When the British Burned Down the White House
Today the capital of the United States is one of the most popular destinations among tourists throughout the World. There are many interesting sightseeing places situated in Washington D.C. and one of those places is the White House that is official home and residence of the U.S. President. While enjoying their visit to the President’s House, many Americans along with foreign visitors do not realize that just over two centuries ago the White House was attacked by the British.
The USA was already in war with Britain for half a year at the beginning of 1814. This war was caused by America’s irritation at Britain’s interference in its sovereignty and shipment operations. While U.S navy held a strong
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In many ways, the War of 1812 was considered as the “...sequel to the earlier war with that nation. [Britain]” (Stagg, 19) Britain tended to argue that America “had become free but not independent” (Stagg, 19). War of 1812 was the first one to end with America being declared as a free nation, the decision that came with a lot of delegation and thought. There are several reasons why America decided to be involved in war with Britain: to “stop British impressment, reopen trade lanes with French, remove the British support from Native American tribes, and to secure their territorial honor and integrity in the face of their old rulers.” (Civilwar.org). Many relationships between America and other countries had been infringed due to Britain cutting off ties between America and its main suppliers, such as France. The United States depended on these countries that were once their alliances, in order to be able to supply the needs of the population. Basically, during the War of 1812 America wanted and needed to prove to Britain that they were an actual and self-sufficient country that could meet its own needs without the help of anyone. However, Britain was putting a damper on their success as a country. Even though wars bring only drawbacks alone, the present day relationship between Britain and the United States would not be anywhere close …show more content…
There were 50 soldiers outside the mansion waiting for the order to burn down the place. The moment they received an order from their Generals, they hurled in torches. The fire completely destroyed the White House and other treasures it held. It was burned to the ground and specialists contemplated moving the capital to another city. Besides President’s residence, there were also other buildings damaged from fire such as War Department and Treasury. However, The President and First Lady were able to return to Washington only three days after the initial raid. After returning to the capital, they lived in the octagon house for the remainder of James Madison’s term. The Octagon House was about one hundred miles away from the White House in Washington D.C. in the City of Richmond County Virginia. During their stay in in Octagon House and the remainder of Madison’s presidency, the White House was reconstructed. After reconstruction, newly elected President James Monroe moved back into the reconstructed building once the election of 1816 was
The United States declared the War of 1812 against the British. One of the reason for this war was because the American Merchants felt that the British were blocking American trade with the French. Another reason of the War of 1812 was because American frontiersmen claimed that the British were arming the Indians in Canada to attack them. In the other hands, British established a "Orders in Council" that ban neutral trade with France and at the sea the British warships were making it impossible for those who wanted to break their continental blocked and trade with France. However, the War of 1812 was fought at sea and became more
There were several forces that led Americans to declare war on Britain in 1812. These reasons include how Britain was seizing American ships that were trading with France and that the British were capturing American sailors and forcing them to work for their navy.
The actual causes of the War of 1812 was because America felt it was unfair of the British to impose numerous restrictions with other European Continents, especially France, America also had a keen desire to blow up its territory, and they desired to prevent Great Britain from taking American sailors and forcing them to serve in the British Army. Due to these reasons the War of 1812 would be the result of deliberate policies of new American political forces.
The War of 1812 was a war that lasted for two years that helped the United States to firmly and officially establish its independence. After finishing with the concern of France, England turned its attention over to the United States. At first, the United States did not want to resort to war and fighting (Doc. B) but rather sort out their issues economically--because England had seized all ships that did not stop in the British port before heading to their other European destinations, Congress passed the Embargo Act and then the Non-Intercourse Act, allowing trade with all nations except France and England. Then, England refused to allow this trade to occur, so America had to resort to war. The Northeastern Federalists were not in favor of
Since the near end of President John Adams’ one term in the year 1800, the White House has served as home to every U.S. President. Although “the people’s house” as it was referred to by Mrs.Kennedy, is tenanted by only one powerful family at a time their footsteps are not the only ones that grace the hallways of the nearly 55,000 square foot executive mansion. Every four to eight years (in most cases) a family moves out of the White House as another moves in, but there are individuals who stay for decades; these are the many members of the White House residence staff. As the staff are sworn to secrecy by the unspoken code of honor inherited by their professional predecessors, stories such as those found between the covers of this
After Britain declared war on France in 1803, they began attacking other nations that traded with France. The United States was one of these nations, which meant that American merchants were impressed and forced to serve in the British Navy. This sparked outrage in the United States and led to the United States declaring war against Great Britain. The war of 1812 was the first declared war in United States history. The House voted for war with a result of 79 to 49 and the Senate with a vote 19 to 13 (Butler, 2012).
