Bellwork

1
Bellwork

• How did the issues between Britain and France
  almost drag the U.S. into a war (consider
  Napoleon and the issues of British impressment)?

2
American History

• Section 8, Unit 5
• War of 1812

3
Objectives

• Identify the occurrences overseas that lead up to
  conflicts in North America
• Discuss issues regarding the succession of James
  Madison as president
• Discuss and map out the War of 1812 while
  focusing on two main phases of the war
• Identify the effects of the Treaty of Ghent and
  the Hartford Convention

4
Fears Grow

• While the U.S. expanded in borders, issues were
  growing even larger across the rest of the world.
  
• These issues would continue to grow and threaten
  the U.S.

5
Fears Grow

• Since 1783, the U.S. had been trading with
  merchants in Northern Africa.
• However, the increase of pirates in the region
  convinced many Americans of the need for a
  powerful navy.

6
Fears Grow

• The conviction to have a stronger navy grew
  stronger as Napoleons war in Europe spilled into
  the Atlantic Ocean.
• In 1807, Britain passed the Orders in Council,
  which forbade neutral vessels from trading with
  France or even entering ports under French
  control.

7
Orders in Council

• Napoleon reacted by threatening to seize all
  foreign ships that cooperated with the British
  navy.
• Once again, America was caught in the cross fire
  between France and Britain.

8
1807

• In the summer of 1807, events took an ugly turn.
• Britain, who was facing a manpower shortage in
  their Royal Navy, stepped up its practice of
  impressment.
• On June 22, the captain of the British ship
  Leopard demanded their right to board the U.S.
  Chesapeake to search for British deserters.

9
Chesapeake Incident

• The captain of the Chesapeake refused, and the
  British opened fire, killing 3 U.S. sailors and
  wounding 18 others.
• The Chesapeake incident outraged many Americans.

Question How do you think President Jefferson
responded?
10
Embargo Act

• While President Jefferson wanted to maintain U.S.
  neutrality, despite his disagreeing with British
  actions.
• In an effort at peaceful coercion, at
  Jefferson's urging, Congress passed the Embargo
  Act of 1807.
• This Act stopped shipments of American products
  to foreign ports.
• The goal was to hurt foreign nations by attacking
  their economies.

11
Consequences

• However, New England merchants and western
  farmers opposed the measure, as well as those who
  lost work because of it.
• While the embargo was meant to hurt foreign
  markets, American producers lost the ability to
  sell to those who bought most of their products.

Jeffersons embargo only weakened the American
economy, as Britain and France had empires strong
enough to withstand a loss of trade with the U.S.
12
James Madison

• In 1809, James Madison succeeded Jefferson as
  President.
• Initially, he kept the embargo in place, but as
  public pressure grew, he repealed the embargo
  act.

13
Non-Intercourse Act

• Following this, Congress passed the
  Non-Intercourse Act, which only prohibited U.S.
  trade with Great Britain and France.
• While this was a slight improvement, it did
  little to improve the situations of Americans.

14
Non-Intercourse Act

• Great Britain and France, who were both already
  very powerful, were barely affected by an embargo
  against them. The law ultimately hurt Americans
  more.
• As the situation became worse, war with Britain,
  France, or both seemed inevitable.

15
Westward problems

• While international issues brewed, events at home
  made the situation even worse.
• Hunters, trappers, and farmers in the west, who
  sought new land in British Canada and Spanish
  Florida, moved westward.
• As they moved, they moved onto lands occupied by
  Native Americans.

16
Tensions rise

• As settlers moved westward, tensions rose between
  the settlers and Native American groups, who
  looked for Great Britain for assistance.
• Westerners also became alarmed by a Native leader
  named Tecumseh (tuh-kuhm-suh).

17
Tecumseh

• Tecumseh, a Shawnee chief who rallied the Indian
  Nations east of the Mississippi river, urged
  Natives not to sell their land to settlers.
• Tecumseh was successful in gaining support.
• As his numbers grew, settlers pressured the
  government to take action.

