War Of 1812 Dbq Essay

Prior to the War of 1812, the United States practiced a strong policy of internationalism, in which they pursued alliances and partnerships with nations around the world. This was done in the aftermath of the American Revolutionary War in order to boost their international standing and begin the process of repairing the economy of the newly established United States after the war. Moreover, the United States would practice a policy of neutrality which they relied on in order to protect their ships when conducting trade. The rules of neutrality state that a nation that is uninvolved in conflict must be allowed safe passage. However, this was allowed on the condition that the neutral nation was conducting commerce and trade with both sides of

However, the laws of neutrality were not always successful in protecting the trading activities of the United States during times of European war. For example, during the Seven Years War between the United Kingdom and France, it was common for US ships to be raided and crews impressed into service for either side of the conflict. Impressment was a commonly used tactic by both France and the United Kingdom in order to keep their personnel numbers up during the devastating fighting of the Seven Years War (Pittman, 2023, p. 4-7). These incidents of impressment were more common towards United States ships from the side of Great Britain. This constant violation of the United States neutrality would become the basis for the outbreak of the War of 1812. The major incident that set the United States and Great Britain on the path to war was the Polly Incident of 1800. The ship was subject to impressment by the United Kingdom despite being in compliance with all aspects of neutrality laws. All goods and men aboard the ship were taken by the United Kingdom. However, all goods were returned, and fines were paid, to the United States for violating the ship’s

Neither side was able to make significant ground against the other and to avoid great casualties and war debts the two sides agreed to end the war and return to pre-war borders (Pittman, 2023, p. 10). The War of 1812 was the catalyst for the United States to move forward into the Era of Good Feeling. The nation began to expand its power on the global stage and trade to Europe reopened, following the signing of the Treaty of Ghent. Both President Jefferson and Madison sought to expand the global trade interest of the United States, and despite the failure that was the War of 1812 they would ultimately succeed in this goal. By displaying the United States ability to protect their goals and interests, it would expand their international trading abilities (Pittman, 2023, p. 10). Ultimately, the War of 1812 pushed the United States out of the reach of Great Britain. Despite their success in the Revolutionary War, the United Kingdom often still acted in ways to harm the United States and treat it as lesser than themselves. However, once the United States showed it was capable of defending its goals and interests, the relationship between the two nations would begin to trend towards collaboration (Pittman, 2023, p.