Blog #56 – Did America “win” the War of 1812?
America went to war with Britain and Canada over three main issues: 1. freedom of the seas for trade; 2. gaining new land like Canada; 3. dealing with Indian issues.
Since the French Revolution, British and French navies seized American ships and sailors who had been caught up in trading either in the West Indies or in Europe. In order to keep America out of these situations, President Jefferson approved of the Embargo Act of 1807 which ended all American trade with the world. Even the dust-up with the American (Chesapeake) and British ship (Leopard) in 1807 ten miles off the coast of Virginia raised Americans’ blood pressure. When we began trading with the rest of the world (Non-Intercourse Act and Macon’s Bill No. 2), more impressment and interference made American shipping a difficult business.
The War Hawks saw Canada as a great prize to be taken if the Americans attacked. They thought that with Britain distracted by Napoleon’s war, the Canadians would be an easy target for a coordinated American invasion. American forces invaded not once but twice, in 1812 and in 1813, and the only successful win was the Battle of the Thames where Shawnee chief Tecumseh was killed. In 1814, the Canadian capitol, York (modern day Toronto) was burned by American forces, but Canada proved to be extremely difficult to capture – we invaded Canada with only 5,000 soldiers/ militia while in Europe, Napoleon invaded Russia with half a million soldiers and still lost! In addition, the southern and western War Hawks wanted to capture Canada to stop the New Englanders from illegally trading with Canada (seen as a traitorous act b/c we were at Britain / Canada).
Lastly, Americans on the frontier (Northwest territory, Southern territories like Alabama and Mississippi and Spanish 
Florida) had been fighting the Indians and white Americans continued to encroach on their territory. For instance, Indiana territorial governor William Henry Harrison negotiated the transfer of 3 million acres in Indiana with the Treaty of Fort Wayne signed with the Pottawattomie, Lanape, and Miami tribes in 1809. This treaty had angered Tecumseh and his brother, the Prophet (Tenskwatawa) who wanted Indians to not sign treaties with America, and return to their old ways by getting rid of alcohol, finished clothes, farming, and Christianity. Harrison’s forces kill the Prophet at Tippecanoe in 1811, and Tecumseh continues to fight until 1813 when he was killed at the Battle of the Thames. Andrew Jackson also defeated Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in 1814 in Alabama before heading to New Orleans to defeat the British. Jackson would later campaign into Florida a couple of years after the War of 1812 and seize the territory by defeating the Seminoles and taking the Spanish capitol, Pensacola.
The Treaty of Ghent was essentially an armistice, or an end to the fighting. The British didn’t get their Indian buffer zone in the Great Lakes area nor did they get Maine and Minnesota like they had originally proposed. The British had stopped impressment of American soldiers after the Napoleonic Wars were over in 1814. And Canada remained safe from American invasion, so the borders all remained where they were before the war. The treaty released all prisoners and seized ships, and Britain and America gave back territory that they had held at the end of the war (including Fort Mackinac).
So, looking at the three goals that America had going into the war, the only one that we had achieved was dealing with Indian issues. The British and the French stopped impressment of American sailors without us having to resort to much naval warfare. We failed in our attempt at taking Canada from the Brits, so why is this war considered an American victory? Or should it be considered a tie, much like the Korean War where after three years of bloody fighting (1950-53), an armistice was also signed and little if any land changed hands.
Canadians don’t think of this as an American victory; they see it as a joint British / Canadian victory.
What’s your opinion on the War of 1812? Is it a victory (a second war for American Independence like the book mentioned) or is it a defeat like the Canadians believe? Or should it be regarded as a tie between Britain and America (which, considering the relative military might of both countries, may be considered a win for America)? Explain your answer in at least 250 words.
In my opinion, I believe that the War of 1812 was a defeat like the Canadians has stated previously (but I don’t agree with them when they say it was a joint British and Canadian victory). I think this because I don’t see how this could be a win if nothing really changed for the better. Starting off, one of the main issues why we went to war with Canada and Britain was freedom of the seas for trade. The Embargo Act, Macon’s Bill No. 2, and Non- Intercourse Act didn’t help American trade but in fact made it worse because that extra interference made it more difficult for the rest of the world to trade. So they just didn’t trade with us period. Not knowingly, Jefferson put down America’s economy with the Embargo Act. With that being said, that’s obviously not a win for America. Another reason why it was a defeat and not a win was because we didn’t gain any new land such as northern Canada. This is true because of the Treaty of Ghent. With this treaty, Britain stopped forcing American soldiers into the British navy. This left Canada safe from American invasion. All of the borders that were established before 1812 still remained in tact. Another result and or effect of this treaty was it released all prisoners and seized ships. Britain and America were not going to risk the confrontations with that so they gave back all the territory that they has seized at the end of the war. This included Fort Mackinac.
