The War Of 1812: Identity And Global Influence

The War of 1812 Name: Institution: Course: Date: Introduction Today the united stated is one of the greatest powers in the world and this has not been handed to it, it had to fight for the power that it wielders. From the time the country was created, it has been involved in a series of ground breaking wars that have continually shaped its current status. One of the wars that defines the American power, identity and global influence is the War of 1812. This was like the second liberation war after the Revolutionary War that took place in the years 1775 and 1783. The War of 1812 like the Revolutionary War, was fought against Great Britain. At the time Great Britain was the world’s most powerful nation a position that it had maintained for quite some time through bloody wars. The United States was staking it claim f the power, going against such a powerful opponent. This is a war that would shape the character and identity of the United States and more importantly taught the country some valuable lessons about understanding the elements of common defense strategies. The War if 1812, while the average American is vaguely aware, is the second war for American independence and redefined the identity of the country relative to its neighbors.[Jeanne T. Heidler and David S. Heidler, "War Of 1812 | Causes, Facts, & Significance", Encyclopedia Britannica, last modified 2018, accessed May 11, 2018, /event/War-of-1812.] [Donald Hickey, "An American Perspective | War Of 1812 | PBS", An American Perspective | War Of 1812 | PBS, last modified 2018, accessed May 11, 2018, /wned/war-of-1812/essays/american-perspective/.] [Roger Peace, "The War Of 1812", Peace History, last modified 2012, accessed May 11, 2018, http://peacehistory-usfp.org/the-war-of-1812/.] [Marion Smith, "War Of 1812 Showed Importance Of Maintaining Military Strength", The Daily Signal, last modified 2012, accessed May 11, 2018, /2012/06/18/war-of-1812-showed-importance-of-maintaining-military-strength/.] The War of 1812 Before the war, America had been avoiding to engage in wars and much of the efforts went towards the establishment of a strong economy. At the same time the, the president then, Mr. James Madison was deferential about it. He did not measure up to such leaders as Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt or Woodrow Wilson. At the same time, no one such as George Washington, was there to put on a stamp on the war and boost the morale towards the same efforts. Were it not for the republicans the war efforts would have been derailed or even might never have happened. Ideally, it was the republicans in congress that pushed for the war with the world strongest nation with a formidable naval front. The Republicans saw war as a way of purging the united states of the insatiable need for commerce and growth. However more importantly is the fact that, they considered sovereignty and honor as more important than the cost the country would incur during the war. It is important to note that there were still some that wanted the government to cut back on the military spending and concentrate on the economic efforts. In the end the congress would approve the increase in tax including one of the most dreaded, internal tax. With the unveiling of the declaration of war, came the demise of the Federalist Party which for the longest time had been considered unpatriotic as they largely were against the war. They were also force behind the enforcement of Anglophobia which begun during the Revolutionary war. The war would bring an end to the infighting within the government and foster togetherness against a common enemy, the Great Britain. It is also important to point out, despite the infighting, the stand by President Madison, there was also the fact that, the war reasons were obscure for many, however a close evaluation points to very clear elements that led to the war.[Carl Benn. 1998. The Iroqouis in the war of 1812. Toronto [u.a.]: Univ. of Toronto Press.Donald R. Hickey, 2012. The War of 1812: a Forgotten Conflict. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.] [Brian Arthur, 2011. How Britain won the War of 1812: the Royal Navy's blockades of the United States, 1812-1815. Woodbridge: Boydell Press.] The Main Reasons For The War Initially as indicated above, the United States was not get into the war with Great Britain. At the time, Britain and France were in constant squabbles and the War of 1812 can be said to have stated with the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars since the year 1792 and would come to end in the year 1815. During this period, the United States which was concentrating on growing its economy, was having its interests injured, with reference to trade. America had been benefiting immensely from the shipping trade that it was conducting with France and Spain. To curtail the trade between the nations, the Great Britain enforced the Rule of 1756, which prohibited any trade in the Caribbean Sea. The relations would improve after the ratification of the Jay Treaty which allowed for trade along the Mississippi River and the Northwest Territory. However after, Jefferson became president, the relationship between America and the Great Britain deteriorated and again to the enforcement of the Rule 1756. From here on the relationship between the Americans towards the British and the French took a turn. Napoleon declared that all neutral ships that visited the British ports were considered enemy ships and would be captured. The British on the other hand introduced the Order in Council, which required all the neutral ships to obtain licenses at the English ports for them to be allowed to trade with the French. As such, America was left in the middle, where visiting the British ports led to capture by the French and complying with napoleon led to capture by the Royal Navy.[Ruth Mather, "The Impact Of The Napoleonic Wars In Britain", The British Library, last modified 2014, accessed May 11, 2018, /romantics-and-victorians/articles/the-impact-of-the-napoleonic-wars-in-britain.] [Jeanne T. Heidler and David S. Heidler, "War Of 1812 | Causes, Facts, & Significance", Encyclopedia Britannica, last modified 2018, accessed May 11, 2018, /event/War-of-1812.] [Jeanne T. Heidler and David S. Heidler, "War Of 1812 | Causes, Facts, & Significance", Encyclopedia Britannica, last modified 2018, accessed May 11, 2018, /event/War-of-1812.] [Amanda Foreman, "The British View The War Of 1812 Quite Differently Than Americans Do", Smithsonian, last modified 2014, accessed May 11, 2018, /history/british-view-war-1812-quite-differently-americans-do-180951852/.] [Kassandra Radomski, 2014. Mr. Madison's war: causes and effects of the War of 1812.] [Jeremy Black, 2009. The War of 1812 in the age of Napoleon. