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Major causes of the war

  • Final stages of the war and the aftermath

1812, War of

What led to the War of 1812?

How did the war of 1812 end, did the war of 1812 have popular support, what role did native americans play in the war of 1812, what were the war of 1812’s lasting effects.

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War of 1812

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1812, War of

The commercial restrictions that Britain’s war with France imposed on the U.S. exacerbated the U.S.’s relations with both powers. Although neither Britain nor France initially accepted the U.S.’s neutral rights to trade with the other—and punished U.S. ships for trying to do so—France had begun to temper its intransigence on the issue by 1810. That, paired with the ascendance of certain pro-French politicians in the U.S. and the conviction held by some Americans that the British were stirring up unrest among Native Americans on the frontier, set the stage for a U.S.-British war. The U.S. Congress declared war in 1812.

Peace talks between Britain and the U.S. began in 1814. Britain stalled negotiations as it waited for word of a victory in America, having recently committed extra troops to its western campaign. But news of their losses at places like Plattsburgh , New York, and Baltimore , Maryland, paired with the duke of Wellington’s counsel against continuing the war, convinced the British to pursue peace more genuinely, and both sides signed the Treaty of Ghent in December 1814. The final battle of the war occurred after this, when a British general unaware of the peace treaty led an assault on New Orleans that was roundly crushed.

The War of 1812 had only mixed support on both sides of the Atlantic. The British weren’t eager for another conflict, having fought Napoleon for the better part of the previous 20 years , but weren’t fond of American commercial support of the French either. The divisions in American sentiment about the war similarly split, oftentimes along geographic lines: New Englanders, particularly seafaring ones, were against it. Southerners and Westerners advocated for it, hoping that it would enhance the U.S.’s reputation abroad, open opportunities for its expansion, and protect American commercial interests against British restrictions.

Native Americans had begun resisting settlement by white Americans before 1812. In 1808 the Shawnee brothers Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa began amassing an intertribal confederacy comprising indigenous groups around the Great Lakes and the Ohio River valley. In 1812 Tecumseh tightened his relationship with Britain, convincing white Americans that the British were inciting unrest among northwestern tribes. British and intertribal forces took Detroit in 1812 and won a number of other victories during the war, but Tecumseh was killed and his confederation was quashed after Detroit was retaken in 1813. Creek tribes continued to resist from 1813 onward, but they were suppressed by Andrew Jackson ’s forces in 1814.

Although neither Britain nor the U.S. was able to secure major concessions through the Treaty of Ghent , it nevertheless had important consequences for the future of North America. The withdrawal of British troops from the Northwest Territory and the defeat of the Creeks in the South opened the door for unbounded U.S. expansionism in both regions. The treaty also established measures that would help arbitrate future border disputes between the U.S. and Canada, perhaps one reason why the two countries have been able to peaceably share the longest unfortified border in the world ever since.

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War of 1812 , (June 18, 1812–February 17, 1815), conflict fought between the United States and Great Britain over British violations of U.S. maritime rights. It ended with the exchange of ratifications of the Treaty of Ghent .

Uncover how the new United States fought with the British over naval impressment and their history of conflict

The tensions that caused the War of 1812 arose from the French revolutionary (1792–99) and Napoleonic Wars (1799–1815). During this nearly constant conflict between France and Britain , American interests were injured by each of the two countries’ endeavours to block the United States from trading with the other.

American shipping initially prospered from trade with the French and Spanish empires, although the British countered the U.S. claim that “free ships make free goods” with the belated enforcement of the so-called Rule of 1756 (trade not permitted in peacetime would not be allowed in wartime). The Royal Navy did enforce the act from 1793 to 1794, especially in the Caribbean Sea , before the signing of the Jay Treaty (November 19, 1794). Under the primary terms of the treaty, American maritime commerce was given trading privileges in England and the British East Indies , Britain agreed to evacuate forts still held in the Northwest Territory by June 1, 1796, and the Mississippi River was declared freely open to both countries. Although the treaty was ratified by both countries, it was highly unpopular in the United States and was one of the rallying points used by the pro-French Republicans , led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison , in wresting power from the pro-British Federalists , led by George Washington and John Adams .