I believe that all though we claim that America won the war of 1812, it is all really false. America went into the war wanting many things from the British. We started the war wanting to annex Canada. When America went and invaded Canada, we were defeated and driven back into out territory. On the other side, Britain’s goal was to keep America out of Canada and make sure that America stayed well inside their boundaries. And what did Britain do? Kept America out of Canada and defeated us. America also wanted to stop the impressment of their merchant sailors. To prevent this act of impressment an embargo act was created by president Jefferson. Although the motives of this were to stop international trade to keep our seamen safe, it ended up being a large burden to American merchants. America won no land and during the treaty of Ghent to end the war, we again gained nothing from Britain. America did, however, win one important battle; the battle of New Orleans. Although this was a very important battle led by Andrew Jackson, it technically occurred after the Treaty of Ghent. Many Americans at the time knew about the win at New Orleans before the Treaty of Ghent had been declared. Americans then assumed that since we had won the battle at New Orleans, we had won the war of 1812. As stated before there are many reasons America didn’t really win the war of 1812, although we won a war that seemed to come before the treaty that brought peace between two nations.
Looking at the black and white facts, no, America did not win. In our campaigns in Canada, we lost all but a single battle, the Battle of the Thames. We attacked three separate points instead of the core of Canada. We probably would have been more successful going straight for Montreal. Thus, at each of our three points, we were squashed. In trade, our ships were attacked and the crewmen press-ganged into service with the British Navy. In response, Jefferson established an embargo. When put forth, it ruined our economy more than it did Great Britain’s, then it was retracted before it could affect England. The Non Intercourse act gave us some commercial leeway, but reopened the wounds of impressment. Thus we escaped this brouhaha with a crumbling economy while Europe received not even a scratch. Thus, from these losses, Britain demanded heavy tolls from us in the Treaty of Ghent, including an attempt to strangle out our expansion West and to prevent American fishing in Newfoundland. However, we won in Native American affairs, pinching out another plot of land from them, having also defeated the prophet at the battle of Tippecanoe and Tecumseh at the Battle of the Thames, severing Indian resistance. Also, with Andrew Jackson’s stellar victory in New Orleans and success in crippling Florida, we were able to loosen Britain’s grip when it came to the terms they proposed at Belgium. We were also able to gain confidence in our nation and strengthen our cultural ties, solidifying an idea of nationalism
The United States did win the war of 1812 because they where able to fight of the British and keep independence. In the beginning of the war France was the largest superpower in the world and the U.S. Was its ally. This made Great Britain commit most of its army to Europe to fight France. The U.S. Would not be able to send aid to the U.S. So it would be Americas first solo war. England had the largest navies in the world with 800 ships and the US only had 12. However the US had 3 super ships. It was said that the cannon balls bounced right of their hull. The British however had to fight Frances navy which was large at the time. This gave the US an advantage in that it just had to protect its shores and hunt and destroy the British ships when they tried to come over. On the land war the Americans were totally mismatched. They lost important battles and the militia would run away before it could even fight. The US goal was to fight until the British lost heart or wanted to have a cease fire.
In my opinion, the War of 1812 was a tie. Neither the British nor the Americans reached the all the goals they set out to accomplish. The British won a few things and the Americans won a few things. The American’s goals were to (1) have freedom of the seas and trade, (2) getting new land, and (3) deal with the Indians. By the end of the war we had only resolved the Indian issues because we stopped the British and Canadians from arming them. The British stopped seizing our sailors and we stopped invading Canada so all the borders didn’t change that much. And it’s not like the British really won anything. They wanted to take control of Maine and Minnesota and set up a buffer territory for Indians in the Great Lakes region. Neither of those things happened. So, it’s not really fair to say that the Americans won because we reached one out of our three goals while the British didn’t get anything. The Americans got their butts kicked when we tried to invade Canada. However, we did resolve some Indian issues. At the battle of Tippecanoe, an Indian leader called the Prophet was killed by William Henry Harrison’s forces. His brother was also killed during the War of 1812. Their deaths pretty much halted the Indian issues, along with the fact that the British and Canadians stopped giving them guns. When you look at all these facts, I think it’s fairly obvious that we didn’t win the War of 1812. We probably think we won the war because of miscommunication. The Treaty of Ghent, which ended the war, was signed two weeks before the Battle of New Orleans which was led by Andrew Jackson. The American forces demolished the British. Most Americans got the news about the battle before the treaty so they thought that battle ended the war. The War of 1812 was, in my opinion, a tie, because both sides didn’t really gain anything from the war.
