When President Madison took office in 1808 he was faced with many issues

dealing with Foreign countries that were not resolved by the Jefferson

administration

Brief Timeline of events leading to the War of 1812

Nonintercourse Act of 1809– Embargo Act repealed – US trades with everyone but France and GB

Macon’s Bill #2– Reopened trade with GB and France – If either country formally agreed to respect our rights

then we would cease trade with the other country– Napoleon deceits us

Nathaniel Macon 6th Speaker of the

United States House of

Representatives

Immediate causes• Britain was impressing our ships

abroad and instigating Native American attacks at home

• Tecumseh tried to unite all tribes east of the Mississippi – Tecumseh would eventually die at the

Battle of the Thames River in 1814• Gen William Henry Harrison

devastated the Shawnee headquarters thus ending the attempt of any Indian Confederacy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZtDamgywh0

War Hawks

Group of young Republicans that were hungry for war• Henry Clay (Kent)• John C. Calhoun (SC)

War Hawk Goals– Defend US honor– Gain Canada– Destroy the Natives for good

War Doves

“Mr. Madison’s War”

Opposition came from three main groups

1. New Englanders (WHY?)2. Federalists (WHY?)

3. Quid's- Old School Rep. (WHY?)

What was ironic about the US declaration of War against GB?

Election of 1812

US strategy1. Invade Canada2. Result—they easily

repelled out feeble attempt to invade Toronto

3. However, the British were successful in establishing a blockade that crippled our fishing and trading

4. Capt. Oliver Perry defeated the British on Lake Erie in 1813

The White House goes up in flames

In 1814 the British Army successfully set fire to the nations

capital. If it were not for an unexpected thunderstorm the

White House may not have been saved

Nationalism increases

When the British attempted to conquer Fort McHenry the Americans held strongFrancis Scott Key immortalized this battle with the “The Star-Spangled Banner”

Made in Baltimore, Maryland, in July-August 1813 by flagmaker Mary Pickersgill

Commissioned by Major George Armistead, commander of Fort McHenry

Original size: 30 feet by 42 feet

Current size: 30 feet by 34 feet

Fifteen stars and fifteen stripes (one star has been cut out)

Raised over Fort McHenry on the morning of September 14, 1814, to signal

American victory over the British in the Battle of Baltimore; the sight inspired Francis Scott Key to write “The Star-

Spangled Banner”

General Jackson

The most famous battle (Battle of New Orleans) took place after the war had ended

Gen. Jackson was successful in destroying the alliance between the Creek and the British

Gen. Jackson’s regiment was made up of frontiersmen, blacks and Creoles

Treaty of Ghent

The British grew tired of fighting Napoleon and Pres. Madison knew that the US could never soundly beat Britain. In 1814 the two decided to end the War of 1812 with the Treaty of Ghent.• Fighting ended• No lands claims were made on either side– The prewar boundaries between Canada and the

US were recognized

The War’s Legacy• Hartford Convention

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Wwd2hLx_20

• Canada becomes a peaceful neighbor• Federalist party dies

• Talk off Nullification and secession rears its ugly head

• Native Americans lose out (I know what a shocker)

• US factories increase• War heroes—Jackson and Harrison

Fascinating Fact: The Federalist party, which had been discredited during the War of 1812 for

such secessionist sympathies as those illustrated by the Hartford Convention, faired so poorly in the 1816 election that it did not run a national

candidate against the Democratic Republicans in 1820.

WHO COUNTRY WON THE WAR OF 1812?