SuMMARY
France and Britain were feuding and Britain decided to blockade
Europe. Britain took many American ships and even drafted captured Americans
into the British navy. This angered the Americans. Britain opened fire on the
U.S. citizens on the Chesapeake for not allowing them to search the ship for
British deserters. The U.S placed an embargo, but it was lifted when it hurt
America the most.
Another cause of the war is
when William Henry Harrison, the governor of the Indiana Territory, invited
several Native American chiefs to Fort Wayne, Indiana, and persuaded them to
sign away three million acres of tribal land to the US government. Not all
chiefs gave in though. Some, like Little Turtle and Tecumseh (Shawnee), believed
that they needed to rid people of the white race and all of their "civilized
society." Tecumseh tried to win followers to his confederacy of a united Native
American nation, but, unfortunately, many tribes had already accepted payment
for their lands.
Tecumseh's brother led
attacks on William Henry Harrison and the troops when Tecumseh was sick.
Harrison fired back in the battle of Tippecanoe. The Native Americans were using
British weapons to fight and the Americans were angered by this. Britain had a
large part of Canada that made weapons easily accessible for the Native
Americans. Calls of war ensued and in June 1812, Congress approved the war
declaration.
James Madison was the president at the time and he believed that Britain
was trying to strangle American trade and cripple the American economy. He
wanted to go to war and Congress approved his decision in early June, 1812. The
largest battles/confrontations include; The War in Canada (America was
unprepared and faced many setbacks in Canada), The War at Sea (even though the
US ships were outnumbered, they each scored victories against British vessels),
the British burned the White House (the British raided along the Atlantic and
even burned the White House) and the Battle of New Orleans (Andrew Jackson led
victories that destroyed some of the Native Americans military powers). The
treaty that ended the war is the Treaty of Ghent (fighting continued on even
after the treaty was already signed because the authorities did not know it was
happening). A few years later, more issues were resolved after the Treaty of
Ghent.
Europe. Britain took many American ships and even drafted captured Americans
into the British navy. This angered the Americans. Britain opened fire on the
U.S. citizens on the Chesapeake for not allowing them to search the ship for
British deserters. The U.S placed an embargo, but it was lifted when it hurt
America the most.
Another cause of the war is
when William Henry Harrison, the governor of the Indiana Territory, invited
several Native American chiefs to Fort Wayne, Indiana, and persuaded them to
sign away three million acres of tribal land to the US government. Not all
chiefs gave in though. Some, like Little Turtle and Tecumseh (Shawnee), believed
that they needed to rid people of the white race and all of their "civilized
society." Tecumseh tried to win followers to his confederacy of a united Native
American nation, but, unfortunately, many tribes had already accepted payment
for their lands.
Tecumseh's brother led
attacks on William Henry Harrison and the troops when Tecumseh was sick.
Harrison fired back in the battle of Tippecanoe. The Native Americans were using
British weapons to fight and the Americans were angered by this. Britain had a
large part of Canada that made weapons easily accessible for the Native
Americans. Calls of war ensued and in June 1812, Congress approved the war
declaration.
James Madison was the president at the time and he believed that Britain
was trying to strangle American trade and cripple the American economy. He
wanted to go to war and Congress approved his decision in early June, 1812. The
largest battles/confrontations include; The War in Canada (America was
unprepared and faced many setbacks in Canada), The War at Sea (even though the
US ships were outnumbered, they each scored victories against British vessels),
the British burned the White House (the British raided along the Atlantic and
even burned the White House) and the Battle of New Orleans (Andrew Jackson led
victories that destroyed some of the Native Americans military powers). The
treaty that ended the war is the Treaty of Ghent (fighting continued on even
after the treaty was already signed because the authorities did not know it was
happening). A few years later, more issues were resolved after the Treaty of
Ghent.