01:512:104 Lecture 12: Chapter 12
16 May 2018
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Chapter 12 - The Second War for Independence and the
Upsurge of Nationalism 1812-1824
I. On to Canada Over Land and Lakes
1. Due to widespread disunity, the War of 1812 ranks as one of America’s
worst fought wars.
2. There was not a 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. Had the Americans captured Montreal, everything west would have
wilted like a tree after its trunk has been severed, but the Americans
instead focused a three-pronged attack that set out from Detroit,
Niagara, and Lake Champlain, all of which were beaten back.
4. 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).
5. After more land invasions were hurled back in 1813, the Americans, led
by Oliver Hazard Perry, built a fleet of green-timbered ships manned by
inexperienced men, but still managed to capture a British fleet. His
victory, coupled with General William Henry Harrison’s defeat of the
British during the Battle of the Thames, helped bring more enthusiasm
and increased morale for the war.
6. In 1814, 10,000 British troops prepared for a crushing blow to the
Americans along the Lake Champlain route, but on September 11,
1814, Capt. Thomas MacDonough challenged the British and snatched
victory from the fangs of defeat and forced the British to retreat.
II. Washington Burned and New Orleans Defended
1. In August 1814, British troops landed in the Chesapeake Bay area,
dispersed 6,000 panicked Americans at Bladensburg, and proceeded to
enter Washington D.C. and burn most of the buildings there.
2. 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.”
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3. Another British army menaced the entire Mississippi Valley and
threatened New Orleans, and Andrew Jackson, fresh off his slaughter of
the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, led a hodgepodge
force of 7,000 sailors, regulars, pirates, and Frenchmen, entrenching
them and helping them defeat 8,000 overconfident British that had
launched a frontal attack in the Battle of New Orleans.
4. The news of this British defeat reached Washington early in February
1815, and two weeks later came news of peace from Britain.
5. Ignorant citizens simply assumed that the British, having been beaten
by Jackson, finally wanted peace, lest they get beaten again by the
“awesome” Americans.
6. During the war, the American navy had oddly done much better than the
army, since the sailors were angry over British impressment of U.S.
sailors.
7. However, Britain responded with a naval blockade, raiding ships and
ruining American economic life such as fishing.
III. The Treaty of Ghent
1. 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.
2. The Treat of Ghent, signed on December 24, 1814, was an armistice,
acknowledging a draw in the war and ignoring any other demands of
either side. Each side simply stopped fighting. The main issue of the
war, impressment, was left unmentioned.
IV. Federalist Grievances and the Hartford Convention
1. 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.
o While a few talked about secession, most wanted financial
assistance form Washington to compensate for lost trade, and an
amendment requiring a 2/3 majority for all declarations of
embargos, except during invasion.
2. Three special envoys from Mass. went to D.C., where they were
greeted with the news from New Orleans; their mission failed, and they
sank away in disgrace and into obscurity.
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o The Hartford Convention proved to be the death of the Federalist
Party, as their last presidential nomination was trounced by
James Monroe in 1816.
V. The Second War for American Independence
1. The War of 1812 was a small war involving some 6,000 Americans
killed or wounded, and when Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812 with
500,000 men, Madison tried to invade Canada with about 5,000 men.
2. 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.
3. The Federalist Party died out forever, and new war heroes, like Andrew
Jackson and William Henry Harrison, emerged.
4. Manufacturing also prospered during the British blockade, since there
was nothing else to do.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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 world’s
longest unfortified boundary (5,527 mi.).
8. After Napoleon’s final defeat at Waterloo, Europe sank into an
exhaustion of peace, and America looked west to further expand.
VI. Nascent Nationalism
1. After the war, American nationalism really took off, and authors like
Washington Irving (Rumpelstiltskin, The Knickerbocker Tales such as
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow) and James Fenimore Cooper (The
Leatherstocking Tales which included The Last of the Mohicans) gained
international recognition.
2. The North American Review debuted in 1815, and American painters
painted landscapes of America on their canvases, while history books
were now being written by Americans for Americans.
3. Washington D.C. rose from the ashes to be better than ever, and the
navy and army strengthened themselves.
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Document Summary
Chapter 12 - the second war for independence and the. General isaac brock): after more land invasions were hurled back in 1813, the americans, led by oliver hazard perry, built a fleet of green-timbered ships manned by inexperienced men, but still managed to capture a british fleet. His victory, coupled with general william henry harrison"s defeat of the. British during the battle of the thames, helped bring more enthusiasm and increased morale for the war: in 1814, 10,000 british troops prepared for a crushing blow to the. Americans along the lake champlain route, but on september 11, Thomas macdonough challenged the british and snatched victory from the fangs of defeat and forced the british to retreat. 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.