After Jefferson became president in 1801, relations with Britain slowly deteriorated, and systematic enforcement of the Rule of 1756 resumed after 1805. Compounding this troubling development, the decisive British naval victory at the Battle of Trafalgar (October 21, 1805) and efforts by the British to blockade French ports prompted the French emperor, Napoleon , to cut off Britain from European and American trade. The Berlin Decree (November 21, 1806) established Napoleon’s Continental System , which impinged on U.S. neutral rights by designating ships that visited British ports as enemy vessels. The British responded with Orders in Council (November 11, 1807) that required neutral ships to obtain licenses at English ports before trading with France or French colonies. In turn, France announced the Milan Decree (December 17, 1807), which strengthened the Berlin Decree by authorizing the capture of any neutral vessel that had submitted to search by the British. Consequently, American ships that obeyed Britain faced capture by the French in European ports, and if they complied with Napoleon’s Continental System, they could fall prey to the Royal Navy.

D-Day. American soldiers fire rifles, throw grenades and wade ashore on Omaha Beach next to a German bunker during D Day landing. 1 of 5 Allied beachheads est. in Normandy, France. The Normandy Invasion of World War II launched June 6, 1944.

The Royal Navy’s use of impressment to keep its ships fully crewed also provoked Americans. The British accosted American merchant ships to seize alleged Royal Navy deserters, carrying off thousands of U.S. citizens into the British navy. In 1807 the frigate H.M.S. Leopard fired on the U.S. Navy frigate Chesapeake and seized four sailors, three of them U.S. citizens. London eventually apologized for this incident, but it came close to causing war at the time. Jefferson, however, chose to exert economic pressure against Britain and France by pushing Congress in December 1807 to pass the Embargo Act , which forbade all export shipping from U.S. ports and most imports from Britain.

The Embargo Act hurt Americans more than the British or French, however, causing many Americans to defy it. Just before Jefferson left office in 1809, Congress replaced the Embargo Act with the Non-Intercourse Act, which exclusively forbade trade with Great Britain and France. This measure also proved ineffective, and it was replaced by Macon’s Bill No. 2 (May 1, 1810) that resumed trade with all nations but stipulated that if either Britain or France dropped commercial restrictions, the United States would revive nonintercourse against the other. In August, Napoleon insinuated that he would exempt American shipping from the Berlin and Milan decrees. Although the British demonstrated that French restrictions continued, U.S. Pres. James Madison reinstated nonintercourse against Britain in November 1810, thereby moving one step closer to war.

Britain’s refusal to yield on neutral rights derived from more than the emergency of the European war. British manufacturing and shipping interests demanded that the Royal Navy promote and sustain British trade against Yankee competitors. The policy born of that attitude convinced many Americans that they were being consigned to a de facto colonial status. Britons, on the other hand, denounced American actions that effectively made the United States a participant in Napoleon’s Continental System.

essay on the war of 1812

Events on the U.S. northwestern frontier fostered additional friction. Indian fears over American encroachment coincidentally became conspicuous as Anglo-American tensions grew. Shawnee brothers Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa ( The Prophet ) attracted followers arising from this discontent and attempted to form an Indian confederation to counteract American expansion. Although Maj. Gen. Isaac Brock , the British commander of Upper Canada (modern Ontario), had orders to avoid worsening American frontier problems, American settlers blamed British intrigue for heightened tensions with Indians in the Northwest Territory. As war loomed, Brock sought to augment his meagre regular and Canadian militia forces with Indian allies, which was enough to confirm the worst fears of American settlers. Brock’s efforts were aided in the fall of 1811, when Indiana territorial governor William Henry Harrison fought the Battle of Tippecanoe and destroyed the Indian settlement at Prophet’s Town (near modern Battle Ground, Indiana). Harrison’s foray convinced most Indians in the Northwest Territory that their only hope of stemming further encroachments by American settlers lay with the British. American settlers, in turn, believed that Britain’s removal from Canada would end their Indian problems. Meanwhile, Canadians suspected that American expansionists were using Indian unrest as an excuse for a war of conquest.

