Events Leading to the War of 1812 - Essay Example

? The War of 1812  SSG Eric Harrington  25N3O-004-11  The War of 1812 Introduction: One of the long forgotten and least talked about wars in the history of America is the War of 1812 (historycentral.com, n.d.). The War of 1812 happened between Great Britain and the United States. The war commenced on June 1812 and continued up to the spring season of 1815, despite the fact that the war was theoretically terminated in December 1814 with a peace treaty signed in Europe. The war mainly took place along the border of Canada in general and along the Gulf of Mexico and the Chesapeake Bay region in particular. A lot of incidents related to the war also happened in the sea. Background Events Leading to the War: The war was instigated in 1783 after the termination of American Revolution. That was a time when US was irritated with Britain’s lack of consent to ratify commercial agreements in favor of America and Britain’s failure to retreat from the territory of America alongside the Great Lakes. The French Revolutionary Wars that happened between 1792 and 1802 and the Napoleonic Wars that started after that and continued till 1815 flared up American resentment. France and Britain were the primary contestants in these wars. With the passage of time, France dominated most of Europe. On the other hand, Britain ruled over the seas. France and Britain had commercial fights with each other in which Britain tried to blockade Europe while France did all to make sure that British goods were not sold in the French possessions. The maritime policies of Britain and France indulged into several conflicts with the US in the 1790s. The difficulties became intense and grew manifolds after 1803. The British Orders in Council of 1807 tried to channel all neutral trade to continental Europe through Great Britain, and France's Berlin and Milan decrees of 1806 and 1807 declared Britain in a state of blockade and condemned neutral shipping that obeyed British regulations. (gatewayno.com, n.d.). Causes of the War: US felt that her rights upon seas were being subdued by France and Britain. Because of British dominance upon the seas, the British maritime policies were more disliked. British felt that it was their right to the British sailors with them from the merchant ships of America. In their haste, they took many Americans with them as well. This was the fundamental cause of tension between the two countries. There were numerous causes of the war. There was war going on between Great Britain and France in the early 1800s. In that war, England fell short of skilled sailors. In order to make up for the deficiency of sailors, Great Britain started stopping American ships and forcefully took sailors from them. In addition to that, Great Britain forbade US from entering into any trade with France. According to the Treaty of Paris (1783), Great Britain was supposed to remove her soldiers from the American territory, though she continued occupying US territory. A vast majority of the British soldiers remained along the Great Lakes and offered full support to Indians like Tecumseh, the Shawnee leader so that they may fully revolt against the American settlers. Proceedings of the War: US first tried to alter the European powers’ policies economically. The British ship Leopard attacked Chesapeake, which was an American frigate in 1807. At that time, Congress placed a ban upon American ships from trade by passing the Embargo Act. As a result of that, New England shipping was devastated but the French and British policies were left unaltered. Americans were in the economic depression and were distressed. They resolved to commence the war in order to restore national honor. In 1810, the Congress was elected. In November, 1811, the War Hawks joined the Congress and asked to commence war against Great Britain. As a result of the aforementioned attempts by Great Britain all of which went against the interests of US, President James Madison convinced the Congress to declare war upon Great Britain in 1812. Battles of the War: In 1812, US was optimistic about invading Canada, though her attempts to do so were successfully rebuffed by the forces of Great Britain. The following year brought some memorable victories for the US. In 1813, battles of the war were initiated. A whole range of battles instigated that included but was not limited to the Battle of Frenchtown in Michigan, the Battle of York in Toronto, the Battle of Lake Erie in Put-in-Bay, the Battle of Thames in Ontario, the Battle of Horseshoe Bend I Mississippi, the Battle of Plattsburgh in Lake Champlain, the Battle of New Orleans in New Orleans, and the Battle of North Point (Feldmeth, 1998). “The Battle of North Point” (xtimeline.com, 2009). The Battle of New Orleans (Learn NC, n.d.). In the Battle of Lake Erie, Oliver Hazard Perry succeeded and won the control over the Great Lake for US. Likewise, a combined Indian and British force led by Tecumseh and Henry Proctor was defeated by US General William Henry Harrison in the Battle of Thames. In that battle, Tecumseh lost his life. Although Americans had had great success in the Battle of Lake Champlain in 1814, yet circumstances went against Americans as the British army got hold of Washington, DC for quite some time. During the brief period of their hold, British set several buildings in Washington, DC on fire which included the White House. Dumb-founded crowd fleeing Washington DC after the buildings have been set on fire by the British troops (Picture History, n.d.). Termination of the War: Both the British and the Americans wanted the war concluded by the end of 1814. Therefore, on 24 December, 1814, both of them signed the Treaty of Ghent. The news of peace treaty had not yet approached the Americans so they plunged into one last battle, known as the Battle of New Orleans on January, 1815, and they had had great victory in that battle (Ohio History Central, 2011). Effects of the War: The effort of Americans in the war was fully supported by a vast majority of the Ohioans. After the American Revolution, British soldiers who continued to be in US gathered in the Western Ohio along the Lake Erie. They traded guns with the local people in America and assisted the native Americans in standing against the westward of white Americans. After the US gained victory in the war, threat to white Ohioans was potentially reduced and they were able to settle down and establish businesses in Ohio without oppression. The War of 1812 essentially came as a turning point in the history of America. The causes and results if this war have long been a subject of debate among the historians. This war was primarily the reason why US acquired Florida and realized the Manifest Destiny. The enactment of Monroe Doctrine has had great impact upon the neighboring countries including North Canada, South America and South Mexico. One of the wonders of this war is that battles continued to occur after the peace treaty was signed by both the opponents. References: Feldmeth, GD, 1998, U.S. History Resources, viewed 20 June, 2011, . gatewayno.com, n.d., The War of 1812, viewed 20 June, 2011, . historycentral.com, n.d., War of 1812, viewed 20 June, 2011, . Learn NC, n.d., The War of 1812, viewed 20 June, 2011, . Ohio History Central, 2011, War of 1812, viewed 20 June, 2011, . Picture History, n.d., A Crowd Flees Washington in Flames, viewed 20 June, 2011, . xtimeline.com, 2009, The Battle of North Point, viewed 20 June, 2011, . Read More