The War of 1812 Essay

This act would forbid any U.S. ship to sail from an U.S. port to a foreign port. In developing this act, Jefferson had hoped to find an alternating from war. The act failed. American coastal cities were soon desolated. All segments of the American economy were being affected by this act. The paralysis effect on the American economy accompanied by the almost unaffected economy of Great Britain led to only one thing, the American people were turning against one another.3 The American leaders learned one thing from this act, the war could not be fought through economic pressure, it would have to be won by military action.

The Hawks were confident that Britain would yield to US demands if it saw America considering military battle. Any way, Britain was already involved with the Napoleonic Wars in Europe, thus being short on money and men. Ultimately, the War Hawks convinced majority of congress to vote in favor of this "Second Struggle for Liberty". Though a few rebellious congressmen fought over little details, everyone agreed that it wasn't realistic to expect a peaceful and diplomatic conclusion to the constant divergence with Britain.

From June 1812 – February 1815, the United States fought a war against Great Britain, Native Americans, and Canadians. Most Americans today have either forgotten or remember very little about this war. The reason for this is that there was president associated with the war. President James Madison as a war leader is greatly overshadowed by the likes of George Washington and the Revolutionary War, Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War, Woodrow Wilson and World War 1, or Franklin Roosevelt and War World 2. Also there were seven or eight theaters of war during this time, but only 3 capable Generals, Andrew Jackson, Winfield Scott, and Jacob Brown. No capable leader or general emerged to carry the nation to victory.

     The War of 1812 was a war between Britain and the United States fought primarily in Upper Canada. It had many causes, few which involved British North America. The results of the war include the fact that there was no clear winner or loser among them. The only real losers in the situation were the Natives in the region. They were driven out of their lands and customs. None of the borders was changed by the war, though many attempts were made. The Treaty of Ghent, which ended the war, did nothing to advance the state of the countries. It went so far as to end the war and put things back the way that they were, but the main causes of the conflict were not addressed or dealt with. In order to evaluate the

The War of 1812 was fought between the United States and England. Ending in 1815 with the Treaty of Ghent, the war did not accomplish any of the issues it was being fought over. For the US, the War of 1812 seemed to just be one failure after another. Although the military suffered great failure during the war, these were the direct consequence of the failure of the citizens to unite for the causes of the war. Because of these failures, it is quite valid to call the War of 1812 "America's worst-fought war".

The War of 1812 started with a treat brewing with Great Britain. In earlier times, the people did not know what led to the cause of this war, but soon later found out what led to this brutal war. American leaders tried their very best to avoid going into war with Britain and also France. After the threats continued, American declared war on Great Britain. The forces that led the Americans to declare the War of 1812 were caused by the harm of trading rights and citizens, Canada, and the ironic vote of the war.

34: The U.S. navy was able to beat the British in the War of 1812 because the U.S. used to one on one combat

The War of 1812, in hindsight, may look like a failure. In fact, it is regarded so poorly that most Americans know little or nothing about this war. We don't know who we fought or why. Nor does the general public know who won the War of 1812 but the true tragedy of this lack of knowledge is that Americans do not know what we gained from this war. For it is from this war that Americans can trace their patriotism.

On June 1, 1812, the United States’ fourth President James Madison signed a declaration of war against Britain approved by Congress. This is obscurely known as the War of 1812, which was also the first war of the 19th century and lasted from 1812 to the spring of 1815. The War of 1812 is widely known as the “forgotten war” because the war has left very little to the popular memory. Despite the opposition from an entire region, mainly the Federalists, of the United States for the War of 1812, there were many reasons for the United States to commence the war. The War of 1812 was caused by numerous reasons including British impressment of American sailors and their refusal to acknowledge American neutrality rights, the United States’ widespread belief the British were encouraging Indian rebellion, the actions of some newly-elected Congressmen dubbed the “War Hawks,” and the American desire for more land.

The war of 1812 was caused by several different reasoning’s. First, Britain was at war with France. However, Britain did not want the United States to provide France with food and supplies. This would lead to Britain setting up a particle blockade. Second, between the years of 1802 and 1803 the British had captured (kidnapped) about 6,000 American sailors forcing them to work on British ships. Third, many of the American settlers believed that the British were stirring up the Native resistance to limit settlement. Finally, members of congress like Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun had started to sire up about the ideal of war. This was based off of their resentment towards British violation of maritime rights and Britain’s encouragement of Native American hostility against American expansion in the West.

The War of 1812 had a strange lack of victors, but to fully comprehend its effects, one must first evaluate the causes of the war. Each nation involved in the war had a very specific set of goals they wished to accomplish. Initially, the United States aimed to stay neutral in the affairs of Britain and France during the Napoleonic Wars until the two rivals attempted to restrict American trade. In an effort to combat this, President Jefferson passed the Embargo Act of 1807, which banned trade with all foreign countries. The act, intending to deprive the world of American trade, backfired and was later replaced with the Non-Intercourse Act to instead ban trade with only Britain and France. America's unwillingness to trade with the two caused tension that was intensified by the British policy of impressment.2 The resulting “anti-British sentiment” was greatly encouraged by the War Hawks, a group led by Henry Clay that supported war with Britain. They ardently pursued the end of impressment due to the Chesapeake-Leopard Incident in which the HMS Leopard boarded the USS Chesapeake, took four prisoners, and executed one thinking that they were British deserters. Once discovering that they were not, Britain returned the

While impressments and embargoes were in flux, a growing number of Republicans grew deeply upset over the neutrality of Jefferson and Madison. The War Hawks, as they were called, were utterly infuriated that the British were apparently allowed to continue to violate American maritime. James Madison, president at this time, announced that unless Great Britain revoked its embargoes, the U.S. would have an embargo against them beginning in 1811. England did uplift its European blockade on June 16, 1812. Unfortunately, news in general travelled much too slowly in this time period. So, the raging demands for war from the

Some Americans wanted to go to war with Britain. On the contrary, other Americans opposed the war. The reason for this divide was most likely the geography of the states, also known as, sectionalism. Document 5 shows that the South, Western Frontier, and the Agricultural Mid-Atlantic States favored war with England because they were near the coast and heavily depended on their ports and shipping. These states wanted more trade and shipping rights.

In 1812, James Madison declared war on Britain. Many of the former presidents, including George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson had to deal with the issue with Britain. Britain was taking American ships, cargo, and often taking the crew into the British army. This practice was called “impressment”. When James Madison became president, he tried to avoid this issue with Britain with no such luck. James Madison wanted to try and have peace with Britain, however, they continued “impressing” American ships. On June 18, 1812 the war between America and Britain began.

James Madison, (1751-1836), 4th President of the United States of America. Although he served eight years each as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, as secretary of state, and as president, Madison's principal contribution to the founding of the United States was as "Father of the Constitution."