Origins of the War of 1812

This article is about the Anglo-American War of 1812 to 1815. For Napoleon's invasion of Russia, see French invasion of Russia.

Origins of the War of 1812

The origins of the War of 1812 (1812–1815), between the United States and the British Empire and its First Nation allies, have been long debated. The War of 1812 was caused by multiple factors and ultimately led to the US declaration of war on Britain:[1]

  • Trade restrictions introduced by Britain to impede American trade with France with which Britain was at war (the US contested the restrictions as illegal under international law).[2]
  • The impressment (forced recruitment) of seamen on US vessels into the Royal Navy (the British claimed they were British deserters).
  • British military support for American Indians who were offering armed resistance to the expansion of the American frontier to the Northwest Territory.
  • A possible desire by the US to annex some or all of Canada.[3]
  • US motivation and desire to uphold national honor in the face of what they considered to be British insults, such as the Chesapeake affair.[4]

American expansion into the Northwest Territory (now Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and northeast Minnesota) was impeded by Indian raids. Some historians maintain that an American goal in the war was to annex some or all of Canada, a view many Canadians still share. However, many argue that inducing the fear of such a seizure was merely an American tactic, which was designed to obtain a bargaining chip.[5]

Some members of the British Parliament[6] and dissident American politicians such as John Randolph of Roanoke[7] claimed that American expansionism, rather than maritime disputes, was the primary motivation for the American declaration of war. That view has been retained by some historians.[8]

Although the British made some concessions before the war on neutral trade, they insisted on the right to reclaim their deserting sailors. The British also had long had a goal to create a large "neutral" Indian state that would cover much of Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. They made the demand as late as 1814 at the Ghent Peace Conference but had lost battles that would have validated those claims.[9][10]

  1. ^ Jasper M. Trautsch, "The Causes of the War of 1812: 200 Years of Debate," Journal of Military History (Jan 2013) 77#1 pp. 273-293.
  2. ^ Caffery, pp. 56–58
  3. ^ Caffery, pp. 101–104
  4. ^ Norman K. Risjord, "1812: Conservatives, War Hawks, and the Nation's Honor." William And Mary Quarterly 1961 18(2): 196–210. in JSTOR
  5. ^ Bowler, pp. 11–32
  6. ^ George Canning, Address respecting the war with America, Hansard (House of Commons), 18 February 1813
  7. ^ Fregosi, Paul (1989). Dreams of Empire. Hutchinson. p. 328. ISBN 0-09-173926-8.
  8. ^ J. C. A. Stagg (1983), Mr Madison's War, p. 4
  9. ^ Dwight L. Smith, "A North American Neutral Indian Zone: Persistence of a British Idea" Northwest Ohio Quarterly 1989 61(2–4): 46–63
  10. ^ Francis M. Carroll, A Good and Wise Measure: The Search for the Canadian-American Boundary, 1783–1842, 2001, p. 23