WAR OF 1812 



G140 



WAR OF 1812 



AR OF 1812, also known as the 

 SECOND WAR FOR AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE, was 

 fought between Great Britain and its former 

 colonies, the new republic of the United States. 

 It began twenty-nine years after the treaty of 

 peace was signed which ended the Revolution, 

 and was the only war in which the United States 

 has been engaged which did not begin in April. 

 After the passing of a hundred years the actions 

 of England which precipitated the war may be 

 viewed in a clearer light than was possible early 

 in American history. That country did not 

 have a friendly feeling for the United States; 

 the upstart republic had whipped proud Brit- 

 ain, and the sting of defeat and loss was yet 

 felt. Moreover, England was engaged in a life- 

 and-death struggle with the greatest military 

 despot the world had ever seen, and it felt that 

 superhuman effort was needed if the nation were 

 to survive. 



I Causes of the Conflict. The first open acts to 

 arouse the nation were not intended to be hos- 

 tile, but were considered military necessities in 

 Great Britain. That country was in 1806 in the 

 midst of its long struggle with Napoleon, em- 

 peror of the French. Britain gave notice in 

 that year that the sea was to be blockaded from 

 Brest, France, to the mouth of the Elbe, to cut 

 off French commerce. Napoleon retaliated with 

 what was known as the "Berlin Decree." 



A new English order followed which declared 

 that any neutral vessel bound for France should 

 (1) enter a British port and pay duty on its 

 cargo or (2) undergo search at sea for contra- 

 band of war. Napoleon met this repressive 

 measure with his " Milan Decree," which pro- 

 hibited all world trade with Great Britain and 

 her colonies and ordered any vessel seized which 

 should submit to British search. France was 

 not powerful enough to make its decrees effec- 

 tive, but Britain was able to police the seas in 

 such force that neutral commerce was nearly 



destroyed. The effect upon the United States 

 was disastrous. English warships practically 

 blockaded American ports, stopped outgoing 

 vessels in search of contraband and took from 

 them seamen who were alleged to be British 

 subjects, to impress them into the home coun- 

 try's navy to fight Napoleon. 



The United States Congress in 1807 passed a 

 Non-Importation Act, which shut out British 

 goods from American markets; this intensified 

 public sentiment, for it injured the states nearly 

 as much as it did England. Protests were lodged 

 against the right of search and especially against 

 the impressment of seamen, but these were not 

 heeded. Events reached a crisis when in 1807 

 a British vessel fired upon an American ship, 

 killed or wounded twenty-one of its crew and 

 seized four sailors; one of them was hung as a 

 deserter. Jefferson, then President, said that 

 "this outrage rouses the United States to a 

 pitch of excitement not equaled since the Bat- 

 tle of Lexington." To emphasize the displeas- 

 ure of the nation the President ordered all 

 British ships from United States waters, and 

 Congress demanded reparation. The three sur- 

 viving sailors were returned to their ship by 

 the English authorities, but nothing else towards 

 conciliation was offered. It was known that 

 many of the seamen taken from American ves- 

 sels from time to time were Americans, but 

 Britain's policy remained unchanged. 



Anticipating further unfriendly measures, 

 Congress passed the Embargo Act, a measure 

 which proved obnoxious and which threatened 

 secession of the New England States. The act 

 forbade United States vessels to leave home 

 ports; officially it was explained that this would 

 preserve them from capture and at the same 

 time deprive the Europeans of food supplies 

 they were obliged to secure from overseas and 

 drive them to make terms by which the states 

 would secure their rights. 