Under increasing pressure, Madison summoned the U.S. Congress into session in November 1811. Pro-war western and southern Republicans ( War Hawks ) assumed a vocal role, especially after Kentucky War Hawk Henry Clay was elected speaker of the House of Representatives . Madison sent a war message to the U.S. Congress on June 1, 1812, and signed the declaration of war on June 18, 1812. The vote seriously divided the House (79–49) and was gravely close in the Senate (19–13). Because seafaring New Englanders opposed the war, while westerners and southerners supported it, Federalists accused war advocates of expansionism under the ruse of protecting American maritime rights. Expansionism, however, was not as much a motive as was the desire to defend American honour. The United States attacked Canada because it was British, but no widespread aspiration existed to incorporate the region. The prospect of taking East and West Florida from Spain encouraged southern support for the war, but southerners, like westerners, were sensitive about the United States’s reputation in the world. Furthermore, British commercial restrictions hurt American farmers by barring their produce from Europe. Regions seemingly removed from maritime concerns held a material interest in protecting neutral shipping. “Free trade and sailors’ rights” was not an empty phrase for those Americans.

The onset of war both surprised and chagrined the British government, especially because it was preoccupied with the fight against France. In addition, political changes in Britain had already moved the government to assume a conciliatory posture toward the United States. Prime Minister Spencer Perceval ’s assassination on May 11, 1812, brought to power a more moderate Tory government under Lord Liverpool . British West Indies planters had been complaining for years about the interdiction of U.S. trade, and their growing influence, along with a deepening recession in Great Britain, convinced the Liverpool ministry that the Orders in Council were averse to British interests. On June 16, two days before the United States declared war, the Orders were suspended.

Some have viewed the timing of this concession as a lost opportunity for peace because slow transatlantic communication meant a month’s delay in delivering the news to Washington. Yet, because Britain’s impressment policy remained in place and frontier Indian wars continued, in all likelihood the repeal of the Orders alone would not have prevented war.

essay on the war of 1812

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War of 1812

By: History.com Editors

Updated: April 24, 2023 | Original: October 27, 2009

USS Constitution and the HMS Guerriere during the War of 1812

In the War of 1812, the United States took on the greatest naval power in the world, Great Britain, in a conflict that would have an immense impact on the young country’s future. Causes of the war included British attempts to restrict U.S. trade, the Royal Navy’s impressment of American seamen and America’s desire to expand its territory. 

The United States suffered many costly defeats at the hands of British, Canadian and Native American troops over the course of the War of 1812, including the capture and burning of the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C., in August 1814. Nonetheless, American troops were able to repulse British invasions in New York, Baltimore and New Orleans, boosting national confidence and fostering a new spirit of patriotism. The ratification of the Treaty of Ghent on February 17, 1815, ended the war but left many of the most contentious questions unresolved. Nonetheless, many in the United States celebrated the War of 1812 as a “second war of independence,” beginning an era of partisan agreement and national pride.

Causes of the War of 1812

At the outset of the 19th century, Great Britain was locked in a long and bitter conflict with Napoleon Bonaparte’s France. In an attempt to cut off supplies from reaching the enemy, both sides attempted to block the United States from trading with the other. In 1807, Britain passed the Orders in Council, which required neutral countries to obtain a license from its authorities before trading with France or French colonies. The Royal Navy also outraged Americans by its practice of impressment, or removing seamen from U.S. merchant vessels and forcing them to serve on behalf of the British.

In 1809, the U.S. Congress repealed Thomas Jefferson ’s unpopular Embargo Act, which by restricting trade had hurt Americans more than either Britain or France. Its replacement, the Non-Intercourse Act, specifically prohibited trade with Britain and France. It also proved ineffective, and in turn was replaced with a May 1810 bill stating that if either power dropped trade restrictions against the United States, Congress would in turn resume non-intercourse with the opposing power.

