Download The War of 1812

The War of
1812
Tecumseh and Native
American Unity
—  The British were angering Americans
in a number of ways
—  Interference with American shipping
—  Impressment of U.S. citizens
—  Actions that stirred up Native
American resistance on the frontier
Tecumseh and Native
American Unity
—  As Americans moved west, Jefferson set up
a policy of how to deal with Native
Americans – “civilization”
—  Getting Natives to farm the land
—  Convert to Christianity
—  Live as white settlers lived
—  Sell them goods at trading post, and
hope they would fall into debt to America
and sell them their native lands
Tecumseh and Native
American Unity
—  Tecumseh, a Shawnee chief, vowed to stop
the loss of Native American lands
—  Believed Natives had to UNITE together
—  Some Native Americans began to answer
Tecumseh’s call for unity
—  Unfortunately, while Tecumseh was
recruiting, his tribe was defeated at the
Battle of Tippecanoe by William Henry
Harrison, governor of Indiana
War Hawks
—  After the Battle of Tippecanoe, Tecumseh
and his warriors found a warm welcome
with the British in Canada
—  They became allies
—  Anti-British feelings grew even more in
the western territories
—  Leaders such as Henry Clay of Kentucky
demanded war against the British
—  He and his group became known as the
War Hawks
War Hawks
—  War Hawks wanted…
—  British aid to Native Americans stopped
—  The British to get out of Canada
— Conquering Canada would expand
America’s growing empire
—  Some other Americans wanted war…
—  Because of the British violations of
American rights at sea
—  Congress declared war on June 18, 1812
The War of 1812
—  Britain was already at war with France,
and was facing another war with the U.S.
—  Britain sent a letter stating they would
end inference with American shipping
— But….because of mail delays….
— Congress officially declared war before
they received the letter
The War of 1812
—  The War of 1812 had two main phases
—  1812-1814 – Britain concentrated on the
war with France
— Spent little energy in North America
— They did decide to blockade the American
coast, though
—  Starting in 1814 – Britain defeated France
— Britain focused their attention on America
The War of 1812
—  When the war began, America’s military
was weak
—  The Democratic Republicans, to reduce
the size of the U.S. government and
budget, had cut the size of the military
— Our navy had only about 16 ships
— Despite this, our ships were the fastest
in the world
— The army had fewer than 7,000 men
The War of 1812
—  America’s navy rose to the challenges they
faced
—  Early victories boosted America’s
confidence
—  Most important victory - Lake Erie
— In Sept. of 1813, a small British force
attacked American ships
— Over several hours, America rose above
and defeated the British forces
— “We have met the enemy and they
are ours”
The War of 1812
—  America pursued them farther near
Detroit, but…
—  The British retreated to Canada
—  America pushed further and defeated them
at the Battle of the Thames
— Tecumseh, the Native American chief, died
in the Battle of the Thames fighting for the
British
— This American victory put an end to the
British threat in the Northwest
The War of 1812
—  In 1814, the British turned their attention
to the United States
—  In August, they attacked the capital city
and burned the Capitol Building and the
President’s mansion
—  They then headed northward to Fort
McHenry in Baltimore
— While detained in a British ship, a
lawyer named Francis Scott Key
watched all night while the battle took
place
The War of 1812
—  At dawn, Key saw that the flag was still
flying high over the American fort
—  He expressed his pride in a poem that was
later adopted as our national anthem
“Oh say can you see by the dawn’s early light. What so
proudly we hail’d at the twilight’s last gleaming, Whose
broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight.
O’er the ramparts we watch’d were so gallantly
streaming? And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs
bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag
was still there. Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet
wave. O’er the land of the free and the home of the
brave?”
The War of 1812
—  In the south, the British moved into the
strategic city of New Orleans
—  To fight a strong British force, the
Americans patched together troops
under the leadership of General Andrew
Jackson
—  America prevailed
— 71 American casualties
— 2,000 British casualties
—  Andrew Jackson became a national hero
The War of 1812
—  The Treaty of Ghent had been signed two
weeks earlier, but slow mail delayed news
—  Treaty showed that there was no clear
winner (it was technically a tie)
—  No territory changed hands
—  Trade disputes remained
—  But….
—  Jackson was a national hero
—  American patriotism grew
—  Native Americans had been weakened
—  Americans had been forced to
manufacture many of their own goods