War of 1812

War of 1812

Period: Mar 1, 1809 to Jan 31, 1815

President Madison Takes Office

Mar 4, 1809

~Tension with Britain was high
~Americans were angry that Britain was arming Native Americans
~Americans resented impressment of American sailors by the British
~Native Americans were not happy at America for taking their land
~America was at stake when President Madison took office

War Hawks Take Power

Mar 1, 1810

~They wanted to conquer Canada
~They wanted to take Flordia from Spain
~End the British aiding the Native Americans
~Winning the war with Britain would bring everlasting peace
~Winning against Britain would also mean safety

Relations with Great Britain Worsen

Jan 2, 1812

~Tension with Britain was high when James Madison took office
~Americans were angry with Britain for arming Native Americans in the Northwest
~Clay and Calhoun were War Hawks
~Congress declared war on Britain
~War Hawks wanted to go to war with Britain

Congress Declares War on Britain

Jun 18, 1812

~June 1812, Congress declares war
~Native Americans supported Britain
~Britain was at war in Europe
~America was not ready for war
~Jefferson's spending cuts hurt America's military, navy, and army

America is Not ready for War

Jun 19, 1812

~America's declaration for war took the British by surprise
~They were locked in a bitter struggle with Napolean
~They would not spare troops to fight the United States
~The Navy only had 16 ships to fight
~The Army was small and ill equipped

Britain Blockades American Ports

Jul 1, 1812

~The navy had only 16 ships ready for action
~The army had fewer than 7,000 men
~British blockaded the American Coast
~British navy had 135 warships blockading American ports
~The British were able to close off American ports by war's end

Invasion of Canada

Jul 12, 1812

~General Willaim Hull moved American troops into Canada from Detroit
~The Canadians were lead by a clever and skillful British leader, General Isaac
~Isaac paraded his soldiers in red coats to make it appear that experienced British troops were helping the Canadians
~He sent a message with false information to fall into American's hand
~Hull retreated from Canada

USS Constitution Scores a Victory

Aug 19, 1812

~A major sea battle that was very fierce
~The USS Constitution defeated the British warship, Guerriere
~British artillery bounced off the ships think wooden hull
~It seemed as if the USS Constitution was made of iron
~The Constitution's nickname was Old Ironsides

Battle of Lake Erie

Sep 10, 1813

~Both sides knew the importance of controlling Lake Erie
~A three hour battle took place at Put-In-Bay
~American Flagship was badly damaged
~Oliver Hazard Perry switched to another ship and continued to fight
~The Americans won the battle, and now they have control over Lake Erie

Battle of Thames

Oct 5, 1813

~British retreated from Detroit into Canada
~General Willaim Henry Harrison pursued them
~The Americans won a victory at the battle
~Tecumseh died in fighting
~ The Indian confederation soon fell apart

Horseshoe Bend

Mar 27, 1814

~Creek warriers attacked several southern American settlments
~Andrew Jackson took command of American forces in Georgia
~Jackson defeated the creeks at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend
~The treaty that ended the fighting forced the creeks to give up millions of acres of land
~Native Americans also suffered defeat in the south

Washington D.C. Attacked and Burned

Aug 24, 1814

~British ships sailed into Chesapeake Bay
~American troops met the British at Bladensburg, Maryland
~Dolly Madison gathered up important papers for the President and fled south
~The battle-hardened and the British quickly scattered the untrained Americans
~British met little further resistance as they continued to the capitol

Attack on Baltimore

Sep 12, 1814

~The British's objective was to attack Fort McHenery
~British ships bombarded the fort
~The Americans beat off the attack
~The American flag was still there after the battle was over
~Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner

Writing the Star-Spangeled Banner

Sep 13, 1814

~Francis Scott Key wrote the poem
~He wrote about what he saw during the battle
~The poem was writtin on the back of an old envelop
~It became popular and was set to music
~In 1931, Congress made it the National Anthem of the U.S.

Hartford Convention

Dec 15, 1814

~A group of Federalists met in Hartford, Connecticut
~Some suggested that the New England states secede from the U.S.
~With the war over, the Hartford Convention ended quickly
~News of the Peace Treaty arrived
~The U.S secured its independence from Britain

Treaty of Ghent

Dec 24, 1814

~By 1814, Britain had been tired of war
~Peace talks began in Ghent, Belgium
~On Christmas Eve, the two sides signed the treaty
~The treaty returned things the way they were before war
~The news took several weeks to reach the U.S

Battle of New Orleans

Jan 8, 1815

~General Andrew Jackson had American forces
~The battle was fought against the British
~Jackson was waiting for the British
~America won the battle against the British
~More than 2,000 British were killed