The War of 1812

How it Started..• The British had

been fighting a war with France since 1793. The U.S. decided to remain neutral…..but the British decided to kidnap (impressment) U.S. soldiers anyway.

• This made the Americans very mad

• War Hawks such as Henry Clay --> And

John C. Calhoun made it worse -->

• The U.S also wanted to gain more land that still belonged to the British (Canada for example)

• The British were also helping Native American Tribes fight the Americans by giving them weapons

• So on June 18th, 1812, The United States Declared war on Great Britain.

The War took place on three fronts

The Atlantic Ocean The Great Lakes and Canadian Frontier

Southern States

War of 1812

A major battle on the Atlantic Coast was the Battle of

Baltimore• August 24th 1814• The British Marched on Washington D.C and

burned the city to the ground• They then moved on toward Baltimore

A major battle in the Great Lakes was the Battle of Lake Erie

• September 10th, 1813• The United States was able to win a Naval

victory over the British

A major battle in the southern states was the battle of New Orleans

• January 8th, 1815• The United States defeats the British and ends the

war. A young general by the name of Andrew Jackson becomes very popular due to this victory

Treaty of Ghent• The Treaty of Ghent is signed in

Belgium, ending the war on December 24th, 1814 (before the battle of New Orleans was fought)

Think-pair-share

• Who fought during the War of 1812? • Where did Key Battles take place? • Why were they fighting?

Activity: Newspaper• Write the rough drafts for five articles• Once you finish one article, bring it to me to

check it.• Continue to your next article• Make a simple sketch for the layout of your

newspaper