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=3571281.] The other factor that was associate with the start of the war was that, there were efforts to make sure that America would expand its territory. This was largely, the theme in Canada, where America was eyeing the unrest with the Indians at the time. Part of the Federalists and the New Englanders in the congress had already seen the plans that the republicans had and this created even more infighting within the government. With one faction calling for war which they felt would be the way the country would assert it authority in the region and even globally.[David Stephen Heidler and T. Heidler Jeanne, 2002. The War of 1812. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=192839.] [Jeanne T. Heidler and David S. Heidler, "War Of 1812 | Causes, Facts, & Significance", Encyclopedia Britannica, last modified 2018, accessed May 11, 2018, /event/War-of-1812.] The war and How it Shaped America When the war finally broke out, it brought on mixed results especially given the fact that, the American forces were ill prepared and were quire optimistic about the invasion success. They faced a well-managed defense, where they met Sir Isaac Brock a British soldier and the administrator who was in charge of the North of Canada, which is currently Ontario. However the United States suffered a humiliating defeat after the Tecumseh and Brock forces came after those who had been led by Michigan William Hull and chased them across the Canadian border. In the north, this looked better at the battle of Erie Lake, where America asserted firm control. The United States had also been able to score some important success in the early months of the war. At the time Britain was keen on Napoleon and would later defeat him and turn it full attention to America. They raided the Chesapeake Bay, captured Washington and burned several of the government building including the White House and Capitol. On the 13th of September of 1814, British Royal Navy bombarded Baltimore’ Fort McHenry for more than 25 hours, however the fort did not fall. At the end the soldiers hoisted an enormous American flag in victory. Eventually they turned their efforts towards New Orleans however peace talks had already began. The United States gave up the demands to end impress while Britain on the other hand promised that it would leave Canadian borders unchanged and would also not establish an Indian state in the north. This led to the signing of the Treaty of Ghent on 24th December of 1814, which was then ratified on 8th January of 1815. Unware of the peace treaty, British soldiers mounted an attack on New Orleans but were met with a humiliating defeat under the rule off Andrew Jackson.[American Battlefield Trust, "Outcomes Of The War Of 1812", American Battlefield Trust, last modified 2018, accessed May 11, 2018, /learn/articles/outcomes-war-1812.] [Ira Katznelson and Shefter Martin, 2002. Shaped by war and trade: international influences on American political development. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.] [Leila Hart, "Explain Major Reasons For The War Of 1812 And The War's Significance On The Development Of A National Identity.", Prezi.Com, last modified 2012, accessed May 11, 2018, https://prezi.com/umzlxrpjysjg/explain-major-reasons-for-the-war-of-1812-and-the-wars-significance-on-the-development-of-a-national-identity/.] [War 1812, "War Of 1812 - Facts & Summary - HISTORY.Com", HISTORY.Com, last modified 2018, accessed May 11, 2018, /topics/war-of-1812.] [War 1812, "War Of 1812 - Facts & Summary - HISTORY.Com", HISTORY.Com, last modified 2018, accessed May 11, 2018, /topics/war-of-1812.] [American Battlefield Trust, "New Orleans", American Battlefield Trust, last modified 2018, accessed May 11, 2018, /learn/war-1812/battles/new-orleans.] [War 1812, "War Of 1812 - Facts & Summary - HISTORY.Com", HISTORY.Com, last modified 2018, accessed May 11, 2018, /topics/war-of-1812.] [Joe Whitehorn, "The Importance Of The War Of 1812 | AMERICAN HISTORY RULES!", Americanhistoryrules.Com, last modified 2018, accessed May 11, 2018, http://americanhistoryrules.com/?page_id=1439.] While the United States had not achieved all of the objectives that it had set out to achieve before the start of the war, such as putting a stop to British impress, this was a win that boosted the morale of the Americans a great deal. This is not considering the other wars that the United States had won, such as the Creek war and retaking Detroit among others. The United States had gone against the British forces and won. This was a victory that stamped the power of the country even in the face of danger. Ideally, the British forces were the strongest in the world from sheer might to the level of strategy. For the United States to go against such a force and manage to bring the war to a stalemate and in this one incidence win the war, this was a bold move. One that should set the United States on a new level in the world politics and military might. France had gone against the British and lost miserably, the US was a stronger opponent for the British as was evidence of the results from the war.[Robert V. Remini, 2001. The Battle of New Orleans. New York, N.Y.: Penguin Books. /search?q=EDC0F75B-65F4-46DF-AE4D-076E2A846137.] [Ira Katznelson and Shefter Martin, 2002. Shaped by war and trade: international influences on American political development. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.] [Leila Hart, "Explain Major Reasons For The War Of 1812 And The War's Significance On The Development Of A National Identity.", Prezi.Com, last modified 2012, accessed May 11, 2018, https://prezi.com/umzlxrpjysjg/explain-major-reasons-for-the-war-of-1812-and-the-wars-significance-on-the-development-of-a-national-identity/.] [Jeanne T. Heidler and David S. Heidler, "War Of 1812 | Causes, Facts, & Significance", Encyclopedia Britannica, last modified 2018, accessed May 11, 2018, /event/War-of-1812.] [Amanda Foreman, "The British View The War Of 1812 Quite Differently Than Americans Do", Smithsonian, last modified 2014, accessed May 11, 2018, /history/british-view-war-1812-quite-differently-americans-do-180951852/.] ‘Contention in the United States had hobbled the war effort, and domestic disaffection had menaced the Union, but after the war a surge of pa...