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Treaty of Ghent (1814)
For the early decades of the nation’s history, relations between the United States and Great Britain
remained strained. Their relationship deteriorated sharply with the outbreak of war in Europe in 1803.
Britain imposed a blockade on neutral countries such as the United States. In addition, the British took
American sailors from their ships and "impressed" them into the British Navy. In Congress, southern and
western Democratic-Republican "War Hawks," such as the new Speaker of the House, Henry Clay of
Kentucky, and Representative John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, led the sentiment for war, calling for a
defense of American interests and honor. On June 1, 1812, President James Madison asked for a
declaration of war. Shortly afterward, Congress, despite the opposition of every Federalist, approved the
declaration.
The War of 1812 produced a string of American military disasters. The most shocking of these was the
British Army’s burning of the Capitol, the President’s house, and other public buildings in Washington on
August 24 and 25, 1814. (Americans had previously burned public buildings in Canada.)
In 1814, both sides were working to come to a resolution and agreed to discuss peace terms. A meeting in
Belgium of American delegates and British commissioners ended with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent on
December 24, 1814. Great Britain agreed to relinquish claims to the Northwest Territory, and both countries
pledged to work toward ending the slave trade. America, in turn, gained influence as a foreign power. News
of the treaty spread slowly, and word of peace did not reach the American and British armies for some
time. American forces, led by Andrew Jackson, won the Battle of New Orleans on January 8, 1815, ending
the hostilities after the official peace.
For more information, visit the National Archives’ Treasures of Congress Online Exhibit.
Treaty of Peace and Amity between His Britannic Majesty and the United States of
America..
ARTICLE THE FIRST.
There shall be a firm and universal Peace between His Britannic Majesty and the United
States, and between their respective Countries, Territories, Cities, Towns, and People of
every degree without exception of places or persons. All hostilities both by sea and land
shall cease as soon as this Treaty shall have been ratified by both parties as hereinafter
mentioned. All territory, places, and possessions whatsoever taken by either party from
the other during the war, or which may be taken after the signing of this Treaty,
excepting only the Islands hereinafter mentioned, shall be restored without delay and
without causing any destruction or carrying away any of the Artillery or other public
property originally captured in the said forts or places, and which shall remain therein
upon the Exchange of the Ratifications of this Treaty, or any Slaves or other private
property;
ARTICLE THE THIRD.
All Prisoners of war taken on either side as well by land as by sea shall be restored as
soon as practicable after the Ratifications of this Treaty as hereinafter mentioned on
their paying the debts which they may have contracted during their captivity. The two
Contracting Parties respectively engage to discharge in specie the advances which may
have been made by the other for the sustenance and maintenance of such prisoners.
ARTICLE THE SIXTH.
Whereas by the former Treaty of Peace that portion of the boundary of the United States
from the point where the fortyfifth degree of North Latitude strikes the River Iroquois or
Cataraquy to the Lake Superior was declared to be "along the middle of said River into
Lake Ontario, through the middle of said Lake until it strikes the communication by water
between that Lake and Lake Erie, thence along the middle of said communication into
Lake Erie, through the middle of said Lake until it arrives at the water communication
into the Lake Huron; thence through the middle of said Lake to the water communication
between that Lake and Lake Superior:" and whereas doubts have arisen what was the
middle of the said River, Lakes, and water communications, and whether certain Islands
lying in the same were within the Dominions of His Britannic Majesty or of the United
States: In order therefore finally to decide these doubts, they shall be referred to two
Commissioners to be appointed, sworn, and authorized to act exactly in the manner
directed with respect to those mentioned in the next preceding Article unless otherwise
specified in this present Article. The said Commissioners shall meet in the first instance
at Albany in the State of New York, and shall have power to adjourn to such other place
or places as they shall think fit. The said Commissioners shall by a Report or Declaration
under their hands and seals, designate the boundary through the said River, Lakes, and
water communications, and decide to which of the two Contracting parties the several
Islands lying within the said Rivers, Lakes, and water communications, do respectively
belong in conformity with the true intent of the said Treaty of one thousand seven
hundred and eighty three. And both parties agree to consider such designation and
decision as final and conclusive. And in the event of the said two Commissioners
differing or both or either of them refusing, declining, or wilfully omitting to act, such
reports, declarations, or statements shall be made by them or either of them, and such
reference to a friendly Sovereign or State shall be made in all respects as in the latter
part of the fourth Article is contained, and in as full a manner as if the same was herein
repeated.