After Napoleon hinted he would stop restrictions, President James Madison blocked all trade with Britain that November. Meanwhile, new members of Congress elected that year—led by Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun—had begun to agitate for war, based on their indignation over British violations of maritime rights as well as Britain’s encouragement of Native American hostility against American westward expansion .

Did you know? The War of 1812 produced a new generation of great American generals, including Andrew Jackson, Jacob Brown and Winfield Scott, and helped propel no fewer than four men to the presidency: Jackson, John Quincy Adams, James Monroe and William Henry Harrison.

The War of 1812 Breaks Out

In the fall of 1811, Indiana’s territorial governor William Henry Harrison led U.S. troops to victory in the Battle of Tippecanoe . The defeat convinced many Indians in the Northwest Territory (including the celebrated Shawnee chief Tecumseh ) that they needed British support to prevent American settlers from pushing them further out of their lands. 

Meanwhile, by late 1811 the so-called “War Hawks” in Congress were putting more and more pressure on Madison, and on June 18, 1812, the president signed a declaration of war against Britain. Though Congress ultimately voted for war, both House and Senate were bitterly divided on the issue. Most Western and Southern congressmen supported war, while Federalists (especially New Englanders who relied heavily on trade with Britain) accused war advocates of using the excuse of maritime rights to promote their expansionist agenda.

In order to strike at Great Britain, U.S. forces almost immediately attacked Canada, which was then a British colony. American officials were overly optimistic about the invasion’s success, especially given how underprepared U.S. troops were at the time. On the other side, they faced a well-managed defense coordinated by Sir Isaac Brock, the British soldier and administrator in charge in Upper Canada (modern Ontario). 

On August 16, 1812, the United States suffered a humiliating defeat after Brock and Tecumseh’s forces chased those led by Michigan William Hull across the Canadian border, scaring Hull into surrendering Detroit without any shots fired.

War of 1812: Mixed Results for American Forces

Things looked better for the United States in the West, as Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry’s brilliant success in the Battle of Lake Erie in September 1813 placed the Northwest Territory firmly under American control. Harrison was subsequently able to retake Detroit with a victory in the Battle of Thames (in which Tecumseh was killed). Meanwhile, the U.S. navy had been able to score several victories over the Royal Navy in the early months of the war. With the defeat of Napoleon’s armies in April 1814, however, Britain was able to turn its full attention to the war effort in North America. 

As large numbers of troops arrived, British forces raided the Chesapeake Bay and moved in on the U.S. capital, capturing Washington, D.C ., on August 24, 1814, and burning government buildings including the Capitol and the White House .

Inspiration for 'The Star Spangled Banner'

On September 11, 1814, at the Battle of Plattsburgh on Lake Champlain in New York, the American navy soundly defeated the British fleet. And on September 13, 1814, Baltimore’s Fort McHenry withstood 25 hours of bombardment by the British Navy. 

The following morning, the fort’s soldiers hoisted an enormous American flag, a sight that inspired Francis Scott Key to write a poem that would later be set to music and become known as  “ The Star-Spangled Banner .” (Set to the tune of an old English drinking song, it would later be adopted as the U.S. national anthem.) British forces subsequently left the Chesapeake Bay and began gathering their efforts for a campaign against New Orleans .

End of the War of 1812 and Its Impact

By that time, peace talks had already begun at Ghent (modern Belgium), and Britain moved for an armistice after the failure of the assault on Baltimore. In the negotiations that followed, the United States gave up its demands to end impressment, while Britain promised to leave Canada’s borders unchanged and abandon efforts to create an Indian state in the Northwest. On December 24, 1814, commissioners signed the Treaty of Ghent , which would be ratified the following February. 

On January 8, 1815, unaware that peace had been concluded, British forces mounted a major attack in the Battle of New Orleans , only to meet with defeat at the hands of future U.S. president Andrew Jackson ’s army. News of the battle boosted sagging U.S. morale and left Americans with the taste of victory, despite the fact that the country had achieved none of its pre-war objectives.

