The war of 1812?

Question

Causes of the 1812?
Effects of the war of 1812?

Answer 1

Causes of the War

Although the outbreak of the war had been proceeded by years of angry diplomatic dispute, neither side was ready for war when it came.

Britain was still hard pressed by the Napoleonic Wars; most of the British Army was engaged in the Peninsular War (in Spain), and the Royal Navy was compelled to blockade most of the coast of Europe. The total number of British regular troops present in Canada in July 1812 was officially stated to be 6,034, supported by Canadian militia. Throughout the war, the British Secretary of State for War and the Colonies was the Earl of Bathurst. For the first two years of the war, he could spare few troops to reinforce North America and urged the Commander-in-Chief in North America—Lieutenant General Sir George Prevost—to maintain a defensive strategy, which accorded with Prevost's own inclinations. But when reinforcements became available late in 1814, Prevost's own cautious invasion of the U.S. was repulsed.

Despite years of warlike talk, the United States was unready to prosecute a war, for President Madison assumed that the state militia would easily seize Canada and the rest would be negotiations. In 1812, the regular army consisted of fewer than 12,000 men. Congress authorized the expansion of the army to 35,000 men, but the service was voluntary, low paid and unpopular and there were initially very few trained and experienced officers. The militia—called in to aid the regulars—objected to serving outside their home states, were not amenable to discipline, and as a rule, performed poorly in the presence of the enemy when outside of their home state. The U.S. had great difficulty financing its war, especially since it had disbanded its national bank and private bankers in the Northeast were opposed to the war.

The early disasters brought about largely by American unreadiness and lack of leadership drove United States Secretary of War William Eustis from office. His successor, John Armstrong, Jr., attempted a coordinated strategy late in 1813 aimed at the capture of Montreal, but was thwarted by logistics, uncooperative and quarrelsome commanders, and ill-trained troops. By 1814, the United States Army's morale and leadership had greatly improved, but the embarrassing Burning of Washington led to Armstrong's dismissal from office in turn. The war ended before the new Secretary of War James Monroe could develop any new strategy.
An artist's rendering of the battle at Fort McHenry, where Francis Scott Key was inspired to write "The Star Spangled Banner".
An artist's rendering of the battle at Fort McHenry, where Francis Scott Key was inspired to write "The Star Spangled Banner".

American prosecution of the war also suffered from its unpopularity, especially in New England, where anti-war spokesmen were vocal. The failure of New England to provide militia units was a serious blow. Threats of secession by New England were loud; Britain immediately exploited these divisions, blockading only southern ports for much of the war and encouraging smuggling.



Effects of the war:

The Treaty of Ghent established the status quo ante bellum; that is, there were no territorial changes made by either side. The issue of impressing American seamen was made moot when the Royal Navy stopped impressment after the defeat of Napoleon. Relations between the United States and Britain remained peaceful, except in 1846 and 1861, for the rest of the nineteenth century, and the two countries became close allies in the twentieth century. Border adjustments between the United States and British North America were made in the Treaty of 1818. (A border dispute along the Maine-New Brunswick border was settled by the 1842 Webster-Ashburton Treaty after the bloodless Aroostook War.)

[edit] United States

The United States achieved their main goals of ending impressment in practice and restoring free trade, and ending the Indian threat on the western and southern borders; the first was largely assisted by the end of the Napoleonic wars. Of even greater importance was the gaining of a psychological sense of complete independence.[3] Nationalism soared after the Battle of New Orleans proved Americans could defeat the British army. The opposition Federalist Party collapsed and an Era of Good Feelings ensued.

[edit] British North America

Canadians soon developed a national history to the effect that they had defied a great invasion threat. The largely American population of Upper Canada did not side with the United States; lured northwards by free land and low taxes, the settlers wanted to be left alone. After the bitter war, it was not wise to advocate American political ideals, such as democracy and republicanism. Thus the British and United Empire Loyalists elite were able to set Canadians on a different course from that of their former enemy. Additionally, the growing belief that they, the civilian soldiers, and not the Indians and British regulars, had won the war helped to germinate the seeds of nationalism in Canada[4].

[edit] Great Britain

The war is scarcely remembered in Britain because it was overshadowed by the far larger, more dramatic and more influential triumph over Napoleon. With the exile of Napoleon to Elba in 1814, Britain felt it had achieved its main policy goals as well (Napoleon returned for 100 days, after the war of 1812 was settled.)

The Royal Navy, however, was acutely conscious that the United States Navy had won most of the single-ship duels during the War. Also, American privateers and commerce raiders had captured numerous British merchant ships, sending insurance rates up and embarrassing the Admiralty. On the other hand, the Royal Navy had been able to deploy overwhelming strength to American waters, annihilating American maritime trade. The Royal Navy made some changes to its practices in construction and gunnery and focused more on accuracy than on rate of fire as had been the case. It remained the most powerful navy in the world for at least the next 100 years.

Answer 2

For the causes of the war of 1812 follow this link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origins_of_the_War_of_1812

and another site that shows Key Events & Causes:

http://home.earthlink.net/~gfeldmeth/chart.1812.html





Results of the War of 1812:

The War of 1812 is significant to United States history in a number of ways. The War, and our not losing it, reaffirmed American Independence. This was the second time we had gone to war with Great Britain and the second time we had not lost. Never again would our Independence as a nation be called into question. Second, the war convinced the nation that we must have a standing army. Since we had been caught unprepared for war, which was humiliating to the U.S. (ie. the invasion and burning of Washington) we saw the necessity of a standing army (it was then set at 10,000 men which was three times the army under President Jefferson). The war also served to improve our economy as it stimulated manufacturing. Before and during the war our trade was severely interrupted and negatively affected which resulted in the need for Americans to rely on themselves to make many of the products they had previously depended on importation for. Finally, the War of 1812 resulted in the death of the Federalist Party. During the war, the Federalist Party had been vocally opposed to the war and had even gone so far as to hold a convention in Hartford, Connecticut during which they criticized the war, the government, and even threatened to secede from the Union. At the same time this convention was going on, the peace treaty was being negotiated so that the Federalist party was criticized and this helped lead to the party's demise.

Answer 3

You haven't read your text book about this?
Reasons generally given, Britain was harassing American merchants, claiming some of their sailors were escapees from British ships. Britain also was unwilling to let go of the colonies. Washington DC was burned. Britain finally got her B--t whipped. The sea war was dominated by frigates such as the Constitution which was more than a match for most ships she encountered. She was more heavily gunned than the typical British frigate. The new country of America gained a stronger ally in France, at least for awhile. Indian tribes that sided with the British were severely punished. Now, go read up on it for yourself.

Answer 4

Causes are numerous. The lasting effect was Britain was forced to accept the independence of the American colonies. Had the English won, we'd be saluting the Union Jack.

Answer 5

Causes: British impressment of U.S. sailors and merchants. The British were also encouraging the Native Americans to join forces with them.

Effects: The country was more unified. The U.S., actually, if you can believe it, bettered their relationship with Britain. The U.S. also gained more Respect from France and other nations.

Answer 6

Effect, hrmm, the poem Star Spangled Banner was penned by Key and thereby later able to be put to music by John Philip Sousa and become our national anthem?

Answer 7

Google it. Much easier!