Ports
1) Very first days of war British blockaded the American coast.
2) Blockades shut down areas to prevent people and supplies from going in and leaving.
3) British Navy had 135 warships to block the ports.
4) British had many extra troops to help out.
5) By the end of the war, British closed off all of the ports. -
Invasion of Canada
1) Even before the war began, war hawks were demanding an invasion of Canada.
2) In July 1812, American troops under General Willam Hull invaded Canada from Detroit.
3 ) American's Hull was unsure of himself and feared he did not have enough soldiers, so he retreated.
4) The British Commander, General Isaiac Brock, took his army of British soldiers and Native American warriors and quickly surounded Hulls army.
5) British captured 2,000 American soldiers and it was a serious defeat for the US. -
USS Constitution Scores a Victory
1) The USS Constitution defeated the British warship Guerrier in a fierce battle.
2) The American sailors nicknamed the constitution 'Old Ironsides' because British artillery bounced off the ships hull.
3) This major sea battle was fought at the beginning of the war.
4) They fought in the North Atlantic ocean.
5) It only took US one hour to beat the British. -
Battle of Lake Erie
1) In 1813 the Americans set out to win control of Lake Erie.
2) Captain Perry had no fleet, so he designed and built his own ships.
3) In September 1813, he sailed his tiny fleet against the British.
4) Both sides knew it was very important to control the lake.
5) Americans pushed British troops back into Canada. -
Battle of Thames
1) The Americans won a decisive victory at the battle of the Thames.
2) Tecumseh, a Shawnee war chief, died in the fighting.
3) Without Tecumseh's leadership the Indian Confederation soon went downhill.
4) Americans forcced the British and native Americans back into Canada.
5) American General William Henry Harrison chased them further into Canada. -
Horseshoe Bend
1) Creek Warriors attacked various American settlements.
2) In 1814 with the help with the Cherokees, Andrew Jackson won a crushing victoy at the battle of Horseshoe Bend.
3) The leader of the Creek Warriors walked alone into Jackson's camp to surrender.
4) They all signed a treaty to end the fighting.
5) Warriors needed to give Americans millions of acres of land. -
Washington, DC is Attacked and Burned
1) British wanted to weaken the US and the supporters of the war.
2) British burned down many government buildings.
3) When the British started burning the White House, James Madisons' wife, Dolley, collected his important files and belongings and fled.
4) Washington was defenseless at this time.
5) Americans were shocked that the British could defeat our national Capitol that easily. -
Attack on Baltimore
1) The British now moved on to Baltimore, Maryland
2) Their first objective was to Fort McHenery, which protected the city's habor.
3) British had 19 warships that shot at the fort all night long on Sept. 13, 1814.
4) America killed over 46 soldiers and wounded 290.
5) That led the British to retreat. -
Writing of the Star Spangled Banner
1) Francis Scott Key watched the battle and saw the US flag was still there.
2) The US had beaten off the British attack.
3) Key wrote a poem on the back of an envelope called The Defense of Fort McHenry.
4) It was renamed the Star Spangled Banner.
5) Congress declared the song to be the US national anthem. -
Hartford Convention
1) During the war there were many people who were against fighting the British.
2) The New England states didn't want a war because they knew it would decrease trading.
3) A group of Federalists met in Hardford,Conneticut suggesting that the New England states withdraw from the U.S.
4) They called the war of 1812 "President Madison's War."
5) When the treaty was signed to end the war, the Hartford Convention ended. -
Treaty of Ghent
1) By 1814 Britain had gotten tired of war.
2) Peace talks began in Ghent, Belgium.
3) On Christmas Eve 1814 the two sides signed the treaty of Ghent which ended the war.
4) After it was signed, everything went back to normal with both countries.
5) The news that the war was over took several weeks to reach the US.
5) -
Battle of New Orleans
1) News of the peace treaty took several weeks to reach the U.S.
2) In that time, the two sides fought one more battle.
3) In January 1815 General Andrew Jackson headed the US military.
4) The US killed over 386 British soldiers.
5) America won the battle over Britain.