ARTICLE THE NINTH.
The United States of America engage to put an end immediately after the Ratification of
the present Treaty to hostilities with all the Tribes or Nations of Indians with whom they
may be at war at the time of such Ratification, and forthwith to restore to such Tribes or
Nations respectively all the possessions, rights, and privileges which they may have
enjoyed or been entitled to in one thousand eight hundred and eleven previous to such
hostilities. Provided always that such Tribes or Nations shall agree to desist from all
hostilities against the United States of America, their Citizens, and Subjects upon the
Ratification of the present Treaty being notified to such Tribes or Nations, and shall so
desist accordingly. And His Britannic Majesty engages on his part to put an end
immediately after the Ratification of the present Treaty to hostilities with all the Tribes or
Nations of Indians with whom He may be at war at the time of such Ratification, and
forthwith to restore to such Tribes or Nations respectively all the possessions, rights, and
privileges, which they may have enjoyed or been entitled to in one thousand eight
hundred and eleven previous to such hostilities. Provided always that such Tribes or
Nations shall agree to desist from all hostilities against His Britannic Majesty and His
Subjects upon the Ratification of the present Treaty being notified to such Tribes or
Nations, and shall so desist accordingly.
ARTICLE THE TENTH.
Whereas the Traffic in Slaves is irreconcilable with the principles of humanity and
Justice, and whereas both His Majesty and the United States are desirous of continuing
their efforts to promote its entire abolition, it is hereby agreed that both the contracting
parties shall use their best endeavours to accomplish so desirable an object.
War of 1812
On 18 June 1812, at the height of the Napoleonic conflict (see NAPOLEONIC WARS), the US
declared war on Great Britain and struck at the only British possession on the continent: Canada.
Most of the battles that followed took place along the international border. The war ended in
stalemate. The Treaty of GHENT, signed 24 Dec 1814, solved nothing, since the reasons for the war
- British high-handedness on the high seas, including searching American ships during the
Napoleonic blockade and impressment - had been rendered academic by France's defeat. Yet
Canada owes its present shape to negotiations that grew out of the peace, while the war itself - or
the myths created by the war - gave Canadians their first sense of community.
The British and Canadians were badly outnumbered by the Americans but better prepared for war,
thanks to the prescience of Maj-Gen Isaac BROCK, administrator of UPPER CANADA. If the enemy
could move up the traditional Champlain-Richelieu invasion route, seize Montréal and cut the
lifeline between Upper and Lower Canada, the war would be as good as over. Brock thought this
impossible because his Indian allies, under the Shawnee war chief TECUMSEH, had the American
NW frontier in a ferment. The Americans would thus first try to secure their left flank. The bloodless
British capture of a key US post at Michilimackinac I in Lk Huron, on July 17, and of Detroit, Aug
16, frustrated that strategy and gave the British control of Michigan territory and the Upper
Mississippi.
At this point Thomas Jefferson's remark that the capture of Canada was "a mere matter of
marching" returned to haunt Washington. Having lost one army at Detroit, the Americans lost
another at Queenston Heights (see QUEENSTON HEIGHTS, BATTLE OF), Oct 13, after their militia
stood on its constitutional guarantee and refused to cross into Canada. But Brock was killed - an
irreparable loss. A new American army under William Henry Harrison struggled up from Kentucky to
try to retake Detroit. One wing was so badly mauled at Frenchtown, 22 Jan 1813, by a force of
British, Canadians and Indians under Lt-Col Henry PROCTOR, that further attempts at invasion that
winter were abandoned. The only Americans in Canada were prisoners of war.
British strategy was to act defensively and allow the invaders to make mistakes. Gov Sir George
PREVOST husbanded his thin forces carefully, a sensible precaution given the US's overwhelming
numerical superiority. As the campaign of 1813 opened, the invaders determined to seize Kingston
to cut the link between the Canadas. But a weakness of resolve diverted the attack to the lesser
prize of York [Toronto]. The Americans briefly occupied the town, burning the public buildings and
seizing valuable naval supplies destined for Lk Erie; but the British, by burning their half-completed
warship, frustrated the enemy's plan to appropriate it and change the balance of naval power on Lk
Ontario. Neither side totally controlled that lake for the balance of the war.