If anyone could claim victory it was Canada. The United States declared war on Great Britain and set out to make Canada states in the union. Ten American armies crossed into Canada and were all driven out. “War Hawks” in the US Congress persuaded the president into thinking that invading Canada would be, in Jefferson’s words; “a mere matter of marching” and the US started a war and attacked its neighbor in June of 1812. This was a huge mistake. The American invasion forces were poorly trained and unorganized. Because of this, they were defeated in a series of battles by a small force of British men, Canadian militia, and natives. The Americans fled back over the border. The British went on the attack, capturing Washington and burning the White House, but they were just finishing larger war against Napoleon. When the Americans asked for peace talks, the British, weary of war, agreed. After a peace treaty was signed, the Americans won a battle at New Orleans (word of the peace hadn’t reached them) and the British won a battle at Fort Bowyers, but neither battle had any impact on the war, which was already over. This was a huge victory for Canadians. An American win would have destroyed any hope of a country called Canada. But French and English speaking Canadians, turned back the invaders together, and began discussing nationhood.
In my opinion, I think that we didn’t win the war of 1812. In fact, I believe that it was a draw. The main goals we tried to establish during the war was to stop the seizing of american sailors, gain new land, dealing with the Indians, and opening up trade without being restricted. We tried to gain land in the war, but we were halted by British forces. The British also armed the local Indians with weapon’s and wanted to establish an area that would be a sanctuary for them. The British also wanted to gain parts of Maine and other states. They also kept seizing american ships claiming that they were recapturing British men. It was these facts that caused the decision for us to go to war. The British didn’t gain much in the war either. In their opinion, the War of 1812 was looked upon as a distraction to the main war with France at the time. Some say that the British wanted to regain colonies that belonged to them, which never happened. Either way, neither side ever gained territory nor lost any. The other battles fought could be seen as minor victories by the British, such as when they set fire to the White House and Capitol building in D.C. Yet, it could also be seen as a victory that we beat the British at the Battle of New Orleans, which was a slaughter. Later, the treaty of Ghent was signed that gave back all land gained or lost in the war to its original sides. Neither side gained or lost anything in the war. If anything, the only thing we gained through the war was unity by the United States. The era of Good feelings had begun, which brought decades of stability, economic growth and improved economic relations. Yet at the same time, relations with Britain were tied. In my overall opinion, we neither gained nor lost anything in the war; it was a stalemate.
In my opinion, The War Of 1812 came in as a tie between America and Britain. It is stated that at the end of the war it was stalemate. After 32 months of fighting, The Treaty of Ghent finally settled the ongoing war and settled things back to the “status quo”. In the Treaty, America had to give back Fort Mackinac and Britain had to give back Northwestern Territory and all stolen prisoners and ships (British seamen stopped impressing American sailors and taking merchant ships which was a main cause on why America wanted to go to war against Britain). Out of all three reasons for America going into the war (freedom of seas, wanted to gain Canada, and Indian issues) only one was resolved which was the Indian issues, the British wasn’t able to get their Indian Buffer zone in the Great Lakes. America didn’t Canada, which was still strongly protected by Britain and freedom of seas came later on. Even though America didn’t technically get what they wanted out of the war, they did win some great battles. For example, the Battle of New Orleans led by Andrew Jackson was one of the biggest victories for the Americans during the war. The British had some victories as well, like attacking the White House and Capitol. Also when they attacked Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor where Francis Scott Key wrote “The Star Spangled Banner” while watching the attack. In conclusion, I believe that America did win a lot of respect from Britain and national pride as a whole nation. Without many resources and money, they still proved that they would fight for what they wanted, which is why the War of 1812 is Americas War for Independence.
