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Tecumseh (Pre-War)
After his birth in 1768, Tecumseh's life was overrun by aggressive colonist action. His father was killed by white people when he was a child, his land was invaded, but refused to torture "the whites." He became an active spokesperson in tribal communities, going against the taking of their land by Colonizers and their encroachments on their generational homes. -
Washington's Proclamation of Neutrality
President Washington released a statement during his term stating that the United States would remain neutral in the conflict between France and Great Britain, both being the country's allies at this time. This created tension between the three nations more than was present beforehand, as France felt this betrayed a previous agreement, and each were receiving imports from the US. -
Impressment of Sailors
Beginning in 1794 and lasting into the War of 1812, British forces would infiltrate US ships under the guise of searching for British captives or similar things, and would keep the US sailors against their will. American powers attempted to return those sailors, but the British took them into their Navy forcibly and did not see America as an independent nation. -
Jay Treaty
Amidst attempts at neutrality by the United States, British and US trade was widened significantly, releasing many points of tension between the US and its previous mother country. France saw this as a betrayal of their trade-related treaty with America, causing a smaller scale undeclared naval war. -
Washington's Farewell Address
After two decades of serving US citizens, Washington resigned, releasing a Farewell Address. This document warns against political parties, anger or alliance towards other countries, and isolation in trade. -
Chesapeake-Leopard Affair
After the British historically continued the impressment of soldiers, an American ship refused to be boarded. The British ship Leopard fired on the American Chesapeake, causing the US to ban British ships from their waters in lieu of an apology. -
Embargo Act of 1807
Following tensions with Britain and France, the US placed an embargo on all trade from those countries. This act was a failure, as the countries both had other strong trade allies or colonies to turn to, while America was at an economic loss. Merchants and other producers were left broke. -
War Hawks
This small, Republican-centered political group strongly pushed for warfare with Great Britain, against most major leaders of the time. They were motivated by land and power, pushing towards 1812. -
War of 1812 Begins
With America's built resentment against Britain due to impressment of sailors, firing at their ship, embargo failure, etcetera, the War Hawks were successful in pushing the US into war against Britain once again. -
Tecumseh (War/Death)
Tecumseh and many Natives allied with British forces under the conditions of keeping generational land. After acting as an Anti-American orator and leader, he was killed in the Battle of Thames. This killed the British alliance, leading to weak armies and defeat. -
Hartford Convention
From December 15th to January 5th of 1814, several party delegate meetings were held in secret to amend the Constitution. This added control over the military/ militia, plus economic ties. The meeting was highly frowned upon by the public, considering its secrecy and lack of transparency outside the discussions. This lead to distrust in the Federalist party, and ultimately its downfall. -
Treaty of Ghent
Following the British retreat after the failing alliances with the Natives, the US and Britain signed the Ghent treaty, outlining America's entitlement to northwestern territory and eventually reduction of slave trade, and ending the War of 1812. -
Battle of New Orleans
As a final act of war, the British and American forces began fighting without preparation on the British side. They were unaware of the Treaty of Ghent, but it was not important, as the British lost with thousands more casualties. US victory guaranteed the placement of the treaty.