The War Of 1812 Dbq

If circumstances had been altered, June 18, 1812, could well have ended up going much differently. James Madison was the president at the time and under much stress and pressure. Already under attack by France, President Madison had to make a huge decision. The decision would either result in war with Great Britain, or would result in many Americans continuously outraged with Great Britain. This big decision rested in Madison’s hands. Under a lot of pressure from the War Hawks, Madison reluctantly called for Congress to declare war against Britain. The declaration was passed on June 18, 1812. This war, later to be known as the War of 1812, lasted around two years and the cessation was extremely surprising to many Americans and even Britain.

He was ranked General of the British army, but was killed during the Battle of Thames River. Years earlier, Tecumseh’s brother made it a mission to encourage other Indian tribes to reject white culture. (History.com. “Tecumseh.”) That was the beginning of the raids on the white settlements in America. William Henry Harrison fought for the white settlers many times and in November of 1811 he led the battle that ultimately left Prophetstown, Tecumseh’s brother’s village, burned to the ground. Tecumseh was not present during this event, but when he was informed about it he was greatly enraged. After this event, Tecumseh wanted and looked for British assistance against the Americans. In 1812, raids on white settlements increased in numbers greatly. When Tecumseh died at the battle of Thames River, he was not forgotten by the Indians in an alliance with Britain. Instead, he motivated them and as a result, they took part in the attacks on many other white settlements across America. After Britain and Europe defeated Napoleon and his army, they made it into the Chesapeake Bay and were able to go to Washington, the United States Capitol. Washington was left pretty much undefended at this time and so everyone fled, taking what they could with them. Britain set fire to many buildings while in Washington, including the incomplete White

America won some while Britain won others. The battle of Lake Champlain was one of the most momentous battles that America won. America was being attacked on all sides, both by land and sea, by British troops but they still turned out victorious. After that, Andrew Jackson, an American general, found out about the plans that Britain had. (Bluhm, Raymond K. “Battle of New Orleans.”) Britain was planning to invade and attack New Orleans so in December of 1814, Jackson gathered an unusual group of troops and headed to New Orleans to defend and protect. Jackson’s unusual group of troops consisted of some regular army soldiers, militiamen from different places, a group of free blacks, and a bunch of local pirates. His men were greatly outnumbered during the Battle of New Orleans. Britain had thousands of soldiers and America did not. The only protection Jackson’s men had from Britain’s bullets were the big rocks and the earth banks that they were hunkered down behind. Britain’s leaders thought that with all the men they had, America would flee at the first sign of attack so they marched toward American troops on open ground. Instead of fleeing, the Americans held their ground and while Britain marched toward them on open ground, they fired at them with their muskets. Eventually, Britain retreated and America had won. As a result, around two thousand British troops were killed or wounded and not many