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Washington's Proclamation of Neutrality
President George Washington formally declared the US nation was neutral in the European conflict between Great Britain and France. This act threatened legal proceedings against any citizen who provided assistance to any country at war.
Picture Credit: https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/neutrality-proclamation/ -
Jay Treaty
This was an agreement for peace, commerce, and naval navigation between Britain and America. This treaty ensured that Britain would withdraw its troops from the Northwest Territory, stopping the plundering of US merchant ships headed towards French ports, and compensating the US for their losses. But this did not address every problem as Britain still seized our ships claiming they contained their definition of contraband.
Picture Credit:
https://www.cfr.org/blog/twe-remembers-jay-treaty -
George Washington's Farewell Address
This was a letter written by George Washington at the end of his second term as president. He warns about the adverse effect rival political parties have and permanent foreign alliances. He was worried that future political fights could undermine the concept of popular sovereignty in the US. He also states that we should only keep temporary alliances for emergencies like times of war.
Picture Credit:
https://historicipswich.org/george-washington-farewell/ -
Impressment of Sailors
The British Navy would send officers aboard American ships to inspect the crews, taking sailors they accused of being deserters from British ships and forcing them to serve in the British Navy. This was one of the major causes of the War of 1812 and the reason for the Chesapeake-Leopard affair. Even though this was a major cause of the war it started long before the war in the 1800s.
Picture Credit:
https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2012/summer/1812-impressment.html -
Chesapeake-Leopard Affair
This was a naval skirmish off the coast of Norfolk, Virginia between the British HMS Leopard and the American USS Chesapeake. The British Commander of the Leopard requested permission to search the Chesapeake for deserted soldiers of the British Navy. The American vessel refused and was thus fired upon.
Picture Credit:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesapeake%E2%80%93Leopard_affair -
Embargo Act of 1807
This is what a modern-day economic sanction is. This act stopped all trade, imports and exports, with foreign countries. This ruined the economy and inflated unemployment rates. This act was an effort to punish France and Great Britain for seizing American merchant ships, but it backfired and punished America instead with its horrible side effects.
Picture Credit:
https://tenthamendmentcenter.com/2020/12/22/today-in-history-embargo-act-of-1807-signed-as-law/ -
Tecumseh 1811
He was a Shawnee Cheif responsible for the creation of the Native American Confederacy. He tried to negotiate with the government to stop westward expansion into native territories, but all attempts failed. Violence ensued afterward. The headquarters of the confederacy, Prophetstown, was attacked and then burned as Governor Harrison defeated them in the Battle of Tippecanoe. Tecumseh then trekked North to ally with the British.
Picture Credit:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tecumseh -
War Hawks
These war hawks, mainly Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, and Felix Grundy, were young male politicians who were mostly from the South and West. These men started legislation created to drive the US towards going to war and also put pressure on James Maddison to declare war against the British. The war hawks had an agenda, they had expansionist ideals, wanting to add Canada and Florida to America and push farther west.
Picture Credit:
https://sharetngov.tnsosfiles.com/tsla/exhibits/1812/intro3.htm -
War of 1812
This war was fought from Jun 18, 1812, to February 17, 1815. It was fought between the US and Great Britain over British violations of American maritime rights, the right of neutrality, and trade with whosoever they should choose.
Picture Credit:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-10-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-war-of-1812-102320130/ -
Tecumseh 1812
The previously mentioned Cheif has now allied with the British and as such rallied his remaining forces and joined British forces helping them defeat the Americans in the siege of Detriot. Harrison and his army then invaded Canada forcing Britain, Tecumseh, and his men to flee but Harrison pursued trapping them by the Thames River and Tecumseh was subsequently killed.
Picture Credit:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Fort_Detroit -
Hartford Convention
This was a secret meeting between delegates from Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. They drafted a formal protest against the government's continued involvement in the War of 1812, resulting in a declaration to the government to protect New England and supply them with financial aid but by the time the report was issued and read in the record of the House and Senate, the war was already over.
Picture Credit:
https://www.britannica.com/event/Hartford-Convention -
Treaty of Ghent
This treaty ended the War of 1812. It stated that all conquered territory was to be returned and commissions were issued to settle the boundary between the US and Canada. This treaty said nothing about the US right to neutrality or the impressment of US sailors but it opened up the Great Lakes for exploration and expansion.
Picture Credit:
https://www.history.com/topics/war-of-1812/treaty-of-ghent -
Battle of New Orleans
The Treaty of Ghent had not yet reached the British parliament so they were not in time to stop their hostilities resulting in the attack on New Orleans. Even so, the inferior American force under Andrew Jackson defeated the British army making it the most spectacular US victory in the war, this was also the last battle of the war.
Picture Credit:
https://www.army.mil/article/140876/army_historian_corrects_myths_on_battle_of_new_orleans_200th_anniversary