Sell a country!? Why not sell the air, the
clouds, and the great sea?... Did not the great
Spirit make them all for the use of his
children?
18
Attack against the Natives

• In 1811, when Tecumseh was in the South seeking
  support from Native groups, General William Henry
  Harrison decided to move against Tecumseh and his
  stronghold.
• However, on November 7, the Natives attacked
  first by targeting an army camp.
• However, their attack went against Tecumsehs
  warning that the time to fight was not right.

19
Battle of Tippecanoe

• The Battle of Tippecanoe ended in defeat for the
  Native Americans.
• When Tecumseh returned from the South in early
  1812, he saw his dream of a united confederation
  shattered.
• Instead, he faced a border war between Native
  Americans and settlers.

20
Britain's Aid

• The British were discovered to have supplied
  Tecumsehs forces with weapons (from Canada
  which they still controlled under the Treaty of
  Paris).
• Upon this, the clamor for war against British
  rose in Congress. Issues grew within the
  Congress.

21
Calls for War

• To reduce tensions the British suspended the
  Orders in Council in 1812, but the news hadnt
  reached the U.S. in time.
• By the time the Orders were suspended, President
  Madison asked for a declaration of war against
  British.

Question Why did Madison have to ask Congress to
declare war?
22
Calls for War

• To support his push for war, Madison cited
  repeated violations of the U.S. neutral rights,
  including impressment of American sailors, and
  British support of the Natives in the frontier.
• After some debate, both the House and Senate
  voted to support the declaration of war.

23
Splits in Congress

• The vote for war was split almost exactly along
  sectional lines.
• The South and the West which suffered from
  agricultural depression and Native troubles that
  they blamed on Britain supported war.
• The Middle Atlantic and New England states,
  however, opposed the declaration. These states
  survived on continuing trade between them and
  Britain.

24
Beginnings of the War of 1812

• The United States was not prepared for war. The
  Republicans were reluctant to tax and they
  reduced the strength of the military.
• Despite Britain's great sea power, the American
  Navy however did enjoy the advantages of
  well-trained sailors and officers, along with a
  generally high morale.

25
African Soldiers

• Although the government of the time made little
  effort to enlist blacks, African Americans
  enslaved and free took part in the war.
• Many fugitive slaves, hoping to win their
  freedom, fought for the Americans or British.
• At least 1/10th of the naval crews on the Great
  Lakes were made up of African Americans.

26
War of 1812 First Phase

• American war strategy focused on the conquest of
  Canada by land and sea.
• With the British preoccupied by their struggle
  with Napoleon, who was increasing his power in
  Europe, Americans were confident of a quick
  victory.
• However, repeated attempts to invade Canada
  failed.

27
Successes

• The United States did enjoy early successes at
  sea.
• In the first eight months of the war, U.S.
  frigates won many victories against British
  warships.
• Meanwhile, American pirates seriously disrupted
  British trade and commerce by raiding British
  ships across the Atlantic.

28
Successes

• The U.S. navy achieved even greater success on
  the Great Lakes.
• In 1813, a small naval force commanded by Cpt.
  Oliver Hazard Perry won control of Lake Erie,
  helping to secure Americas northwestern border.

29
Battle of Thames

• Encouraged by naval victories, General Harrison
  crossed into Canada.
• With some 4,500 troops, he defeated the British
  and their Native American allies at the Battle of
  Thames.
• The British hold on the Northwest Territory was
  finally broken.

30
War of 1812- Second Phase

• Soon after ending its war with France in early
  1814 (after Napoleon was removed as ruler of
  France), Britain sent 14,000 reinforcements to
  Canada.

Napoleon was exiled to the island of Elba and
then later to St. Helena (during his second exile)
31
War of 1812 Second Phase

• The British planned a new attack
• Invade the U.S. from the North through Canada
• Invade from the South through New Orleans
• Raid points along the Atlantic Coast to disrupt
  American commerce

32
Question What is going on in this picture? Who
are the men pictured here? What is that building
in the background?
33
Burning of the Capital

• On August 24, 1814, British forces struck
  Washington, D.C.
• Within a day, they captured the city, burned the
  executive mansion (White House), and other major
  buildings before moving on.
• While the President was not in the mansion at the
  time, his wife- Dolley Madison- was. She was able
  to escape before the enemy attacked.