Impact of the War of 1812

Though the War of 1812 is remembered as a relatively minor conflict in the United States and Britain, it looms large for Canadians and for Native Americans, who see it as a decisive turning point in their losing struggle to govern themselves. In fact, the war had a far-reaching impact in the United States, as the Treaty of Ghent ended decades of bitter partisan infighting in government and ushered in the so-called “Era of Good Feelings.” 

The war also marked the demise of the Federalist Party , which had been accused of being unpatriotic for its antiwar stance, and reinforced a tradition of Anglophobia that had begun during the Revolutionary War. Perhaps most importantly, the war’s outcome boosted national self-confidence and encouraged the growing spirit of American expansionism that would shape the better part of the 19th century.

essay on the war of 1812

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Course: US history   >   Unit 4

  • The election of 1800
  • Jefferson's presidency and the turn of the nineteenth century
  • The Louisiana Purchase and its exploration
  • Jefferson's election and presidency

The War of 1812

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essay on the war of 1812

  • The War of 1812 , which lasted from June 18, 1812 to February 18, 1815, was fought over issues that continued to plague relations between the United States and Britain after the Revolutionary War, like impressment of American sailors and trade restrictions on American shipping.
  • Though many American grievances were resolved during the course of the war, the Treaty of Ghent , which formally ended the War of 1812, involved no significant change in pre-war borders or boundaries.
  • For Native Americans who had allied with the British, the outcome of the war was devastating to their land and political autonomy.

War in Europe and grievances in the United States

The hartford convention and the treaty of ghent, the end of the war of 1812, the war of 1812 and native americans, what do you think.

  • For more on the Napoleonic Wars, see Mike Rapport, The Napoleonic Wars: A Very Short Introduction (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013).
  • For more on the military history of the conflict, see Donald R. Hickey, The War of 1812: A Forgotten Conflict (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2012).
  • For more, see Walter R. Borneman, 1812: The War that Forged a Nation (New York: HarperCollins, 2004).
  • For more on the American Indians and the War of 1812, see Alan Taylor, The Civil War of 1812: American Citizens, British Subjects, Irish Rebels, and Indian Allies (New York: Random House, 2010).

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Incredible Answer

This painting depicts the signing of the Treaty of Ghent.

Sir Amédée Forestier, The Signing of the Treaty of Ghent, Christmas Eve, 1814, 1914, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sulgrave Institution of the U.S. and Great Britain.

War of 1812

The “Second War of Independence”

Sometimes referred to as the “Second War of Independence,” the War of 1812 was the first large scale test of the American republic on the world stage. With the British Navy impressing American sailors, and the British government aiding Native American tribes in their attacks on American citizens on the frontier, Congress, for the first time in our nation’s history, declared war on a foreign nation: Great Britain. Battles raged on the high seas. British soldiers invaded American soil, captured Washington D.C., and even burned the White House. In the end the Star-Spangled Banner waved “O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.” Explore the battlefields and personalities of this critical time in American history.

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The War of 1812

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1910 painting by Edward Percy Moran of Battle of New Orleans

1910 painting by Edward Percy Moran of Battle of New Orleans.

Courtesy of Library of Congress

For two and a half years, Americans fought against the British, Canadian colonists, and native nations in a war that divided the United States so deeply that the nation almost broke apart. Watch the NEH-funded film THE WAR OF 1812 online, supplemented by bonus video material, classroom lesson plans, essays on aspects of the conflict, and a guide to historic battle sites. 

The War of 1812 in the American History Essay

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The War of 1812 was held between the British Empire and the U.S. The declaration of the War followed a request by President James Madison. The main aim of President Madison was to safeguard the American ships on the high seas and stop the British from capturing the U.S. sailors (Elting 5). The relationship between the British and the Native Americans influenced the decision made by Madison as well. Most critics argue that the War of 1812 was a Madison’s War. However, others see it as the American second war for independence.

