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War of 1812 timeline

  • Beginning of the Impressment of American Sailors

    The British Navy begins barging into American trade ships and inspecting the sailors before picking some of them to be forcefully impressed into service to the British Navy.
  • Period: to

    Timespan of events

  • Washington's Proclamation of Neutrality

    Washington signed a Proclamation stating that America will be neutral in trade with Britain and France. Britain and France ignored the Proclamation and continued seizing American trading vessels.
  • Jay Treaty

    The Jay Treaty was signed to get Britain to leave their forts in the Great Lakes. The treaty was ineffective in it's purpose of getting Great Britain to remove their troops.
  • Washington's Farewell Address

    Washington resigned from office and his address was found days later. Washington resigned as he believed the problems in his presidency were too great, and that he didn't want to deal with it further.
  • Chesapeake-Leopard Affair

    British soldiers stopped an American ship to search for stowaways. The captain denied the request of the sailors, which ended up with the British sailors firing on the American Vessel.
  • Embargo Act

    The Embargo Act was an act put in place in an attempt to stop Britain and France from raiding American trade ships, however, the act was a failure and hurt the American economy.
  • War Hawks begin campaigning to fight the British

    A group of politicians from southern states began campaigning for an official declaration of war to be issued on Great Britain.
  • Tecumseh's Negotiation

    Indian Chief Tecumseh created a confederate group with other Native American tribes and began trying to negotiate with America to cease moving westward into native land. This negotiation would not succeed and leads into Tecumseh's War.
  • War of 1812 Starts

    An official declaration of war is signed and war is declared on Great Britain.
  • End of Tecumseh's War

    Tecumseh's War ends after Tecumseh dies in battle. The end of this war left the Native Americans weakened.
  • Hartford Convention

    The Hartford Convention was a secret Federalist meeting to discuss the policies of President James Madison that were not widely agreed upon. This event leads to the deconstruction of the Federalist Party.
  • Treaty of Ghent

    The Treaty of Ghent was signed to signify peace between Great Britain and America. This treaty also failed in it's purpose as both sides gave up fighting.
  • Battle of New Orleans

    The Battle of New Orleans was the final battle lost by the British in their campaign to take New Orleans, as the British wanted to separate Louisiana completely from the rest of the US.