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Tecumseh
A Shawnee chief and warrior who opposed the U.S. expansion into Native lands, forming a Native American confederacy to promote resistance. -
Impressment of Sailors
British seizure of U.S. sailors, for recruitment to the navy, with the threat of death or imprisonment. -
Washington's Proclamation of Neutrality
A formal announcement presented by President George Washington, that declared the U.S. neutral in the conflicts between European nations. -
Jay Treaty
Signed by Great Britain and the United States, allowed for U.S. neutrality, and avoid war between the two nations. -
Washington's Farewell Address
A letter written by President George Washington, stating that he would not seek a third term as president. In this letter, he wrote advice to the citizens, and warned them about the danger of political parties, advocated U.S. neutrality in foreign conflicts, and to celebrate American achievement. -
Chesapeake-Leopard Affair
A naval engagement off the coast of Norfolk, Virginia, between the British HMS Leopard and the American USS Chesapeake, caused by the refusal of permission for the British Commander to search the Chesapeake for deserters, which led to the British barrage on the ship, killing 3 Americans, and wounding 18 more. This fueled the already rising tensions between the U.S. and Great Britain. -
Embargo Act 1807
In response to British and French interference with neutral U.S. merchant ships, President Thomas Jefferson declared that no imports were to be accepted from Britain, and closed all U.S. ports to all exports to demonstrate other countries dependence on American goods. -
War Hawks
Mostly young politicians from the West and South, who were Jeffersonian Republicans that pushed for war with Britain to punish them for hurting American prestige. -
War of 1812 Begins
President James Madison formally declared war on Great Britain, after years of British limiting American trade and seizing U.S. sailors. -
Hartford Convention
A Constitutional Convention that drafted amendments to strengthen states' control on commerce and militias, and discussed the impact of the War of 1812. -
Treaty of Ghent
Signed at a meeting held in Belgium by American delegates and British commissioners, that ended the War of 1812 by pledging to maintain pre-war conditions. -
Battle of New Orleans
A battle dominated by the Andrew Jackson's U.S. Army over the British Army in Chalmette, Louisiana. This forced the ratification of the Treaty of Ghent, ending the war and marking the state's political incorporation into the Union.