The War Of 1812 Was Fought Between The United States And Great Britain

The War of 1812 was fought between the United States and Great Britain from June 1812 to the spring of 1815, although the peace treaty ending the war was signed in Europe in December 1814. The main land fighting of the war occurred along the Canadian border, in the Chesapeake Bay region, and along the Gulf of Mexico; there was also fighting that took place at sea. There were many reasons for the Americans to go to war with the British. From the end of the American Revolution in 1783, the United States had been irritated by the failure of the British to withdraw from American territory along the Great Lakes, their backing of the Indians on America's frontiers, and their unwillingness to sign commercial agreements favorable to the United States. American resentment grew during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars, in which Britain and France were the two main countries. In time, France came to dominate much of Europe, while Britain remained the supreme naval force on the seas. The two countries also fought each other commercially: Britain attempted to blockade the continent of Europe, and France tried to prevent the sale of British goods in French possessions. French and British maritime policies produced several crises with the United States, but after 1803 the difficulties became much more serious. The British Orders in Council of 1807 declared that anyone who trades with the French would have their ships seized, and France's Berlin and Milan decrees of 1806 and 1807 declared that anyone who trades with the British would have their ships seized by the French. The United States believed its rights on the seas as a neutral country were being violated by both France and England, but British maritime policies were resented more because Britain dominated the seas. Also, the British claimed the right to take from American merchant ships any British sailors who were serving on them. Frequently, they also took Americans. This practice of became a major grievance of the Americans. The United States at first attempted to change the policies of the European powers by economic means. In 1807, after the British H.M.S. Leopard fired on the American ship called the Chesapeake, President Thomas Jefferson Congress to pass an Embargo Act, banning all American ships from foreign trade. The Embargo Act failed to change British and French policies, but devastated New England shipping. Failing in peaceful efforts and facing an economic depression, some Americans began to argue for a declaration of war to redeem the national honor. The Congress that was elected in 1810 and met in November 1811 included a group known as the War Hawks who demanded war against Great Britain. These men were mostly from the West and South. Among their leaders were John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, Henry Clay of Kentucky, and Felix Grundy of Tennessee. They argued that American honor could be saved and British policies changed by an invasion of Canada. The Federalist Party, representing New England shippers who foresaw the ruination of their trade, opposed war. Napoleon's announcement in 1810 of the revocation of his decrees was followed by British refusals to repeal their orders, and pressures for war increased. On June 18, 1812, President James Madison signed a declaration of war that Congress, with substantial opposition, had passed at his request. Unknown to Americans, Britain had finally, two days earlier, announced that it would revoke its order. U.S. forces were not ready for war, and American hopes of conquering Canada collapsed in the campaigns of 1812 and 1813. The initial plan called for a three-pronged attack: from Lake Champlain to Montreal, across the Niagara frontier, and into Upper Canada from Detroit. The attacks were uncoordinated and all failed. In the West, General William Hull surrendered Detroit to the British in August 1812. On the Niagara front, American troops lost the Battle of Queenston Heights in October. Along Lake Champlain the American forces withdrew in late November without seriously engaging the enemy. American ships won a series of single-ship engagements with British ships, and American privateers continually bothered British shipping. The captains and crew of the ships Constitution and United States became renowned throughout America. Meanwhile, the British gradually tightened a blockade around America's coasts, ruining American trade, threatening American finances, and exposing the entire