Transcript Causes and Results of the War of 1812

The Second War for
Independence and the
Upsurge of Nationalism
Causes of the War of
1812
• British kept seizing American merchant
ships headed for France.
• British were largely unaffected by the
Embargo Act of 1807.
• American sailors were being forced to
serve in the British navy.
• Western and southern “War Hawks,”
interested in expanding into British Canada
and Spanish Florida, urged war. (Henry
Clay and John Calhoun)
• The war divided Americans and was not
supported by all.
Highlights of the War of
1812
• British invade New York
• Battle of Lake Champlain
• Burning of the White
House - August 1813
• Battle of New Orleans 1814
Results of the War of
1812
• The war reinforced the American belief that a
policy of neutrality regarding European affairs was
justified.
• Native American tribes in the West lost their ally,
Britain, and were much less able to stand up to
American expansion.
• American manufacturing began to grow,
particularly in New England, when the Unites
States was cut off from European imports.
• Opposing the war weakened the Federalist Party,
which soon ceased to be a major factor in national
politics.
• In Andrew Jackson and William Henry Harrison, the
nation gained new war heroes.
• “The Star Spangled Banner” was inspired by the
bombardment of Fort McHenry.
The Treaty of Ghent
• Signed on December 24, 1814
• Armistice: acknowledged a draw and
ignored the demands of both sides
• British originally wanted a neutral Indian
buffer state in the Great Lakes region,
control of the Great lakes, and part of
Maine.
• Americans refused the demands of the
British.
• Relationship returned to same state it had
been prior to the war.
The Hartford Convention
• MA, CT, NH, VT, and RI met secretly from
December 15, 1814 to January 5, 1815
• Secession discussed, but most wanted
money from government for lost trade
• Asked for a 2/3 majority for all embargoes,
except during invasion
• Convention ended up being the death of
the Federalist Party
• Almost seemed treasonous after the win in
New Orleans
Nationalism
• Spirit of national consciousness
• Washington Irving and James
Fenimore Cooper became popular
• American landscape artists and
American history books became
popular
• Revived Bank of the United States
• Beautiful national capital
The American System
• British competition flooded the
American market with cheap goods,
• Work of Henry Clay
• Develop a home market
• Protective Tariff of 1816
• Strong banking system in order to
provide easy credit
• Network of roads and canals to be built
in the Ohio River Valley
Era of Good Feelings?
• Monroe elected in 1816 (one party
rule)
• Connected the old generation with
the new
• Did not involve fighting between the
major political parties
• But sectionalism was increasing and
the slavery issue was becoming
more important
Panic of 1819
• What is a “panic?”
• Caused by overspeculation in land
prices, especially in the west
• Bank of the United States was
heavily in debt
• Deflation, depression, bankruptcies,
bank failures, unemployment, and
overcrowded debtors’ prisons
• Provided the foundation for
Jacksonian Democracy
Growth in the West
• Nine states joined the original 13 between
1791 and 1819
• “Ohio Fever”
• Cumberland Road and the steam ship
• Land Act of 1820: 80 acres could be
purchased for $1.25 per acre
• Southern view: Northerners were
unfriendly, greedy, and too ambitious
• Northern view; Southerners were
uneducated, uncivilized, and had no desire
for self-improvement
Missouri Compromise
and Issue of Slavery
• Missouri would be admitted as a
slave state and Maine would enter
as a free state.
• All states north of the 36th parallel
would be free.
• Monroe looked like he was doomed
during his first administration, but
easily won re-election due to his
popularity and the weakness of the
Federalist party
• Only put off the inevitable
John Marshall extends
Nationalism to the
Judiciary
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McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1818)
Fletcher v. Peck (1810)
• Legislative grant was a contract and the state
could not interfere
• Protecting private property against public
pressure
• Cohens v. Virginia (1821)
• Right of the Supreme Court to review state
Supreme Court decisions in matters relating to
the federal government
Sharing Oregon and
Acquiring Florida
• Jackson swept into Florida
• Hanged two Indians and Two Brits
• 1819: Florida to the U.S.
• Treaty of 1818
• Britain and U.S. would jointly
share the Oregon Territory
• England was just too far away,
giving Americans a chance to
colonize
The Monroe Doctrine
• Written by the Secretary of
State, John Quincy Adams
• Two basic features
• Non-colonization
• Non-intervention
Evaluation of the
Monroe Doctrine
• European monarchs angered
• Latin American countries
believed it was more to protect
the U.S., not them
• Little impact at first
• Used later as the U.S. became
more powerful