34
Next attack

• The next target for a coastal assault was the
  port city of Baltimore, in the Chesapeake Bay.
• There, British vessels bombarded Fort McHenry,
  but the fort was able to withstand the attack.
  This attack was a setback for the British.
• The holding of Fort McHenry became the basis for
  the song The Star-Spangled Banner.

35
New Orleans
The British then assembled about 7,500 troops to
strike at New Orleans.
36
New Orleans

• General Andrew Jackson , a ruthless
  Indian-fighter and commander on the frontier
  militia, led the American forces that included
  both whites and free African Americans.
• The U.S. troops prepared New Orleans by building
  embankments of earth, fortified by cannons.

Gen. Andrew Jackson
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New Orleans (cont.)

• When the invasion finally came in 1815, the
  well-protected U.S. sharpshooters and artillery
  easily won the Battle of New Orleans.
• Few Americans died, but British causalities
  topped 2,000.
• Jacksons use of African Americans initially
  scared white troops, but their heroism was noted
  by Jackson who said those troops surpassed
  his hopes.

38
The Treaty of Ghent

• Tragically, the Battle of New Orleans occurred
  after a peace negotiation that had produced the
  Treaty of Ghent which was signed on Christmas
  Eve, 1814.

39
Treaty of Ghent

• Because news of victory at New Orleans came at
  the same time of the peace accord, many Americans
  assumed the victory had caused the treaty.
• General Andrew Jackson did nothing to correct
  this view, and later used his fame as a war hero
  to win political power (and become President).

40
Treaty of Ghent

• Neither side gained much from the treaty.
• By the terms of the treaty, prisoners of war were
  exchanged, and territorial boundaries that
  existed before were restored.
• Regardless, the war was a turning point for the
  U.S., as it consolidated control over the
  Northwest Territory through the defeat of the
  Native Americans and the removal of any remaining
  British allies.

41
Treaty of Ghent

• The Treaty of Ghent did have one long term
  benefit, however.
• The treaty resulted in peace between Great
  Britain and the United States, which marked the
  beginning of a long partnership between the two
  nations that would continue to exist for decades.

42
Domestic Issues

• The war, however, heavily divided the nation
  along sectional lines.
• New England Federalists, who opposed the war,
  called a convention in Hartford Connecticut to
  actually secede from the Union and weaken the
  South.
• These Federalists wanted to negotiate a separate
  peace treaty with Britain.

43
Hartford Convention

• While the move towards secession failed, the
  Federalists were able to push for a
  constitutional amendment to weaken the southern
  states and Congress.
• However, the Federalists faced a problem with the
  Convention
• It was done after the Treaty of Ghent, but before
  the victory at New Orleans.

44
Hartford Convention

• Federalist delegates were unaware of the peace
  treaty or victory.
• When they arrived to deliver their proposal to
  weaken congress, the news of their convention was
  weighed against both the already existing peace
  treaty and the victory at New Orleans.

A political cartoon making fun of the Hartford
Convention the three men in the top left
represent Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode
Island and look whose arms theyre planning on
jumping into.
45
Fall of the Federalist Party

• The Hartford Convention spelled the end for the
  Federalist Party.
• In the wake of U.S. victory at New Orleans (and a
  successful treaty), the convention appeared
  treasonous.
• The party was never able to recover from the
  charge of disloyalty and collapsed a few years
  after the War of 1812.

46
Review Objectives

• Identify the occurrences overseas that lead up to
  conflicts in North America
• Discuss issues regarding the succession of James
  Madison as president
• Discuss and map out the War of 1812 while
  focusing on two main phases of the war
• Identify the effects of the Treaty of Ghent and
  the Hartford Convention

47
Questions

• If you have any questions, please ask now.

48
Next Lesson

• In the next lesson, we are going to discuss the
  rise of Nationalism in the United States.

49
Reading Review

• Please read the American perspective on the War
  of 1812 and answer the questions in the text.