The Americans abandoned York and on 27 May 1813 their fleet seized FT GEORGE at the mouth of
the Niagara R. The British army escaped, however, repulsing the advance of the enemy up the
Niagara peninsula by winning the battles at Stoney Creek and Beaver Dams (see BEAVER DAMS,
BATTLE OF; STONEY CREEK, BATTLE OF), and driving the Americans back into the enclave of the
fort. For all of that season the Niagara peninsula was a no-man's-land of marauding parties. Finally,
worn down by sickness, desertion, and the departure of short-term soldiers, the American
command evacuated Ft George on Dec 10 and quit Canada. On leaving, the militia burned the town
of Newark [ NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE ], an act that drove the British to brutal retaliation at Buffalo.
These incendiary reprisals continued until Washington itself was burned the following Aug.
The US fared better on the western flank. The British tried and failed to take Harrison's stronghold
at Ft Meigs on the Maumee R. A struggle for control of Lk Erie followed. The 2 rival fleets, both built
of green lumber on the spot, met Sept 10 at PUT-IN-BAY. The British were hampered by the
American seizure of naval supplies at York the previous spring and by the loss, early in the battle,
of several senior officers.
American commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, a bold seaman, used unorthodox tactics to turn defeat
into victory and become the first man in history to capture an entire British fleet. Erie became an
American lake, Detroit was abandoned, and the British retreated up the Thames R. At
Moraviantown (see MORAVIANTOWN, BATTLE OF) Harrison defeated Proctor. Tecumseh died in the
battle, an event signalling the end of the northwestern Indian alliance. But Harrison, his lines
extended, could not follow up his victory; his Kentuckians were eager to get back to their farms at
harvest time.
Meanwhile, the US was mounting a 2-pronged attack designed to take Montréal, but this was so
halfhearted that it was foredoomed to failure. On the Châteauguay R on Oct 26, a handful of French
Canadian VOLTIGEURS under Lt-Col Charles de SALABERRY drove an American army of 4000 back
across the border (see CHATEAUGUAY, BATTLE OF). At CRYSLER'S FARM (near Morrisburg, Ont) on
Nov 11, Lt-Col Joseph Wanton Morrison's regulars won a resounding victory over James Wilkinson's
superior force, which also quit Canada. Thus the 1813 campaign ended with the Americans in
possession of Ft AMHERSTBURG on the Detroit R, and the British holding the 2 American forts,
Niagara and Michilimackinac.
The following year the Americans again crossed the Niagara, seized Ft Erie on July 3, and defeated
the British at Chippawa on July 5, but failed to retake Ft George. The bitter battle of LUNDY'S LANE
followed on July 25 within earshot of the Niagara cataract. Fought in the pitch dark of a sultry night
by exhausted troops who could not tell friend from foe, it ended in stalemate. The Americans
withdrew to Ft Erie. Here they badly mauled the forces of the new British commander, Lt-Gen
Gordon Drummond, when he attempted a night attack (Aug 14-15). With both sides exhausted a 3month standoff followed. Finally, on Nov 5, the Americans again withdrew. Meanwhile, NS Lt-Gov
Sir John SHERBROOKE led a force from Halifax into Maine, capturing Castine on Sept 3. By midmonth British forces held much of Maine, which was returned to the US only with the signing of the
peace treaty.
In the west, the Canadian voyageurs took Prairie du Chien on the Upper Mississippi and beat off an
American attack on Michilimackinac I, capturing 2 warships on Lk Huron. In the east, the story was
different. With Napoleon defeated, the British army now outnumbered the thin American force at
Plattsburgh on Lk Champlain. Prevost marched S with 11 000 of Wellington's veterans but his
hesitancy to attack - he was no Brock - together with the Sept 11 defeat of the hastily built British
fleet in Plattsburgh Bay by the American commodore, Thomas Macdonough, caused Prevost to
abort the ground attack and withdraw (see PLATTSBURGH, BATTLE OF).
That single action tipped the scales, forcing the British peace negotiators at Ghent to lower their
demands and accept the status quo. Had Prevost succeeded, much of upper NY state might be
Canadian today. On the other hand, if the Americans had won the battle of Stoney Creek, or taken
Montréal, much of Ontario and Québec - perhaps all - might now be under the Stars and Stripes.
Washington had expected the largely American population of Upper Canada to throw off the British
yoke as soon as its army crossed the border. This did not happen. Lured northwards by free land
and low taxes, the settlers wanted to be left alone. Nor was it wise after such a bitter war to
advocate American political ideals, such as democracy and republicanism. Thus the British and
LOYALIST elite were able to set Canadians on a different course from that of their former enemy.
