Although the War of 1812 was one of the most prominent wars America had fought, it remains as one of the least known wars in American history. America’s decision to declare war on Britain in 1812 was deemed idiotic by the majority of Americans, considering that the two countries were major trade partners, having had relied heavily on each other. However, the results of the War of 1812 served as huge advantages for the United States. The surfacing of nationalism for Americans led government officials to have the confidence to expand to further areas of North America. Additionally, the outcome of the war led Canadians to also develop a sense of nationalism because they rejoiced at the fact that they were not considered Americans. Conversely, Great Britain, Spain, and Mexico felt defeated as they watched their colonized lands in North America be taken away by the Americans. For the United States., the War of 1812 has been alluded to as a victorious “Second War for Independence,” and resulted in the establishment of Canadian and American identity. However, Great Britain, Spain, and Mexico viewed this war as a setback for themselves as they watched America emerge as a world power.
There are several causes supporting why the United States declared war on Great Britain. The Americans were looking to expand their territory long before the War of 1812 transpired. The United States wanted this war to happen in hopefully open up war fronts on Canadian land in an attempt to broaden American territory (“War of 1812”, 1999). Additionally, Americans sought to end the British influence over Native Americans in relation to supplying the Indians with firearms. By providing the Native Americans with harmful weapons, the British encouraged them to make attacks on American settlements (“War of 1812”, 1999). Furthermore, the British had a tremendous amount of influence over the Great Lakes, which irritated Americans (“War of 1812”, 1999). Therefore, the Americans called war on Great Britain to put an end to all of these provoking issues.
Although there are other significant causes of the War of 1812, impressment is undoubtedly the biggest reason why the United States declared war on Great Britain. Impressment can be defined as the act of forcing men into participating in the military through brutal and aggressive means (“Impressment”, 2009). It was becoming increasingly difficult for the British to recruit young men into the navy, “service in the royal navy appeared to be a life sentence, discouraging volunteers”, which therefore caused naval soldiers to impress American sailors (“Impressment”, 2009). The serious tension this issue created between the United States and Britain became so great, that president James Madison declared war on Great Britain (“Impressment”, 2009). Although impressment was a major cause of the War of 1812, this controversy was still not resolved after the war ended.
Towards the end of the war, the British were exhausted from fighting with the United States along with other countries at the same time (“The James Madison Administrations”, 2002). Feeling defeated and worn-out, the British had no choice but to create a pact with America to end fighting. The Treaty of Ghent was a peace treaty between the United States and Great Britain that concluded the War of 1812 (“The United States Declares..”, 2014). This treaty finalized border issues between the United States and Canada, and stated that any territorial/economic problems in the future between America and Great Britain would be resolved by negotiation (“The United States Declares..”, 2014). Additionally, the treaty put an end to the impressment of American ships, which caused American trade to flourish (“The United States Declares..”, 2014).
Despite the fact that the Treaty of Ghent resolved the majority of issues between America and Great Britain, two important issues were left out. In 1818, Great Britain and America held a convention to discuss the issues involving the Great Lakes and America’s fishing rights off the Canadian coast (“Convention of 1818”, 2015). At the end of the War of 1812, the United states had control over the Great Lakes (Engel, 2003). John Quincy Adams proposed a disarmament treaty to the British foreign secretary regarding the Great Lakes (Engel, 2003). Thus came the Rush-Bagot Pact, which restricted military navigation on the Great Lakes (Engel, 2003). In addition, British and American diplomats negotiated the rights of U.S. fishermen off the coast of Newfoundland in Canada (“Convention of 1818”, 2015). After the War of 1812 British naval ships began capturing and harassing American fishing vessels (“Convention of 1818”, 2015). When the convention of 1818 was signed, it restored Americans' right to fish the coasts of Newfoundland, which caused the fishing industry to boom (“Convention of 1818”, 2015).
