War of 1812

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War of 1812
The United States declared War on Great Britain
on June 12, 1812. The war was declared as a
result of long simmering disputes with Great
Britian. The central dispute surrounded the
impressment of American soldiers by the British.
The British had previously attacked the USS
Chesapeake and nearly caused a war two year
earlier. In addition, disputes continued with
Great Britain over the Northwest Territories and
the border with Canada. Finally, the attempts of
Great Britain to impose a blockade on France
during the Napoleonic Wars was a constant source
of conflict with the United States.

• I. Why?
• 1. British still in America
• a. Capturing trade ships
• -no respect for America
• b. British control Canada
• -infringe on American trade
• -try to control Great Lakes

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II. Americas advantages / Disadvantages

• 1. Advantages
• a. Strong economy
• b. Bigger population
• c. Nationalism
• -beat Britain before
• Objective
• -Drive them out of N. America
• 2. Disadvantages
• a. Weak Navy
• b. Offensive War
• -Canadians defending
• Homeland

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III. Push Toward Canada

• 1. Failure
• a. Surrender _at_ Detroit
• b. Surrender at Fort Dearborn
• -Chicago
• -to Tecumseh
• -N.W. Territory open
• to British

library.thinkquest.org/22916/ex1812.html
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IV. Naval Victory
home1.gte.net/vzn05sxc/history.htm

• 1. 1813-Capt. Oliver Perry
• a. Victory _at_ Detroit
• -Lake Erie
• b. Gen. William Henry Harrison
• -Defeated Tecumseh
• -Tippecanoe Creek
• -End Indian resistance

After constructing a squadron of ships, Commodore
Perry defeated a British squadron at the Battle
of Lake Erie, September 10, 1813 near Put-in-Bay.
Perrys victory secured American control of Lake
Erie for the remainder of the war and allowed
Major General William Henry Harrisons Army to
reclaim American posts on the Ohio and Michigan
frontier, opening those territories to American
settlement after the war. Flying a flag with the
words of the mortally-wounded Captain James
Lawrence "Don't Give up the Ship!", he totally
defeated the British squadron and reported to
General Harrison, "We have met the enemy and they
are ours..."
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V. 1814 - Worst Year of the War

• 1. British strengthened blockade
• 2. U.S. out of
• 3. British Captured and Burned DC
• 4. Decline in American Nationalism

January 1, 1814 The British Burn Washington, D.
C. The British hoped that the burning of the
American capital would have a psychological
impact on the will of the Americans to continue
the conflict. As the British army of
approximately 4,000 approached, the majority of
Washington residents fled the city. On August
24th American defenders, with President James
Madison in attendance, were quickly routed by the
invaders in a battle at Bladensburg a few miles
from the city. A messenger was dispatched to the
White House to warn First Lady Dolly Madison of
the impeding arrival of the British. She and her
staff fled by carriage across the Potomac -
taking with her the full-length portrait of
George Washington that had been torn from a White
House wall. That evening, the vanguard of the
British army reached Capitol Hill and began its
systematic destruction of all public buildings in
the city.
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VI. Battle of New Orleans

• 1. Andrew Jackson
• a. Unlikely success
• b. Wall of dirt soldiers
• c. Defend New Orleans
• -2,000 British casualties
• -8 American casualties
• d. Boost American Nationalism
• e. British Surrender
• -Treaty of Ghent 12/24/1814
• -America world power

British losses................700  killed, 1400 wounded, 500 prisoners.
U.S. losses...........8 killed, 13 wounded. Winston Churchill said this of the Battle of New Orleans "Never in the field of human conflict were so many killed with so few casualties on the opposing side." By this miraculous divine intervention, the young U.S. Republic was saved from the threat of foreign invasion until the Civil War.
It was the most lop-sided victory in the history
of warfare because a small ragtag militia had
defeated the most professional army in the world.
During the 19th century, January 8, was a BIG
holiday and celebration in the U.S.  Almost like
the 4th of July in January.
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• Questions
• List the main events of the War of 1812.
• What were the results of the War of 1812?