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 known as the War of 1812, lasted around two years and the end was extremely surprising to many Americans and even Britain. With the help …show more content…
Even though the War Hawks were happy about the declaration of the war, many Americans were not. Many New Englanders strongly opposed the war and some made that known publicly. The declaration of the War of 1812 went through the Senate by a vote of nineteen to thirteen. Only four fewer votes would have made the difference between there being a war and there not being a war. Compared to Britain navy, the U.S. Navy looked tiny. The U.S. had only sixteen warships ready; Britain’s navy had around a thousand. At this time, Britain was also at war with France, so although not all of Britain’s navy ships were fighting America, America was still outnumbered. To many, it seemed that America would need a miracle to turn out victorious. America, the unprepared army, against Britain, the largest navy in the world; any onlooker would agree that without a miracle, America would lose badly. The facts all pointed to America losing, but at sea, things were looking brighter for America. Britain’s navy ship was losing to an American ship. The U.S. Navy ship, the U.S.S Constitution, later known as “Old Ironside” was holding up very well against the Britain navy ships. The legend of “Old Ironside” claims that the British fired a cannon at the side of the ship and it just bounced off, giving it the well-recognized name of “Old Ironside”. (“Old Ironsides Earns Its