The War of 1812 allowed Americans to have the sense of security to continue westward expansion because hostile Native Indian forces were defeated on the western frontier during the course of the war. When war was concluded with Great Britain, the United States focussed on expansion, which became known as "manifest destiny” (“The James Madison Administration”, 2002). In order to obtain the spanish colony Florida, President Adams and Luis de Onis negotiated the terms of the Adams-Onis Treaty (“Adams-Onis Treaty”, 1999). This treaty established that the United States owned Florida, and the southern strip of Alabama and Mississippi (“Adams-Onis Treaty”, 1999). Additionally, the American government had to pay $5 million in claims of the U.S. citizens against Spain (“Adams-Onis Treaty”, 1999). The Spanish still maintained its colonies in the present-day Texas, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, and California (“Adams-Onis Treaty”, 1999).
As part of America’s focus on westward expansion, government officials wanted to annex Texas (Benson, 2009). The state of Texas entered the union in December 1845 which caused conflict with Mexico. In return Mexican government officials broke off diplomatic relations with the United States as soon as they heard this news (Benson, 2009). In response to this, American diplomats were sent to discuss border and the possible idea of buying California and New Mexico territory from Mexico (Benson, 2009). Mexican government officials did not accept America’s offer, which started the Mexican-American War (Benson, 2009). The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo brought an end to the Mexican-American War. According to the terms of the treaty, Mexico surrendered New Mexico and California, which was added to the United States territory (Benson, 2009). In return, the United States paid Mexico $15 million (Benson, 2009).
Throughout the country, Americans felt a strong sense of nationalism as a result of the war. After beating a world power for the second time, the United States felt extremely powerful and invincible (Hinckley, Donald). Defeating a world renowned army gave the American military a feeling of confidence and accomplishment (Hickley, Donald). Great Britain secured America’s spot as being a dominant world power. the outcome of the War of 1812 generated iconic American symbols of our nationalism (Hinckley, Donald). For instance, Uncle Sam is a famous American symbol that was used to encourage young men to enlist in the war (Hickley, Donald). In addition, the “Star-Spangled-Banner” was a poem written during the War of 1812, but now serves as the national anthem (Hickley, Donald). This poem contains supreme ideals of patriotism, loyalty, and independence, which is why the “Star-Spangled-Banner” is an outstanding illustration of how America felt when they beat Great Britain.
Americans gained nationalism in winning battles at Lake Ch
amplain, Baltimore, and New Orleans (“The United States Declares…”, 2014). Although the battle of New Orleans took place after the signing of the Treaty of Ghent, it serves as being one of the great turning points in American history (Ferrell, 1999). The battle of New Orleans reaffirmed the Americans’ faith in world dominance of its military power and government institution (Ferrell, 1999). Additionally, war heroes such as Andrew Jackson and William Henry Harrison went on to become presidents after leading the United States to victory (Hickley, Donald). American pride in beating Great Britain for the second time lead to the Era of Good Feelings (“The United States Declares…”, 2014). This time period focused on American unity rather than corrupt politics (“The United States Declares…”, 2014).
The War of 1812 was a main component in developing Canada’s national identity (“Teaching the War…”, 2012). Since Canada was a British colony at the time of war, American troops felt the need to seize Canadian land as well as fight the British. Once the war was over, the United States wanted to add Canada to the nation, but they could not do so because of deficient leadership, America’s reliance and use of militia troops, and the growth of Canadian nationalism (“Invasion of Canada”, 2009). Canadians joined forces with the British and Native Americans when American soldiers tried to take over their land (“Teaching the War”, 2012). Canadian war heroes such as Prevost brought Canadians to victory by continuously raiding American campsites and territory (“Invasion of Canada”, 2009). Canadians achieved nationalism as a result of the war, “The War of 1812 made Canadians work together to defend their territory – and got them thinking as Canadians rather than colonists”, which helped them become an independent nation as time went on (“Invasion of Canada”, 2009). Some Canadians think they won the war solely because they are not considered Americans (“Teaching the War…”, 2012).