The War of 1812 Copy 2

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Oct 30, 2023

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Surname 1 Student’s Name Instructor’s Name Course Date The War of 1812 (Individuals, Causes/Effects, Campaigns) The war of 1812 was fought between the United States and the United Kingdom, each side with its own allies. This was America’s first instance of a declaration of war, and it was a result of Britain trying to enforce restrictions against trade with France as they were at war with them. The war was primarily fought on the North American continent, in parts of the United States, and even Canada. The British allies included several indigenous tribes such as the Shawnee, Sauk, Kickapoo, and Winnebago. The primary causes of the war involved the Americans and the British being on bad terms after the American Revolution, as well as America looking to expand its territories. After the events of the American Revolution, the United States was in good terms with France, which was a powerful British enemy at the time. Also, the United Kingdom still held their power over the United States economically through trade restrictions that meant to curtail trade with other European countries. For instance, they imposed the Orders in Council that was aimed to regulate trade with other European countries, especially France, by requiring American ships to dock in British docks and even pay tax. The Orders of Council had been enacted in 1807. This was one of the issues brought up by War Hawks, who were congressmen that pushed for the declaration of the war against the United Kingdom. They saw it as a violation to free trade and hence a failure of the British to recognise American sovereignty as a nation (Stagg 557). The British also disrupted American shipping and trade activities by capturing American ships to find deserters from the Royal Navy. They were looking for more manpower to help fight The Napoleonic Wars as well as looking to punish

Surname 2 deserters. This led to events such as the Chesapeake-Leopard affair in 1807and the Little Belt affair of 1811. These two events served to increase the hostile nature of the relationship between the two nations hence are attributed to have been major causes of the escalation to war (Healey 347). A great deal of the war was because America intended to expand its territories into unclaimed Native American lands as well as Canada. The Northern territories that the United States wanted to expand into were inhabited by indigenous tribes that were against white settlement as they were seen as perpetrators of evil ways as they came against their known way of life. One of the leaders who was an advocate of this was Tenskwatawa, who denounced Euro-American settlers and their way of life and called his followers to pursue traditional ways of life other than the settlers' way because he termed it as impure. His brother, Tecumseh, was the leader of a confederation of indigenous Americans in the Great Lakes region, which was under British protection against the Euro-American settlers. The British aimed to create a buffer of these indigenous territories between them and the United States hence they supported Tecumseh, which was against the United States' vision of expansionism (Brown 1). The British provided weapons that the natives used to attack American settlers, which also increased hostility between them. The American settlers, therefore, intended to attack Canada as it was the closest British asset, to make them recede and thus bring down restrictions on their trade and expansion. There were many small battles as well as a few major ones in the war of 1812. The smaller battles involved raids and capturing of smaller American territories and British territories. Some, like the capture of Michilimackinac Island, were bloodless. Also, it can be noted that a big number of these British forces included Native American warriors. Given that the war lasted about three years, there were plenty of battles. Some of the frontiers of the war were in the American Northwest areas of Michigan, Detroit, and Indiana territories. Other

Surname 3 battles occurred in the Niagara frontier that included Upper Canada and battles along the St. Lawrence River, which included territories in both Upper and Lower Canada and New York. Other frontiers included the American West, Northwest, Atlantic Coast, and also naval battles. In this war, however, there were a few major battles. The first of these battles was the Battle of Queenston Heights that took place on 13th October 1812. It was an attempt by the United States forces to cross over to the Canadian side of the Niagara River. However, with the British being well equipped and having a tactical advantage over the inexperienced American troops, they were able to force them to surrender. On April 27th, 1813, The Battle of York was fought, and the Americans won. They carried out looting and arsons, and given this was the colonial capital of the British, it is said that it was one of the major reasons for the burning of Washington late in the war on August 24th, 1814. The Americans then won the Battle of Fort George, forcing the British to retreat. Later on 6th June 1813, the Americans would bear another defeat at the Battle of Stoney Creek at the hands of the British. On 10th September 1813, another major battle happened off the coast of Ohio. It was known as the Battle of Lake Erie. It was one of the major naval battles in the war, as it saw Americans gain control of the lake hence able to recover Detroit and was a major contributor to the victor over Tecumseh in the Battle of the Thames later on October 5th, 1813. The victory in the Battle of Thames led to the falling apart of Tecumseh's Confederacy, and it re-established American control in the Detroit area. However, when the American forces moved to capture Montreal, they were defeated by a significantly smaller British force in the Battle of Chrysler Farm on November 11th, 1813. In 1814 other major battles happened, including the Battle of Lundy’s Lane, also known as the Battle of Niagara, on 25th July 1814. It was one of the deadliest battles in this war, with a significant number of casualties on both sides that resulted in a stalemate as

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Surname 4 American forces withdrew and the British held their ground. Later in the year, the British won the Battle of Bladensburg on August 24, 1814. This led to the arson of government buildings, including the white house in Washington City. Later, the Americans were able to defeat the British in the Battle of Plattsburg that happened from September 6th to 11th, 1814. The British retreated to Canada, and this battle is credited with the end of British attacks on American territory as they were also negotiating the Treaty of Ghent in Belgium to bring an end to the war (Dudley 873). Immediately after this, from September 12th to 15th 1814, the Battle of Baltimore was fought, and it ended in an American victory over the British land and naval forces. It is during this battle that the United States national anthem’s lyrics were crafted. The Treaty of Ghent was signed on December 24th, 1814, bringing an end to the war. However, one more battle ensued, which was the Battle of New Orleans that resulted in a massive victory for the United States, despite the war being officially over as the news of the agreement had not yet reached them. Though the war was mainly between American and British forces, the indigenous people of America were the biggest losers. They lost their land as well as suffered retaliation, especially for those who had sided with the British. The Federalist Party in the United States that was anti-war lost its power and fell. It also ensured the sovereignty of the United States as they were able to maintain the territories they had won as per the Treaty of Ghent. This boosted the Euro-Americans’ confidence and resulted in further American expansionism across the continent.

Surname 5 Works Cited Brown, Julia. "‘A Spirit of Faction’: The Essex Junto and the Decline of the Federalist Party." Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History 9.1 (2019): 1-16. Dudley, Wade G. "The Battle of Lake Champlain: A" Brilliant and Extraordinary Victory"." The Historian 79.4 (2017): 873. Healey, David. "War in the Chesapeake: The British Campaign to Control the Bay, 1813- 14." The Historian 79.2 (2017): 347. Stagg, John CA. "James Madison and the" Malcontents": The Political Origins of the War of 1812." The William and Mary Quarterly: A Magazine of Early American History (1976): 557-585.