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President Madison Takes Office
Madison elected as president on March 14th, 1809. He served for 2 years. He also led the United States into the war with Britain. (War of 1812) -
Period: to
The War of 1812
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War Hawks Take Power
War Hawks were led by Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun. Both men were leader in the House of Representatives. When the relationship with Britain worsened, Congress declared war on Britain. -
Relations with Great Britain Worsen
As the relationship with Britain worsened, Britain threatened to continue impressing sailors, so the U.S declared war. -
USS Constitution Scores a Victory
USS Constitution was a warship that took place in a sea battle with Britain's Gurriere. USS Constitution tore off Gurriere's masts when in the middle of the battle. Meanwhile, Britain was firing cannonballs at the United States' boat harmlessly. -
Congress Declares War on Britain
War was declared on Britain. Britain wasn't quite ready, since they were still at war with Europe. They still accepted the idea of going into war. -
America is not Ready for War
America wasn't quite ready for war either, since Thomas Jefferson's spending cuts had weakened the U.S military. The army had been fewer than 7,000 men. -
Britain Blockades American Ports
Britain had set up a blockade at American ports for the first few days of the war. By 1814, 135 warships had been blocking the ports. -
Invasion of Canada
America had decided to declare war on Canada in hopes that they would convince them to be on their side in the war. However, they did end up retreating since they worried that they had very few soldiers. -
Battle at Lake Erie
The U.S won the battle at Lake Erie, being in control of the lake. Britain was forced to go back to Canada, and the U.S had secretly followed them. The U.S then killed Tucumseh. -
Battle at Horseshoe Bend
Battle led by Andrew Jackson. Jackson has fought the Creeks (Native American tribe) for land, and ended up winning. -
Washington D.C Attacked and Burned
The British had planned to attack Baltimore and Washington D.C. Dolley Madison, President Madison's wife, heard about this and quickly gathered all of the President's important papers and fleed. America was surprised that their military couldn't defend Washington. -
Writing of the Star Spangled Banner
Francis Scott Key was watching a British attack when he saw that the American flag still waving high. On the back of an old envelope, he wrote a poem called "The Star Spangled Banner". It soon became popular and music was put to it. Congress made it the U.S national anthem in 1931. -
Hartford Convention
At the Hartford Convention, the Federalists metto talk about how the New Englanders being seceded since they were furious about the War of 1812. -
Treaty of Ghent
In Ghent, Belgium, Britain and the U.S signed a peace treaty, calling off the war. -
Battle at New Orleans
Even with the treaty signed, it had to of course be sent by ships, so none of the countries had realized that the war was called off. One last battle was fought, led by Andrew Jackson. The U.S ended up winning.
