War Of 1812 Causes Essay

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The War of 1812 (1812-1814) is arguably one of the most controversial declarations of war that the United States has ever seen. Coming down to one of the closest votes in history, the majority of Congress still decided to partake in battle. Yet what many people do not know are the actual causes of this fight taking place between the U.S. and Great Britain, and how it can all be traced back to one man’s economic plan for the future of the nation. Because of Alexander Hamilton’s outline for industrialization and international trade for the United States, Britain would take advantage of our trading routes, which undoubtedly led to the war of 1812. In fact, one could say that Alexander Hamilton’s ideas were the main cause of the cause of the war, because it was because of our ideas to trade that let Britain …show more content…

This big mush in mercantilist ideas came along with the help of tariffs, or trading taxes on imported goods. Hence, we no longer had to rely on Britain for our much needed produced goods such as clothing, furniture, or tools. This caused Britain to lose money, the money they desperately needed to fund their war effort. So, along with impressing our sailors and enforcing a tax, they also took goods from any ships they boarded. This only helped to infuriate the country further as they saw no real reason why britain had to do this. We had already gained our independence, so why did they think they could control us? These events, along with accusations of the British encouraging Native American attacks on the frontier, were the reason the vote came out for a war. Nevertheless, the war really did nothing for us, though we did earn more respect from our European neighbors. But we can still say it’s safe to assume that because of Alexander Hamilton's ideas, which still helped to make our country money, the War of 1812