Was The War Of 1812 Pointless Essay
Was The War Of 1812 Pointless? Essay, Research Paper
The War of 1812 proved to be the most serious challenge to confront the United States since the state? s birth. This? Second war of Independence? possibly changed American history as we know it though. This essay will discourse the causes for this war measuring whether there really were valid grounds for the United States and Britain traveling to war or whether the whole 1812 war was merely born out of? pointless aggression?
The war of 1812 was a really unneeded war. It broke out merely as one of its head causes ( The Orders in Council ) was removed and its greatest conflict ( New Orleans ) was fought merely after peace was signed. The war was unneeded from a British point of position but for the Americans it was ineluctable. The Royal Navy had kidnapped 3,800 American crewmans and pressed them into service. The Orders In Council had deprived the United States of a profitable trade with France and can be seen as holding ruthlessly subordinated American economic involvements to the political involvements of the British Empire. American husbandmans besides blamed the orders, possibly below the belt, for a autumn in agricultural monetary values that produced a depression in the West in the old ages instantly before the war. On the frontier it was universally believed that Indian restlessness war stirred up by British agents although truly American subjugation has to be seen as a large cause of this excessively.
America? s war with Britain seemed inevitable although the Americans did everything they decently could to avoid it, although at that place seemed to be eternal aggravation by Britain, for illustration in 1807 when a British frigate, the leopard opened fire on an American frigate the Chesapeake. The pick before America, Jefferson the former president and his replacement Madison agreed was war or entry? to contend or to undo one of the chief accomplishments of the revolution and accept entire licking in international personal businesss to England. As John Quincy Adams put it? It was non a affair of dollars and cents, no option was left but war or the forsaking of our right as an independent state? The offenses committed against the United States were the major aggravation? s for the war, grounds other so exoneration can be regarded as rationalization. There was an obvious choler for what British had done to America and many Americans simply wanted retaliation but the war was fought for much more so that.
The extremist expansionism and the belief that Canada would necessarily be annexed to the United States besides has to be a major cause for America traveling to war. Another primary cause of the war was the rise of Tecumseh the Indian head who was believed to be backed by the British. This caused an urgency for the Americans to throw out the British from Canada. The War Hawks, the Congress at the clip of Madison? s presidential term, were forcing for the invasion of Canada and an onslaught upon the? Savages? who had been torturing places on the frontier. Madison ne’er truly expected or desired the appropriation of Canada and neither did his co-worker Monroe ( Secretary of State )
A via media with Britain would hold been really hard due to the increasing provincialism in America. It might hold been true as George Washington had said in his farewell reference that East, West, North and South had more in common so points of difference but since the long Napoleonic wars which had been fought and there reverberations for America the differences seemed to mount quickly. New England had virtually everything in common with British Maritime involvements but the farther South and West you travelled the more sentiment leaders you found who wanted a war with Britain
as the route to enlargement. It was these Southern and Western provinces that formed portion of Madison? s constituency and had elected him in 1808 and when he was elected once more in 1812, hence Madison was really dependent on these provinces? much more so than the Northern New England provinces.
The sentiments of these Southern and Western provinces reflected the thoughts of Henry Clay, the leader of the War hawks, who himself was from Kentucky a Western province. The war hawks desire for land, Canadian or Indian, fright of a British backed Indian confederacy, concern over the worsening monetary values of agribusiness merchandises and the limitations of markets abroad have all believed to hold been basic cause of the war. When asked about his logical thinking for the push for war, Henry Clay would reply? What are we to derive by peace? ? His rationalizations had to make with a outlook that they would lose their state? s character, commercialism and states best treasure if they didn? T go to war. He believed that what they had to derive was reduced gross to about ten million dollars. Clay could besides non disregard the impressment of American crewmans by British fleets, this was another driving force. Henry Clay assumed a prima function in the war against Britain. He so affected President Madison? s determination about the war and more or less pushed Madison from being apathetic to declaring war. Clay saw the British as an intrusive and unwanted force that was treading on the pess and go againsting the rights of his countrymen.
The Treaty Of Ghent which was signed in December 1814 ended a war which by now both sides were mutely acknowledging should ne’er hold started. The pact though proved to be a great act of statecraft. After the sign language Adams remarked to one of the English delegates? I hope this will be the last pact of peace between Great Britain and the United States? And it was. The really fact that both sides withdrew to their prewar places, that neither could depict the war as a success or a licking, and that the footings could non be presented, so or subsequently, as a victory or a robbery? all worked for permanence and helped to wipe out from the national memory of both states a battle which had been acrimonious plenty at the clip. The absence of any recrimination excessively meant that the pact could function as a footing on which to construct a friendly, common sense relationship between two English speech production peoples.
The statement that the war of 1812 was born strictly out of a? Pointless aggression? is true? to an extent. In the physique up to the1812 war Britain seemed to arouse the United States through every agency possible working at that place ain place. The United States did seek to avoid a war with Britain but they saw how a war could carry through at that place ain aspirations and so used the war to prosecute at that place ain aims which were increasing the size of the United States whilst reenforcing the economic system through trade. The fact was though that neither side managed to accomplish there pre-war aspirations and when the Treaty of Ghent was signed all existent issues of the war were dropped and both sides agreed to merely halt combat. The war of 1812 had such a great consequence on the United States that it is sometimes referred to as The Second War Of Independence. This did non mention to Great Britain trying to derive control of the United States, alternatively, it marked the terminal of the United States dependance on Europe. Great Britain to the full accepted American independency. 1815 was marked as a turning point. Before, American foreign dealingss were conditioned by the switching power construction and the about uninterrupted wars in Europe. After the twelvemonth 1815, the United States could take war or peace harmonizing to its involvements.
