War of 1812

War of 1812 (1812–15) Often called the “second war of independence” because it, too, was fought against Great Britain, this war yielded no territorial gain, but it did carry sharp political and economic ramifications. Its origins were partly political but primarily economic. During the Napoleonic Wars (1793–1801, 1803–15), Great Britain impressed a considerable number of American seamen into the Royal Navy, claiming they were either deserters or British subjects and refusing to recognize their naturalized status. Equally offensive to U.S. sovereignty and more damaging to its economy was that its maritime neutrality was being repeatedly violated by both Great Britain and France. The administrations of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison were particularly piqued by British orders of council in 1807 and 1809, which authorized the seizure of neutral vessels bound for the Continent if they did not pay duties and unload cargo at a British port. Jefferson's retaliatory embargoes in 1807 and 1809 not only failed to influence the British but also crippled the U.S. economy. Subsequent legislation issued under Madison demanded the end of antineutrality on the part of both European powers. In August 1810, Napoleon announced that he would repeal his Berlin and Milan decrees, to which the British had long been pointing as justification for their orders of council. But Great Britain did not follow suit and repeal their orders, and after months-long deliberation, Congress responded to Madison's request and declared war on June 18, 1812.

Most of the fighting took place on the American-Canadian frontier between Detroit and Lake Champlain. This area was both the nearest British possessions that the U.S. army and navy could attack and a significant resource of timber for both countries. But in the opening months of the war, the U.S. lost every battle it waged there, due to poor preparation, inadequate leadership, and untrained soldiers, as well as to a staunch defense by the British aided by northwestern Indians who had been feeling the brunt of American westward expansion. The only battles the U.S. won were while protecting trade routes in the Atlantic, where its inferior navy managed to sink or capture three British ships.

The U.S. was somewhat more successful in the middle months of 1813, capturing Fort George and York in Upper Canada in May, retaking Detroit in September, and from there embarking on the Battle of the Thames, which destroyed the British-Indian alliance in November. But further incursions into Upper and Lower Canada were either thwarted or aborted. Moreover, the Royal Navy began to assert its superiority by extending its blockade of trade routes throughout the year, to the great frustration of coastal communities and overseas traders. In the South, meanwhile, “Redstick” factions of the Creek Nation took out their frustration on garrisons and settlements, but were eventually repelled by Maj. Gen. Andrew Jackson at Horseshoe Bend in March, 1814.

The improvement of both training and leadership led to greater military success in 1814. But Napoleon's defeat in the spring also meant that Britain could commit more troops to North America and thus stretch U.S. defenses. While Capt. Thomas Macdonough repelled the British on Lake Champlain, other British forces occupied northeastern Maine and still others torched Washington, including the White House and the Capitol. The Maryland militia and the Fort McHenry cannons managed to fend off an attempt to capture Baltimore, the battle in which Francis Scott Key composed “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The last major battle was a U.S. victory in New Orleans, fought two weeks after peace had officially been reached with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent on December 24, 1814.

The treaty was long in the making. Though the British had repealed the orders of council as soon as Congress declared war, Madison wanted to use the war to settle larger grievances. Attempts at Russian mediation in 1813 were rebuffed by Britain, and then, after it opened separate negotiations in July, 1814, demanded a neutral independent buffer Indian state and to revise the American-Canadian border established by the 1783 Treaty of Paris. In the face of these exaggerated demands, the U.S. did not press its own for Canadian territory and an end to British maritime practices that were hurting American trade. Both sides eventually settled for the prewar status quo. Thus, while maritime rights were not finalized, nor were they threatened again until World War I. And while Canadian territory was not gained, Indian opposition to westward expansion was considerably quelled in the north- and southwest. More troubling, however, were the increasing tensions between Federalists and Republicans and between northern and southern states. The Federalists had opposed the war, and after meeting to nullify the war in late 1814, appeared as disloyal, which greatly contributed to the party's demise after 1815. In the long term, the postwar economic recovery sharpened the rift between North and South, as federal expenditures rose, demand for domestic manufacturing grew, and large-scale industries, especially in New England, reaped the bulk of the rewards. And when the economy proved still unstable, it gradually became clearer that the war was an important stand against the British Empire, but not the final step toward cultural, economic, and political independence for the U.S.