In my opinion, the war of 1812 was a loss for the Americans. We originally went to war for three reasons: freedom of the seas, gaining land in Canada, and Indian issues. Throughout the war, America sought the right to sail and trade without fear of British impressments. Trading and sailing was a major problem for America throughout the war because British soldiers were capturing American soldiers and forcing them to work on their ships under harsh conditions. America went to war with Britain because they couldn’t avoid this problem any other war. The embargo act that was enacted to solve this problem only hurt America because we relied on British goods more than they relied on ours. Another reason we went to war was to gain land in Canada. Agrarian land in Canada wouid benefit our nation by increasing republican support. The last reason we went to war was due to Indian issues. The British were upsetting us by giving the natives guns, and ammunition. This was hurting us because the Indians were in constant conflict among us for purchasing their land. We crushed countless rebellions but none of our efforts were stopping this problem. The only way to stop it, we thought, was to destroy their base in Canada. Winning the war would tie in gaining Canada, with destroying the Indian rebellions. The reason I believe we lost the war, however, is because we only accomplished one of our main goals after the war. Indian issues were eventually resolved after they received several defeats. Freedom of the seas was achieved, but it wasn’t achieved through any naval battle at all. It simply ended when the British finished fighting with Napoleon. America never invaded Canada either, so we didn’t gain any of the republican support we wanted in that manner. The war of 1812 may have been a stalemate on the battlefield, but in my mind, we lost because we only achieve one of our major goals.
The War of 1812 was a draw between the United States and Britain. Neither country was able to impose its will over the other in the Treaty of Ghent because the war was so indecisive. Both Canada and the United States claimed and believed they had won the war. This is because both had accomplished at least some of their respective goals. The Canadians had repelled several American attacks on British/Canadian strongholds such as Detroit, Montreal and Niagara. And by the end of the war, the Canadians had not lost nor gained any land to the Americans. So, in the eyes of the Canadians, they had successfully defended their country from their land-hungry neighbors. The Americans too had reasons to be pleased with the outcome of the war. They too, obviously, did not gain or lose any land (they had also avoided the formation of an Indian buffer state in the Great Lakes region). Regarding the goal of ridding themselves of the Indian threat, the Americans succeeded. They were successful in defeating several Indian tribes, killing two important leaders: Tecumseh and The Prophet. The third reason for the war is less clear. While it wasn’t a direct result of the American war effort, the British did stop the impression of American sailors; they stopped after the Napoleonic Wars ended. So, it appears that the Americans accomplished two of their goals, rather than just one (one was not a direct result of the war, albeit). They didn’t, however, succeed in the offensive aspect of the war, so the war was a draw between the Canadians/British and the Americans.
I feel that America did not win the war of 1812. However, i feel that they gained a greater appreciation for nationalism and therefore, recognition for it (from the British) was made known. Due to the fact that the proposals for originally starting the war were partially fulfilled. Looking back on were we’ve come from : from a weak to a strong independent nation, I feel obligated to say that even though the result of the war did not give us what we wanted at the time (1. Freedom of the seas, 2. To acquire new land, and 3. To discontinue American issues towards the Indians), I feel that what mainly “needed” to happen, happened.
However, disregarding our present age, I feel that the war was not won by the Americans. I say this because when going into war with Britain (fro previous occurrences), Americans should’ve assumed that the ‘Bulldog British’ ruthless attitudes would be more recognisable , after being tainted by acts such as the Non-Intercourse. Instead of assuming the possibility that the British needed the US less than we thought (namely Jefferson- for putting this into action) , was bad on our part. By limiting trade with Britain and France (our two main partners in trade), we willingly put Americans economy into a depression. Though this action positively influenced industrialism, it still did not satisfy what Americans wanted. Still, we were not the only ones who didn’t get what they wanted, The British also were affected. Likewise, they did not get their Indian Bufferzone in the Great Lakes area, and nor did they obtain Maine and Minnesota ,like they’d originally planned.
In both of these cases we see how two ends (nations) fought for what they wanted but not what they really needed in order to grow. In the long run we can reflect and see that even with this war, barely anything was lost or gained for either sides; besides the mutual respect they acknowledged towards each other (a little) afterwards. For example, the British lifted their restraint and stopped impressment of American soldiers after the Napoleonic war of 1814.
After reviewing all the details, I have come to the conclusion that I don’t see the war of 1812 as a victorious or tying situation; the United States was completely defeated and really didn’t gain much from it. Regardless of the fact that we dealt with the Indian issues, we still didn’t get any land in Canada and along with that the damage was already done (referring to the issues of the seas). It is nice that we didn’t have to use many naval forces to stop the capturing of the seamen, however it happened and it caused us a lot of problems and even forced us to create the Embargo Act, which also hurt our economy. We had our eyes on the Canadian land and even after invading with 5,000 soldiers, we only won one battle, which was the Battle of the Thames. The Battle really didn’t do much for us regarding land; we did, however, kill Tecumseh. No part of Canada became ours, and the battles turned out to be quite pointless. There were more severe events happening out in sea and instead we were trying to capture land, which we didn’t. Although all ended in peace, beneficially on our part, the United States didn’t exactly profit from it. The reason I can’t say that it ended up being a tie is that both Britain and France got more than us; but the most important part is they got away. They captured all the seamen they wanted to and we really couldn’t do much about it besides offer a treaty. The war did nothing of great influence for us and the two countries it was against got exactly what they wanted in the first place.
