BellworkHow did the issues between Britain and France almost drag the U.S. into a war (consider Napoleon and the issues of British impressment)?

American History

Section 8, Unit 5War of 1812

Objectives

• Identify the occurrences overseas that lead up to conflicts in North America

• Discuss issues regarding the succession of James Madison as president

• Discuss and map out the War of 1812 while focusing on two main phases of the war

• Identify the effects of the Treaty of Ghent and the Hartford Convention

Fears Grow

• While the U.S. expanded in borders, issues were growing even larger across the rest of the world.

• These issues would continue to grow and threaten the U.S.

Fears Grow

• Since 1783, the U.S. had been trading with merchants in Northern Africa.

• However, the increase of pirates in the region convinced many Americans of the need for a powerful navy.

Fears Grow

• The conviction to have a stronger navy grew stronger as Napoleon’s war in Europe spilled into the Atlantic Ocean.

• In 1807, Britain passed the Orders in Council, which forbade neutral vessels from trading with France or even entering ports under French control.

Orders in Council

• Napoleon reacted by threatening to seize all foreign ships that cooperated with the British navy.

• Once again, America was caught in the cross fire between France and Britain.

1807

• In the summer of 1807, events took an ugly turn. • Britain, who was facing a manpower shortage in their

Royal Navy, stepped up it’s practice of impressment.– On June 22, the captain of the British ship Leopard

demanded their right to board the U.S. Chesapeake to search for British deserters.

Chesapeake Incident

• The captain of the Chesapeake refused, and the British opened fire, killing 3 U.S. sailors and wounding 18 others.

• The Chesapeake incident outraged many Americans.

Question: How do you think President Jefferson responded?

Embargo Act

• While President Jefferson wanted to maintain U.S. neutrality, despite his disagreeing with British actions.

• In an effort at “peaceful coercion”, at Jefferson's urging, Congress passed the Embargo Act of 1807.– This Act stopped shipments of American products to

foreign ports. – The goal was to hurt foreign nations by attacking

their economies.

Consequences• However, New England

merchants and western farmers opposed the measure, as well as those who lost work because of it. – While the embargo was

meant to hurt foreign markets, American producers lost the ability to sell to those who bought most of their products.

Jefferson’s embargo only weakened the American economy, as Britain and France had empires strong enough to withstand a loss of trade with the U.S.

James Madison

• In 1809, James Madison succeeded Jefferson as President.

• Initially, he kept the embargo in place, but as public pressure grew, he repealed the embargo act.

Non-Intercourse Act

• Following this, Congress passed the Non-Intercourse Act, which only prohibited U.S. trade with Great Britain and France. – While this was a slight improvement, it did little to

improve the situations of Americans.

Non-Intercourse Act

• Great Britain and France, who were both already very powerful, were barely affected by an embargo against them. The law ultimately hurt Americans more.

• As the situation became worse, war with Britain, France, or both seemed inevitable.

Westward problems

• While international issues brewed, events at home made the situation even worse.

• Hunters, trappers, and farmers in the west, who sought new land in British Canada and Spanish Florida, moved westward.– As they moved, they moved onto lands occupied

by Native Americans.

Tensions rise

• As settlers moved westward, tensions rose between the settlers and Native American groups, who looked for Great Britain for assistance.

• Westerners also became alarmed by a Native leader named Tecumseh (tuh-kuhm-suh).

Tecumseh

• Tecumseh, a Shawnee chief who rallied the Indian Nations east of the Mississippi river, urged Natives not to sell their land to settlers.

• Tecumseh was successful in gaining support. – As his numbers grew, settlers pressured the

government to take action.

“Sell a country!? Why not sell the air, the clouds, and the great sea?... Did not the great Spirit make them all for the use of his children?”

Attack against the Natives• In 1811, when Tecumseh

was in the South seeking support from Native groups, General William Henry Harrison decided to move against Tecumseh and his stronghold.

• However, on November 7, the Natives attacked first by targeting an army camp.– However, their attack went

against Tecumseh’s warning that the time to fight was not right.

Battle of Tippecanoe

• The Battle of Tippecanoe ended in defeat for the Native Americans.

• When Tecumseh returned from the South in early 1812, he saw his dream of a united confederation shattered.– Instead, he faced a border war between Native

Americans and settlers.

Britain's Aid

• The British were discovered to have supplied Tecumseh’s forces with weapons (from Canada– which they still controlled under the Treaty of Paris).

• Upon this, the clamor for war against British rose in Congress. Issues grew within the Congress.

Calls for War

• To reduce tensions the British suspended the Orders in Council in 1812, but the news hadn’t reached the U.S. in time.

• By the time the Orders were suspended, President Madison asked for a declaration of war against British.

Question: Why did Madison have to ask Congress to declare war?

Calls for War

• To support his push for war, Madison cited repeated violations of the U.S.’ neutral rights, including impressment of American sailors, and British support of the Natives in the frontier.

• After some debate, both the House and Senate voted to support the declaration of war.

Splits in Congress

• The vote for war was split almost exactly along sectional lines.

• The South and the West– which suffered from agricultural depression and Native troubles that they blamed on Britain– supported war.

• The Middle Atlantic and New England states, however, opposed the declaration. These states survived on continuing trade between them and Britain.

Beginnings of the War of 1812• The United States was not

prepared for war. The Republicans were reluctant to tax and they reduced the strength of the military. – Despite Britain's great sea

power, the American Navy however did enjoy the advantages of well-trained sailors and officers, along with a generally high morale.

