UNIT IV APUSH: WAR OF 1812

War of 1812

A conflict between the United States and Great Britain from 1812 to 1815. Key causes included

impressment of American sailors

The British practice of seizing sailors from U.S. ships and forcing them to serve in the British navy.

The Embargo of 1807

An act passed under Jefferson that prohibited American ships from trading in all foreign ports in an attempt to pressure Britain and France; it ultimately devastated the U.S. economy.

Tecumseh and the Western Confederacy

Tecumseh was a Shawnee leader who, with his brother "the Prophet," organized the Western Confederacy, a coalition of Native American tribes in the Great Lakes region, to resist American expansion onto their lands.

"war hawks"

A group of pro-war congressmen, primarily from the South and West (like Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun), who advocated for war with Great Britain to defend national honor and expand U.S. territory.

burning of Washington DC

In 1814, during the War of 1812, British forces captured the U.S. capital and set fire to public buildings, including the White House and the Capitol.

Treaty of Ghent

The 1814 peace treaty that ended the War of 1812. It largely restored pre-war boundaries and conditions, ending the conflict in a stalemate.

James Madison

The fourth U.S. President, who presided over the War of 1812.

The Missouri Compromise 1820

A legislative compromise that admitted Missouri to the Union as a slave state and Maine as a free state, maintaining the balance of power between free and slave states in the Senate. It also prohibited slavery in the remaining Louisiana Purchase territory north of the 36°30' parallel.

The Tallmadge Amendment

A proposed amendment to the Missouri statehood bill that would have prohibited the further introduction of slaves into Missouri and mandated the gradual emancipation of those already there. It passed the House but failed in the Senate, sparking the crisis that led to the Missouri Compromise.