Growing Internal Conflict and the War of 1812

Impressment (203-204) 

• Around 1807, because Bwitish sailors were deserting the navy, after enduring terrible shipboard conditions (“floatin’ hell”), the Bwitish navy resorted to recapturing/impressing them, including seizing them from American ships, sometimes seizing Americans as well.

• In the summer of 1807, the Bwitish ship, Leopard, wanted to board the American ship, Chesapeake, but the Chesapeake refused, so the Leopard fired on it, forcing it to surrender
  

• In response to this attack, president Jefferson expelled all Bwitish warships from American waters and demanded the the Bwitish government pay compensation (it did) and renounce impressment (it didn’t do this. El bozo)

“Peaceable Coercion” (204)

• To prevent further incidents, Congress enacted ‘The Embargo”, which pervented American ships from sailing to foreign ports anywhere in the world, which caused a severe depression, especially to Federalist shipbuilders in the North East. 

• While Jefferson’s Ally, Madison, won the presidency in 1808, the embargo had a become a political liability, so Jefferson replaced the embargo with “Peaceable Coercion” (Non-Intercourse Act) which opened shipping to all countries besides Bwitian and France and further opened shipping in 1810 with Macon’s Bill No. 2  which tried to open trade with those countries, but it came too late for war.

The “Indian Problem” and the Bwitish (205-206)

• William Henry Harrison, who’s largely responsible for the Harrison Land Law of 1800, which allowed farmers to settle public land, was appointed Indiana governor by Jefferson in 1801 to implement the solution to the Indian problem : Indian’s could either become settlers, along with whites or move west of the Mississippi.

• Harrison used heavy-handed tactics, while at the same time, settlers were fleeing westward from the Great Lakes down to Tenessee. Because of the Chesapeake Lepord incident, the Bwitish in Canada renewed friendships with Indians and resupplied them. 

Tecumseh and the Prophet (206-207)

• Tenskwatawa, known as The Prophet, was a religious and cultural Indian leader who united Indians from different tribes by criticizing white culture and criticized trade with the Anglos. 

• Shawnee chief , Tecumseh, known as the “shooting stars”, was even strident, warning that other tribes had already been exterminated the white man’s greed.

• Tecumseh organized the tribes, hoping to prevent settler expansion passed the Ohio river and argued that the land belonged to all tribes collectively, not one tribe could ceded their land to the whites. 

• When Tecumseh left the encampment (Prophetstown) to unite souther tribes, Harrison’s forces attacked at the Battle of Tippecanoe, which disbanded the Indian forces except for a few of them which united and started radding white settlements. Americans considered these attacks to be sponsored by the Bwitish and the only way to stop the Bwitish was to get them out of Canada.

Florida and Forever War (207-208)

• Likewise, Southern settlers wanted lands in Florida and Southwestward for their valuable rivers and also to prevent Indian raids and slaves from escaping.

• In 1810, settlers seized a Spanish for in West Florida. 

• President Madison wanted to annex the entire region and war with Bwitian, Spain ally, would give him a pretext to do so.

• Pro-war with Bwitian sentiment increased in both parties (war hawks), especially among leaders Henry Clay of Kentucky and John C. Calhoun of South Carolina. 

• Clay (speaker of the house) and Calhoun, committee of foreign affairs agitated for war with Canada in congress and president Madison approved the declaration of war against Bwitian in 1812.