Existing comment:
The Road to War:
The War of 1812 began in June of that year when the United States declared war on Britain. The causes were complex, dividing the nation. Broadly, American and British interests clashed at a time when Britain was still fighting its long, global war against Napoleonic France.
The various causes of the War of 1812 can be divided into four areas:
(1) Maritime Issues: Since 1803, the British navy had forcibly drafted approximately 6,000 American merchant sailors into its service. This practice of "impressment" violated America's neutrality and the rights of its citizens. The British government's Orders-in-Council also required all neutral trade with Europe to pass via England, in response to French decrees prohibiting neutral trade with Britain. The result was that in 1807-1812, Britain and France together seized about 900 American merchant ships.
(2) Western Expansion: The British posed a potential obstacle to rich land opportunities on America's western and northern borderlands. War might bring the tempting prize of British Canada and put an end to British support of American Indian resistance of westward expansion.
(3) Politics: The Democratic-Republican Party was in power, but split into factions. A war would rally the party together and stifle its opponents, the anti-war Federalists.
(4) National Honor: Many Americans were outraged by the trampling of their national rights. War was an opportunity to win back America's prestige and uphold the legacy of the Revolution. |