War of 1812

Running head: WAR OF 1812
War of 1812
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note
Introduction
The war of 1812, also known as the Battle of New Orleans was a state of conflict that
arose between the United States of America and the Monarchial state of United Kingdom and
the countries who supported them. The battle started from June 1812 and continued until
February 1815 (Skeen and Edward). Many historians project this war as the portrayal of the
Napoleonic Wars. When the war started, United Kingdom barred all the sea routes to disrupt
the trade between other countries. The United States of America appealed against the sea
route the blockade of trade disruption and was declared illegal under the international law of
trade. The United Kingdom was enraged when 11 of the soldiers were reported to be dead.
The support Britain provided the Native Americans fuelled the anger of the American
towards them.
DISCUSSION
The strategy of expansionism employed by the United States of America was
disrupted by the aid Britain provided to the natives to cause harm to the US. This created a
state of discontentment among them and fuelled the rise of war. There are certain theorists

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who believe the desire of the United States to expand the territory led to them to go for war.
It was under the regime of the American President; James Madison that declaration of war
was signed by the United States (Skeen and Edward).
CHESAPEAKE INCIDENT
The main causes for the beginning of the war of 1812 are the economic restraints that
Britain and France collectively imposed on the United States. The incident of Chesapeake in
the year 1807 was another major force that led to a state of unrest among the countries. The
naval combat that took place between the British and American naval forces with each of
them trying to establish the supremacy over the other. The British naval ship, Leopard and
the crew on board attacked the American naval ship, Chesapeake. The American ship was not
prepared for the war and after a short series of retaliation the captain of the ship, James
Barron surrendered. The crewmembers were subjected to torture and one of them was
eventually hanged. The occurrence of this event led to a sense of dissatisfaction amongst the
Americans and they resorted to take revenge from Britain (Trautsch and Jasper). President
Jefferson failed at the political state and this led to economic unrest as well.
BRITISH SUPPORT OF NATIVE AMERICANS
The support the British offered to the Native American for conducting raids on
Americans who stayed in different parts of the country. The settled Americans were called
evil spirits. The Native Americans wanted to create a state for themselves, which will be free
from the threats of expansion of the Americans (Pratt and Stephanie). This was the main
reason the British supported the Native Americans. The British cleverly masked their own
intentions and used the sentiments of the Native American people to serve their own purpose.
EXPANSIONISM STRATEGY BY AMERICA

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The American strategy to expand was opposed by most of the other states. The
Americans established territorial control over the Canadian territory (Green and Michael).
Many believe the capture of Canada as the beginning of the war. There is also an opinion,
which advocates that Americans captured Canada in order to bargain with the British to ease
the naval trade restrictions they had imposed on them (Trautsch and Jasper). The economic
policies employed by the British were based on the concept of benefitting the imperial
structure were inflicting harm on the American economy. The main reason for the retreat of
the American army on the Canadian territory was that they were unable to obtain any local
help.
POLITICAL CONFLICT IN UNITED STATES
The conflict within the American territory was a major reason, which resulted in the
weakening of the status and power of the United States. One political party supported the
southern part and the supported the northern part. One party was in support of having close
association with the British while the other did not want to mend the distances and wanted the
US to declare war on them (Trautsch and Jasper).
FORCES IN THE WAR
The United States used their naval strength to defend themselves whereas the British
army led the war with the best of the armed and trained forces it had. The Americans used the
strategy to raid the commercial ships and capture the crew. The United States had a large
army with respect to the size when it was compared to the British army. The British Royal
Navy led the war and they used the forces from Canada, which was dedicated in defending
their own country (Turner and Wesley). The Indian forces also joined the British army to
increase their strength in the war. While the British wanted to the Indian forces to increase
their number strength and make up for their inferiority to the army of the United States. The