-
William Henry Harrison Appointed Governor of Indiana Territory
Thomas Jefferson appointed William Henry Harrison to be Governor of the Indiana territory so that he could enforce Jefferson's offer to the natives. His offer was a choice between giving up tribal lands or assimilating into white culture. -
Period: to
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were fought primarily between France and Britain. Due to their need to win, each of them tried to cut off the other's trading which greatly hurt the American economy as those were their two primary trading partners. The British were also tangled with this war during the War of 1812 which caused them to have a slower response to the Americans challenge. -
Battle of Trafalgar
The British won major control of the oceans when they virtually finished off the French fleet. This cause pressure from France on the European continent which would later force the Americans to alter their trading with the European continent. -
Chesapeake-Leopard Incident
When the American naval vessel the Chesapeake crossed paths with the British ship the Leopard, the British accused the Americans of holding British naval people on board the Chesapeake. The Americans denied such allegations and the British opened fire on the ship. The Americans surrendered and the British dragged 4 men of the Chesapeake. -
The Embargo
The Embargo was an act imposed by Congress in response to impressment by the British. It restricted any American ship to visit a foreign port. Despite not being followed by many ships, it still had drastic effects. It launched America into a small depression as the government lost its revenue from imports and it was harder to get foreign items. But, it did lead to less impressment of Americans by the British. -
Tecumseh
Tecumseh sought to bring all the tribes together to fight against the white settlement. He managed to do a great job in uniting a lot of Indian tribes up and down the Mississippi. Tecumseh also argued that signing land with the whites meant nothing and that only with the consent of all Indian tribes could the white people actually take their land. -
Non-Intercourse Act
After such great resentment of the Embargo, Congress passed the Non-Intercourse Act. This act stated that trade would be able to resume with all countries with the exception of Great Britain and France, whom they were not on good terms with. -
War Hawks elected
Many Americans in the North and South United States wanted more land and were trying to push into Canada and Florida. So, in the 1810 elections, people from these parts of the countries elected people called "War Hawks" to attempt to talk the Congress into going into war with Spain and Britain in order to get these territories. -
Macon's Bill No. 2
The Americans let the Non-Intercourse Act expire and replaced it with Macon's Bill No. 2 which temporarily allowed trade with France and Great Britain. After France stated that they would not interfere with the American shipping industry, the Americans were pleased but still awaited comments from the British... -
Americans Annex Baton Rouge
With the great search for land, settlers in Louisiana managed to attack the Spanish fort at Baton Rouge and seize the city. After asking the American government to annex it, they did. This helped to establish the great need and search for land we later see the Americans use when trying to get Florida and Canada. -
Battle of Tippecanoe
The two great uniting Indian leaders helped to establish a town for Indians north of present day Lafayette, Indiana called Prophetstown. When Tecumseh left Prophetstown, William Henry Harrison attacked it and burned it all to the ground which was the Battle of Tippecanoe. While this did lose Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa many followers, it further provoked the Indians to attack the Americans. -
Period: to
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was fought between Americans and the Indians and British. Although the British initially lacked full participation as they were dealing with a war in Europe, they eventually turned their attention to America. From there, they won most of the battles with notable exceptions of The Battle of the Thames and the Battle of New Orleans. In the end, the Americans and British signed a treaty which was mostly neutral. -
British Blockade of American Ports
Although the Americans initially had naval success in the War, they started to be suppressed by the British when the British finally defeated Napoleon in the Napoleonic Wars. After gaining strength over the Americans, the British imposed a blockade in order to cut Americas economic growth. -
Americans Burn York
After the Americans finally took control of Lake Ontario, they proceeded to invade York (present day Toronto). This was a major indicator that they could accomplish significant victories against such a great army. -
Put-In-Bay
Despite the Americans initial lack of success around the Great Lakes with losses at Fort Dearborn and Detroit, they started to gain some naval victories in the region. This included at Put-In-Bay when the Americans managed to defeat a British fleet with the help of youthful Oliver Hazard Perry. -
The Battle of the Thames
Under the leadership of William Henry Harrison, the Americans sailed up the Thames River into Canada and won a significant battle against the British and Indian armies. This battle was also notable for the death of Tecumseh, who was serving as the British general. With the death of Tecumseh came serious pessimism from Native Americans and disbanded many of the efforts Tecumseh worked so hard to put together. -
Battle of Horseshoe Bend
Under the lead of Andrew Jackson, the Americans took off to fight the Creeks at Horseshoe bend. In this battle, the Americans overwhelmed the creeks and slaughtered women and children and forced the Creeks to give up most of their land to the Americans. -
Burning of the White House
The British began to invade America from the Chesapeake. In retaliation for the burning of York, the British burned the White House in Washington D.C. which marked the low point in the war for America. -
Ft. McHenry
The Americans and British battle at Ft. McHenry after the British sailed up the Patuxent River. The Americans held their ground from the constant British attack at Ft. McHenry. This prompted Francis Scott Key to write the Star Spangled Banner as he was describing the battle. -
Americans Seize Pensacola
Under the Tennessee planter Andrew Jackson, the Americans began to invade Florida at the panhandle. The Americans were successful and seized Pensacola from the Spanish. -
Treaty of Ghent
This treaty ended the War of 1812 and made America give up their cessions to Canada while the British gave up their request to establish a Native American State in the Northwest between America and Britain. The treaty did not force the British to give up the right of impressment, though. -
Battle of New Orleans
During the Battle of New Orleans, Andrew Jackson and the Americans launched a surprise attack on the British who just landed in New Orleans. The result of this was a major victory for the Americans as they lost 8 men as opposed to Britain's nearly 700 men. Sadly, this victory came after the War of 1812 had already ended, news of which just had not reached New Orleans yet.