And the growing belief that they, the civilian soldiers, and not the Indians and British regulars, had
won the war - more mythic than real - helped to germinate the seeds of nationalism in the
Canadas. See also NIAGARA HISTORIC FRONTIER; FORT HENRY.
Causes and Events of the War of 1812: A Timeline
Compiled by Robert Henderson
This chronology shows visually when the political, military, and European events took place in
relation to each other. For example four days after the United States declared war on Great
Britain, Napoleon made the fatal mistake that eventually ended his reign by invading Russia.
Links will eventually be added to this listing so the reader take click for additional information on
an event or select at book that deals with the topic.
Year
Political Events
Military Events
Military Events in Europe
1807
June 22: The Chesapeake Affair: USS
Chesapeake fired on and boarded by the
December 22: Embargo Act passed by US HMS Leopard off Norfolk, Virginia
Congress halting trade with Foreign
Nations (repealed in 1808)
June 13-14: Battle of Friedland
between French and Russians
July 9 After making peace with
Russia, Napoleon bans trade with
Great Britain.
1809
March 4: James Madison is inaugurated
as president of the United States
1811
September 30: Brock becomes
Lieut.Governor of Upper Canada
October 12: Prevost becomes Governorin-Chief and Commander of all forces in
British North America
November 4: US War Congress convenes November 7: Battle of Tippecanoe were US
defeats Indians
1812
January 19: British storm Ciudad
Rodrigo, Portugal
April 6: British repulsed at Badajoz,
Spain
June: Baltimore Riots start against antiwar Federalists
June 1: Madison's recommendation to
Congress to declare war over sailor's
rights and British support of western
frontier tribes.
June 4: House of Representatives passes
war bill
June 18: Senate passes House bill
Madison signs War Bill.
June 19: U.S. President Madison declares
June 23: USS President vs. HM Frigate
war or Great Britain.
Belvidera
July 1: US doubles Customs Duties
July 12: U.S. General Hull invades Upper
Canada at Sandwich across from Detroit
June 24: Napoleon invades Russia
July 17: British forces from Fort St. Joseph
capture Fort Michilimackinac
July 22: Wellington's famous victory
at Salamanca
August 5: Battle of Brownstown
August 13: British Army enter Madrid
August 8: Battle of Maguaga
August 15: Fort Dearborn massacre
August 16: British forces under Brock capture
Fort Detroit.
August 19: USS Constitution vs. HM Frigate
Guerriere
September: Baltimore Riots finish
September 3 : Indian attack at Pigeon Roost
Creek
September 4: Indians attack Fort Harrison
September 7: Battle of Borodino
September 14: Napoleon enters
Moscow
September 19: Napoleon begins
retreat from Moscow
September 5: Indians attack Fort Madison
September 6: Indians attack Fort Wayne
October 20: Sheaffe becomes Lieut.
Governor of Upper Canada
October 21: British give up siege of
September 16: Americans fail in capturing
batteaux convey at Toussiant Island of the St. Burgos, Spain.
Lawrence River
September 21: American attack and capture
village of Gananoque in the Thousand Islands
area
November 29: Napoleon's shattered
army exits Russia
October 9: Two British schooners captured off
Fort Erie; small skirmish near Fort Erie
.
October 13: Battle of Queenston Heights and
death of Brock and Macdonnell
November: Royal Navy blockades South
Carolina
November 27: US attacks the outlying
fortifications of Fort Erie
November 28: U.S. invasion attempt at
Frenchman's Creek repulsed.
December 18: Battle of Mississnewa
December 26: Royal Navy expands blockade
to Chesapeake and Delaware Bays
1813
January 19: Skirmish at the River Raisin.
January 22: British victory at Frenchtown.
January 23: Massacre of US wounded at
River Raisin
February 6: U.S. raid on Brockville on the St.
Lawrence River.
February 22: British capture Ogdensburg, NY
as retaliation for Brockville attack.
March 30: British naval blockade extended
from Long Island to the Mississippi
April 15: US army occupies West Florida
April 27: U.S. troops attack and burn York
(Capital of Upper Canada).
June 4: armistice between France
and Russia, and Prussia
June 21: Wellington's decisive
victory over the French at the Battle
of Vitoria
May 26: Britain's Royal Navy extends
blockade to cover additional states
May 25: U S. bombards and destroys Fort
George.
