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Tension grew when James Madison became president. Britain armed Native Americans in the Northwest with guns which caused Americans to be mad. They felt their country's honor was at stake and they felt proud of their country. Soon, Henry Clay of Kentucky and John C. Calhoun of South Carolina had become the leaders in the House of Representatives because of their pride in America.
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War Hawks were known as people who were excited to go at war with Britain. Those included Clay, Calhoun and their supporters. Britain thought war would damage trading in America, so they did not think battle was a good choice.
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In 1812, the ideas of war worsened. Britain continued to impress sailors. Native Americans bagan attacking frontier settlements. Congress declared war with Britain in June.
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Britain was still at war in Europe, so getting involved in another war was very inconvenient for them. They refused to agree with American demands to avoid it. Native Americans were provided with support to protect Canada against the attacks.
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Jefferson's idea of decreasing the amount of money Americans spend, weekened their army, resulting in only 16 warships and less than 7,000 men left to fight. The U.S. was not prepared. This surprised them, because they thought for sure that they would win.
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Britain started to set up a blockade of the American cost in the early days of war. A blockade is when a port or road is shut down, not allowing people or supplies to leave or enter. Britain had 135 warships which blocked ports belonging to America. Britain closed all of the ports off by the end of the war.
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War Hawks desperately wanted to invade Canada. General Isaac Brock, a British commander, surrounded Hull and his army with his Native American warriors and British soldiers. Hull's army was forced to surrender while 2,000 of its own American soldiers were then captured. This battle was a huge loss for the United States.
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During August 1812, the USS Constitution defeated the British warship known as Guerrie're in a fierce battle. Britain's artillery fire bounced off of the thick wooded hull on the U.S. ship. The Constitution was given the nickname of "Old Ironsides."
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In 1813, the American flagship was not in good shape, so American commander, Oliver Hazard Perry, changed ships, continuing battle until he won. The British had to leave Detroit and retreat back to Canada. The British were defeated in the Battle of Thames. Tecumseh was killed during battle.
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Native Americans also had to face being defeated in the south as well. During the summer of 1813, Andrew Jackson took command in Geogia of American forces. The Creeks were defeated in March, 1814 by Jackson and his army. The treaty that ended the war caused millions of acres of land to be given up by the Creeks.
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As Britains strategy, they planned to attack the nation's capitol, Washington D.C. Dolley Madison, the president's wife, gathered up important papers owned by the president and left the White house when a British force marched through the city in August 1814. The White House and several other buildings, government-related were set on fire. The American army couldn't defend Washington, leaving Americans speechless.
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The British decided to move onto Bultimore in search of Fort Henry, which defended the city's harbor. They attacked the fort on the night of September 13, 1814. Francis Scott Key who was a young American girl, watched the attack and saw the American flag still perched above the fort, which meant the Americans had won. Key wrote a poem called "The Star Spangled Banner" on the back of an old envelope. In 1931, Congress made this our national anthem after adding music and turning it into a song.
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A group of Federalists met in Hartford Connecticut. Some thought New England should withdraw from the U.S. while others debated. News of the peace treaty had arrived. The Hartford convention soon ended, because there was no need for the convention, seeing that the war was over.
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Britain was tired of war by 1812. Talks about peace had begun in Ghent Belgium. On Christmas Eve of 1814, the Treaty of Ghent was signed. The treaty ended the war and returned things mostly back to normal.
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News of the new treaty took a long time to get back to the U.S. In result of this, they fought one more war along-side General Andrew Jackson. America had defeated Britain in the Battle of New Orleans. It was the last battle of the war.
