War of 1812 Essay Example

War of 1812 Essay Susan Henderson IB HOTA Mr. Feicht Throughout the 19th century, America transformed from a small, developing country into a world power. It was able to earn some credibility with other countries after it worked so hard to gain its independence in 1776. The United States also made many enemies after its monumental success. Acquisitions of land due to events such as The Louisiana Purchase, the Mexican Cession and the addition of Alaska, Florida, Oregon, and Texas tripled the size of the United States from 890,000 sq. miles to 2.73 million sq. miles in less than 100 years. One of the events that catalyzed this expansion was the War of 1812. The war is sometimes called “America’s second war for independence” because Great Britain was still interfering with American affairs though it had gained independence from them less than forty years preceding the next war (Feicht). It was a war that should never have had to be fought if Britain had just understood that it was tied to the fact that they had liberated the United States from their rule. It was outlandishly unwarranted that the British feel the need to have to interfere once again with American affairs. The Americans were forced to fight a war that was already fought (Feicht). One definite cause of the war cannot be pinpointed because there were many factors that contributed to the severity of the war and the intensity of the issues at hand; they can be narrowed down to three main concerns which are maritime and trade issues, the economic issues, seriously deteriorating 1 international political relations.
The dispute on the seas and involving trade may have been the most serious cause of the grave situation preceding the war thus stirring up the conflict amongst the countries involved and intensifying the animosity. The War of 1812, which was known to many people as the forgotten war, originated in Europe, where just like the Americans, many others were