May 27: U.S. troops capture Fort George;
British troops retreat toward Burlington.
June 19: de Rottenburg becomes Lt.
Governor of Upper Canada
July 21 to August 1: Battles of the
Pyrenees Mountains between
France and Spain ending in British
success
May 29: British fail to capture Sacket's Harbor. August 10: armistice ends between
France and Russia and Prussia
August 12: Austria declares war on
June 1: H.M.S. Shannon defeats U.S.S.
France
Chesapeake tows her captive into Halifax,
Nova Scotia.
June 6: British victory at Stoney Creek.
June 7: British victory at 40 Mile Creek; U.S.
retire to Fort George.
June 22nd Skirmish at Norfolk
June 24: Capture of US forces at Beaver
Dams.
August 31: British storm San
Sebastien, Spain
October 16-18: Napoleon defeated
at the Battle of Leipzig marking the
beginning of the end for his reign.
July 8: Battle of Ball's Farm.
July 11: British raid on Blackrock.
July 20: U.S. victory at Goose Creek.
July 27: Engagement at Burnt Corn
July 31: British victory at Burlington Heights.
August 2: British attack Fort Stephenson.
August 8: U.S.S. Hamilton & Scourge sunk.
August 24: Prevost leads attack on U.S.
piquets ou George; U.S.decline large scale
engagement
November 10: Battle of the Nivelle
with the British invading France
August 30: Attack at Fort Mims
September 9: British Fleet on Lake Erie
defeated and capture by US under Perry.
October 1: US army under Hampton cross
frontier south of Montreal and skirmish with
Canadian piquets
December 13: Drummond becomes Lt.
Governor of Upper Canada
October 5: British defeated at Moraviantown;
(Battle of the Thames) Tecumseh killed
October 25: American invasion attempt at
Chateauguay repulsed
November 3: Battle of Tallushatchee
November 9: Battle of Talladega
November 11: American defeat at Chrysler 's
Farm.
December 10: U.S. army abandons Fort
George and burns town of Newark (Niagaraon-the-Lake).
December 18-19: British capture Fort Niagara
in night attack; capture and burn Lewiston and
surrounding villages
December 20: British begin to lay waste to the
East Niagara River area in retaliation for the
burning of Newark.
December 31: British capture Blackrock
1814
January 22: Battle of Emuckfau
January 24: Battle of Enotachopco
March 27: Battle of Horseshoe Bend
April 14:US repeals embargo and nonimportation laws
March 31: Allies enter Paris
April 6: Napoleon abdicates
April 10 to 12: British take Toulouse
April 25: Royal Navy extends blockade to New
England
May 30: British Infantry march to
Bordeaux to set sail for North
America; First Treaty of Paris
May 30: British blockade extended to include signed.
New England.
May 6: British capture Oswego.
May 31: U.S. victory at Sacket's Harbor.
July 13: U.S. capture Fort Erie.
July 5: U.S. defeat British at Chippewa.
July 18: U.S. troops burn St. Davids.
July 19: British capture La Prairie du Chien.
August:US public credit collapses and
banks suspend specie payments
July 25: Battle of Lundy's Lane - both sides
claim victory
October 3: Congress of Vienna
opens unofficially
August 8: Peace negotiations begin in
Ghent and Great Britain offers initial peace
terms
August 9: US and Creek nation sign the
Treaty of Fort Jackson
August 13-14: British begin siege of Fort Erie.
August 24: British burn Washington.
September 11: US repulse British at Battle of
Plattsburg and defeat British on Lake
October 21:British offer peace on the basis Champlain
of 'uti posseditis'
Sept. 13-14: Siege of Fort McHenry (Battle of
November 27: Britain drops the 'utis
Baltimore) - "Star Spangled Banner" is
posseditis'
inspired by British mortars and rockets.
December 15:Hartford Convention- US
adopts additional internal taxes
September 17: British assault fails against
Fort Erie.
December 24: Treaty of Ghent signed to
end war.
December 23: Initial skirmishes around New
Orleans
1815
January 8, 1815: Battle of New Orleans.
February 8, 1815: News of Peace first
arrives in North America.
March 1: Napoleon lands in France
from Elba
March 1, 1815: General Prevost is
officially notified of Peace at
Quebec.
