1
The Second War for Independence and the Upsurge
of Nationalism 1815 1824
2
On to Canada over Land and Lakes

• Due to widespread disunity, the War of 1812 ranks
  as one of Americas worst fought wars.
• There was not burning national anger, like there
  was after the Chesapeake outrage the regular
  army was very bad and scattered and had old,
  senile generals, and the offensive strategy
  against Canada was especially poorly conceived.

3
On to Canada over Land and Lakes

• Had the Americans captured Montreal, everything
  west would have fallen, but the Americans instead
  focused a three-pronged attack that set out from
  Detroit, Niagara, and Lake Champlain, all of
  which were beaten back.
• In contrast, the British and Canadians displayed
  enthusiasm early on in the war and captured the
  American fort of Michilimackinac, which commanded
  the upper Great Lakes area (the battle was led by
  British General Isaac Brock).

4
On to Canada over Land and Lakes

• Oliver Hazard Perry captured a British fleet on
  the Great Lakes
• General William H. Harrisons defeat of the
  British during the Battle of the Thames, helped
  bring more enthusiasm and increased morale for
  the war.

5
On to Canada over Land and Lakes

• In 1814, 10,000 British troops prepared for a
  crushing blow to the Americans along the Lake
  Champlain route, but on September 11, 1814,
  Thomas Macdonough challenged the British and
  forced them to retreat.

6
Washington Burned and New Orleans Defended.

• In August 1814, British troops landed in the
  Chesapeake Bay area, and proceeded to enter
  Washington D.C. and burn most of the buildings
  there.
• At Baltimore, another British fleet arrived but
  was beaten back by the privateer defenders of
  Fort McHenry, where Francis Scott Key wrote The
  Star Spangled Banner.

7
Washington Burned and New Orleans Defended.

• Another British army menaced the entire
  Mississippi Valley and threatened New Orleans,
  and Andrew Jackson, fresh off his slaughter of
  the Creek Indians, led a hodgepodge force of 7000
  sailors, regulars, pirates, and Frenchmen,
  entrenching them and helping them defeat 8000
  overconfident British that had launched a frontal
  attack.
• The news of this British defeat reached
  Washington early in February 1815, and two weeks
  later came news of peace from Britain.
• Ignorant citizens simply assumed that the
  British, having been beaten by Jackson, finally
  wanted peace, lest they get beaten again by the
  awesome Americans.

8
Washington Burned and New Orleans Defended

• During the war, the American navy had done much
  better than the army, since the sailors were
  angry at British impressments.
• However, Britain responded with a naval blockade,
  raiding ships and ruining American economic life
  such as fishing.

9
The Treaty of Ghent

• At first, the confident British made sweeping
  demands for a neutralized Indian buffer state in
  the Great Lakes region, control of the Great
  Lakes, and a substantial part of conquered Maine,
  but the Americans, led by John Quincy Adams,
  refused.
• As American victories piled up, though, the
  British reconsidered.
• The Treat of Ghent, signed on December 24, 1814,
  was an armistice, acknowledging the draw in the
  war and ignoring any other demands of either side.

10
The War of 1812

• Treaty of Ghent- brought an armistice or end to
  fighting in the war. Dec 24, 1814.
• Did not really resolve any of the reasons that
  the war was fought for.
• It did solidify American Independence in ours,
  the British, and the rest of the worlds eyes.
• Set the Northern boundary for the Louisiana
  Territory at the 49th parallel.

11
The Battle of New Orleans Johnny Horton -Music
and lyrics by Jimmy Driftwood In 1814 we took a
little trip Along with Colonel Jackson down the
mighty Mississip. We took a little bacon and we
took a little beans And we caught the bloody
British in the town of New Orleans. CHORUS We
fired our guns and the British kept a'comin.
There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while
ago. We fired once more and they began to runnin'
on Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. We
looked down the river and we see'd the British
come. And there must have been a hundred of'em
beatin' on the drum. They stepped so high and
they made the bugles ring. We stood by our cotton
bales and didn't say a thing. CHORUS Old Hickory
said we could take 'em by surprise If we didn't
fire our muskets 'til we looked 'em in the eye We
held our fire 'til we see'd their faces well.
Then we opened up with squirrel guns and really
gave 'em ... well CHORUS Yeah, they ran
through the briars and they ran through the
brambles And they ran through the bushes where a
rabbit couldn't go. They ran so fast that the
hounds couldn't catch 'em Down the Mississippi to
the Gulf of Mexico. We fired our cannon 'til
the barrel melted down. So we grabbed an
alligator and we fought another round. We filled
his head with cannon balls, and powdered his
behind And when we touched the powder off, the
gator lost his mind. CHORUS Repeat Hup 2, 3,
4. Sound off 3, 4.... Hup 2, 3, 4. Sound off 3,
4.... Hup 2, 3, 4
12
Federalist Grievances and the Hartford Convention

