The War of 1812

From the lecture I learnt that the war of 1812 was an event in American history that had a profound effect on the future of America, and it is a central event in what Americans know as the “second war for independence” (Sowelanevils, 2012). The war involved Great Britain, who wanted to keep America from becoming an independent nation and forced it into paying unfair trade tariffs. It began when British forces took over Washington D.C., but soon escalated when General William Hull surrendered Detroit and the post-war Indian raids really began to take place, with Americans trying to defend themselves against Indian attacks. The war ended with a peace treaty signed at Ghent in Belgium after Commodore James Lawrence led American naval forces against British ships and gained control over Lake Erie (Sowelanevils, 2012).

What surprised me in the lecture was that the war was nothing more than a series of battles, one after another, with many small losses for the Americans and large ones for the British (Sowelanevils, 2012). The two sides had very different ideas about how to fight the war, so they never really gained any ground. The United States wanted to fight in open fields and leave most of their supplies back home where they were safe from British attack (Sowelanevils, 2012). The British wanted to sail into American harbors and attack supply depots in an attempt take out America’s supplies and use them against them. There were many places the British attacked such as Baltimore, Maryland, Washington D.C., Plattsburgh, New York, Hampton Roads at Virginia, Niagara Falls in Canada and Lake Champlain in upstate New York. Another thing that surprised me was the fact that despite being America’s first war, most of its soldiers did not know what they were doing, so the British had an easy time defeating them, and many Americans died because of it (Sowelanevils, 2012). Even though there was no real battle in what is now Canada, Canada played a crucial part in the war because Britain wanted to annex it and use it as a bargaining chip to gain control over more American land.

I agree that overall, the war of 1812 was one of many battles that forever changed America from an isolated country on the eastern coast into a major world power. What I found to be interesting was Edwin Pakenham’s contribution to the war. He was an important British general in the war and his actions at the battle of New Orleans, had a great impact on the outcome of the war.

From the lecture, it is clear that the war of 1812 had an important impact on American history and how the country responded (Sowelanevils, 2012). It also led to the creation of a strong army, a navy and made the US into one of the most powerful nations in the world. I think that future generations will consider it one of America’s greatest achievements. In my opinion, despite what the lecturer said, I still say that you can’t just view the War of 1812 as a series of battles one after another. It is true it was just memory as a series of battles one after another, but it was really more than that. It was also a time when American citizens were fighting for their country’s freedom and independence from Britain. I liked the lecture because it enhanced my understanding about the war, and also helped me to recognize the series of events that led to the war.

References

Sowelanevils. (2012 April, 22). War of 1812. [Video file]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/vwDlC63vm6o