African Soldiers

• Although the government of the time made little effort to enlist blacks, African Americans– enslaved and free– took part in the war.

• Many fugitive slaves, hoping to win their freedom, fought for the Americans or British. – At least 1/10th of the naval crews on the Great

Lakes were made up of African Americans.

War of 1812– First Phase

• American war strategy focused on the conquest of Canada by land and sea.

• With the British preoccupied by their struggle with Napoleon, who was increasing his power in Europe, Americans were confident of a quick victory.– However, repeated attempts to invade Canada

failed.

Successes

• The United States did enjoy early successes at sea.

• In the first eight months of the war, U.S. frigates won many victories against British warships.– Meanwhile, American pirates seriously disrupted

British trade and commerce by raiding British ships across the Atlantic.

Successes

• The U.S. navy achieved even greater success on the Great Lakes.– In 1813, a small naval

force commanded by Cpt. Oliver Hazard Perry won control of Lake Erie, helping to secure America’s northwestern border.

Battle of Thames

• Encouraged by naval victories, General Harrison crossed into Canada.

• With some 4,500 troops, he defeated the British and their Native American allies at the Battle of Thames. – The British hold on the Northwest Territory was

finally broken.

War of 1812- Second Phase• Soon after ending it’s

war with France in early 1814 (after Napoleon was removed as ruler of France), Britain sent 14,000 reinforcements to Canada.

Napoleon was exiled to the island of Elba and then later to St. Helena (during his second exile)

War of 1812– Second Phase

• The British planned a new attack:1. Invade the U.S. from the North through Canada2. Invade from the South through New Orleans3. Raid points along the Atlantic Coast to disrupt

American commerce

Question: What is going on in this picture? Who are the men pictured here? What is that building in the background?

Burning of the Capital

• On August 24, 1814, British forces struck Washington, D.C.

• Within a day, they captured the city, burned the executive mansion (White House), and other major buildings before moving on. – While the President was not in the mansion at the

time, his wife- Dolley Madison- was. She was able to escape before the enemy attacked.

Next attack

• The next target for a coastal assault was the port city of Baltimore, in the Chesapeake Bay.

• There, British vessels bombarded Fort McHenry, but the fort was able to withstand the attack. This attack was a setback for the British.– The holding of Fort McHenry

became the basis for the song “The Star-Spangled Banner”.

New Orleans

The British then assembled about 7,500 troops to strike at New Orleans.

New Orleans

• General Andrew Jackson , a ruthless “Indian-fighter” and commander on the frontier militia, led the American forces that included both whites and free African Americans. – The U.S. troops prepared

New Orleans by building embankments of earth, fortified by cannons.

Gen. Andrew Jackson

New Orleans (cont.)

• When the invasion finally came in 1815, the well-protected U.S. sharpshooters and artillery easily won the Battle of New Orleans.– Few Americans died, but British causalities topped

2,000. – Jackson’s use of African Americans initially scared

white troops, but their heroism was noted by Jackson who said those troops “…surpassed [his] hopes.”

The Treaty of Ghent

• Tragically, the Battle of New Orleans occurred after a peace negotiation that had produced the Treaty of Ghent– which was signed on Christmas Eve, 1814.

Treaty of Ghent

• Because news of victory at New Orleans came at the same time of the peace accord, many Americans assumed the victory had caused the treaty.

• General Andrew Jackson did nothing to correct this view, and later used his fame as a war hero to win political power (and become President).

Treaty of Ghent

• Neither side gained much from the treaty. • By the terms of the treaty, prisoners of war

were exchanged, and territorial boundaries that existed before were restored.

• Regardless, the war was a turning point for the U.S., as it consolidated control over the Northwest Territory through the defeat of the Native Americans and the removal of any remaining British allies.

Treaty of Ghent

• The Treaty of Ghent did have one long term benefit, however.

• The treaty resulted in peace between Great Britain and the United States, which marked the beginning of a long partnership between the two nations that would continue to exist for decades.

Domestic Issues

• The war, however, heavily divided the nation along sectional lines.

• New England Federalists, who opposed the war, called a convention in Hartford Connecticut to actually secede from the Union and weaken the South.– These Federalists wanted to negotiate a separate

peace treaty with Britain.

Hartford Convention

• While the move towards secession failed, the Federalists were able to push for a constitutional amendment to weaken the southern states and Congress.

• However, the Federalists faced a problem with the Convention:– It was done after the Treaty of Ghent, but before

the victory at New Orleans.

Hartford Convention

• Federalist delegates were unaware of the peace treaty or victory. – When they arrived to

deliver their proposal to weaken congress, the news of their convention was weighed against both the already existing peace treaty and the victory at New Orleans.

A political cartoon making fun of the Hartford Convention– the three men in the top left represent Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island… and look whose arms they’re planning on jumping into.

Fall of the Federalist Party

• The Hartford Convention spelled the end for the Federalist Party.

• In the wake of U.S. victory at New Orleans (and a successful treaty), the convention appeared treasonous.

• The party was never able to recover from the charge of disloyalty and collapsed a few years after the War of 1812.

Review Objectives

• Identify the occurrences overseas that lead up to conflicts in North America

• Discuss issues regarding the succession of James Madison as president

• Discuss and map out the War of 1812 while focusing on two main phases of the war

• Identify the effects of the Treaty of Ghent and the Hartford Convention

Questions

• If you have any questions, please ask now.

Next Lesson

• In the next lesson, we are going to discuss the rise of Nationalism in the United States.

Reading ReviewPlease read the “American perspective on the War of 1812” and answer the questions in the text.