NNEC - War of 1812 (Lesson)

War of 1812

Drawing of the ruins of the U.S. Capitol following British attempts to burn the building.

War of 1812: Causes

In 1812, America declared war on Great Britain (and Great Britain was already at war with France).

Among the causes of this war, four factors stand out.

First, Americans objected to restrictions Britain was enforcing to prevent neutral American merchants from trading with the French.

Second, Americans were outraged by the British policy of impressment. Under this policy, thousands of American sailors were forced against their will to serve in the British Navy after their merchant ships were captured at sea.

Third, Americans suspected the British were giving military support to Native Americans so they would fight to keep Americans from settling lands west of the Appalachian Mountains.

Fourth, Americans wished to drive the British out of North America altogether by conquering Canada while the British army was fighting the French in Europe.

Causes of the war of 1812

 

 

War of 1812: Results

Militarily the war was a draw, but there were several benefits for the United States.

A major result of the War of 1812 was the end of all U.S. military hostility with Great Britain. Never again would Britain and the United States wage war over diplomacy, trade, territory, or any other kind of dispute.

America's army and navy were firmly established as worthy opponents of any European military force.

The U.S. military achievements in the War of 1812 also served to heighten nationalist sentiments.

The Federalist Party died out as it had opposed the War of 1812. For a time, there was only one major political party in the U.S., the Democratic-Republicans.

Results of the War of 1812

 

This time of one-party domination and nationalism is sometimes called the "Era of Good Feelings."

View the presentation on the Era of Good Feelings.

 

Timeline of this Period

  • 1800:  Thomas Jefferson’s election to the presidency.
  • 1803:  The Louisiana Purchase.
  • 1807:  *Great Britain passed the 1807 Orders in Council which restricted international trade with France; *November 11: Embargo Act passed by Congress.
  • 1809:  James Madison was sworn in as the fourth president of the United States.
  • 1811: Battle of Tippecanoe.
  • 1812-1815:  War of 1812.
  • 1815: Battle of New Orleans—Andrew Jackson’s troops won the Battle of New Orleans after the war was over.  The Treaty of Ghent was signed in Belgium in December 1814 and ended the war, but no one in the United States knew yet because communication was slow.
  • 1816-1824:  The “Era of Good Feelings.”
  • 1820:  The Missouri Compromise.
  • 1823:  Monroe Doctrine.
  • 1824:  The Election of 1824 and the “Corrupt Bargain.”
  • 1825: The Erie Canal was finished and connected the Hudson River and the Great Lakes which expedited shipping to New York City from the interior of the country.
  • 1828:  *Andrew Jackson was elected as the 7th president of the United States, the first non-elite “common man” to become president; *Tariff of Abominations.
  • 1830: Congress passed the Indian Removal Act of 1830 at President Jackson’s behest.
  • 1832:  *Nat Turner’s Rebellion in Virginia; *Nullification Crisis of 1832 in South Carolina.
  • 1830-1850:  Manifest Destiny is the driving force for the United States---the concept that it was God’s plan that the United States should control all of the territory from the Atlantic to the Pacific Coasts of North America.
  • 1836:  Battle of the Alamo in the Texas War for Independence.
  • 1838:  The Trail of Tears---the final step in the removal of all indigenous people from east of the Mississippi River (north Georgia and Alabama, Tennessee, and North Carolina).

 

 

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