Transcript Unit 6 - PowerPoints

The War of 1812
Causes:
• The
United States wanted to expand its territory by capturing
Canada from the British and Florida from the Spanish.
• Both Great Britain and France were seizing American ships on the
high seas and kidnapping American sailors.
• The United States negotiated a deal with France that stated if the
United States stopped trading with Britain, the French would stop
seizing American ships.
•The United States believed the British were arming American
Indians and encouraging them to attack American settlers in the
Northwest Territory.
Question #1
• Identify two causes of the War of 1812
Impressment
The British impress, or kidnap, an
American sailor.
In the early part of the 19th century, the British
found themselves at war with the French again.
With a shortage of men and supplies, the
British began to view the weak American navy
as the answer to their problems. The British
navy and the French to some extent began to
seize American ships on the high seas, take
their cargo, sometimes kidnap their crew
members. After an American ship was
captured, a British officer would have the
Americans lined up and identify men he
believed had defected from the British navy.
Those Americans would be forced to serve in
the British navy. This action angered the
Americans who regarded this as kidnapping.
Question #2
• Why did the British impress American
sailors?
British Support of Indians
in the Ohio Valley
To stop American expansion west,
the British made alliances with the
American Indian tribes in the Ohio
Valley. The British supplied the
Indians with weapons and supplies in
the hope the Indians would use them
against American settlers. The British
were hoping this would stop
American settlement of the
Northwest Territory. When the
Americans became aware of the
British alliance, they were angered
because they considered it further
British interference in American
affairs.
Question #3
• What was the British motivation behind
their support of the Indians in the Ohio
Valley?
Expansion into Canada
Since the United States
failed to seize Canada
during the Revolutionary
War, some Americans still
desired to wrestle the
territory from British
control. Americans who
supported a war with
Britain, “War Hawks,”
wanted a reason to invade
Canada and make it a part
of the United States.
Question #4
• Who were the “War Hawks” and what was
their motivation?
Major Battles
The War at Sea
The American and British navies fought
at sea again on August 19, 1815. This
battle pitted the USS Constitution against
Britain’s HMS Guerriere. The Guerriere
opened fire on the Constitution, which
started the battle. At one point the two
ships were just twenty five yards apart.
Both ships began firing muskets at one
another; this prevented either ship from
taking over the other. However, the
English canon balls bounced off the
Constitution because of the strong timber
used in the ship’s construction. This is
how the Constitution received the
nickname, “Old Ironsides.” The ships hit
each other three times. After the third
exchange, the Guerriere’s mast was
disabled, the crew was forced to strike its
colors, and the captain was forced to
surrender.
The USS Constitution vs. the HMS Guerriere
Question #5
• Who won the first major battle at sea?
Why did they win?
Battle of Lake Erie/Put-In-Bay
September 10, 1813
English and American forces did battle
on Lake Erie in the Put-in-Bay on
September 10, 1813. Master
Commandant Oliver Perry commanded
the American fleet, while Commander
Robert Barclay directed the British. The
Americans took control of the battle,
using heavy power to weaken the Royal
Navy. America’s fleet, however, was hit
hard also; almost eighty percent of the
sailors were killed, wounded, or
stricken with disease. Barclay was
wounded in the battle as Perry led the
Americans to victory. Each navy
suffered more than one hundred
casualties.
The Burning of Washington, D.C.
General Robert Ross led British troops
to attack Washington, D.C., with
orders to destroy everything in the
path up to the Capitol. The interiors of
the buildings that housed the House of
Representatives, the United States
Senate, and the Library of Congress
were destroyed. British troops made
their way toward the White House,
which they later set on fire. First Lady
Dolley Madison barely escaped the
fire and fled with a full portrait of
George Washington. The British
continued their attack, burning the
United States Treasury to the ground.
A hurricane came through the area and
put out the fires.
British troops burned the Executive Mansion
leaving only the charred stone shell standing.
Americans would rebuild the interior, paint the
outer walls white to cover the smoke damage,
and begin referring to the building as the White
House.
Question #6
• How do you think Americans would feel
after the Burning of Washington D.C.?
Battle of Baltimore
September 13, 1814
The British army of five thousand men
marched from Washington, D.C.,
toward Baltimore to fight the
Americans at the Battle of North Point.
Colonel Arthur Brooke led the British
effort against American forces, but his
soldiers met resistance. At Fort
McHenry, Major George Armistead led
Americans against the British Royal
Navy on September 13, 1814. The
United States held its ground, forcing
the British fleet to withdraw. An
American flag flew over the fort the
next day, signaling victory for the
United States, and becoming Francis
Scott Key’s inspiration for The StarSpangled Banner.
The Star-Spangled Banner
Francis Scott Key was a young lawyer from
Washington in 1814 when he found himself
at the center of a raging battle. President
James Madison sent Key to arrange for the
release of a doctor the advancing British
army had captured. Key met with British
officers aboard the HMS Surprise; however,
because Key had overheard the British battle
plan, he was forced to remain on board until
the battle was over. Key had a front-row seat
to the British bombardment of Fort McHenry
outside of Baltimore and wrote a poem to
describe what he had seen. The poem would
be set to the British drinking tune of “To
Anacreon in Heaven.” Later the song would
be renamed “The Star-Spangled Banner.” In
1931 an act of Congress made Key’s song
the national anthem of the United States.
Francis Scott Key
Fort McHenry Flag
Treaty of Ghent
December 24, 1814
The War of 1812 ended with the signing of a peace treaty in Ghent, Belgium, on December
24, 1814. With communications very slow at the time, the war raged for another two months
before word spread of the end of hostilities between Britain and the United States. The treaty
restored conditions between Britain and the United States to what they were before the war.
The British promised to return all impressed sailors and captured slaves, and the Americans
promised to respect Indian territory in present-day Ohio and Michigan.
Battle of New Orleans
On January 8, 1815, General Edward
Andrew Jackson Packenham led the British against Andrew
Jackson’s American forces defending New
was hailed as a
Orleans. A fog covered the British soldiers’
hero after his
advance; but it soon lifted, and they were
forces were
victorious over the revealed. The Americans swiftly attacked.
British at the Battle Great numbers of British soldiers, including
of New Orleans. Packenham, were killed and wounded. The
British did win a victory near the Mississippi
River where they pummeled American forces.
The British soldiers were forced to retreat
after hearing of Packenham’s failed attempt
outside New Orleans. John Lambert took
command of the British forces and moved his
troops to parts of Mississippi for safety. The
battle was inconsequential because the War of
1812 had ended when the Treaty of Ghent
was signed two weeks earlier. Unfortunately,
news of the treaty had not yet reached New
Pirates fought with Americans
Orleans by the time of the battle.
at New Orleans.
Question #7
• Why did the Battle of New Orleans take
place after the signing of the Treaty of
Ghent?
Results of the War of 1812
• The British agreed to respect the borders of the United States
and stay out of the Northwest Territory.
• After Americans stopped trading with Great Britain, they were
forced to manufacture their own goods. This made the United
States more economically self-reliant.
• Americans gained nationalistic pride from their victories
against the British.
• After the British defeated the French general Napoleon
Bonaparte, both countries resumed their friendship, and BritishAmerican trade recommenced.
•American Indian resistance in the Northwest Territory was
crushed.
Question #8
• List Three Results of the War of 1812