Question 1: What was the War of 1812 and what were some causes?
The war of 1812 was a war between Britain and the newly-formed United States of America that lasted 32 months. When it ended, there was absolutely no territorial change at all (despite the US’s primary goals), it resolved many issues that were left unsolved after the War of Independence, and it brought over an “Era of Good Feelings” between the US, Britain, and, when it became independent, Canada.
At the time the war started, the Napoleonic wars were the main focus in Britain, so there were not as many resources available to British-Canadian colonies. The War was started for many reasons. In the US, there were a group of congressmen from the south and the west called the “War Hawks”. These war hawks were nationalistic to the point of hating the British. The war hawks believed that Britain was insulting them by placing restrictions on trade and on law on them, and so they wanted to fight back and, essentially, “show them who was boss”. One of these restrictions was the ability to trade with France. The British saw the US as a threat to the now peaceful trade relationship it held with France. They thought that if the US were able to trade with France, France would stop trading as much with Britain and in consequence cause Britain to lose a lot of money. So, to solve this, the British told the US that they could not have any trade relationship with France at all. However, the US thought that that was an infringement on their rights of independence.
Of course, another well known cause of the war is that the Americans wanted to annex Upper Canada (Ontario) and Lower Canada (Quebec). The Americans thought that if they got control of this land, then they could do two things: One, unblock routes to get to settlements in the West Indies; and Two, expand their own settlements so they would have room for all US citizens.
The final major cause of the war is British support of First Nation raids. Tecumseh, a Shawnee war chief, and a very important figure in the war (Explained in question 4) had a brother. He was just referred to as The Prophet, and many people followed him, as he was a religious leader to them. The Prophet and Tecumseh both thought that the Americans were “Children of the Evil Spirit” and that the land that had been taken away from the First Nations should be cleansed of them. Consequently, the First Nations set up many raids against small, US settlements in former First Nations territory. The British saw the First Nations as a very useful and strategic ally, and the British already knew the consequences of having the First Nations as an opponent. So, the British crown supplied the First Nations with guns and ammunition. Of course, the Americans felt very angry at this support, and so they used this as a reason to start war.
The war of 1812 was a war between Britain and the newly-formed United States of America that lasted 32 months. When it ended, there was absolutely no territorial change at all (despite the US’s primary goals), it resolved many issues that were left unsolved after the War of Independence, and it brought over an “Era of Good Feelings” between the US, Britain, and, when it became independent, Canada.
At the time the war started, the Napoleonic wars were the main focus in Britain, so there were not as many resources available to British-Canadian colonies. The War was started for many reasons. In the US, there were a group of congressmen from the south and the west called the “War Hawks”. These war hawks were nationalistic to the point of hating the British. The war hawks believed that Britain was insulting them by placing restrictions on trade and on law on them, and so they wanted to fight back and, essentially, “show them who was boss”. One of these restrictions was the ability to trade with France. The British saw the US as a threat to the now peaceful trade relationship it held with France. They thought that if the US were able to trade with France, France would stop trading as much with Britain and in consequence cause Britain to lose a lot of money. So, to solve this, the British told the US that they could not have any trade relationship with France at all. However, the US thought that that was an infringement on their rights of independence.
Of course, another well known cause of the war is that the Americans wanted to annex Upper Canada (Ontario) and Lower Canada (Quebec). The Americans thought that if they got control of this land, then they could do two things: One, unblock routes to get to settlements in the West Indies; and Two, expand their own settlements so they would have room for all US citizens.
The final major cause of the war is British support of First Nation raids. Tecumseh, a Shawnee war chief, and a very important figure in the war (Explained in question 4) had a brother. He was just referred to as The Prophet, and many people followed him, as he was a religious leader to them. The Prophet and Tecumseh both thought that the Americans were “Children of the Evil Spirit” and that the land that had been taken away from the First Nations should be cleansed of them. Consequently, the First Nations set up many raids against small, US settlements in former First Nations territory. The British saw the First Nations as a very useful and strategic ally, and the British already knew the consequences of having the First Nations as an opponent. So, the British crown supplied the First Nations with guns and ammunition. Of course, the Americans felt very angry at this support, and so they used this as a reason to start war.