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The War of 1812
Mark Wrublewski
HIS1101 U. S. History I SU01R
Week 4 Project
The War of 1812 took place among the USA in the United Kingdom. The war was fought in the sea and North America. On June 1, 1812, U.S. President James Madison made a speech in which he accused Britain of criminal acts against American citizens and announced the beginning of the war. Even though the Americans had only seven thousandth army and 20 ships of the navy, Madison's plans were very ambitious (Benn, 2003). With a few quick, accurate strikes, the U.S. Army was to capture Canada, which in those years belonged to England. In the first months of the war, the Americans acted very successfully.
Great Britain was preoccupied with the war with Napoleon and temporarily left its former colonies unattended. The U.S. Army invaded Canada, occupied it's capital York (then called Toronto) and destroyed the local parliament. However, the American offensive soon choked along the entire front line. By the summer of 1814, the U.S. Army made three attempts to occupy Canada, but each time the Anglo-Canadian forces drove the Americans to the border. The United States failed to inflict a significant defeat on the British and to receive a strategic initiative. (Lambert, 2016).
Moreover, “The War of 1812 was the first time in history that the Americans declared war on the British". (Expansion and Conflict in the 19th Century). After Thomas Jefferson left office after serving two terms, the Republicans elected James Madison as President. He continued Jefferson's ideals and did not strengthen the military. As a result, there was a sequence of events that brought the nation into the War of 1812, which some call the "Second War of Independence." (Berkin, 2015).
Anglo-American War of 1812 is, therefore, part of the broad framework of Atlantic research, recognizing in this space the place of the economic, cultural and intellectual exchanges that are shaping both the Europe of the end of the Napoleonic era and the Americas of the early nineteenth century. Both continents find their influence in European liberal thought and become aware of its emancipatory possibilities. If the articles proposed in this file concern mainly the United States, the War of 1812 is the American echo of the rivalry between European empires as much as the evolution of human societies in North America. Latin American independence is itself derived from the Atlantic geopolitical environment. The dominance of the oceans by the British navy and the cross-events affecting Spain and Portugal have repercussions on the social, political and economic movements within the American territories.
By 1812, relations between the United States and Great Britain had become extremely aggravated. Numerous mutual contradictions should sooner or later lead to an armed conflict, which was the Anglo-American War of 1812-1815 or the "Second War of Independence. ( Berkin,2015). The main reason for the failure was too weak preparation of the army. The idea of conquering Canada had to be abandoned. Now Madison was worried if he could at least keep American territories proper. While on land the U.S. Army was desperately defending its borderlands, the British fleet strengthened the blockade of the entire U.S. coast.
From the very beginning of the war, American generals prudently decided that all hostilities should take place only on land, as Britain with its powerful fleet will win in any naval battle. But contrary to this, in general, logical opinion, the Americans won the severe first victory in the war on the water. We are talking about the battle of 1813 on Lake Erie, the hero of which was captain Oliver Perry. Like any armed conflict, whatever part of the world it takes place, the War of 1812 has had a significant impact on the local population. This exhibition sheds light on the effects of the war on the high-Canadian population of the time and on subsequent generations, who have sought to preserve it. It documents how the battle unfolded, both within the province and beyond its borders, and looks at the subsequent imagery of war in the popular imagination.
References
Berkin, C.(2015). Making America: A History of the United States, Volume I: To 1877. [South
University]. Retrieved from https://digitalbookshelf.southuniversity.edu/#/books/9781305793323/
Benn, C. (2003). The War of 1812. Routledge.
Expansion and Conflict in the 19th Century. (n.d). Retrieve from:
https://myclasses.southuniversity.edu/d2l/le/content/52439/viewContent/2095684/View
Lambert, A. (2016). Creating Cultural Difference: The Military, Political and Cultural Legacy of
the Anglo-American War of 1812–1815. In War, Demobilization and Memory (pp. 303-319). Palgrave Macmillan, London.
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