New England, which was a Federalist stronghold, in particular felt the brunt of the embargos and would be financially injured as a result of the war. In 1809, Congress passed the Nonintercourse Act and Macon's Bill No. 2, which offered limited concessions for whichever nation opted to lift the trade restrictions on neutral ships.
Tensions between Britain and France escalated in the years preceding the war, drawing the United States deeper into the conflict and more prepared to take a stand against one side or the other. Napoleon closed off Continental ports to British merchant ships and Britain retaliated in turn. At first the United States took advantage of the tense situation in Europe by manning the trade routes between the Continent and the West Indies.
However, Britain passed a set of trading regulations that prevented neutral ships from trading with enemies. Great Britain initially requested that American ships obtain a special license but later began seizing American ships. When Great Britain started to maintain presence in American waters and especially when the Crown began impressing American soldiers to fight against Napoleon, the War Hawks' cry resounded through Washington.
Britain had been prepared to ease its trade restrictions on the United States but by the time tensions escalated between the United States and Great Britain, James Madison was in the White House and the Republicans had caused a significant stir in Congress. In light of the impressments of American soldiers and perceived aggression on the part of the British, Congress declared...
Neither American nor Canadian troops were sufficient enough in numbers. American troops relied on local militias, who were relatively unorganized. The main victory won by the Americans was at the Battle of New Orleans, which was fought after the Treaty of Ghent was signed in 1814, signaling an end to the war. The success at New Orleans spurred on the Republicans even though the Treaty of Ghent did not specify an official war victor and did not actually resolve any of the underlying issues that prompted the war including rules for neutral ships. Two of the most significant outcomes of the War of 1812 for the United States include the following. First, the Federalists were virtually squashed as a party even though Madison adopted some of their big-government policies. Second, the end of the war marked a new era of American nationalism, and kick-started the fervent patriotism that continues to characterize the American mentality.
References
Causes of the War." InfoPlease. Retrieved Oct 21, 2006 at http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0861857.html
James Madison and the War of 1812." SparkNotes. Retrieved Oct 21, 2006 at http://www.sparknotes.com/testprep/books/sat2/history/chapter7section4.rhtml
Re-Living History: The War of 1812." ThinkQuest. Retrieved Oct 21, 2006 at http://library.thinkquest.org/22916/excauses.html
The War of 1812." Wikipedia. Retrieved Oct, 21, 2006 at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_1812