The War of 1812 was ignited by the failure to restore the French Monarchy during the French revolution. The war erupted when Britain had captured the American sailors.

Important personalities behind the war included Quincy Adams, a leading personality of the American diplomatic relations, Henry Clay, who was a speaker of the House of Representatives and a leading war hawk, Isaac Brock, who commanded the British forces in Canada, Thomas Cochrane, who was a commander of the British Royal Navy, Andrew Jackson, who won a stunning victory over the British forces, Thomas Macdonough, whose contribution to victory in 1814, Robert Ross, a British general who controlled land forces, William Winder, who commanded a disorganized American force at Bladensburg, and President Madison (Stagg 26).

The events that occurred during the War of 1812 included the refusal of Chesapeake that forced the British to open fire violating the international laws, and the Bladensburg race in which the British routed the Americans leading their way to Washington which they burned. The end of the War of1812 was marked with an agreement signed in 1815; it known as the Treaty of Ghent. Another important event during the conflict was the Hartford Convention used by the New England Federalists to discuss their grievances (Stagg 32).

The impacts of the War of 1812 were felt by the slaveholders in the South. Most of the slaves ran away to take part in the conflict (Goldfield, et. al. 65). The Native Americans were the key losers because they were on par with the blacks because the British withdrew their financial and military support. They were left to face increasing white settlement without a unifying leadership (Elting 9).

In conclusion, the War of 1812 provided an opportunity to the Americans to grow stronger and wealthier. In the long run, none of the fighting countries were prepared to engage in the conflict (Elting 9).

Works Cited

Elting, John R. Amateurs, to Arms! A Military History of the War of 1812, New York: Da Capo Press, 1995. Print.

Goldfield, David, et al. The American Journey: The History of the United States . Second edition, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2001. Print.

Stagg, James C. Mr. Madison’s War: Politics, Diplomacy, and Warfare in the Early American Republic, USA: Oxford University Press, 1989. Print.

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IvyPanda. (2018, November 6). The War of 1812 in the American History. https://ivypanda.com/essays/american-history-12/

" The War of 1812 in the American History." IvyPanda , 6 Nov. 2018, ivypanda.com/essays/american-history-12/.

IvyPanda . (2018) ' The War of 1812 in the American History'. 6 November.

IvyPanda . 2018. " The War of 1812 in the American History." November 6, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/american-history-12/.

1. IvyPanda . " The War of 1812 in the American History." November 6, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/american-history-12/.

Bibliography

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“The War of 1812”

If you are about to write a The War of 1812 essay, you might want to check out our sample. Read our essay on The War of 1812 to get some inspiration for your writing!

Causes of The War of 1812

  • Course of the War

Effects of The War of 1812

War of 1812 conclusion.

United States and Great Britain engaged in war in 1812, hence named “The War of 1812”. This war lasted for three years, that is, from 1812 to 1815.

It resulted from the cropping anger of the Americans over trade issues, impressments of American sailors, and British aid of the Indian attacks on the front line against the Native Americans (Roosevelt, 113). Although some of the Americans thought of 1812 War as a second war of independence, during this war, neither the British nor the Americans gained any decisive advantage.

The 1812 War took place during the reign of President Madison; he had declared war against the British after collision of the Americans with the British. The conflict between the Americans and the British had resulted from the British support of the Indians, Americans’ enemies.

The Indians had inputted much effort in doing away with the American administration, for instance, they fought the American troops leading to the reduction of the Americans power. In addition, the Indians offered protection to the British that resided in North America, this close association between the British and the Indians catalyzed American anger hence the outbreak of 1812 War.

Course of War

1812 War had its spark from a group of young politicians in the House of Representatives in America known as war hawks led by Henry Clay and John Calhoun.

The war hawks had diverse reasons as to why they demanded for the declaration of war against the British, and some of the reasons included the British violation of international laws that opposed disruption of marketing practices, the disrespect showed by the British, and the kidnapping act of the British.