The definition of win is “ a successful result in a contest or conflict,” by this definition this war did not end in complete success for us. The war of 1812 was caused by 3 main discrepancies: indian issues, possibilities of land in Canada, and impressment of American sailors by Britain( and france). Regarding the 1st cause, indian issues, whites were encroaching on indian territory and the Indians responded accordingly, resisting as best that they could. After the war, individuals who became heroes to the American public were those who, basically, killed the most Indians. This “Heroes” included William henry Harrison and Andrew Jackson, both future presidents. This issue was the only one of the causes actually resolved by the end of the war. This was solved by mostly American generals striking out against the Indians and discouraging further attacks through force and brutalization. An example of the brutalization was Andrew Jacksons execution of numerous Indians and their allies during his conquest of Florida. The cause of possibilities in Canada was a loss in my opinon. I say this simply because no land was ceded or lost during the war. War hawks thought that the british, who made up some of the population of Canada, would be preoccupied with the war in Europe with france. With the treaty of Ghent Canada was protected from American invasion and the borders were reverted to what they were before the war. This rendered the cause of possibilities of land a complete failure. The final cause of impressment of seamen was resolved. The treaty of Ghent released all prisoners and seized ships that the british had taken from the americans. No more ships were seized following this either because all fighting between france and Britain was stopped with the treaty of Ghent. The fighting between Britain and france was the reason any ships were taken or any sailors were impressed at all, so with the ceased conflict all “seizing of seamen” stopped. In my opinion this war was a draw. Neither side gained anything. In my opinion, America, as a new nation, showed its resilience and ability to protect itself and strike out against what was seen as unjust.
Did America win the War of 1812, no we did not. But we did not lose the war either. It was a draw, simple as that. We didn’t gain any land or lose any land and we didn’t solve the “Indian problem”. Though we did win on the Nationality Front, the war brought the country together and jump started a more self-reliant economy, and we stopped the impressment of our sailors by the British Navy. During the war, it was quite evident that we were not winning, but it was equally as evident that we were not losing either. The U.S. won major battles like the Battle of York (burning of present day Toronto), The Battle of the Thames, The Battle of Lake Erie, and the Siege of Fort McHenry. The British won major battles too, such as The Burning of Washington, The Battle of Bladensburg, when the Americans invaded Canada from Detroit, when the Americans invaded Canada from Niagara, and when they took over Fort Mackinac to control the Upper Great Lakes and the Straits of Mackinac. The British war machine started out strong but then stalled at the end, and the American war machine had a faulty beginning and a strong end. At the end of the war, under the Treaty of Ghent, all land was restored to its original, pre-war owner. We continued to have “Indian Problems” past the Civil War, and all throughout Western Expansion. The war did help us by bringing us closer together and to helped to domesticate industry and manufacturing. The final thing the war did was to stop the impressment of sailors but other than that no changes happened and everything was basically the same except for roughly 20,000 casualties for the U.S. and roughly 8,600 casualties for the British.
-Chuck C.
In my opinion the War of 1812 was a draw. The Americans goals for the war were to get freedom of the seas and trade, getting more land, and resolving issues with the Indians. The only goal fully achieved was resolving the issues with the Indians. The problem with the impressment of sailors was fixed not by the war of 1812 but by the end of Britain’s war with France so no more men were needed by the foreign navies. The United States did however gain freedom of the seas through the treaty of Ghent. They got no new land in Canada whatsoever. This was the only goal that totally failed. This could be cause for Canadians to say they won the war because they held off the invasion, but that was the only thing the United States totally failed at. Also the Canadians got back any land they had lost through the Treaty of Ghent. The British failed to achieve the goals they wanted as well. They did not get to create the Indian buffer zone they wanted and they were made to return all seized ships and sailors. So in a sense they did loose. The United States lost in the sense that the British took over and burned the capital and they only achieved one of their goals. So if anything this was a hugely pointless war. It was a huge waste of time, resources, and money. In short this war was a draw because neither side really gained anything.