• As the capture of New Orleans seemed imminent,
  Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire,
  Vermont, and Rhode Island secretly met in
  Hartford from December 15 1814 to January 5,
  1815, to discuss their grievances and to seek
  redress for their wrongs.

13
Federalist Grievances and the Hartford Convention

• While a few talked about secession, most wanted
  financial assistance form Washington to
  compensate for lost trade, and an amendment
  requiring 2/3 majority for all declarations of
  embargos, except during invasion.
• Three special envoys from Mass. went to D.C.,
  where they were greeted with the news from New
  Orleans their mission failed, they sank away in
  disgrace and into obscurity.

14
Federalist Grievances and the Hartford Convention

• The Hartford Convention proved to be the death of
  the Federalist Party, as their last presidential
  nomination was trounced by James Monroe in 1816.

15
The Second War for American Independence

• The War of 1812 was a small war involving some
  6000 Americans killed or wounded.
• Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812 with 500,000 men,
  Madison tried to invade Canada with about 5000
  men.
• Yet, the Americans proved that they could stand
  up for what they felt was right, and naval
  officers like Perry and Macdonough gained new
  respect American diplomats were treated with
  more respect than before.

16
The Second War for American Independence

• The Federalist Party died out forever, and new
  war heroes, like Andrew Jackson and William Henry
  Harrison, emerged.
• Manufacturing also prospered during the British
  blockade, since there was nothing else to do.

17
The Second War for American Independence

• Incidents like the burning of Washington added
  fuel to the bitter conflict with Britain, and led
  to hatred of the nation years after the war,
  though few would have guessed that the War of
  1812 would be the last war America fought against
  Britain.
• Many Canadians felt betrayed by the Treaty of
  Ghent, since not even an Indian buffer state had
  been achieved, and the Indians, left by the
  British, were forced to make treaties where they
  could.

18
The Second War for American Independence

• In 1817, though, after a heated naval arms race
  in the Great Lakes, the Rush-Bagot Treaty between
  the U.S. and Britain provided the worlds longest
  unfortified boundary (5527 mi.).
• After Napoleons final defeat at Waterloo, Europe
  sank into an exhaustion of peace, and America
  looked west to further expand.

19
Nascent Nationalism

• After the war, American nationalism really took
  off, and authors like Washington Irving and James
  Fenimore Cooper gained international recognition.
• The North American Review debuted in 1815, and
  American painters painted landscape of America on
  their canvases, while history books were now
  being written by Americans for Americans.

20
Nascent Nationalism

• Washington D.C. rose from the ashes to be better
  than ever, and the navy and army strengthened
  themselves.
• Stephen Decatur, naval hero of the War of 1812
  and the Barbary Coast expeditions, was famous for
  his American toast after his return from the
  Mediterranean
• Out country! In her intercourse with foreign
  nations may she always be in the right but our
  country, right or wrong!

21
The American System

• After the war, British competitors dumped their
  goods onto America at cheap prices, so America
  responded with the Tariff of 1816, the first in
  U.S. history designed for protection, which put a
  20-25 tariff on dutiable imports.
• It was not high enough, but it was a great start,
  and in 1824, Henry Clay established a program
  called the American System.

22
The American System

• The system began with a strong banking system,
  advocated a protective tariff behind which
  eastern manufacturing would flourish, and also
  included a network of roads and canals,
  especially in the burgeoning Ohio Valley, to be
  funded by the tariffs, and through which would
  flow foodstuffs and raw materials from the South
  and West to the North and East.

23
The American System

• Lack of effective transportation had been one of
  the problems of the War of 1812, especially in
  the West, and in 1817, Congress sought to
  distribute 1.5 million to the states for
  internal improvements, but Madison vetoed it,
  saying it was unconstitutional, thus making the
  states look for their own money to build the
  badly needed roads.