For instance, the British violated international laws opposing disruption of marketing places by seizing American ships that transported goods for trade. The Americans considered the act of seizing American ships at their territory by the British as a show of disrespect. They therefore considered war as a solution, hence the War of 1812.

The British act of kidnapping innocent American sailors was also one of the causes of the 1812 War, the British captured and enslaved American sailors hence contributing to the rise of war hawks’ anger. The Chesapeake Affair of 1807 was also a contributing factor to the war of 1812, in 1807; the British soldiers managed to get aboard of American ship and killed innocent Americans that they caught, an act that left Americans burning with anger.

The neutrality act of Americans also contributed to the outbreak of the 1812 war, the Americans had the habit of carrying out their trading activity without showing interest or concern of the war that was taking place between the French and the British. The neutrality act portrayed by the Americans made the British take advantage of them.

The Americans started mistreating them by seizing their ships and capturing innocent American sailors (Hannay, 107).The succession of the British in the 1805 war against the French worsened the relationship between the British and the Americans, it led to the declination of the American participation in the trading activities across the seas.

Although the treaty of Ghent signed in December 1814 did not touch on any issues concerning the causes of the 1812 War, it contributed immensely towards the end of the 1812 War. The American and the British representatives had met at Ghent in Belgium with the intention of signing a peaceful treaty. According to the signed treaty, all conquered states were to be returned.

The treaty also paved way for the planning of commissions that solved boundary issues that existed between America and Canada. Via the signed treaty, the Americans were also able to restore their war lands and ships that had been captured by the British (Cullum, 133). In addition, the treaty contributed to the British promising to return the slaves it had captured.

Success of 1812 is based on the efforts of Andrew Jackson, in 1815, Andrew Jackson together with his poorly trained troops managed to win the Battle of New Orleans. The war had taken place between British and the Americans who had not gotten the news of the signed treaty.

Andrew Jackson with his outnumbered American army had managed to defeat the well trained and equipped British soldiers in the war that lasted for three years (Auchinleck, 89). The Battle of New Orleans had depicted the nationalism of the American volunteers, hence signifying the importance of Andrew Jackson.

In conclusion, the 1812 War was as a result of conflicts between the British and the Americans, it had resulted from the British overlooking the American neutrality. The 1812 war lasted for three years. In addition to the war contributing the drop of the American trading activity, it also led to the loss of many lives.

The British together with the Indians fought the Americans leading to the reduction of American powers. However, the efforts of the war hawks together with Andrew Jackson’ effort contributed immensely to the success of the American troops against the British.

Works cited

Auchinleck, Gilbert. A History of the War Between Great Britain and the United States of America: During the Years 1812, 1813, and 1814 . New York: Maclear & Company, 1855. Print.

Cullum, George. Campaigns of the War of 1812-15, Against Great Britain – Sketched and Criticised – With Brief Biographies of the American Engineers. New York: Symonds Press, 2010. Print.

Hannay, James. History of the War of 1812 Between Great Britain and the United States of America. New York: HardPress, 2012. Print.

Roosevelt, Theodore. The Naval War of 1812 . New York: Echo Library, 2007. Print.

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The War of 1812: An Essay Collection, British

For The War of 1812 project, WNED invited filmmaker Lawrence Hott and historians to author essays that would explore further the various perspectives on the war.  The British, American, Canadian and Native perspectives all reveal important truths--and myths--about this historic event and the timeless lessons that come with it.  The PDFs here are the collected essays.

The attached file is "A British Perspective on the War of 1812" by Andrew Lambert.

Due to the size of the file, we have posted this as separate spreads.  If you would like to request the entire file of the essay collection, which is 41.5 MB, please contact Kate Kelly at [email protected] .

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The Lasting Impacts of The War of 1812 on The United States

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Political impacts, economic impacts, national identity impacts.

  • Latimer, J. (2007). 1812: War with America. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
  • Perkins, B. (2002). Castlereagh and Adams: England and the United States, 1812-1823. London: Leicester University Press.
  • Heidler, D. S., & Heidler, J. T. (2004). Encyclopedia of the War of 1812. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.

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