Building the Nation

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Building the Nation

• Chapter 12

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War of 1812

• Was fought on land and sea
• The army was group of poorly trained militia men
• Generals were leftover from Revolutionary War,
  they lacked vision and imagination
• The US invaded Canada once again but failed

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American Frigates

• US navy was more skillful-they had better
  gunners, their navy was not impressed
• US frigates had advantages with thick sides,
  heavier firepower and larger crews than British
  ships
• USS Constitution Old Ironsides
• Control of Great Lakes was vital for US

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Washington Burned

• August 1814-British advanced on Washington,
  setting the Capitol and White House on fire
• British fleet at Fort McHenry-inspired Francis
  Scott Key to write The Star Spangled Banner
• Napoleon in France was defeated and US was left
  fighting alone w/out diversion

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Battle of New Orleans

• British attacked with 8,000 but made mistake of
  frontal attack on entrenched US forces, 2,000
  Brits killed in half an hour
• Worst defeat of war
• Andrew Jackson as leader of US forces becomes
  hero
• US fought for honor and this battle restored
  their honor

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End of War of 1812

• Treaty of Ghent December 24, 1814-both sides
  agreed to stop fighting and to restore conquered
  territory but did not address grievances that led
  US to declare war
• US Peacemakers included JQA and Clay
• Disunity caused this war to be worst fought war
  in US history BUT resulted in renewed nationalism
• Lesson learned was folly of leading divided
  country into war
• War was draw but US declared Not One Inch of
  Territory Ceded or Lost
• US felt that we won it 1st time but 1812 just
  proved it

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