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War of 1812
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President Madison Takes Office
-Madison was a Republican, just like Jefferson.
-Madison hoped that Britain and Frace would stop violating American neutrality.
-Madison was a quiet, scholary man.
-Madison hoped to keep out of war, but that did not happen.
-The U.S. finally went to war with Britain and some Native Americans. -
War Hawks Take Power
-War Hawks are people from the west and south that wanted to go to war.
-They had a strong sense of nationalism. (a pride in one's country)
-Two very strong war hawks were Henry Clay of Kentucky, and John C. Calhoun of South Carolina.
-They became leaders in the House of Representatives.
-Most people from New England opposed war hawks. -
Relations with Great Britain Worsen
-Britain gave Native Americans in the North-West arms, whichmade America mad.
-Britain was encouraging the Indians to fight and attack the Americans.
-The U.S. and Britain disagreed with trade.
-the U.S. stopped all trade with Britain, because they were siezing Americcan ships.
-Britain continued to impress the American sailors. -
Congress Declares War on Britain
-Madison asked for the congress to declare war on Britain.
-The House of Representatives and the Senate voted yes to war.
-Britain was still at war in Europe, so it wasnt really a good time.
-America thought that they would win, then they realized that it would not be easy.
-While Jefferson was president, he cut the spending of the military, which made them weaker. -
America is Not Ready for War
-The U.S. thought that they were ready and going to win, they changed their mind.
-Thier army is very small, compared to the much larger British army.
-They didnt have all of the supplies that they needed to beat the British.
-The U.S. Navy only had 16 warships ready.
-All of this was mostly becasue of Jefferson's spending cuts. -
Britain Blockades American Ports
-Britain blockaded the ports to stop Americans from trading with other countries.
-The small U.S. Navy couldnt break the blockade.
-Several captains won victories over the blockade of Britiah ships
-The British had 135 warships blocking the ports.
-The British was able to close off all American ports by the time the war ended. -
Invasion of Canada
-The war hawks were demanding rhe invasion of Canada
-American troops under General William Hull invaded Canada from Detroit.
-Hull was unsure of himself.
-Hull feared that he did not have enough soldiers, and retreated.
-The British took advantage of thier retreat and captured over 2,000 American soldiers with the help of their Native American allies
-This was a huge loss for the U.S. -
USS Constitution Scores a Victory
-The captain of the Constitution saw a British ship while sailing near Newfouldland
-The guns of the USS Constitution shot holes on the Guerriere (the British ship)
-The guns of the Constitution also shot both masts of the Guerriere.
-That wasnt the only time that American sailors and captains had victories over British ships.
-Even though they had all of those victories, it didn't do much to help them win the war. -
Battle of Lake Erie
-Both sides of the fighting knew how important it was to control the lake.
-The battle took place for three hours in the western part of the lake.
-The American flagship was badly damaged, so the commander changed ships.
-After trading ships, Oliver Hazard Perry (the commander) fought until the U.S. won.
-Since the Americans had won the battle, they gained control of the lake.
-Since the Americans had won, they gained control of the lake. -
Battle of Thames
-The Americans gained control of Lake Erie.
-Britain and their Native American allies retreated back to Canada.
-General William Henry Harrison was in charge of the U.S. Army.
-The Indian Confederation fell apart after this battle because thier leader died in the fighting.
-Americans won victory at this battle! -
Horseshoe Bend
-Andrew Jackson took control of American troops.
-Andrew Jackson won a crushing victory with the help of the Cherokees.
-The Creeks were forced to give up acres of land. -
Washington D.C. Attacked and Burned
-Britain's strategy was to attck the nation's capital, Washington D.C.
-The First Lady, Dolley Madison, took all of the President's important papers and files, and fled the White House.
-The British set fire to many of the government buildings, including the White House.
-America's Army could not defend the British, due to how small they were.The White House was not finished being rebuilt until 1817 -
Attack on Baltimore
-After burning down the White House, the British army moved to Baltimore, Maryland.
-Britain's goal was to attack Fort McHenry.
-The British army attacked Fort McHenry for a whole night. -
The Writing of the Star Spangled Banner
-Francis Scott Key was a young American who watched the Attack on Baltimore.
-He saw that the U.S. flag was flying over the fort in the morning, which means that AMerica had won that battle.
-Seeing that sight, Key wrote a poem on the back of an old envelope and called it "THe Star Spangled Banner".
-In his poem, he explained what had happened during the attack that he had watched.
-His poem became famous and popular, so it was set to music, and later became the nation's National Anthem. -
Hartford Convention
-A group of Federalists met in Hartford, Connecticut.
-Some delagates at the meeting thought that some New England states shouldnt be part of the U.S. anymore.
-The delagates didnt like the Republican president or the war.
-While they were debating whether or not they were going to leave, they found out that the war was over.
-They stopped protesting because it didnt matter anymore, the war was over. -
Treaty of Ghent
-Signed in the city of Ghent, Belgium
-John Quincy Adams explained it as, "nothing was adjusted, nothing was set."
-Britain and the U.S. agreed to restore prewar conditions.
-The treaty didnt say anything about impressment or nuetrality.
-Other issues with Britain were settled later. -
Battle of New Orleans
-Plan: The British leader would snuck up on the American Army and and fire cannons and rockets at them.
-Britain couldnt do thier original plan because the process to prepare had failed
-They still attacked, just not the way they had planned.
-The American army had attacked Britain as well, and Britain's two leaders were fatally wounded.
-America had won this battle!
