For America. the War of 1812 was justified. Clearly there were sufficient grounds for America to declare war with Great Britain. Time after clip the British violated American rights and freedoms. Acts such as impressments. the onslaught on the USS Chesapeake. the misdemeanor of American impersonal rights and Waterss. encirclements on U. S. ports. and the ignoring of judicial admissions of Jay’s Treaty and their Treaty of Paris all imposed menaces on America. To forestall farther affray. America tried to work out the jobs peacefully by utilizing economic warfare. After the failure of economic warfare. and the continuance of British errors. there was no other pick but war.
Tension had been constructing for a small less than 30 old ages due to Great Britain’s neglect of certain judicial admissions of the Jay and Paris pacts. This neglect resulted in the failure of these pacts. Problems with the Treaty of Paris included boundary line differences. and vagueness. The boundaries were ne’er clearly stated which led to future convulsion. Britain. who was ordered to evacuate stations on the northwest frontier. ne’er did. Due to the jobs in the Treaty of Paris. John Jay was sent to Europe in 1794 to organize a new pact. This pact subsequently became known as Jay’s Treaty. This pact called for the emptying of British stations on the northwesterly frontier of the U. S. . and to specify boundaries between the U. S. and Canada. In add-on it was to find America’s compensation from Britain for the illegal ictus of ships. and for the payment by Americans of prewar debts owed to British merchandisers. The job with Jay’s Treaty was that it merely provided America’s compensation for past ictuss. and was ne’er required to halt prehending ships and crewmans in the hereafter. Since the pact ne’er put a halt to it. impressments and ship prehending continued.
Ten old ages after the sign language of the Jay Treaty many events occurred that could be considered direct causes of the War of 1812. In 1803 when the Napoleonic Wars erupted. tensenesss between the United States and Great Britain began to lift. When the war broke out encirclements were proclaimed on 100s of stat mis of coastline in both Great Britain and France. American merchandisers sought to go rich through impersonal trade. By merchandising with both Great Britain and France the United States would go the leader in foreign trade. The British did non waver to prehend merchant ships headed for barricaded ports in order to maintain France from acquiring supplies from the U. S and vise versa. Although both the Gallic and British were guilty of prehending American merchandiser ships. Britain had a greater mistake. To continue Britain’s naval strength British Royal Navy Officers were practising impressments in which 1000s of American mariners were forced into the British Royal Navy. The British besides impressed established Americans of British beginning claiming that they were either apostates or British topics. Impresss non merely involved the right to seek ships for apostates but the right of any officer of the Royal Navy to do a determination on the topographic point. ( Taylor. 71 )
In 1807 dealingss between the United States and Great Britain reached the breakage point. On June 1. 1807 the British frigate “Leopard” fired upon the “USS Chesapeake” in American territorial Waterss. The “Leopard” was on a mission to seek for apostates. . The “Leopard” waited until the “Chesapeake” left Norfolk edge for the Mediterranean and so made its move. The British captain demanded that the deserter’s resignation but the captain of the “Chesapeake” refused. Then the “Leopard” fired three shootings on the American vas. killing three Americans and injuring 18. A British hunt party boarded the ship and removed four sailors. These four work forces were subsequently executed. The onslaught on the “Chesapeake” outraged the Americans. Never before had the British so blatantly violated United States sovereignty. The whole state was angered by this act and many people began to organize protests. ( Taylor. 72 )
The U. S. at foremost decided to react with economic restraint instead than war. In 1807. Congress passed the Embargo Act. which prohibited virtually all American ships from seting to sea. Many American industrialists saw the Embargo Act as a manner to maintain the United States from deriving foreign trade domination and it was subsequently repealed. It was replaced in 1809 by the Non-Intercourse Act. which allowed American ships to sail but prohibit all trade with France and Great Britain. President Jefferson had intended for these two Acts of the Apostless to maintain Americans safe and economically penalize the British. The lone job was that Jefferson was non having any support from his state. ( Perkins. 32-37 )
By 1810 things had non gotten any better. Macon’s Bill No. 2 reopened American trade with all states on the footing that if either France or Great Britain repealed their anti-neutral steps the United States would enforce an trade stoppage on the other. In 810 President James Madison accepted Gallic statements of raising their anti-neutral edicts. Madison accepted even though Napoleon was still prehending American vass in Gallic ports. ( Perkins. 38-41 )
Subsequently in 1810 President Madison reimposed the prohibition on British trade. The United States demanded that the British lift their antineutron edict as a status to restart American and British trade. Britain refused to follow. In November of 1811 President Madison summoned Congress into session to fix for war with Great Britain. On June 1. 1812 Madison asked Congress for a declaration of war. on four major evidences: impressments of American mariners. misdemeanor of American impersonal rights and territorial Waterss. encirclement of United States ports. and British refusal to revoke the Orders in Council of 1807. which barred all impersonal trade with France and her settlements. Despite expostulations by some provinces. Congress approved Madison’s recommendation. War was declared on June 18. 1812. ( Perkins. 41-45 )
In decision the War of 1812 was justified because of the misdemeanor of American impersonal rights by the British. The judicial admissions set Forth by Jay’s Treaty and the Treaty of Paris were being ignored. In add-on Britain was go againsting America’s impersonal Waterss. enforcing encirclements on U. S. ports. and utilizing Acts of the Apostless of impressments on American crewmans. Although the U. S. tried to remain impersonal and friendly with other foreign states. Britain provoked a battle. which led to war.
