War Of 1812 Causes And Effects

The War of 1812 was a war fought between Britain and the United States. The war was mainly concerning respecting America. The war lasted till January of 1815 ended by the Treaty of Ghent, even though the General Andrew Jackson continued fighting with the Battle of New Orleans afterwards. Within the war, there were many causes and effects. The main cause would be British impressment and the main effect is boosted moral. Although these impacts sound simple, they really are meaningful to our country’s history. Before the war, Britain and France were already enemies. Both countries wanted to cut off the supplies going to their enemy, and this started the first cause of the war. The British and the French started seizing our ships to prevent
the United States from trading with the enemy. When the British Navy would seize our ships, the American seamen were forced to serve for Britain. This enraged the United States and was one the main reasons the War of 1812 started. Another reason for the War of 1812 would be the Embargo Act. The Embargo Act of 1807 was put in place by Thomas Jefferson, and it restricted all the trade with the warring nations in the Europe. Jefferson wanted to avoid war because we still had a weak navy, since we were still a young country. Jefferson also realized that European nations relied on the U.S. for resources and wanted them to give in to American rights. The Embargo Act ended unsuccessfully in the end. It ended up hurting American trade and Jefferson’s image. Since it did damage to our trade, it was also contributed to us entering the War of 1812. One last contributor to the War of 1812 was the War Hawks. Because of the embargoes that American was put under, many Americans were angered. The War Hawks were militant republicans that did want America to be taken advantage of. They supported war with Britain due to the impressment. The War Hawks promoted war. When the Battle of Tippecanoe took place, the Indians in the Northwest believe that British support could help them. The fact that the British aided the Indians angered the War Hawks even more. The War Hawks soon pressured President Madison to sign a declaration of war.
After the war, there were many effects that came from the war. With the Battle of New Orleans, America came out with great success as it was the greatest victory of the war. This caused America to gain respect worldwide. Other European leaders realized they shouldn’t hamper with American trade. We also gained the Great Lakes, as they were now shared with Canada. Since we have this new port for trade, our trade and economy boosted. American also had more manufacturing occurring in the Northeast to contribute to our economy now. Since we also came out as victors, we also had a new moral towards out country. Everyone had more nationalism and pride for their country. In conclusion, the War of 1812 had many causes. Some of those contributions are impressment, embargoes, and the War Hawks. Along with those causes there were many effects of war. Those impacts are mainly more nationalism, worldwide respect, boosted economy, more trade opportunities, and even the gain of the Great Lakes. These causes and effects wouldn’t have made the War of 1812 as much of an impact. Without the War of 1812, America wouldn’t have known what it took to earn respect from other countries and to have nationalism.