US/VA History: Unit 3 - The War of 1812

• war - declaring war upon nation

• conflict - going to war without formal declaration

• impressment - forcing men to serve in the military against their will

• stalemate - tie; nobody won/gained any benefit

• succession - to separate oneself

The Big Three!!

Impressment

• british stop american ships to look for deserters, and then press many americans into service against their will

• about 6000 americans are taken and “pressed” into british naval service

• 1807 - Chesapeake-Leopard Affair

  • leopard (british ship) demands to board chesapeake (us ship) leaving norfolk, va → us captain refuses to allow them → british captain opens fire → 3 dead, 19 wounded

• Reaction

  • 1807 - Embargo Act

    • president jefferson (who had won re-election by a landslide over charles pinckney) decides to ban exports to ALL foreign countries – it is totally ineffective, damages american economy, and is repealed in 1809 by new president james madison

  • madison wins partially because he appeals to new england voters by agreeing to eliminate the hated embargo (us exports went from $ 108.3M (1807) to $22.4M (1808))

Britain’s Refusal to Surrender Western Forts/Land to the United States

• britain's refusal to surrender western forts promised to the us in the 1783 treaty of paris, which ended the revolutionary war, together with allegations that britain was arming native americans fighting against them on the western frontier

• Battle of Tippecanoe (1811)

  • indians in indiana territory are defeated by general william henry harrison

  • obvious that british in canada are supplying the indians with guns and supplies

Embargoes on US, Resulting on Seizures of American Merchant Ships

• trade embargoes by france and britain during napoleonic wars → resulted in seizing of hundred of american merchant ships

• “War Hawks” in Congress

  • congressional leaders such as speaker of the house henry clay of kentucky (west), and john c calhoun of south carolina (south) agitate for war with britain

  • they want to declare war on britain and maybe even take canada, as well as maybe texas and florida

WAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

• president madison declares war (june 1812)

• americans try invade canada twice (1812 and 1813) → failed

• all us attacks come along great lakes region, trying to capture major cities like quebec, york (toronto), and montreal

• creation of francis scott key’s star-spangled banner

• ended in stalemate with the treaty of ghent

• end of the federalist party with failure of hartford convention → led to creation of the whig party

• “second independence”

• nationalism → great pride of one’s nation

British Control of Seas

• british dominate seas, cutting off major port cities on atlantic seaboard

• british had a 10 to 1 naval advantage

• uss constitution, nicknamed “old ironsides”, defeated 4 different british frigates, including 2 in one day, but british begin to dominate seas (point 1)

Burning of Washington

• british army invaded washington and set fire to city on august 24th, 1814

• a day later, a line of severe thunderstorms spawned a tornado in washington that killed several british soldiers and caused significant damage to the city

• heavy rain helped extinguish fires that burned throughout washington before leaving city

• first lady dolley madison ordered white house possessions be packed and removed from city (silverware, books, clocks, curtains, and gilbert stuart’s full-length portrait of george washington)

Battle of New Orleans

• december 1814 → british major general sir edward pakenham and troops landed along the lower mississippi river

• americans led by colonel andrew jackson set up defensive positions at chalmette, louisiana, some five miles downriver from new orleans

• major general packenham ordered three large, direct-assaults on the americans; all of his attacks were cut down by american fire, pakenham killed in third attack

• WHY DID THEY LOSE?

  • british lost because ladders needed to scale the earthworks defended by the Americans were never brought forward to the soldiers

  • british infantry was out in the open and was shot by the americans behind unreachable defenses

• americans were greatly aided by jean lafitte and his group of pirates, a few liberated haitian slaves, a black regiment recruited from new orleans, several choctaws, and a group of men from the mountains of kentucky, wielding long rifles

• OUTCOME!!

  • british → over 700 dead, 2000 wounded/taken prisoner

  • americans → 13 dead, 58 wounded