War Of 1812

The War Of 1812

Period: Mar 1, 1809 to Jan 31, 1815

President Madison Takes Office

Mar 4, 1809

• Tension was high with Britain when he took office
• Americans were angry at Britain for arming Native Americans in the northwest
• Americans resented the continued impressment of American sailors by the British
• To most Americans the country's honor was at stake
• They felt a new sense of American nationalism

War Hawks Take Power

Mar 1, 1810

• They wanted war with Britain because they wanted to:
• Seize Canada
• To take Florida from Spain, Britains ally
• To deomstrate the strength of the U.S.
• To end British aid to Native Americans in the west
• To stop British seizure of American ships

Relations With Great Britain Worsen

Jan 2, 1812

• The British told the U.S. they would continue impressing sailors
• Native Americans in the Northwest began new attacks on the frontier settlements
• In June Congress declared war on Britain
• New Englanders believed war with Britain would harm American trade
• Opposition to war was strongest in New England

America Is Not Ready For War

Jun 18, 1812

• War did not come at a good time for the British, who was still at war in Europe
• Britain was not willing to meet American demands to avoid war
• One way of providing protection to Canada of invasion was supporting the Native Americans
• When the war began war began American's were confident they would win
• It soon becae apparent that the U.S. was not prepared for war

Congress Delclares War On Britain

Jun 18, 1812

• The house voted 79 to 49 in favor of war
• The senete voted 19 to 13 in favor of war
• Americans discovered it would not be easy winning the war than declaring it
• President Madison gave into war fever
• He asked Congress to declare war on Britain

Britain Blockades American Ports

Jul 1, 1812

• Americans were confident that they would win a war
• It soon became apparent that the U.S. was a weak military
• Both the Navy and the Army was small and undermanned
• The British had a navy of 135 ships to blockade American ports
• The major sea battle of August 1812 between the USS Constitution and the British warship Guerriere resulted in a major victory for the Americans

Invasion Of Canada

Jul 12, 1812

• American troops invaded Canada from Detroit
• American leader, William Hull, feared he didn't have enough soliders
• Soon he retreated
• British commander,Isaac Brock, took advantage of Hull's confusion
• The British captured more than 2,000 soliders
• It was a serious defeat for the U.S.

USS Constitution

Aug 19, 1812

• It defeated the British warship Guerriene in a fierce battle
• According to tradition, American sailors nicknamed it " Old Ironside" because British artillery fire bounced off the ship's thick wooden hull
• To the Americans it seemed as if it were made of iron *It won a major sea battle victory
• It was more than 2 feet thick at the waterline

Battle Of Lake Erie

Sep 10, 1813

• Oliver Hazard Penny had no fleet so he built and designed his own ships
• He sailed his small fleet against the British
• The British battled Perry's own ship and left it helpless
• He took his flag down and rowed to another American ship
• The Americans won the battle

Battle Of Thames

Oct 10, 1813

• The British and thier Native American allies retreated from Detroit to Canada
• The Americans under General William Harrison followed themm to a place called The Thames
• This is where the Battle Of Thames took place
• The American defeated the British
• The Shawnee war chief, Tecumseh, was among those killed in the battle

Horseshoe Bend

Mar 27, 1814

• Andrew Jackson took command of American forces in Georgia
• Jackson defeated the Creeks at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend
• The treaty that ended the fighting forced the Creeks to give up millions of acres of land
• Native Americans suffered defeat in south
• Creek warriors attacked several southern American settlements

Washington D.C. Attacked and Burned

Aug 24, 1814

• The British force marched into the city
• The president's wife gaathered his impotant papers and fled to several government buildings
• Americans were shocked to learn that their army could not defend Washington
• The new British strategy was to attack the nation's capital
• The British moved to Baltimore

Attack On Baltimore

Sep 12, 1814

• Britain's first objective was Fort McHenry, which defended the city's harbor
• British warships bombarded the fort throughout the night
• Scott Key watched the attack and saw the flag still flying over the fort
• He wrote a poem called the Star Spangled Banner and it told the story of his night's watch
• The poem turned to music and Congress made it the national anthem of the U.S.

Writing Of The Star Spangled Banner

Sep 13, 1814

• It was written on the back of an old envelope
• Was originally a poem
• It was told the ight's story from his watch
• Congress made it our national anthem
• It was popular and turned into a song

Hartford Convention

Dec 14, 1814

• When the war was over the Hartford Convension was over
• Some delegates suggested the New England states withdrew from the U.S.
• While delegates debated, news of the peace treaty arrived
• The Hartford Convention is made up of fedreralists
• The convention was in Hartford, Connecticut

Treaty Of Ghent

Dec 24, 1814

• The treaty returned things to the way they had been before the war
• News of the treaty took several weeks to reach the U.S.
• In that time they fought one more battle
• American forces won a stunnning victory over the British in the Battle Of New Orleans
• Before they signed the treaty Britain got tired of war

Battle Of New Orleans

Jan 8, 1815

• American forces won a stunning victory over the British
• A few months before the British was tired of war
• Before the news of the peace treaty being signed the Battle of New Orleans took place
• Andrew Jackson was the American General
• The peace treaty was signed in Ghent, Belgium