War of 1812

Causes of War of 1812

General Information

• Fought between USA and Britain from 1812-1815

• “America’s Second War of Independence” / “The Forgotten War”

• Fought to win respect for the sovereignty / flag / neutral trade of the new nation 

6 Causes of the War

1. British Restrictions on American Trade

2. British and French Restrictions on American Neutral Trade 

3. Impressment of American Soldiers 

4. British Activities in North America

5. The Belligerent Nationalism of the War Hawks 

6. The Failure of Diplomatic Relations / negotiations with Britain

Cause #1 – British Restriction of American Trade

• By 1783, Britain considered excluding the USA from trade with its empire

• Temporary Acts (1793 to 1803) allowed the USA temporary access to trade with the British

• By 1804, U.S trade with Britain was banned with seizure of American ships that did not comply

• The U.S questioned the legality of the ban / seizure of their ships

Cause #2 – British and French Restriction of American Neutral Trade

1.  The French Berlin Decrees of 1806–The decree said that French was allowed not to trade with Britain. 

2. The French Milan Decrees of 1807 - The Milan Decree stated that no country in Europe was to trade with Britain.  

3. The British Orders in Council of 1807 - banned British colonies from trading with the French on penalty of seizure of ships, men and goods.

• Commercial warfare waged by Britain and France obstructed American neutral trade and was a major cause of the war

Cause #3 - Impressments of American Sailors

• Crucial in causing the war

• The British stopped and searched American ships, and captured American sailors to serve in the Royal Navy 

• British believed in inalienable citizenship – once British always British

• The Chesapeake-Leopard Affair of 1807 – 3 Americans killed, 18 wounded, 4 seized

Cause #4 - British involvement in North America

• Britain had colonies in Canada but by 1810 the U.S clearly wanted to annex Canada

• Britain was involved in fur trading with Native Americans in Canada. But the US wanted to control this trade

• America believed that the revival of Indian culture pushed by the Shawnee brothers was bolstered by the British. The brother’s objective was to unite Indian forces to resist the American invasion

Cause #5 – The Belligerent Nationalism of the War Hawks

• Young / inexperienced members of Congress demanded that America wage war against Britain to defend the legacy. 

• Spokesmen of the War Hawks – John C. Calhoun and Henry Clay

#6 – The Failure of Diplomatic Relations with Britain

• America was patient and tried several economic measures to avoid war with Britain

1. Non Importation Act of 1806

2. The Embargo Act of 1807

3. The Non Intercourse Act of 1809

4. The Non Intercourse Act of 1810

5. Macon’s Bill Nos. 1 and 2

• But all measures failed and America no other option but to declare war against Britain

Victorious American Battles in the War of 1812 

• The Battle of the Lakes - America seized control of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. And raided and burnt York (capital of Canada)

• The Battle of the Thames – Second invasion of Canada and death of Tecumseh. This battle weakened the Indians ability to defend their land from America

• The Battles of Andrew Jackson in 1815 - Greatest US victory of the war when Jefferson’s men killed 700 and imprisoned 500 British while he lost just 8 men

American Losses in the War of 1812

• Many humiliating defeats

• The lowest point of the war – August 24 1814 – The British burned the Capitol and the White House to ashes

Treaty of Ghent of 1814

• Agreement between Britain and US to end the War

• All land taken by either side during the war was returned

• The British finally accepted the USA as an independent entity