Though the Americans won the “final battle” of the war, and a moral victory was accomplished, the lasting effects of the War of 1812 prove that America definitely did not get winning results from the war. The three main reasons why America went into the war were the impressment of soldiers, issues with Native Americans, and problems with land, mostly revolving around Canada. After the Treaty of Ghent was signed, few things actually even changed. The land issues with Canada had no effect, as the end result of the treaty made it so the land borders between Canada and America remained the same – there was nothing gained and nothing lost, essentially a victory for Canada as they had defended their land. The impressment of the sailors was stopped on Britain’s own accord, after the Napoleonic wars in 1814, and the Americans “victories” in certain battles including the Battle of New Orleans, actually had no effect on the freedom of the American sailors – it was Britain’s decisions that, after the Napoleonic wars, they would release the sailors. Finally, the Indian Issues – one of the few positive effects of the War of 1812. Hostilities ended immediately with the Indians after the war after the crushing battles of Tippecanoe and Thames. So overall, the British and Canadians had more positive effects after the war – the Canadians retained their land and Britain’s crushing army still knew they could rule over America, releasing America’s sailors of their own accord, while America’s lone advantage after the war was the halting of Indian issues after big victories in battles during the war.
I believe that the War of 1812 was a defeat for the Americans. Our three main reasons for getting into the war were to conquer Canada, stop the impressment of our seamen, and stop the Indian attacks. We accomplished one of the three goals; to stop the Indian attacks. America was crushed in trying to conquer Canada and at the Treaty of Ghent, both sides gave back their conquered land. The Treaty of Ghent was really just an armistice; both sides stopped fighting and agreed to give back conquered land. The treaty released all prisoners and seized ships, and Britain and America gave back territory that they had held at the end of the war. The British continued to play dirty however, and after the war, Britain flooded our markets with cheap goods that our merchant ships couldn’t compete with. The British impressment of our merchant sailors wouldn’t stop until the Napoleonic Wars ended in 1814. Yet I don’t see this as a British victory either. Canada simply stopped an invasion on their soil and Britain accomplished nothing really. They had to stop impressing our seamen and had to give back land that they had taken from the Americans. I don’t see it as a victory for any country besides Canada. Canada crushed armies that were trying to invade and conquer its people. Canada is the only country in the War of 1812 that didn’t lose anything in the War because it had no reasons for entering the War other than the protection of its people. This is why it is a tie/defeat for Britain/America and a victory for Canada.
The U.S. did not win the war of 1812, but we didn’t lose either. I believe the war was a tie because if you look at what we wanted to gain from Canada, we received the same thing in a sense to the west instead of the north. We also managed to resolve major Indian issues. There is way that the U.S. won the war but I don’t think the British efforts constitute a victory. Sure the British burned down the capitol, but did they accomplish all they had hoped for? No, only a few of the things they wanted. We received freedom of the seas, gained more land, and resolved some of our Indian issues and accomplished more than Britain by the end of the war, sure we didn’t get Canada but we got A Canada to the west which is just as good. The British won some crucial battles, but so did we. It was a draw in the sense that it really could go either way with much debate. This was not a unanimous victory. Though there was a huge military edge for the British, I don’t think that you can say that we deserved the win over them even if we had a lot less people. When I look at this war I see a pointless fighting that the U.S. didn’t need to start by trying to invade Canada and cause more problems. As I said in my debate, the war was a pointless one because it was just going to kill more Americans in our crucial building years of our society.
Since the War of 1812 ended in an armistice (which by definition is a truce to end fighting) was exactly what it’s definition says it is: a truce or, in other words, a tie. America may have not received everything they asked for, like the vast lands of Canada, but neither did the British, who wanted an Indian buffer zone in the Great Lakes region. The Treaty of Ghent made Britain release all impressed sailors and ships and forced both Britain and America to give back all lands they took during the war. America won the war because they regained their freedom of the seas/trade when the fighting stopped between Britain and France in 1814 (just a few years later) and the Indians gave the Americans all lands north of the Ohio River, but the US lost because they did not gain the area of Canada, which they desperately wanted in order to end illegal trade. Now Britain won because they did not lose Canada, their last colony in North America, but they lost because they did not get the buffer zone in the Great Lakes to separate Canada and the US and they did not get Maine or Minnesota, which they originally asked for when the Treaty was being written. Canada was the only one involved in the war that did not lose anything, since they never asked for anything. Canada did, however, win new national spirit and prided itself on defeating all the invasions by the Americans during the war.