The War of 1812 (1809-1815)
Summary
The immediate causes of the War of 1812 were a series of economic sanctions taken by the British
and French against the US as part of the Napoleonic Wars and American outrage at the British
practice of impressment, especially after the Chesapeake incident of 1807. In response to the 1806
British Orders in Council, which crippled American trade, the US (under Jefferson) first tried various
retaliatory embargoes. These embargoes hurt the US far more than they did Britain, angering
American citizens and providing support to War Hawks in Congress like Henry Clay. In 1812, with
President Madison in office, Congress declared war against the British.
The war began with an attack on Canada, both as an effort to gain land and to cut off British supply
lines to Tecumseh's Indian confederation, which had long troubled the US. The initial battles in
Canada were not as easy as the War Hawks hoped, and the inexperienced American soldiers were
pushed back rapidly. In fact, only by virtue of clutch naval victories by Oliver Hazard Perry on Lake
Erie and Thomas Macdonough on Lake Champlain was a serious northern- front invasion of the United
States, including New York, prevented. General William Henry Harrison's forces did manage to kill
Tecumseh at the Battle of the Thames in 1813, in the midst of a decisive victory against the British
General Isaac Brock's smaller force.
On the Mid-Atlantic Coast, British troops landed in the Chesapeake Bay area in 1814, and marched
towards Washington. US General William Winder made an attempt to stop the British forces,
commanded by General Robert Ross, at Bladensburg. The US troops were badly routed. The city of
Washington was evacuated, and the British burned the Capitol and the White House, along with most
of nonresidential Washington.
The British pressed onward, and Admiral Cochrane sought to invade Baltimore. General Ross was
killed as his forces advanced towards the city, and their movement stalled. Cochrane's forces
bombarded Fort McHenry, which guarded Baltimore's harbor, but were unable to take it. This event
inspired Francis Scott Key, an American lawyer detained on one of Cochrane's ships, to write the StarSpangled Banner. Unsuccessful at Baltimore, Cochrane's damaged fleet limped to Jamaica for repairs,
and made preparations for an invasion of New Orleans, hoping to cut off American use of the
Mississippi River.
By mid 1814, the War of 1812 was turning out to be tougher fighting than either side expected. Britain,
caught up in the costly Napoleonic Wars, began to look for a way to extricate itself from its American
commitment. In the Belgian city of Ghent, American negotiators (including John Quincy Adams and
Henry Clay) met with British diplomats. After considerable bickering, the negotiators signed the Treaty
of Ghent on December 24, 1814, officially ending the war. The treaty returned US-Britain relations to
the same status as they had been before the war. The US neither gained nor lost any territory.
Impressment went unaddressed.
The war was officially over, but news traveled slowly across the Atlantic Ocean. In New Orleans,
Cochrane landed the British troops, who were still waiting for their replacement commander for Ross,
General Packenham, to arrive from Britain. On January 8, 1815, Andrew Jackson's ragtag army
soundly defeated the British at the Battle of New Orleans. Even though this battle had been fought
unnecessarily (the treaty was already signed) the US celebrated wildly, manifesting an upsurge in
American nationalism.
Although the war had sheltered New England manufacturing from British competition, New England
merchant shipping had been seriously hurt, and a group of Federalists met at the Hartford Convention
in late 1814 to discuss their grievances. A few talked of secession from the Union, but most just
wanted to make it hard for the US to declare war or impose embargoes in the future. When the news
of the treaty from Ghent arrived, it made the Federalists look silly, or even treasonous. The Hartford
Convention spelled the end of the Federalist Party.
Context
Coming out of the American Revolution, the US and Britain still faced many unresolved tensions. The
British practice impressment had gone on for hundreds of years, and the independence-minded
Americans were no longer willing to tolerate such an affront to their sovereignty. Further, thanks to
memories of the Revolutionary War, deep enmity remained between the two nations: Britian had a
score to settle, and the US felt deeply that it had to stand its ground. Many at the time of the War of
1812 considered it a "Second War for American Independence," linkages with the first stood strongly in
many minds.
While pressure for war with England built during his presidency, Thomas Jefferson looked back to the
painful struggle of the Revolutionary years and did all he could to search for more peaceful
alternatives, such as an embargo. The legacy of the Revolutionary War, however, had a double
impact. While it discouraged the desire for war in the generation that fought it, its successes made the
men of the next generation seek a war of their own. It was a desire to mathc and surpass their father's
tales of the Revolutionary War that made the young War Hawks in Congress so pro-war by 1812.
