Was The War of 1812. Impressment (Or Impressing Sailors). The
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Binder Page ______________ Name _________________________________________________ Period _____________ The War of 1812 Date____________________ PRESIDENT- JAMES MADISON James Madison was known as the “Father of the Constitution” and is sometimes also called the “Father of the Bill of Rights”. He had helped write the Constitution and the Federalist Papers that helped insure that the Constitution would be ratified. However, like his friend Jefferson, he was in the Democratic-Republican party. When Jefferson was President, Madison was his Secretary of State. After Jefferson’s two terms, Madison was elected as our 4th president. By far, the most important thing that happened in his presidency was the War of 1812 . CAUSES OF THE WAR OF 1812 The causes of the War of 1812 are tied to the enormous amount of fighting that had been taking place between Britain and France. The French leader, was trying to take over Europe and Britain was trying to stop him. Americans were making profits trading with both sides. Both Britain and France were forbidding the Americans to trade with the other side. In spite of the fact that the Americans claimed to be neutral, both sides stopped American ships bound for their enemy. Since the British had the stronger navy, they were more effective at stopping American shipping and were seen at the bigger problem. To make matters worse, the British were also forcing British citizens to fight in the their navy. Drafted sailors was a practice known as impressment (or impressing sailors). The British believed that British citizens anywhere in the world could be forced to serve in His Majesty’s Navy. Americans were concerned because American ships were being stopped to be searched for British citizens, and many American sailors were being impressed. Americans saw this practice as illegal and were greatly angered by it. The situation on the high seas led to the war slogan,"Free Trade and Sailors’ Rights!" which stated plainly what the Americans wanted to protect. The Americans were also continuing to move westward, and as they did, the Native Americans were continually being pushed. One chief named Tecumseh, and his brother who was called “The Prophet,” worked together to organize the Native American tribes to fight the white men. In 1811, the Natives fought the Americans at Tippecanoe (which is now in Indiana). Many Westerners believed that the British were supplying guns to the Native Americans. According to the Americans, the British were encouraging the Native Americans to attack American settlements, and this belief made many Americans hate the British even more. Finally, there was a group of young Congressmen known as the War Hawks. They included Henry Clay of Kentucky and John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, as well as Western New York’s own Congressman, Peter B. Porter. These men had intense feelings of nationalism, which is a pride a person’s country. These me n also believed it would be easy for the United States to take over Canada from the British. Former President Thomas Jefferson said that capturing Canada would be “a mere matter of marching.” (In fact he was very wrong. Most of English speaking Canada was made up of Loyalists who had moved there after the Revolutionary War.) In June of 1812, they used all of these reasons to lead the United States to war against Britai n. The War of 1812 and the U.S. Constitution- part 1 DECLARING WAR According to the U.S. Constitution, how is any war declared for the United States? By an act of Congress What was the name of the group of Congressmen who wanted war? War Hawks What party did they belong to? Democratic-Republicans What reasons did they have for declaring war? ● Britain was stopping American trade ● Britain was impressing sailors from American ships ● Native Americans were getting guns from the British Because of these reasons, some said they had to fight a “Second War for Independence.” ** More importantly, the War Hawks were eager for an excuse to Invade and capture Canada The vote declare war was 79 to 49 (61% in favor) in the House of Representatives, 19 to 13 (59% in favor) in the Senate. What party was most opposed to the war? the Federalists Why would this party be against the war? They wanted to continue trade with Britain. FIGHTING THE WAR The War of 1812 began in 1812 and lasted three years. There was much fighting in North America, but Britain hardly noticed the fight because of the enormous war they were involved in against Napoleon. As the war began, the American army was not really ready to fight, and its leaders were often too old to fight well and even fought amongst themselves. Several times Americans tried to invade Canada, but they were always forced to turn back again. Because one of the logical invasion routes was across the Niagara River, much of the fighting occurred right here in Western New York and especially in Southern Ontario, including the Battle of Queenston (or Queenston Heights) in 1812 and the Battle of Lundy’s Lane in 1814. With neighbors fighting each other, the war quickly became focused revenge. Several towns were burned by Americans, including York (which is now called Toronto) and Newark (which is now called Niagara-on-the-Lake). The British and Canadians retaliated and burned Buffalo in December of 1813, and even the White House in the summer of 1814. The War of 1812 and the U.S. Constitution- part 2- THE HARTFORD CONVENTION The war tended to be supported by people in the West and South, and it tended to be opposed by people in the North and East where the Federalist Party tended to have more followers. These regions tended to have more trade with Britain, and did not want to lose that business because of the war. In fact, some people even traded illegally across the border with British Canada during the war. The five New England States were so opposed to the war that they had a secret meeting in Hartford, Connecticut. Here, for the first time, they seriously began discussing having their states break away from the United States, a process called “secession” or “seceding” They only talked about it and didn’t actually try it then. If their idea had been used it would have been an important change to our system of federalism. (The idea of seceding didn’t go away. It would be tried later when the Southern states would try to secede from the United States during the Civil War.) The War of 1812 and the U.S. Constitution- part 3. THE TREATY OF GHENT At the same time that the Hartford Convention was meeting, the war was drawing to a close. A Peace treaty was signed in Ghent, Belgium, on Christmas Eve, 1814. Americans won a huge victory when the British tried to take control of the Mississippi River at the Battle of New Orleans. What has to happen before a treaty is official? It has to be voted on and ratified by the U.S. Senat. That’s part of our system of checks and balances._ Since the news of the American victory at the Battle of New Orleans reached Washington at about the same time as the Treaty of Ghent, it made the Americans feel that they had won the war (or could at least end it on a positive note). The vote to ratify the treaty was unanimous. Do you think the treaty would have been ratified if the British had won in New Orleans? (Opinions will differ.) To many Americans, the people who met at the Hartford Convention now looked like traitors. It made the Federalist Party unpopular and it soon vanished completely. THE EFFECTS OF THE WAR OF 1812 “Nothing was adjusted. Nothing was settled.” ....John Quincy Adams The Treaty of Ghent was signed on Dec. 24, 1814, in Belgium (though it would still have to be ratified by both sides). Both sides were tired of fighting the war and just wanted the fighting to end. In the treaty, both sides agreed to return to the status quo ante bellum. This phrase means that each side agreed to return to “the way things were before the war.” No land that was captured during the war would be kept. That was a good thing for the United States because not only had they failed to capture Canada, but there were actually British soldiers controlling parts of the United States, including at Fort Niagara. Many questions about the borders were left for future treaties to sort out. Nothing was said in the treaty about the issue of the impressment (or impressing) of sailors or the ability of the United States to trade with whomever they wanted. Nothing needed to be said about those things. Since the war between Britain and France was basically over, these issues just disappeared. Some Americans believed that the War of 1812 had been a mistake, but others believed that both England and the rest of Europe would now treat the United States with more respect. For that reason the war has sometimes been called The Second War of Independence. In spite of the many American failures during the war, the war increased American nationalism. As one Democratic-Republican wrote, “The people are now more American. They feel and act more as a nation.” It is no coincidence that our national anthem, “The Star Spangled Banner” was written during that war. The war also helped start a new feeling of nationalism in Canada. The heroes of that war are remembered with monuments and other tributes in Canada, like the monument to General Sir Isaac Brock at Queenston shown here.