In my opinion, the War of 1812 started with Britain having the upper hand, and ended with that way also, but not as strong as before. Before the war, the British had Canada, were forcing impressment on our soldiers, and selling guns to Indians who didn’t like us. At the end of the war, the British still had Canada and were selling guns to the Indians, but agreed to stop the impressment of our soldiers. The Americans were given back the men and ships that had been taken, but no other problems that caused the war were addressed. Also, during the war, the Americans killed one of the Indians the British were selling guns to, Tecumseh and his brother, The Prophet. Along with that, at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, General Andrew Jackson defeated the Creek Indians. These wars help decrease the amount of hostile Indians towards the Americans. Americans, but most importantly the War Hawks, wanted Canada to increase our land, and a great prize to show off to the British. Americans invaded Canada twice, and the only successful invasion being the one that killed Tecumseh. Canada was too hard to take for the Americans. The Treaty of Ghent gave back any land that either side had seized from the other and both countries agreed to stop fighting. The British didn’t gain anything they wanted either. America did not agree to their terms: giving them Maine and Minnesota, and giving the Indians the great lakes. Both countries didn’t gain much, but Britain still ended the war with more than the Americans.
In in terms of the goals the United States attempted to achieve with war of 1812 America cannot be considered victorious. However the war cannot be labeled a complete failure. The United States three main motivations for beginning the war of 1812 were the prospect of adding territory to the nation, reclaiming freedom of the seas, and dealing with the threat from Native Americans. Of these objectives only one was accomplished through direct military efforts of the United States. The last great Native American rebellion was mounted by the celebrated native chief Tecumseh and his brother, the Prophet. American forces killed the Prophet in 1811 at Tippecanoe, Tecumseh was defeated at the battle of the Thames. With them died major efforts for Native independence. By the war’s end the united states was unable to annex any new territory and British failed to claim Maine and Minnesota or set up an Indian buffer zone as they had originally intended. The lack of land exchange should not be considered a draw however as Canada successfully repelled their foreign invaders and retained their land. The impressment of American sailors ceased when hostiles between the English and French did and the treaty of Ghent released all captured ships and sailors. American’s gained freedom of the seas but it was not through military force. Only Native American forces were handed an utter defeat in the war of 1812 and no combatants can claim a complete victory. Therefore the most reasonable assessment of the war is to refer to it as a draw.
Although many people the War of 1812 was a defeat for America, but truthfully it was a victory. America was able fight the super power Britain without coming out of the war completely broken as a country. America attacked Canada and burnt their capital with only 5,000 men. We were able to successfully attack Canada and win. Although we didn’t gain any land, such as Canada, in the war we also didn’t lose any land. British had captured land and could’ve simply kept it in the end. They also asked for a buffer in the Treaty of Ghent when they thought they were winning in the Great Lakes to stop our expansion, but guess what. They didn’t get it, and that’s definitely a win.
The war also brought the end of impressment by the British they released all the men and ships they had taken and gave them back. Which if the British had won they wouldn’t have done. The two things we undeniably won was nationalism and dealing with the Indians. The war brought us together and pushed us as a country to develop roads. It also brought an end to the massacres and rebellions since the leaders of the rebellions, Tecumseh and the Prophet were killed in the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811 and Battle of Thames in 1813. Andrew Jackson also defeated the British in New Orleans in 1814, although the war was officially over, it was still a victory to the Americans. The War of 1812 wasn’t a huge glamours win for America. But to say its a defeat just isn’t true.
In my opinion, the United States did not “win” the war of 1812. In fact, I don’t think anyone really won. America want to war for three main reasons: (1) freedom of the seas, (2) gaining new land, Canada, and (3) Indian issues. The only goal America really accomplished was the Indian Issues. The United States wanted Canada and they thought it would be an easy target because the British were distracted with fighting Napoleon. Canada proved to be stronger than we had anticipated because we only won one of the battles in Canada (Battle of the Thames). We finally failed in our many attempts to gain Canada. Freedom of the Seas kind of just happened because the British and French eventually stopped impressing our sailors. The British didn’t really accomplish anything either. They wanted an Indian buffer zone in the great lakes, Maine and Minnesota. They did not get any of these. At the end of the war, with the Treaty of Ghent, peace was established. The British had to release all prisoners, seized ships and territory it had acquired during the war, Fort Mackinac. Canada was safe from American Invasion and the borders remained the same as they were before the war. It pretty much restored things to how they were before the war happened. Since neither America or the British achieved what they wanted to I think the War of 1812 was a Tie, and pretty much a failure because nothing really changed or was accomplished by either side.
