The
Revolutionary War began before there was a United States of America, so the
first war declared by the USA began 200 years ago this month. On June 18, 1812,
the day after its approval by the U.S. Congress, a declaration of war against
the British Empire was signed by President Madison. That was the beginning of
the War of 1812, America’s first war.
The subtitle of
historian David R. Hickey’s definitive book The
War of 1812 (1989) is “A Forgotten Conflict.” It is perhaps the least
understood of all American wars. It was also probably the most controversial:
some of the northeastern states even considered seceding from the Union because
of it.
The primary
slogan of the “War Hawks,” as the most vocal pro-war advocates were called, was
“Free Trade & Sailors’ Rights.” British ships in the years prior to the war
often interfered with U.S. merchant ships, hindering their “free trade” with
European countries (mainly France).
A bigger problem
was “impressment,” the British practice of capturing seamen on American ships
and forcing them into service on British vessels. Hickey points out that
perhaps as many as 6,000 American citizens suffered impressment by the British
between 1803 and 1812 (p. 11).
There were other
matters that lurked in the minds of at least some War Hawks, propelling them
toward war. One was the desire to conquer Canada and, thus, to eradicate
British land-holding on the North American continent. Similarly, there were
others who wanted to fight in order to end British influence over and
cooperation with Native Americans, with whom the young nation was constantly
fighting.
And so the U. S.
declared war on the British Empire. That led to the first, and only, invasion
of the U.S. by a foreign country (unless you count the invasion of the Union by
the Confederate States in 1863). The primary British invasions were into
Maryland and Washington, D.C., in August 1814. That was a terrible time for the
nation, for the British burned the Capitol, the President’s home (officially
known only since 1901 as the White House), and other government buildings.
The following
month, after a night of “the rockets’
red glare, the bombs bursting in air” in a decisive battle fought at
Fort McHenry and in the harbor southeast of Baltimore, Francis Scott Key penned
the words to “The Star Spangled Banner.”
Although a peace
treaty to end the war was signed on Christmas Eve, 1814, the final and one of
the bloodiest battles of the war was fought the following month. That was the
Battle of New Orleans, led by General Andrew (“Old Hickory”) Jackson, a war
hero who was later (in 1828) elected President. Finally, the War of 1812 was
officially declared over in February 1815.
Perhaps the
greatest losers in the War of 1812 were the Native Americans. In 1813-14,
General Jackson led major battles against the Creek Indians in the southeast
states. Later, President Jackson called for an Indian Removal Act in a 1829
speech. That Act was signed into law the following year, and it led to the
removal of Indian tribes to federal territory west of the Mississippi River.
The Native Americans’ sad trek west is known as “the trail of tears.”
While we rejoice
that the War of 1812 preserved this nation and greatly increased its status
among the nations of the world, we also painfully recognize how unjust was the
treatment of the Native Americans after that war. Learning from mistakes of the
past, let’s resolve to work now toward the removal, in ourselves and in
society, of all harmful attitudes and actions toward people of other ethnic,
racial, national, or religious groups.
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