Most clearly, the War of 1812 was an outgrowth of the Napoleonic Wars, a series of conflicts in Europe
from around 1800 to 1815. Napoleon was trying to hurt Britain's economy with his Continental System;
Britain retaliated with economic sanctions of its own, preventing imports from the rest of the world into
European ports. Fledgling America felt the pinch in this titanic battle between France and Britain, and it
made an attempt to play the great powers against each other with Macon's Bill No. 2, which promised
US support for whichever nation stopped the embargo on American ships. These attempts backfired,
as Napoleon tricked Madison by agreeing to abide by Macon's bill without actually doing so. The US
had taken a powerfully antagonistic position toward Britain with little to show for it. The situation fell
quickly into war.
The War of 1812 had several important long-term results for the US. First, because it involved a
necessary ban on British manufactures, the war sheltered New England factory owners. Without
having to compete with cheap British goods, American industry jump-started during the war years,
accelerating the pace of industrialization in the North, a process that would continue for the next
hundred years with few interruptions. Also, at the end of the War of 1812, Henry Clay proposed an
"American System," including the building of a national railroad network. The project of building a
national railroad would continue on through the 19th century, transforming the nation in the process.
Second, at the end of the war, Federalists upset with the war met at the Hartford Convention. The
meeting appeared to the country as unpatriotic at best, and treasonous at worst. As a result, Federalist
power declined rapidly, and the Federalists ceased to be players on the national stage. At the same
time, the mild Federalist talk of secession at the Convention helped provide a foudnation for theories of
States' Rights and secession that exploded in the Civil War.
Finally, the War of 1812 produced many heroes. In terms of future American politics, eventual
presidents Andrew Jackson and William Henry Harrison rose to national prominence by battling
Indians and Redcoats during the war. America's conception of itself also gained a defining gem
duyring the war: Francis Scott Key composed the words to the "Star Spangled Banner" at the Battle of
Baltimore in 1814. Further, this second war against Britain boosted American nationalism, and paved
the way for a primarily isolationist 19th century America. And though it would be another century
before the US would emerge as a world power, after going once again facing the British and emerging
intact, US sovereignty in the Western Hemisphere would never again be legitimately challenged.
The War of 1812
(AKA The Second War of Independence or the War that Nobody Won)
Causes of the War
Britain and France are at war in Europe. This means that many of the British ports are closed.
American ships cannot deliver their cargoes to sell in Britain.
Britain is stopping and searching American ships to look for deserters from the British army.
They are still treating the United States as though it is a colony and not an independent
country.
The United States is growing rapidly and its people are always looking for new farmland. They
are expanding westward but the First Peoples in that area are hostile to this expansion.
Some Americans see British North America, especially the rich, inexpensive land in Upper
Canada, as an excellent way to gain more farmland. They also believe that if they could make
Canada a part of the United States, they would gain some allies with the First Peoples.
Main Events of the War
June 1812 The United States declares war on Britain.
July 1812 The American army enters Upper Canada. American General William Hull triesto
persuade Canadians to surrender rather than fight with the British, saying
that becoming part of the United States would free them from the tyranny of
Britain. He warns them not to make alliances with the Indians against the U.S.
July 1812 British army captures the American Fort Michilimackinac on Lake Huron.
August 1812 British General Isaac Brock and Shawnee Chief Tecumseh capture Detroitfrom the
Americans.
October 1812 General Brock is killed at the Battle of Queenston Heights.
April 1813 The Americans are advancing farther into Upper Canada, and they captureYork
(today’s Toronto, the capital of Upper Canada, on Lake Ontario), burningthe Parliament Buildings.
October 1813 Chief Tecumseh is killed. The Americans destroy British ships on Lake Erie.
Summer 1814 Americans retreat to Fort Erie. British attack the American President’s house in
Washington and set it on fire (today’s White House).
December 1814 A Peace Treaty is signed to end the war. Neither the Americans nor the British
claim victory.
Effects of the War
The Americans gave up on the idea of making Canada part of the United States. Instead, they
expanded to the west and the south in the U.S.
Britain started to treat the United States as an independent country. However, after this war,
Britain stopped encouraging American immigration to Canada.
Upper Canada and Lower Canada began to feel a connection to one another because they had
fought together against the Americans.
The U.S./Canada border was established more or less as it is today.
All military forces were removed from the Great Lakes.