Causes of the War of 1812

Causes of the War of 1812

• British impressment of American sailors was the most cited reason, disrupting American shipping and violating sovereignty
• Citizenship was a complicated concept at the time, especially at sea, with forged papers and nationalistic tattoos
• British sailors were working on American ships
• Britain was fighting Napoleon, so impressment served to disrupt American shipping to France and bolster the British Navy
• Anglophobia and conspiracy theories contributed, including a rumor of British agents sabotaging Connecticut sheep to hurt the textile industry
• War Hawks like Henry Clay pushed for war, citing affronts to national honor and free trade (ability to trade with countries other than Great Britain)
• British Orders in Council required American ships to dock in Britain and pay tax before trading with other European nations
• The Orders were rescinded before the US declared war, but the news hadn't reached America yet
• Desire for Canada motivated some Americans
• Virginia Congressman John Randolph noted the "agrarian cupidity" driving the war, specifically the desire for Canadian land

Native American Factors

• U.S. expansion into Native American territories was a key factor
• By the war's start, over 400,000 settlers lived west of the original colonies, outnumbering American Indians
• Some Native Americans, like Cherokee leader John Ross, wanted to assimilate
• Others, like Tecumseh and his brother Tenskwatawa (The Prophet), resisted White expansion and culture
• Tecumseh advocated pan-Indianism and resistance to white settlement
• Tenskwatawa urged Indians to abandon white customs, especially alcohol and consumer goods
• William Henry Harrison destroyed Prophetstown in the Battle of Tippecanoe, later using the victory to win the presidency in 1840
• Americans believed the British were encouraging Tecumseh's resistance

The War Itself

• The War of 1812 was the first time the US declared war
• The declaration vote was close: 79-49 in the House, 19-13 in the Senate, revealing ambivalence about the war
• Northern states opposed the war due to reliance on trade, while Southern and Western states favored it because of agrarian interests and expansionist goals
• Henry Adams: The US "forced themselves into a war they dreaded, in the hope that the war itself might create the spirit they lacked."
• The U.S. Army was small (10-12,000 men) with incompetent officers
• The U.S. Navy had 17 ships compared to Britain's 1,000
• Britain collected 40 times more tax revenue than the US
• Britain focused on fighting Napoleon until 1814
• America's attempts to invade Canada failed due to poor strategy and the capture of Detroit
• The British seized Washington D.C. and burned the White House

Key Battles and Figures

• The USS Constitution earned the nickname "Old Ironsides" for withstanding British cannon fire
• Oliver Hazard Perry defeated a British fleet on Lake Erie
• William Henry Harrison defeated Tecumseh at the Battle of the Thames
• Andrew Jackson's victory at the Battle of New Orleans boosted his prominence, though it occurred after the peace treaty was signed
• At the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, Andrew Jackson defeated one group of Creeks with the help of another group of Creeks and Cherokees

Treaty of Ghent and Aftermath

• The Treaty of Ghent ended the war, restoring the status quo ante bellum with no territorial changes
• The treaty made no mention of impressment or free trade
• Indians suffered significant casualties and lost territory
• The war confirmed the US as an independent nation, preventing future British invasions
• It accelerated the settlement and conquest of land East of the Mississippi River
• The War reinforced Canadian nationalism resulting in Canada remaining a separate nation
• The Federalist Party declined after the Hartford Convention, which proposed constitutional changes but appeared unpatriotic after Jackson's victory
• National pride surged in the US.
• The US began to see itself as a major player on the world stage