There was a lot of causes of the War of 1812 and many conflicts that lead up to it. After America won its independence, they found themselves a minor power without the protection of the British. With no great Navy power American ships were getting
In June of 1812 the United States declared war against Great Britain. The War of 1812, also known as the “Second War for Independence” was influenced by several factors. The conflict between the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars left negative effects on the United States. In 1814, the United States Lake Champlain victory led to peace negotiations in Belgium, ending the war of 1812.
The War of 1812 was about Americans defending themselves and their economy in a time of European war. The War of 1812 forced Americans into a British/French war because of several different factors. These factors include territorial arguments within North America, kidnappings of American sailors and forcing them into British and French navies, and American cargo being stolen which damaged the American economy. The British caused many problems for the Americans, which left America divided on whether or not to go to war.
The War of 1812 can be related to the second war of independence. Many people refer to it in this way. The War of 1812 was declared by the United States for many reasons. All of which would be maddening for anyone. The reasons included trade restrictions brought about by the British war with France and the impressment of as many as 10,000 American merchant sailors. The French and British were already in a conflict together. This negatively affected the United States. Although wars are almost never good, certain productive things came out of the War of 1812. Many historians believe that the war actually helped propel a couple of the next presidents into their positions. The war of 1812 seems to be somewhat overlooked at times. Contrary to certain beliefs, many important events occurred during this relatively short war. We will go more in depth about the reasons for the war, what happened during the war, and what the outcomes of the war were.
Twenty-nine years after the signing of the Treaty of Paris of 1783, which ended the Revolutionary War between America and Britain, was the year that marked the beginning of a new conflict that would last America the next three years, the War of 1812. On June 16th of that year, President James Madison declared the start of a war that would greatly impact the future of our country. Britain, still one of the world's greatest superpowers, was currently warring with France at the time of the declaration, however, Britain's reputation as a formidable opponent stood strong. The War of 1812 held a great significance in the history of America: Reasonable purposes for conflict, major conflict with Native Americans, great controversy among its supporters and opposers, numerous honorable battles, the inclusion of African Americans in the war, a memorable conclusion, and notable results.
Britain’s war with France allowed the U.S. to have an advantage in the War of 1812, which eventually caused the British to surrender and call for the Treaty of Ghent. To begin, at the time when the US declared war on Britain, Britain was currently fighting in a war with Napoleonic France. When the US heard about this war, it claimed that it would be neutral. However, Britain didn’t respect this, and they began to attack US ships and impress US soldiers. This and the fact that Britain allied with the Native Americans, who were the US’s enemy caused the US to declare war on Britain.
The build up to the War of 1812 began nearly a decade prior to the start of the military action. Jefferson and the Republican vision slashed spending and government all around, leaving the military depleted and operating on Jefferson 's “Gun Boat Diplomacy,” which meant America had just enough boats to protect American coasts but not enough to partake in any offshore activities. This left America vulnerable to the tactics employed by the British when combat resumed between England and France, and the US was involuntarily pulled into the dispute.
The War of 1812 was started by America due to British encroachment on three fronts, trade restrictions imposed by the British, the increasing alliances of the British with Indian tribes blocking American expansion West, and due to British interference with merchant class ships in the Atlantic. The war was fought in the Great Lakes region between America and Canada, near New Orleans in the Gulf of Mexico, in the Atlantic trade routes, and around Washington DC. The British had always considered the American insurrection in the 1770s to be a temporary event, their continued battles within the European continent as well as the rest of the British empire had proven to be too distracting to keep a solid check on North America. The British also had not anticipated a war in North America in the lead up to the war of 1812 due to the fragility of the American states, leading to the hubris Britain retained in its relations with the young United States of America.
Back in 1792 when he was only five, Tim had traveled from upstate New York to Washington D.C. where he solved his first problem. It was the summer of 1792, and with the summer comes the bugs. Not just any bugs, it was Fred the fly and Stan the spider. They were attacking Mr. President. He is the most important person in the United States and he was being attacked like crazy! What would the Americans do without him? The first idea that came to Tim’s head was “let's build a huge house”. So Tim did just that. He didn't waste any time and sprang into action. It took only a few hours and it was complete. A few bangs and pows. On the presidential grounds stood a pink house. Tim named it The White House to keep racial discrimination to a minimum. No Tim didn't just paint it pink to make it look pretty, he did it to scare the bugs off. Tim had just realized that the president’s term was coming to an end so he had convinced the U.S to let him live in his White House for another