CAUSES OF THE WAR OF 1812

·After the American Revolution, trade between the US and other countries grew rapidly.

·While this resulted in lots of new items and ideas being exchanged, it also meant that American traders faced many dangers as they traveled around the world.

A war broke out between Britain and France in 1803 that helped Americans do more business in the Caribbean.

Both countries were upset at Americans profiting, so they began to seize American ships headed to their enemies' ports.

Conditions in the British Navy were terrible for sailors. Many heard that American sailors had much better conditions and made twice the pay, so they deserted.The British began using the practice of impressment to retrieve deserters and increase the ranks of their navy.

Impressment: stopping American ships to force deserters to return to the Navy.

Impressment angered many Americans because it insulted America. Many of the deserters had legally become American citizens. Other times, natural-born Americans were forced into the British Navy even when they could prove American birth.

There were some in America that wanted to go to war with Great Britain. These Americans, mainly from the South and West, were called War Hawks.Henry Clay, from Kentucky, not only wanted to fight Great Britain, he also thought that America should conquer Canada.

President Jefferson was angry about impressment, but wanted to avoid war. He was trying to follow Washington's precedent of neutrality. Instead, he convinced Congress to pass the Embargo Act in 1807. This forbade Americans from importing or exporting any goods.

This hurt many New England merchants, so in 1809 it was replaced with the Nonintercourse Act. This allowed Americans to trade with any nation except Great Britain or France.

Embargo Act Nonintercourse Act

·Could not import or export any goods·sailors, farmers, and merchants were hurt·A lot of smuggling occurred

·Less severe than the Embargo Act·Americans could trade with anyone except Britain and France

Americans also faced troubles in the West from Native Americans.

A Native American named Tecumseh tried to unite tribes in the Western Territories to drive out white settlers who came to take Native American lands.

The Native Americans were supplied with guns and ammunition from the British. This angered many Americans and helped the case for war made by many War Hawks.

Tecumseh

"The Prophet"

Despite his great success and the many challenges facing the nation, Thomas Jefferson refused to run for a third term. He stepped down and in the following election, his fellow Democratic-Republican, James Madison, won the election easily.