Why Is The War Of 1812 Necessary

The War of 1812 Was Not Necessary
The War of 1812, fought between the United States and Great Britain, Great Britain’s North American colonies, and their Native American Allies, was an unnecessary war that did not need to be fought. The declaration of war by the United States was meant to be a scare tactic to stop British conscription of American merchant sailor’s in to the British Royal Navy and trade prohibition. The war lasted for two and a half years and the outcome of the war was virtually the same as before the war. Most of the reasons for going to war had resolved themselves and no country borders were changed.
Great Britain and France went to war in 1803 during the Napoleonic War. The United States was neutral in this conflict and as

attempting to repel multiple U.S. invasions of upper and lower Canadian provinces. American raiders attacked the Canadian capitol of York in 1813 and burned it to the ground. American ships quickly captured a great number of British merchant ships along the Atlantic coast. The United States had a big problem though, there was political divisions among the parties in Washington. This prevented a major invasion of Canada in the east. “New England Federalists opposed the war and prohibited their states’ militias from attacking Canada” (Henretta pg

With the United States politically divided and being attacked from both the north and the south, continuing the war was thought to be fatal. At the same time, Great Britain had lost much wealth and energy from 20 years of war with the French and then following that with fighting the United States. They wanted peace. Both countries decided to enter in to negotiations in Ghent Belgium. At the beginning of negotiations the Americans wanted more territory and the British wanted a land buffer by the Indians in between the United States and British territories. Both countries were hoping the outcome of the battle of New Orleans would give them an advantage in negotiations. Both countries soon realized that a quick outcome was the best solution. The negotiators spent a month hammering out the final version of the treaty and the Treaty of Ghent, also known as the Peace of Christmas Eve, was finalized on Christmas Eve 1814. The treaty restored the status quo ante bellum, meaning all territorial conquests by the two sides would be returned to as they had been prior to the war (Hickey pg 111). The treaty made no mention of British conscription of American merchant sailor’s in to the Royal Navy. This had been resolved by the end of England’s war with France. They no longer needed the same amount of sailors in their