War Of 1812 Dbq Essay

The War of 1812 was fought between the United States and Great Britain from June 1812 to the spring of 1815 (Findling, 15). When the war began, it was being fought by the Americans to address their grievances toward the British, though toward the end, the issues eventually were unjustified and reasons manipulated. There is no single cause for the War of 1812 but instead, several related causes, such the influence of the War Hawks, the impressments as well as the Embargo and Non-Intercourse acts, and the British's possible interference with the Indian Nations, and land ownership disputes between the Natives and Americans, ultimately leading to the Battle of Tippecanoe.

The War of 1812 was started by America due to British encroachment on three fronts, trade restrictions imposed by the British, the increasing alliances of the British with Indian tribes blocking American expansion West, and due to British interference with merchant class ships in the Atlantic. The war was fought in the Great Lakes region between America and Canada, near New Orleans in the Gulf of Mexico, in the Atlantic trade routes, and around Washington DC. The British had always considered the American insurrection in the 1770s to be a temporary event, their continued battles within the European continent as well as the rest of the British empire had proven to be too distracting to keep a solid check on North America. The British also had not anticipated a war in North America in the lead up to the war of 1812 due to the fragility of the American states, leading to the hubris Britain retained in its relations with the young United States of America.

The War of 1812 had a strange lack of victors, but to fully comprehend its effects, one must first evaluate the causes of the war. Each nation involved in the war had a very specific set of goals they wished to accomplish. Initially, the United States aimed to stay neutral in the affairs of Britain and France during the Napoleonic Wars until the two rivals attempted to restrict American trade. In an effort to combat this, President Jefferson passed the Embargo Act of 1807, which banned trade with all foreign countries. The act, intending to deprive the world of American trade, backfired and was later replaced with the Non-Intercourse Act to instead ban trade with only Britain and France. America's unwillingness to trade with the two caused tension that was intensified by the British policy of impressment.2 The resulting “anti-British sentiment” was greatly encouraged by the War Hawks, a group led by Henry Clay that supported war with Britain. They ardently pursued the end of impressment due to the Chesapeake-Leopard Incident in which the HMS Leopard boarded the USS Chesapeake, took four prisoners, and executed one thinking that they were British deserters. Once discovering that they were not, Britain returned the

Following multiple years of possible war, the Americans felt that by 1812 it was obligatory to declare war on Britain. This executive decision was supported by numerous causes of which assisted in the buildup of the war. The breakout of this war was not completely unexpected as there had been rising tension between the two nations. America declared war on Britain in 1812 due to the capturing of ships by the British, the effort to conquer Canada, as well as the conjoining of the country.

Though the War of 1812 was a minor conflict, it had a major impact. America had three goals. Those goals were to solidify Neutrality Rights, prevent England from assisting Native Americans, and gain land in Canada. Great Britain attacked three times; from the North of the US, through Virginia and Maryland, and New Orleans. The War of 1812 was necessary because it prevented further impressment, and Great Britain and America ended on good terms.

The War of 1812 had America gather global respect for battling Great Britain for the second time in short time span. The war also proved the U.S.’s military, and additionally strengthened its army. The U.S. absorbed the methods of properly training its servicemen, and it now had battle ready men in charge. This feature would help the U.S. create one of the most powerful militaries in the world. The War of 1812 also strengthened America’s economy. The British blockade of America’s coast forced the U.S. to manufacture goods it normally imported, so after the war dependence on foreign countries was greatly diminished.

American leaders, like Congressman Calhoun and President Madison resort to declaring war on the British. They decided that it was a decent decision since for the past three years, diplomatic efforts were in vain. They thought it was best because they have to assert their rights as an independent and sovereign nation. The British were violating American trading rights and that was unacceptable since it shows that the British does not respect America or see her as an independent nation. They also had to protect their citizens, like the seafaring citizens who were daily victims of violence.

In 1807, the Embargo Act and Non-Intercourse Act were put into place, prohibiting trade between Europe, America, France, and Britain. All ties were to be cut, and this led to the attack of US cargo ships. Another problem that arose due to shipping problems was that a lot of British

It stopped any American ship from sailing to foreign ports and it closed trade with Europe. Instead of disturbing Great Britain’s economy, it impacted the United States negatively and its economy declined. “ Jefferson’s embargo failed from the beginning…Merchants in New England howled at the loss of their greatest industry: oceangoing commerce. The value of American exports plummeted from $48 million in 1807 to $ 9 million a year later” (America, 250).

The War of 1812 was a war between the United States and Great Britain after the American Revolution that happened in 1765 to 1783. The Treaty of Paris officially marked the end of the American Revolution. It represented the freedom of the 13 colonies and it also established the boundaries of the United States and Great Britain. The british agreed to stop interfering with the United States all together but did not uphold their promise and continued to interfere with America's shipping and trading route. That was the main causes of the War of 1812 because even though the british on June 16th, 1812 promised to stop interfering James Madison, who was President of the United States thought that the only way for Great Britain to truly stop was to go to war. Many legislators in Congress who represented rural areas voted for war and that was the first time that Congress declared war. The other causes of the war of 1812 were, that the British were practicing impressment of U.S. seamen and forcing them in the navy or the military to serve for Great Britain. The British also encouraged Native Americans to attack the U.S. as they tried to expand west and gain more territory.

Unfortunately, Britain was still in a previous war with Europe at the time Congress had declared the war of 1812. The British refused to let the war with Europe get in the way with the Americans. Since the Americans had pride they strongly believed that they would win. Although, due to the military cuts under Jefferson, America was not prepared for war. The army was limited with less than 7,000 men and the navy barely had 16 warships ready. British had put together a blockade off of the American Coast on the first days of the war. The war was set on Eastern and Central North America, and the Atlantic and

Madison and these supporters of the war looked upon it as being inevitable, causing it to eventually also be known as “Mr. Madison’s War”. Madison was influenced to believe this war was unavoidable as a cause of the British supplying already aggressive Native Americans with weapons, along with members of his party urging the idea of kicking the Indians out of the United States and putting them in Canada. While individuals like this saw the war as inevitable others, such as southerner expansionists, had ulterior motives. These expansionists sought the state of Florida, which at the time was controlled by Spain, a weak ally of Britain. Even with multiple stances on the topic of war and individuals having ulterior motives, what started the entire discussion of war was all the different unjust actions of the British towards the United States. The British were consistently impressing American sailors, taking the Americans from their vessel and forcing them to join and work for the British Navy. Along with impressment occurring there were many more reasons behind the War of 1812; such as, harassment of United States trade by British naval ships, and “During the first three decades of American independence there was a general feeling that the British government had very little respect for the young United States. And during the Napoleonic Wars the British government actively sought to meddle with — or completely suppress — American trade with European nations.” (McNamara). Britain was so desperate in attempting to squash the United States through trade they even passed laws, known as Orders in Council, which meant for all American ships that were headed towards a European port a blockade would now be there.

I believe that the War of 1812 was a continuation of the American war for independence. Even though the Americans had beaten the British is the revolution, and gained their independence politically the British still controlled much of American trade and commerce. They also were found to be arming the Indians who lived in the Mid-West and thus impeding American expansion into Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin. While the Revolution and War of 1812 were technically two different wars, the Americans were still fighting the British to prove their status as a nation.

Upon Madison’s request in 1812, Congress declared war on the British. Due to the fact that Thomas Jefferson thought taking over

The Embargo Act of 1807, it was put on Great Britain and France during the Napoleonic Wars. It was imposed when they violated the United States Neutrality. It started when merchants traveling across the seas had their cargo seized and also the seamen were captured. They forced thousands on Royal