The War of 1812
Your Preconceptions
US vs. Britain (British North America!) Happened in 1812! Ended in 1814? US wanted more land, were aggressors US sacked York, burned parliament buildings British burned White House Pointless/draw Laura Secord brand named from this/warned British
of invasion US thought Canada wanted religious, governmental
freedom too? American national anthem Before Canada's independence/Confederation Jackson won in New Orleans?
People of the War of 1812
American
British (England)
British (Canada)
Indigenous Peoples
What is it like being you right now?
How do you feel about the results of the American Revolution?
How do you feel about each of the other groups?
What does your group think might lead to a new war?
United States of America
13 Colonies + Vermont, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio
1803: Louisiana Purchase (state in 1812) James Madison, 4th presidentSome states abolishing slaverySlave trade ends 1808 (Britain)
Louisiana Purchase (1803)
France had taken land back from Spain
Napoleon Bonaparte (Emperor)
Thomas Jefferson
Financial issues: Haiti (1792), back to war with Britain, debt
USA made the purchase, debt part of price
Britain
Continued conflicts with France
Act of Union (1801) = United Kingdom
Industrial Revolution
War of 1812 occurs while Britain is at war with Napoleon
North America
Seven Years War 1756-63
Quebec Act 1774
American Revolution 1775-83
Impacts on Canada?
Upper and Lower Canada
The Loyalists wanted their own colony, separate from Quebec (Quebec Act conditions)
Constitutional Act of 1791 Colony split in two: English/French Upper Canada and Lower Canada Upper Canada would be a model of
England Aboriginal Peoples not consulted
about their land Treaties ceded land to Britain (often
dishonest)
Causes of War
Britain and France at war
Both countries seize American ships sailing toward the ports of their enemy
British take cargo and crew, claiming they’re British deserters
Over 6000 Americans impressed into British Navy between 1808 and 1811!
Dealing with the British
EMBARGO ACT, 1807
Jefferson and US Congress
Stopped all US international trade
Supposed to end interference from Britain and France
Ended in 1809 — hurt US economy
NON-INTERCOURSE ACT, 1809
Adaptation on Embargo Act
Restored trade to all but Britain and France
Actually made the US further independent of Britain
Domestic industrialization
The War Hawks
American nationalists
Members of Congress who wanted to declare war on Britain and take BNA/Canada
Led by Henry Clay of Kentucky
War Hawks’ Reasons for War
Nationalism Many Americans felt that Britain still
treated the United States like a British colony
Revenge War Hawks wanted to get back at Britain
for seizing American ships
Warhawks’ Reasons for War
Territorial Expansion/Manifest Destiny Henry Clay wanted an excuse to conquer
Canada from Britain and Florida from Spain
Native American Attacks War Hawks felt that Britain was arming
Native Americans (like Tecumseh) and encouraging them to attack Americans
Thomas Jefferson: “A mere matter of Marching”
The Prophet and Tecumseh Tenskwatawa, “The
Prophet”, believed that to survive, Native Americans had to give up white ways of life.
His brother Tecumseh unified many nations behind the message of the Prophet.
British promised them the Ohio Valley as a Native Homeland if they could take it back from the USA. They died and this dream was lost forever.
Chief Tecumseh of the Shawnee
Tenskwatawa, “The Prophet”
In 1808, the Prophet built a village for his followers in Tippecanoe, Indiana.
Showdown at Tippecanoe
1811
Growing strength of the Prophet and Tecumseh
Governor William Henry Harrison and1000 troops
Battle of Tippecanoe.
The battle was viewed by Americans as a major victory, even though it was unclear which side
actually won.
1812: The War Begins
The War Begins June: USA declares war over sailor's rights and British support
of western frontier tribes August: Isaac Brock and Tecumseh capture Detroit without
firing a shot October: Battle of Queenston Heights
Laura Secord
Niagara Peninsula, June 1813
Secord learns of surprise attack plans
Walked 32km to warn British and Mohawk about attack
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1nFOAp5KCw
Battle of York (Toronto)
27 April 1813 Americans attack new capital of Upper Canada American soldiers burn legislative assembly
YORK (Toronto) was burned by the Americans, so
Washington, D.C was AttackedBurning of Washington
24 August, 1814
British /Canadians burned Washington, D.C. on fire, including the White House (originally grey)
Payback for burning of Toronto/York
As people fled the city, First Lady Dolley Madison refused to leave without some of the nation's most important treasures-including a famous portrait of George Washington
The Star-Spangled Banner
British attack Ft. McHenry, Baltimore
September, 1814
Key watches from British ship
Smoke clears, flag still flies
Inspires “Defense of Fort M’Henry”
Became USA national anthem!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiVryYnzmdI
The Star-Spangled Banner
Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous
fight,
O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly
streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
The Original Star-Spangled Banner
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, Washington, D.C.
