4.4 World Stage

AMERICA on the WORLD STAGE (1800-1848)

(1) THE WAR of 1812:

• Context:

  • President James Madison requested war against Great Britain on June 1, 1812.

  • Congress approved the declaration of war (House: 79-49, Senate: 19-13), led by war hawks Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun.

• Causes:

  • Impressment:

    • 3,000 to 6,000 U.S. citizens were forcibly enlisted into British naval service between 1803 and 1812.

  • Pressures on the Frontier:

    • Western Americans sought more land, while Tecumseh and Prophet aimed to unite tribes against American encroachment.

    • General William Henry Harrison defeated Tecumseh at the Battle of Tippecanoe.

• The War:

  • Lasted from 1812 to 1814, ending with the Treaty of Ghent, a stalemate.

  • Key events included:

    • Burning of Washington, DC.

    • Francis Scott Key’s “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

    • Battle of New Orleans led by General Andrew Jackson.

• Impacts:

  • Second “Independence”: U.S. gained respect internationally after surviving two conflicts with Britain.

  • Fall of the Federalist Party: Opposition to the war led to the party's decline post-Hartford Convention (only 8% of House by 1820).

  • Nationalism: Increased national pride following the war.

(2) FLORIDA:

• After the War of 1812, American frontiersmen sought to take Spanish Florida.

• In 1818, President James Monroe directed General Andrew Jackson to confront Seminole raids, capturing two Spanish forts.

• The **Adams