Download 6.4 War of 1812 Outline

Mr. Clifford
US 1
CHAPTER 6
SECTION 4
THE WAR OF 1812
1.) The War Hawks Demand War
- During Jefferson’s second term as president, renewed fighting between France
and Great Britain threatened American shipping. By 1807, Britain had seized over 1000
American ships and the French seized approximately 500.
A.) Grievances Against Britain
1.) Impressment: Americans focused their anger on Great Britain for a
number of reasons. The British enacted a policy called ‘impressment’. American
sailors would essentially be drafted or forced to join the British navy after they had taken
over the ship and confiscated all the goods. In June 1807, the commander of a British
warship demanded the right to board an American ship called the Chesapeake and search
for British deserters. The US captain refused and the British opened fire on the ship
killing three Americans.
2.) Embargo Act of 1807: In response to the acts of the British, Thomas
Jefferson convinced Congress to declare an embargo (ban on exporting products to other
nations). Jefferson believed the Embargo Act of 1807 would hurt British and European
powers and force them to honor US neutrality. The embargo had a devastating impact on
American business & trade and Congress eventually lifted the embargo in 1809.
B.) Grievances Against Native Americans
1.) War Hawks: John C. Calhoun of South Carolina & Speaker of the
House of Representatives Henry Clay of Kentucky believed that the US must declare war
on Great Britain. The War Hawks believed Canada should belong to the US.
Unfortunately for the US, they would never obtain the vast Canadian country it wanted.
2.) Native Americans fight for Indian Territory: In 1809, General
William Henry Harrison, governor of the Indiana Territory, invited several Native
American chiefs to Fort Wayne, Indiana and asked them to sign away 3 million acres of
tribal land over to the US government. A confederacy of Native Americans, led by
Shawnee chief Tecumseh, began organizing to defend their homeland against white
settlers. In 1811, the confederacy, led by Tecumseh’s brother, attacked Harrison’s troops
but were defeated at the battle of Tippecanoe. Harrison became a national hero.
3.) British supply Native Americans with weapons: The federal
government figured out that the Native American confederacy was using weapons to
attack Americans given to them by the British in the North West Territory. The War
Hawks were ready for WAR.
Mr. Clifford
US 1
2.) The War Brings Mixed Results
- The Presidential election of 1808 was won by James Madison, a Republican. By
1812, Madison declared war on Great Britain. Madison believed that the British were
trying to cripple the American economy and trade.
A.) Failure in Canada
1.) US military unprepared in the beginning: Republican funding cuts
had left the American military ill-prepared for war. The US’s first attempts to invade
Canada were disastrous. In 1813, the US defeated the British navy on Lake Eerie and
American soldiers retook Detroit and would win many battles. Tecumseh was killed in
the Battle of the Thames and the Native American confederacy would collapse.
B.) British Burn Down White House
1.) War on US soil: By 1814, the British were raiding and burning down
public building up and down the Atlantic coast. On August 24th, Madison and other
government officials fled from Washington DC. The British burned down the Capital
building, the White House, and other public buildings.
2.) Battle of Baltimore: September 1814, the British attacked the city of
Baltimore in order to take control of the Chesapeake Bay. Francis Scott Key, an
American prisoner aboard a British vessel, witnessed the British bombardment of Fort
McHenry. During the battle, Key began writing the US national anthem, ‘The Star
Spangled Banner’ and finished the poem once seeing the American flag still flying high
over the fort. The US defeated the British and expelled the superior navy from the
Chesapeake.
2.) Jackson becomes a hero after the War of 1812: General Andrew
Jackson of Tennessee led 5,400 troops to New Orleans to fight expel the British from
America’s major trading port. The American forces defeated an army of 8,000 British
while suffering only minor casualties. Ironically, US and British diplomats had just
signed the Treaty of Ghent which ended the fighting.
C.) Nationalism & Unity
3.) Great Britain finally recognizes America’s independence: Shipping
rights and the impressment issue would eventually be solved. The Rush-Bagot
agreement limited the number of American & British war ships on the Great Lakes. The
two nation agreed to a joint occupation of the Oregon Territory. The War of 1812
confirmed American independence and strengthened nationalism. The US now had a
national identity!