Halifax in the War
Battle of Boston Harbor, 1 June 1813
HMS Shannon and USS Chesapeake
Battle only lasted 10-15 minutes, but 252 killed or wounded
Chesapeake damaged and disabled early in the battle
British boarding party overwhelmed American defenders
Chesapeake and her crew were taken to Halifax, sailors were imprisoned
The ship was repaired and taken into service by the Royal Navy
Being led into Halifax Harbour
Capture of the Chesapeake
First major victory in the naval war for the British
Raised the shaken morale of the Royal Navy
In the US, the capture was humiliating, and contributed to popular sentiment against the war
Many New Englanders called it "Madison's war” and demanded that he resign the presidency, but he didn’t
Cannons from USS Chesapeake (L) and HMS Shannon (R) at Province House
Gravestones of victims of both ships at CFB Stadacona
Melville Island, Halifax
Small peninsula in the Northwest Arm of Halifax Harbour
Prisoner-of-war camp to hold captives from Napoleonic Wars and War of 1812
The burial ground for prisoners was on the adjacent Deadman's Island
Melville later used as a receiving depot for black refugees escaping slavery in the United States
Now the site of the Armdale Yacht Club
Deadman’s Island & Melville Island
Prisoners from Chesapeake
Many died of disease in harsh prison conditions
Buried on Deadman’s IslandArmdale Yacht Club, Melville
Island
Dalhousie University
Founded in 1818 Funds from War of 1812 occupation of
Castine, Maine Used by American privateers as a base Turned into a customs port That money used to create the university
Treaty of Ghent, 1814
While it ended the war, the treaty did not resolve any of the problems between Britain and the U.S.The Treaty Of Ghent – YouTube
The Battle of New Orleans
Led by Gen. Andrew Jackson, the U.S. defeated the British 2 weeks after Treaty of Ghent!
Casualties: Britain – 2,030; U.S. – 7
The Battle of New Orleans
“Such a destruction of men, for the time it lasted, was never before witnessed”
- American Engineer Major Tatum Howell
Importance of the Battle of New Orleans
The headlines that you see in the newspapers when word of this thing reaches are just...they're trying to figure out how to put enough exclamation points, and the whole country just erupts with pride.
It's hard to overestimate the importance of the battle in American history. It secured the Louisiana Purchase. In terms of American nationalism, it gave people a sense - you know, the outcome of this battle and the outcome of the war has been called a second American Revolution, a kind of a feeling of having decisively defeated the former Mother country. It set the stage for the march across the continent and what became Manifest Destiny - the notion that somehow America was destined to extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
- Jon Kukla, American Historian
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOFUbrQWK_A
YouTube - War Of 1812
Robert Ross (British Army officer) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Results of the War of 1812
Canada didn’t become USA
Rideau Canal built in Ontario to protect shipping goods if invasion happened again
New Brunswick Border established with Maine
49th parallel with USA solidified
Both Canada and the USA felt more patriotic and distinct from each other
Britain never again fought the USA
WAR OF 1812: 200th Anniversary
“The War of 1812 was a seminal event in the making of our great country. On the occasion of its 200th anniversary, I invite all Canadians to share in our history and commemorate our proud and brave ancestors who fought and won against enormous odds. As we near our country's 150th anniversary in 2017, Canadians have an opportunity to pay tribute to our founders, defining moments, and heroes who fought for Canada.”
The War of 1812 - Home
The Fight for Canada - War of 1812 (200th Anniversary) Advertisement (HD) - YouTube
Stephen Harper’s Priority on the 200th Anniversary
PROMOTE THE WAR!
The War of 1812 – Home Faces of 1812 – YouTube http://canada-1812.ca/tecumseh/ General Brock's Coatee : Under a New Light – You
Tube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0AK_8z5VEI
RMR: War of 1812 Bicentennial – YouTube RMR: Rick and the War of 1812 – YouTube
War and Memory Activity
War of 1812 commemorated on both sides
How would you promote the memory of the war? What is important to remember? How would you argue your victory? How is the war significant to your identity? Canadians Americans
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