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Was The War of 1812 Justified? Why?: (Type The Document Subtitle)
Was The War of 1812 Justified? Why?: (Type The Document Subtitle)
Justified? Why?
[Type the document subtitle]
American entry into War of 1812 was justified for many reasons. Some reasons
include British impressment of American sailors, the lack of success of the embargoes
America had put on Britain, the British arming of frontier Indian tribes and encouraging
them to fight the Americans who lived on the frontier, and by the lack of success of the
In 1793, England went to war with France. Britain's plan was to blockade French
ports, destroy French ships, and seize any ship trying to trade with France. Trade with
France was very important to the United States economy so the Americans defied the
British and carried on booming trade with France. Britain's retaliation was to confiscate
American ships and board many American ships searching for deserted British sailors.
Britain would also impress American sailors into the Royal Navy Force as well. Britain
Impressed American sailors because thousands of British sailors had been deserting
British ships to take jobs in American vessels because better conditions, better pay, and
but President Washington decided not to go to war because he knew America was not
ready for another war. Washington sent Chief Justice John Jay to England to negotiate
with the British in 1794. The British forced Jay into a settlement were Britain was
favored because Britain knew they had a superior army and navy. The Treaty said that the
British would no longer confiscate American ships but the Americans could not trade
with France and were excluded from most British trade markets. The treaty was very
unpopular in the United States and the British continued to harass American vessels.
(Greenblatt 56-63)
In 1803, Britain and France were at war together and Britain began to violate
Americans rights again. Impressment of American sailors resumed and about 6,000
sailors were impressed into the Royal Navy Force from 1803-1812. The British also
interfered with American trade in the West Indies, violated U. S. territorial waters, used
many naval blockades, and used a broad definition of contraband in order to prevent
French-American trade.
The Monroe-Pickney Treaty of 1806 tried to resolve these problems. This treaty
was more favorable to Americans than Jay's Treaty, but Thomas Jefferson found it so
dissatisfactory that he did not want to even submit it to the Senate, because it ignored the
In 1807, Britain enacted the Orders in Council which was a law that forbade any
neutral nations form trading with any European nation except through British ports. The
British wanted to cut off flow of goods into French controlled Europe and to force U. S.
merchants to trade strictly through British ports which would boost the British economy.
(Nardo pp 38-40)
The Orders began to take affect in the United States as the South and the West
suffered an economic depression in 1810 because farmers had lost markets for their
crops. In 1810, Napoleon tricked Madison into reinstating the embargo against Britain.
Even after realizing that he had been double-crossed, Madison continued the embargo
hoping that it would eventually hurt the British economy and get the British to suspend
Another incident which brought America and Britain closer to war was the British
encouraging of Indians on the frontier to battle white settlers. The Indian Confederation
was head by two Shawnee leaders, Tecumseh and his brother Tenshwatawa who were
determined to renounce the ways of the whites and to prevent further advancement of
white settlers. In late 1811, William Henry Harrison defeated the Indians in the Battle of
Tippecanoe, which ended most fears of Indian uprising, but Indian skirmishes continued
and kept the Northwest a dangerous area for white settlers. (Greenblatt 209-212)
The turmoil in the west reinforced a political change that was occurring in the U. S. that
was most clearly shown in the twelfth Congress elected in 1810. The attitude of the
newcomers showed pride in their country. They resented British attacks on U. S. ships
and impressment as well as the British-Indian alliance in the west. They demanded that
the US declare war on Britain and invade Canada where many British agents were
stationed. They felt that as the populations grew, the country would need to expand so
they wanted the US to obtain more land. These men were named "War Hawks." On
November 11, 1811, the War Hawks elected Henry Clay of Kentucky as Speaker of the
House. Clay turned the position into a position of party leadership and using his power,
he packed all the important committees within the War Hawks, most importantly the
Foreign Affairs Committee. Within weeks, the committee hammered out a strong set of
resolutions calling for an increase in the army and the navy. The War Hawks Congress
continued to criticize Great Britain and finally Madison realized that national sentiment
shifted strongly to the support war. Madison sent a note to Britain demanding it to lift all
When no answer came by June, Madison asked Congress to issue a declaration of war.
(Greenblatt 98-102)
The United States would now embark on a war in which it was not sure the US had a
chance to win. The US could have tried to resolve its differences with Britain
diplomatically, but as Jay's Treaty and the Monroe-Pickney Treaty had shown, it would
be hard to resolve their problems through treaties and there was no guarantee that the
Although there were many reasons for America to enter the War of 1812, there were
several reasons for America to not enter the war. If America and Britain tried a little hard,
they could have solved their problems through diplomacy. If the War Hawks and
Madison had been more patient and even waited two more days, the announcement of the
suspension of the Orders in Council would have reached the US and this could have led
to peace. The US Army and Navy wasn't ready to battle with one of the strongest armies
and navies in the world. A war also could hurt trade with Britain, their number one
trading partner, which is why the Federalists were so Anti-war during the debate. The US
was very split over entering the war as evidenced by actions in New England. (Nardo pp
39)
If Madison and Congress would have been more patient, we could have avoided war
through diplomatic means. On May of 1812, the British offered to give the US an equal
share of their trade with Europe, which they authorized under special licenses. The
British, in effect, were offering to suspend the Orders in Council in practice if the US
merchants would conduct their trade with Europe under British licenses. Thinking that
Americans rejected the proposal. When their was no response to Madison's demand to
Britain to remove their Orders in Council by May 1812, many decided time had become
to fight. What the Americans did not know was that Madison's embargo had been
working. Many British politicians argued that the country needed American trade and
called for the suspension of the Orders. But members of the Prime Minister Spencer
Perceval's wanted to keep the Orders. On May 11, 1812, Perceval was killed, bringing the
suspend the Orders on June 16, but news of the event did not reach America until it was
too late. On June 18, 1812, after the major obstacle to peace was removed, the US
When Madison was recommending the war to the American public, he stressed "Free
Trade and Sailors' Rights" as the leading cause of the conflict. But, In New England,
which owned three-fourths of America's merchant fleet and home to most seamen,
opposed the war. Most of the Northeast did not partake in the war. Many New
Englanders saw Britain as their only hope against Napoleon and condemned Madison for
Another reason why America was unjustified for going to war was because America was
not ready for war. The seven thousand men in the army were badly prepared and did not
have the experience for such a war. The army morale was low as well as the supplies for
soldiers. There was little money in the Treasury to pay for the supplies. The early attacks
were weakly planned and unsuccessful. Madison had to consider a draft because
enlistment in the army was so low, but he decided not to because New England would
The war would have been difficult to win, expensive, and military forces had to be spread
over vast stretches of land and sea. The navy lacked fire power and vessels needed to
Overall, America was justified for entering the war. Previous efforts of diplomacy were
unsuccessful and Britain never abided by treaty rules. Britain had continued its abuses
toward America by the Orders in Council, impressment, and supplying the Indians on the