The War 1812

The war of 1812 is one of the well-known wars in the history of America. It was a war between

US, UK and Ireland. U.S declared war in June 1812, under President Madison, which lasted until

February 1815, until the Treaty of Ghent. From the American perspective the major event that

provoked the war was impressment, the practice of forcefully taking men in the navy of the

military. Another reason was the Royal Navy’s supply cut off of trade to France, blocking

America from trading with France. America contested it as illegal under the International Law.

Tensions started to increase between the U.S. and the U.K. Incidents like the Chesapeake-

Leopard Affair and Little Belt Affair (De Kay, 2010). The U.S. also believed that the U.K was

supplying arms to Native Americans against the European Americans of American’s frontiers

(Bickerton and Hagan, 2007). War Hawks in the congress were outraged by these incidents and

forced president James Madison to declare war (Woodworth, 1812). The Federalist Party was in

opposition to the war due to which the war was referred to as “Mr. Madison’s War” in New

England. Most of U.K’s army was busy fighting against Napoleon, therefore, their main strategy

was to contain the U.S. army at its borders and to focus on blockading the ports. U.S Brigadier

General William Hull was forced into surrendering Fort Shelby and Detroit by U. K’s General

Isaac. This is known the Siege of Detroit or Battle of Fort Detroit. On October 13, 1812, the

British made another victory known as the Battle of Queenston Heights. This was the first major

battle of the war. U.S. also failed at seizing Upper Canada, Lower Canada and Montreal

(Greespan, 2018). United States Navy defeated British Royal Navy in the Battle of Lake Erie

(also known as Battle of Put-in-Bay) on September 10, 1813. They gained control of Lake Erie

for the rest of the war. This, later on, helped the U.S. recover Detroit and win the Battle of

Thames against the Tecumseh’s Confederacy (A confederation of indigenous Americans at Great

Lake, North America (Owens, 2007). The Battle of Lundy’s Lane (also known as the Battle of
Nigara Falls) fought in 1814, one of the bloodiest wars, resulted in a draw. The British invaded

and captured Washington, the Capital of the United States during the Chesapeake Campaign

(Greenpan, 2014). It was the only time American capital was captured by a foreign power, since

the American war of independence. Then the Battle of New Orleans took place on January 8,

1815 (Stoltz, 2014), resulting in an estimated 2,000 to 60 people killed (Carr, 1979). The Battle

of Pensacola, a two-day battle, was fought in West Florida and resulted in Spanish surrender

(Heidler and Heidler, 2002).

The Treaty of Fontainebleau resulted in the abdication of Napoleon on April 11, 1814.

Napoleon was sent into exile on Elba. Trade between France and the United States resumed.

U.K. stopped impressment, one of the major causes of the war of 1812. Finally, the Treaty of

Ghent was signed on February 17, 1815. War ended, without any major changes in the

boundaries (Carr, 1979), except for Passamaquoddy Bay (Anderson, 1906). Who won this war?

Both sides claim that they did. That’s true, to some extent.

In 1814, both U.S. and U.K. sent their delegations to Ghent, a city in the Flemish region

of Belgium. Ghent was a neutral site for both sides. Negotiations started in August and

concluded in December. On December 24, 1814, a final agreement was signed by both sides.

The war had still not ended and both sides were still planning invasions. The British increased

blockading and crippled the American economy (Hickey, 1989). New England started planning

on secession (Morison, 1941). However, that wasn’t true because most New Englanders didn’t

want to leave the Union but end the ongoing war (Benn, 2002). Pressurized by landowners and

merchants, British decided to end the war and resume trade with the United States (Latimer,

2007).
 Britain and franc were at war and trying to cripple each other’s economy. Blockades and

seizure of goods. The United States was neutral all along. Then, Britain issued an order which

treated any vessel entering the French port as enemy vessel. They did this because they thought it

was necessary for defeating Napoleon. The Americans felt this as an attempt by Britain to

control foreign commerce. This was, as they felt it, an attack on their independence. These and

other maritime issues were the main reasons that led to the war of 1812.

From a principal and ideological perspective, one of the major causes of the war of 1812

was honor. It was pointed out by the American historian Norman K. Risjord (1961). It was

against the honor of the United States to be treated like a third-class country by the Britain. They

felt a strong need for a strong response (Robert, 1982). Historians have mentioned the role of

honor in shaping public opinion about the war in several American states, such as Massachusetts,

ohio (Barlow and Powell, 1978), Pennsylvania (Sapio, 2015), Tennessee (Walker, 1961) and

Michigan (Barlow, 1969). That’s why Americans celebrated the conclusion of the war with

much enthusiasm. The reputation of the republican government was at stake, which was not

restored. The war burst pride in the American nation. They felt like they had fought and won a

second war of independence. The same was also true for United Kingdom. Andrew Lambert and

William James write that British honor was at stake after some deserters from the Royal Navy

were officially made American citizens. In response to that, the Britain started impressment of

American citizens, which too was one of the major causes of the war. The British captured USS

Frolic, as an attempt to restore their honor.

Every war has consequences and so did the war of 1812. It severely damaged the

economy of the United States due to the British blockading. The economic situation of America

was devastating during the war. However, the economic effects reversed after the war. The
American economy strengthen after the war and its manufacturing capabilities increased

dramatically. The main industry that thrived was the cotton-manufacturing industry. It also

boosted the construction of New York’s Erie Canal (Engerman and Gallman (2000). This had

positive impacts on both commercial links and military (the canal could be used by the military

in times of need). The long-term impacts of the war were satisfactory. United States and British

remained peaceful for the most part of the 19th century, with exception some occasional tensions

and border disputes during the civil war. The Battle of New Orleans and Baltimore helped unite

the American nation. During the war was also written The Star-Spangled Banner, the American

national anthem (made national anthem by US congress in 1931) by an amateur poet Francis

Scott Key (Lineberry, 2007). This is the best-known patriotic legacy of the war of 1812. The

American people saw the war as a success of democracy. The era in which this war was fought is

often referred to as “the era of good feelings.” It unified the American people behind a common

cause and purpose. It brought with itself optimism and the good news the America had the power

to confront powerful foreign threats. People felt good about it. Another positive thing that

resulted from the war, from the nation’s perspective, was the fall of the Federalist Party

(Dangerfield, 1952). The presidency of Andrew Jackson, 7 th American president and William

Henry Harrison, 9th American president, was also an indirect consequence of the war. In terms of

military advantage, neither side gained any. However, the United states did make some indirect

gains. However, it did add to military development, which was emphasized by Winfield Scott.

U.S. officially stopped relying on militia. Fortifications were built around New Orleans by the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Mississippi was also fortified and Fort Armstrong was

constructed in 1816. It became the government’s top priority to remove all Indians from the

Mississippi Valley (Prucha,1969).

References:

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