What Were the Main Causes and Consequences of the War 1812?

War of 1812

A mere thirty years after the end of the Revolutionary War -- which saw the American colonies separate from and defeat the British empire -- the fledgling United States found itself once again face-to-face with the world's greatest military power in a struggle to secure for the new nation, a mark of international status. The War of 1812 began with a "secret vote on June 4th, in which House members endorsed going to war 79-49…and a Senate vote on June 17 favoring war 19 to 13" (Langguth, A.J. 2006). How though had the U.S. arrived at this precarious position and what would the confrontation invariably mean for American interests going forward?

Causes of War

America's "second war of independence" (Langguth, A.J. 2006) had three primary causes: the impressment of American sailors, the British trade and embargo and blockade of U.S. ports, and the "incitement of Native American's to violence against Americans" (History.com. 2011), particularly in the Northwest Territories and into Canada.

The impressment of U.S. sailors by the British, "the practice of forcibly inducting men into military service" (U.S. History.com. N.D.) had occurred intermittently since the end of the revolutionary war and had not been stopped even with the signing of the Jay Treaty in 1795 (Langguth, A.J. 2006). The impressment issue however, was forced into the American consciousness on June 22, 1807 when an American frigate, the U.S.S. Chesapeake was fired upon, crippled, and boarded by sailors from the British ship, the Leopard; resulting in the seizure of four American sailors and an ignominious humbling for the young nation (Langguth, A.J. 2006). "At that moment, the nation's fury might have supported immediate war with Britain, but President Jefferson preferred to follow the lead of Washington and Adams in not challenging a European power" (Langguth, A.J. 2006). The incident continued to bubble and expand the fury of American citizens through the end of Jefferson's second term and into Madison's first.

For the new nation, trade had become a crucial aspect of economic growth and the development of an international name. In 1807, "imports, largely from Britain, had run to about 15 million while exports stood at a record 101 million" (Langguth, A.J. 2006). Great Britain though along with France had enacted embargoes which halted and stifled international trade. In addition, the British navy utilized blockades against foreign ships attempting to enter their ports, while simultaneously "violating the rights and peace of our coasts" (History.com. 2011), and the British blockade of American ports particularly in the Atlantic and New England states. An additional trade issue arose when in 1807 "The British Orders in Council tried to channel all neutral trade to continental Europe through Great Britain" (Gatewayno.com. N.D.). In response President Jefferson signed into law "the Embargo act that prohibited American ships from sailing to any foreign port," and additionally utilized congressionally approved "boycotts of British imported goods" (Langguth, A.J. 2006). The result of these actions however, was not so much of a disaster for England as it was for the U.S. economy. "Jefferson's embargo struck so hard throughout the nation that many countrymen concluded that he had declared war on them, not the British. Exports dropped by 75%, American shipbuilding declined by two-thirds, and farm prices went down fifty percent" (Langguth, A.J. 2006).