A Time of Conflict

The Barbary Pirates American merchant ships from Philadelphia, New York, and especially New England travelled the world trading for valuable commodities. American ships however had trouble in the Mediterranean with Barbary Pirates. These North African pirates would capture ships and demand ransom to release them When the city of Tripoli demanded money, Jefferson refused and the pirates fought another undeclared war against the Americans. By 1805, the fighting ended and Tripoli agreed not to demand anymore payments from the US.

Trouble with the British While Britain and France were still at war, the US had neutral rights. These rights stated that neither the British nor French could treat the US as an enemy. The British needed more sailors for its navy. Many British sailors had deserted the navy.

Impressment The British began searching American ships, claiming it was trying to find deserters who had boarded American ships to take them back into the British navy. Although, the British did sometimes find real deserters, more often they took American citizens and forced them into the British navy. This practice was called impressment.

Embargo Act British ships would sometimes even attack American ships that refused to let the British search for “deserters.” In response, Jefferson and the Congress passed the Embargo Act. This act stopped all trade with other countries. The act was a disaster. Not only did it not hurt the British, it did more damage to the American economy than good.

President Madison and Trouble on the Frontier After 8 years in office, Jefferson stepped down in 1809 and James Madison was elected president. One of Madison’s problems was continued fighting between settlers and Indians in the Ohio River Valley. A powerful Shawnee chief named Tecumseh united the tribes to defeat the Americans. In 1811, General William Henry Harrison led an army and defeated the Indians led by Tecumseh’s brother at the Battle of Tippecanoe. The defeated Indians looked to the British for help.

War Hawks The War Hawks were politicians, mostly from the Southern and Western states who wanted war. Led Henry Clay from Kentucky and John C. Calhoun from South Carolina, the War Hawks finally got what they wanted. In 1812, President Madison and Congress declared war on Britain.

War Begins The war began in July William Hull led an American force into Canada to confront the British. However, Hull was met by Tecumseh and his Indian army as well as the British and forced to retreat back to Detroit and surrender the city.

American Victories The Americans claimed two important victories in Oliver Hazard Perry led the American navy of the great lakes. They were able to capture the British ships on Lake Erie and control the lake. Also, William Henry Harrison led Americans in the Battle of the Thames, where the British were defeated and Tecumseh killed.

British Offensive In 1814, the British had defeated Napoleon in Europe and could now concentrate on the war in America. The British launched a massive offensive. The British attacked Washington DC and set fire to both the Capitol and White House. The British however were defeated at the Battle of Baltimore, where Francis Scott Key, watching the battle, wrote the words to what would become the national anthem.

The War Ends The British decided that continuing the war against the US was not worth the costs. American and British representatives met and signed the Treaty of Ghent, ending the war. However, before news of the treaty reached America, one more major battle war fought. The British, trying to land in New Orleans, were annihilated by an American force led by Andrew Jackson. The battle made Jackson a hero. Although the war had not given American any more territory, it had increased Americans sense of nationalism, or loyalty to their country.

US Gets Florida In 1818, General Andrew Jackson invaded Florida, which belonged to Spain, and captured two Spanish forts. In 1819, Spain and the US signed the Adams-Onis treaty, which gave Florida to the United States.

The Monroe Doctrine In the 1810’s, many of Spain’s colonies, including Mexico, Venezuela, and Colombia, began breaking away and declaring independence. Spain asked France, Austria, Prussia, and Russia to send armies to the Americas to help Spain reclaim the colonies. President James Monroe issued the Monroe Doctrine. The Monroe Doctrine basically states that European countries must not invade independent nations in the Americas.

Questions What was one important consequence of the War of 1812? What was one cause of the War of 1812? What battle served as the inspiration for the national anthem? What made Tecumseh more dangerous than most other chiefs (not in your notes word for word, THINK!) Who were the War Hawks?