Download Cooks 1 Ricky Cooks 21 December 2012 Hunter Davis, 5th Period

Cooks 1
Ricky Cooks
21 December 2012
Hunter Davis, 5th Period
“The War of 1812”
Cooks 2
From June 18, 1812 to December 24, 1814, the War of 1812 between the United States
and Great Britain raged on. President James Madison of the United States declared war after
growing conflicts with Britain came to a boiling point. The War of 1812 is thought of as a war of
pride.
For nearly nine years before the War of 1812, “British [soldiers] impress[ed]
approximately 10,000 Americans forcing them to work on British ships” (Kelley). Other
conflicts leading to the War of 1812 “included British attempts to restrict U.S. trade, the Royal
Navy's impressment of American seamen and America's desire to expand its territory” (History).
After these oppressions by the British, “President Madison faced demands for a more aggressive
policy toward the British. The most insistent voices came from a group of young Republicans
elected to Congress in 1810” (Appleby 293). The main War Hawks included Henry Clay and
John Calhoun. The War Hawks insisted that President Madison declare war with British, as they
believed that they had the right to expand their territory. Finally, in June of 1812, Madison
proposed a declaration of war with Britain to Congress, and eventually it passed.
Although the War of 1812 had already been declared by Congress, not all American
citizens were pleased. “The Federalists in the Northeast, however, remained strongly opposed to
the war [because most of their trading business came from Britain]” (Appleby 294). This led to
unwilling soldiers from the Northeast to not volunteer their state militias to fight. With a mere
100,000 men fighting for America, they were outnumbered by “the British and their Native
American allies” (Appleby 296). In August 1812, General William Hull, the leader of the
American Army, surrendered to Tecumseh of the Shawnee Native Americans and a small group
of British soldiers in Detroit, Michigan. He was trying to lead the American troops into British
territory in Canada, but after the surrender and several other invasions, he realized that “the
Cooks 3
Americans could make no headway in Canada as long as the British controlled Lake Erie”
(Appleby 297). On September 10, 1813, the American Navy, led by Commander Oliver Hazard
Perry, faced the British Navy in a battle that concluded in the defeat of Britain’s naval forces.
“On October 5, 1813, General William Henry Harrison, who also was the governor of the
Indiana Territory and a future president of the United States of America, led an army of 3,500
American troops against a combined force of eight hundred British soldiers and five hundred
Indian warriors at Moravian town, along the Thames River in Ontario, Canada” ("Ohio History
Central"). Knowing they were outnumbered, “the British and their Native American allies tried
to pull back from the Detroit area [but they were cut off by Harrison’s troops]” (Appleby 297).
The battle between the two forces resulted in the death of Tecumseh. The rest of the year resulted
in small victories by American forces.
After finally winning a war with France that was going on at the same time as the War of
1812, the British put more effort and force against America. On August 24, 1814, British forces
overpowered the unprepared American troops defending Washington, D.C. Then , “they [flew]
the Union Jack on top of Capitol Hill and burned all the public buildings in the young nation’s
capital, including the Capitol Building (with its uncompleted rotunda), White House, and
Treasury Building” ("News In History"). Before the burning, however, First Lady Dolley
Madison “was able to flee [the White House] before the British arrived taking with her many
state papers and Gilbert Stuart’s portrait of George Washington” (Sussman 12). After British
forces finally left Washington, D.C., a massive hurricane storm extinguished the remaining fires
of the burning city. Although the British gained no military advantage or achieved victory, the
burning of Washington, D.C. still was considered one of the most shameful events in early
American history.
Cooks 4
After leaving Washington, D.C., the British “sailed north to Baltimore” (Appleby 299).
The American troops in Baltimore were prepared for the British attack. They had “barricaded
roads, a blocked harbor, and some 13,000 militiamen” (Appleby 299). The British were kept
from outside of the city after a battle of bombarding from both sides. That night, American
attorney Francis Scott Key wrote a poem, named The Star-Spangled Banner, which would
eventually become America’s national anthem. Around the same time as the battle at Baltimore,
“General Sir George Prevost led more than 10,000 British troops into New York State from
Canada” (Appleby 299). He wanted “to capture Plattsburgh, a key city on the shore of Lake
Champlain” (Appleby 299), but failed when American forces destroyed the British fleet. The
British retreated to Canada.
“After the Battle of Lake Champlain, the British decided the war in North America was
too costly and unnecessary” (Appleby 299). They decided to stop fighting and try to make peace
with America. On December 24, 1814, the Treaty of Ghent was signed between the British and
America. The treaty declared nothing but peace between the two countries. Neither side gained
any land or power, nor anything was signed about the “impressment of [American] sailors”
(Appleby 299). “Before word of the treaty had reached the United States, one final- and
ferocious- battle occurred at New Orleans” (Appleby 300). Led by future president Andrew
Jackson, the American achieved one final victory against Great Britain. After this, the War of
1812 had officially ended. Although the War of 1812 resulted in no political or military gain, the
United States was then fully, truly recognized as an independent nation. The victory over one of
the world’s strongest powers, Great Britain, gave the American citizens “a new sense of
patriotism and a strong national identity” (Appleby 300). A long war in American History, with
lots of lives lost, ended in nothing but higher self-importance.
Cooks 5
Bibliography
Kelley, Martin. "American History Timeline- War of 1812." About.com. N.p.. Web. 16
Dec 2012. <http://americanhistory.about.com/od/warof1812/a/war-of-1812-timeline.htm>.
. "War of 1812." History. N.p.. Web. 16 Dec 2012. <http://www.history.com/topics/warof-1812>.
Appleby, Joyce, James McPherson, Alan Brinkley, Donald Ritchie, and Albert
Broussard. The American Republic to 1877. Glencoe McGraw-Hill, Print.
. "Battle of the Thames." Ohio History Central. N.p.. Web. 16 Dec 2012.
<http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=481>.
. "British Burn Washington, D.C.." News In History. N.p.. Web. 16 Dec 2012.
<http://www.newsinhistory.com/blog/british-burn-washington-dc-during-war-1812>.
Sussman, Ellen. Presidents Timeline. Dayton: Teaching & Learning Company, 2003.
eBook. <http://books.google.com/books?id=jRmSH64ocxgC&pg=PA12&lpg=PA12&dq=attack
Cooks 6
on
washington
1814
ebook&source=bl&ots=4Kb3bFUUkf&sig=fbDNm7ftHaWHxCwp0FDUD2R29qI&hl=en&sa=
X&ei=SbLOUP3KOaGo2wXi84CgBg&ved=0CD0Q6AEwAg