WAR OF 1812 IN A NUTSHELL

BRITAIN AND FRANCE AT WAR… AGAIN In 1803 Britain and France were at war yet again The US decided to remain neutral again so that we could continue trading with both British and French warships began seizing American trading ships The British also began the practice of impressment again

JEFFERSON’S EMBARGO Jefferson decide to respond with an embargo, or forbidding foreign trade He thought that this embargo would hurt Britain and France so much that they would be forced to stop seizing American merchant ships This plan did not really work out for Jefferson and actually hurt the American economy Money made on exports went from $109 million to $25 million As an act of rebellion, a lot of Americans began smuggling their goods to foreign countries to make money Congress did finally repeal the Embargo Act and replaced it with a law that reopened trade with everyone except France and Britain

NATIVE AMERICAN OPPOSITION The Shawnee Indians were struggling to adjust to all these white people moving into their land Tecumseh, a Shawnee leader, began encouraging Native American resistance He told all fellow Indians to keep and protect their traditional ways William Henry Harrison, the governor of the Indian Territory, began to grow concerned about with Tecumseh and his teachings Harrison marched soldiers to a village on the Tippecanoe River Harrison defeated the Native American at Tippacanoe

THE MOVE TOWARD WAR In 1809 James Madison becomes President of the US At this time there was a lot of tension between US and Britain The British kept aiding and arming Native Americans in the Northwest Territory, and the impressment of sailors Most Americans by this point felt a strong sense of nationalism Many political leaders were ready for war with Britain These men were called war hawks and were led by Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun

WAR HAWKS

WAR BEGINS Native Americans continued attacking settlers and Britain refused to discontinue impressment, so the US declared War on Britain The US struggled in the early days of the war because of Jefferson’s massive spending cuts on the military Andrew Jackson was the commander in the South and ended up kicking many Creeks off their land William Henry Harrison led charges against Native Americans in the West

FINAL BATTLES The British invaded Baltimore and Washington D.C. and set fire to the White House The British set their eyes on Fort McHenry On September 13, 1814, British ships bombarded the fort all night In the morning, Francis Scott Key could still see the American flag was flying in the fort Later in 1814, the British met with Americans in Ghent, Belgium and signed the Ghent Treaty ending the war Andrew Jackson led one more battle after the treaty was signed He had a magnificent victory at the Battle of New Orleans

PROTESTING THE WAR Most Federalists disagreed with the war It was bad for their business in the New England states In December of 1814, many Federalists met in Hartford, CT, to decide whether New England should secede from the Union or not While they were debating they received word that the war was now over so the went home America showed that she could stand on her own in what some call the “Second War for Independence”