DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through “File info” CorrectionKey=TX-A SECTION 4 The War of 1812 TEKS 5A, 5C, 5D, 5E, 13A, 14B, If YOU were there... 20C, 22B It’s 1812, and the United States and Great Britain are at war. What You Will Learn… You are a sailor on an American merchant ship that has been Main Ideas licensed as a privateer. Your ship’s mission will be to chase and 1. American forces held their capture ships of the mighty British navy. Even with the help of mer- own against the British in chant ships like yours, the American navy is badly outnumbered. the early battles of the war. 2. U.S. forces stopped British You know you face danger and may not survive. offensives in the East and South. 3. The effects of the war included Do you think your mission will succeed? prosperity and national pride. The Big Idea Great Britain and the United BUILDING BACKGROUND Anger against Great Britain’s actions States went to battle in the finally provoked the United States into the War of 1812. Britain’s great War of 1812. navy gave it a clear advantage at sea, but the war was also fought on several other fronts. Victories in major battles along the frontier gave Key Terms and People Americans a new sense of unity. Oliver Hazard Perry, p. 285 Battle of Lake Erie, p. 285 Andrew Jackson, p. 286 Treaty of Fort Jackson, p. 286 Early Battles Battle of New Orleans, p. 286 In the summer of 1812 the United States found itself in a war with Hartford Convention, p. 287 one of the world’s most powerful nations. Despite the claims by the Treaty of Ghent, p. 287 War Hawks, the War of 1812 would not be a quick and easy fight. War at Sea When the war began, the British navy had hundreds of ships. In Use the graphic organizer online contrast, the U.S. Navy had fewer than 20 ships. None of them was to take notes on the sequence of as powerful as the greatest British warships. events in the War of 1812, from beginning to end. Most of the British navy’s ships, however, were scattered around the globe. Although small, the U.S. Navy had well-trained sailors and powerful new warships such as the USS Constitution. American vessels defeated British ships several times in one-on-one duels. Such victories embarrassed the British and raised American morale. Eventually, the British ships blockaded America’s seaports. Battles Along the Canadian Border American leaders hoped to follow up victories at sea with an overland invasion of Canada. Three attacks were planned—from Detroit, from Niagara Falls, and from up the Hudson River valley toward Montreal. 284 CHAPTER 8 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through “File info” CorrectionKey=TX-A e The War of 1812 c n Disputed re aw L er ME BRITISH TERRITORY . iv t R (PART OF MA) Disputed Supe S ke rior La Montreal Plattsburg VT L ak e Lake NH ILLINOIS H u Ontario n r York Boston o TERRITORY a n g MA i Thames NY h Fort Niagara c American forces i MICHIGAN Lake Erie CT M RI e TERR. American victories k a Fort Detroit RY New York 40N L ER PA British forces P NJ City H HARRISON British victories U Philadelphia Fort L L Lake Baltimore British blockades Dearborn Erie DE Creek victory INDIANA OH Washington, TERRITORY D.C. MD 0 150 300 Miles 0 150 300 Kilometers VA KY 35N MISSOURI TERRITORY NC TN N JACKSON SC E Tallapoosa W MISSISSIPPI River S Horseshoe Bend HRW American History TERRITORY ah06se_c07map021a Alabama 30N River GA War of 1812 LA Fort 1ST revision: 5/2/05SPANISH Mims TERRITORY GEOGRAPHY Disputed ATLANTIC SPANISH SKILLS INTERPRETING MAPS New Orleans TERRITORY OCEAN 1. Location According to the map, what major southern port was affected by the British Gulf of 85W 75W blockade? Mexico 25N 2. Region Which battles took place in the 90W 80W Great Lakes region? The attack from Detroit failed when Brit- message to General William Henry Harrison: ish soldiers and Indians led by Tecumseh cap- “We have met the enemy and they are ours.” HRW American History ah06se_c07map021a tured Fort Detroit. The other American attacks Perry’s brilliant victory forced the British to War of 1812 2nd proof: 11/4/04 failed when state militia troops refused to withdraw, giving the U.S. Army control of Approved: 11/11/04 cross the Canadian border, arguing that they the lake and new hope. did not have to fight in a foreign country. With American control of Lake Erie estab- In 1813 the United States went on the lished, General Harrison marched his army attack again. A key goal was to break Britain’s into Canada. At the Battle of the Thames Riv- control of Lake Erie. The navy gave the task er in October 1813, he defeated a combined to Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry. After