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Kevin Sanchez (Period 6)

Mrs. Acevedo
IB History of the Americas
10 December 2012
The War of 1812
A. Results of the election of 1812
a. James Madison, part of the Democratic - Republican Party at the time, wanted a
second term as president. His opponent was a New York politician named DeWitt
Clinton, a Federalist candidate. The main issue during this election was the War of
1812. Even though the Federalists were generally opposed to it, they created more
problems by heavily criticizing Madison. In addition, they were also protesting
because they were annoyed with the fact that the most recent presidents at the
moment were all from Virginia and the Federalists wanted a change. In comparison
with the previous electoral votes, things were altered when the electoral distribution
across the states changed. Louisiana had become a state from the period of 1808 to
1812 and was allotted three electoral votes. In the end, James Madison received over
50% of the popular vote and received 128 electoral votes out of the possible 217
votes. Because he won the majority of the electoral votes, he was given the second
term and won the presidential election of 1812.
i. http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h505.html
ii. http://www.mapsofworld.com/usa/presidential-election/historical-
election/1812.html
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B. Explain the causes of the war of 1812
a. The official reason as to why the war of 1812 started was made clear in the
declaration of written by the United States and addressed to Great Britain. The
Impression Issue that was made by the British Government under their Orders-in-
Council. This issue stated that men are forced by the government for induction into
the military service. Another issue that sparked this was that the Native Americans
were tired of the white Americans taking over their land and pushing their boundaries
more and more west. This created rebellions everywhere and Britain was displeased
with the results. What the British did is that they aided the Native Americans and
supplied them with ammunition and a plethora of weapons. They even encouraged
them to fight with the Americans. The tension between the British and the Americans
mounted over the years and on 1811, war almost broke out because the British
continued to raid American ships. In June 1811, a rebellion left several British and
Americans dead. President Madison responded by asking Congress to declare war on
Britain in June 1812.
i. http://www.thefinertimes.com/War-of-1812/why-did-the-war-of-1812-
start.html
ii. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_did_the_War_of_1812_begin
C. What actions were taken to prepare for the war of 1812
a. In March of 1812, Congress had tried to place the Armys supply system by
establishing a Quartermaster Department on the military staff in place of the
inefficient and costly military agent system. Congress also created the Office of the
Commissary General of Purchases in the War Department. An Ordinance Department
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was created to inspect and test out all cannon balls, shells, shots, and basically all the
ammunition. The Corps of Engineers was made bigger by adding several new
departments, such as miners and bombardiers. Lastly, Congress had authorized for the
President to accept volunteer forces and to call upon the states for militia.
i. http://www.history.army.mil/books/AMH/AMH-06.htm
D. Describe the following campaigns during the war of 1812:
a. Invasion of Canada
b. Naval battles
c. Great Lake Campaigns
d. Burning of Washington D.C.
e. Battle of New Orleans
E. Peace settlement
a. Throughout the course of the war, several peace offerings were attempted, but all
failed. In Ghent, Belgium, a peace agreement was made between the United States
and the British. The five American peace commissioners that were present included:
Henry Clay, Jonathan Russell, John Quincy Adams, Albert Gallatin, and James
Ashton Bayard. The issue the impressing was resolved there because Britain got a
large amount of sailors after the defeat of Napoleon. The British told the Americans
about building a border between Canada and the United States, but we were not open
to this idea. From November of 1814 and onwards, U.S. negotiators were writing the
peace treaty. They knew that the wars between the United States and the British
should not continue because they were running low on money. On December 24,
1814, the peace treaty was signed and sealed. It stated that the U.S. and the British
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return to the same conditions they had before the war occurred. There was no mention
of impressments or the Orders-in-Council.
i. http://www.galafilm.com/1812/e/background/amer_peace.html
F. Consequences of the war of 1812
a. The consequences of the War of 1812 were that trade interference involving
European nations greatly reduced. American manufacturing in the North increased
dramatically. Britain blockading our ports led to an increase in domestic
manufacturing and after the war, the industrial economy increased. There was also a
brief increase in nationalism, Andrew Jackson became a national hero, Americas
independence was certain, our national anthem aroused, the Federalist party ceased,
and lastly, we established the need of a strong navy and army.
i. http://americanfounding.blogspot.com/
ii. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071015185030AAwFgXt