force of British troops and Native Americans. building a small fleet,Perry sailed out to Harrison’s victory ended British power in meet the British on September 10, beginning the Northwest. Tecumseh’s death during the the Battle of Lake Erie . The battle ended fighting also dealt a blow to the British alli- when the British surrendered. Perry sent a ance with Native Americans in the region. THE JEFFERSON ERA 285 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through “File info” CorrectionKey=TX-A The Creek War worse. After defeating France in April 1814, Meanwhile, war with American Indians the British sent more troops to America. THE IMPACT erupted in the South. Creek Indians, angry British Attacks in the East TODAY at American settlers for pushing into their One witness to lands, took up arms in 1813. A large force Now reinforced, the British attacked Washing- the shelling was attacked Fort Mims on the Alabama River, ton, D.C. President Madison was forced to flee a lawyer named when the British broke through U.S. defenses. Francis Scott destroying the fort and killing close to 250 Key. He was so of its defenders. In response, the commander The British set fire to the White House, the inspired by what of the Tennessee militia, Andrew Jackson, Capitol, and other government buildings. he witnessed and The British sailed on to Baltimore, Mary- the Americans’ gathered about 2,000 volunteers to move land, which was guarded by Fort McHenry. refusal to surren- against the Creek nation. der that he wrote In the spring of 1814 Jackson attacked They shelled the fort for 25 hours. The Amer- the poem that icans refused to surrender Fort McHenry. The would become the Creek along the Tallapoosa River in Ala- British chose to retreat instead of continuing the song “The bama. Jackson’s troops won this battle, the Star-Spangled Battle of Horseshoe Bend. The Treaty of Fort to fight. Banner.” The Jackson, signed late in 1814, ended the Creek phrases “rockets’ The Battle of New Orleans red glare” and War and forced the Creek to give up millions After the attack on Washington, the British “bombs bursting of acres of their land. in air” describe moved against New Orleans. British com- the intense manders hoped to capture the city and thus shelling the fort READING CHECK Comparing What advan- endured. The tages did Great Britain and the United States have take control of the Mississippi River. bombing was so at the start of the war? Andrew Jackson commanded the U.S. heavy that it was forces around New Orleans. His troops were heard in Phila- delphia, 90 miles a mix of regular soldiers, including two away. The song Britain on the Offensive battalions of free African Americans, a group became the U.S. of Choctaw Indians, state militia, and pirates national anthem Despite U.S. success on the western and south- led by Jean Lafitte. in 1931. ern frontiers, the situation in the East grew The battle began on the morning of January 8, 1815. Some 5,300 British troops attacked Jackson’s force of about 4,500. The British began marching toward the U.S. First Lady Saves Washington’s Portrait defenses, but they were caught on an open field. The British were cut down with fright- ening speed. More than 2,000 British soldiers were killed or wounded. The Americans, for their part, had suffered about 70 casualties. The Battle of New Orleans made Andrew Jackson a hero and was the last major con- flict of the War of 1812. READING CHECK Finding Main Ideas Dolley Madison What happened at the Battle of New Orleans? refused to leave Washington, D.C., until a famous portrait of Effects of the War the first president was Before the battle of New Orleans, a group of saved from the execu- tive mansion. New England Federalists gathered secretly 286 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through “File info” CorrectionKey=TX-A Analyzing the War of 1812 • Impressment of American sailors • Interference with American shipping • Increased sense of national pride • British military aid to Native Americans • American manufacturing boosted • Native American resistance weakened at Hartford, Connecticut. At the Hartford dence. The war also broke the power of many Convention, Federalists agreed to oppose the Native American groups. During the war, war and send delegates to meet with Congress. American manufacturers produced more to Before the delegates reached Washington, replace goods that could not be imported. however, news arrived that the war had ended. When the war ended and trade resumed, Some critics now laughed at the Federalists, American manufacturing grew even more as and the party lost much of its political power.