I believe that the War of 1812 was a war with no true winner but Britain taking most of the loss. While the goals to achieve free sea trade, capture Canadian territory, and deal with the Indian Issue were all addressed at the start of the war these goals weren’t really achieved through the war itself. Americans wanted their rights to trade overseas but the war didn’t make the British stop taking our sailors and making them their sailors, after the Napoleonic War the British stopped. The attempt to invade Canada wasn’t much of a success and at the end of the war the land that was taken was returned to Canada such as Fort Mackinaw. The Indian issue was accurately addressed in the war since we were able to get Britain to leave the Indians who had lost Great Britain’s support and were slowly pushed west due to the loss of protection which made the Indians vulnerable. The war had battles that were won and lost but the overall war itself was not a win nor a loss for America since we didn’t do anything powerful enough for us to achieve the title “Victor of 1812” unless the Battle of New Orleans is taken into consideration. Canada wasn’t a loser or a winner like the Americans since they didn’t gain or lose any land and in the end were back to the same life with no gain or loss after the war. Britain did lose the war though after not achieving Maine or Minnesota they left America and let Americans move the Indians to the west. Overall the war didn’t have a winner but Britain came out with the least at the end. Americans may have the title as the winner but they didn’t do much to achieve it.
Neither sides of the War of 1812, won or lost anything. By the end of the war, because of the Treaty of Ghent, both Britain and America had to return any land that was originally not theirs. I guess the only reason why the War of 1812 would be considered a win for America would be because the U.S was able to defend their land against all odds. Which is a pretty big deal because if that had not happened the U.S would once again be a part of Britain. I think the war is more of a symbolic win than anything else. No one got anything or lost anything. On the other hand, the war was a defeat because over the span of about 5 years the economy was completely ruined. The Embargo act especially just demolished the economy. Instead of trying to build up their country, the Americans were so focused on gaining more land, that they really didn’t need in the first place, that they forgot about all the other important factors that go into being a successful country. At least after this war Britain was able to finally realize that they were never going to have control over their once loyal American colonies. An important part of this realization was that the U.S was able to put their foot down and say no to Britain’s request during the making of the Treaty of Ghent and also that the Americans were able to overcome the power of numbers. So overall, the war of 1812 was a tie.
I believe that the War of 1812 was actually a joint victory between Canada and America. Although the British and Canadians were allied, Canada really got the better end of the deal and ended up on top between the two of them. Britain was supplying the Canadians with guns to fight the Americans and they fought. America invaded Canada twice and was only successful at the Battle of Thames, where Tecumseh died. Even after that, in 1814, when American burned down Canada’s capitol, the Canadians still put up a difficult fight to prevent the seizure of their land, which the Americans had not expected. In the Treaty of Ghent, the British did not get the Indian buffer zone they wanted, but the Indians in Canada remained safe from American invasion and the Canadian borders remained the same as they were before the war. So Canada did not really lose much at all, while the British were left with the short end of the deal. At the same time, I believe America came out on top as well. America went into the war with three goals: freedom of seas, the possibility of land, and Indian issues. Contrary to the article above, I believe America achieved a version of all of these goals. America obtained more freedom of the seas than they had before because after the War of 1812, the British and French did stop the impressment of America sailors. So that is already a step up from their condition before the war. Adding onto that, Britain returned the ships they had seized and the prisoners they had taken, and American also got back Fort Mackinac, which technically, is land. American dealt with their Indian issues as I mentioned before, and in the process, American fears of the Indians ended. And in the end, America received their pride and honor back, along with their national anthem, “The Star Spangled Banner.” Sounds like a win for Canada and America to me.
In my personal opinion, the War of 1812 was a kind of win for America. We went into the war because of three main causes: freedom of the seas, Indian issues, and the possibility of land. When the war was over, only one of these causes had been partially resolved. However, the fact that America was able to hold its own against the military and naval forces of Britain should constitute a type of win for America. We may not have come out of the war with everything we had hoped for, but we gained respect from Europe because of our ability to hold our own against the British.
The issue of freedom of the seas was never fully addressed in the Treaty of Ghent at the end of the war. The Treaty did say that all currently imprisoned or impressed sailors had to be released, but didn’t say anything about future seizures of American sailors.
The possibility of land was out of the question in the Treaty of Ghent. The treaty proclaimed that all land won during the war would be returned to whoever controlled it before the war began. In a sense, this was a major plus for America because we had lost land to the Canadians in the process of trying to take some of their land.
Indian issues were the only thing that were resolved by the end of the war, though not through the Treaty of Ghent. William Henry Harrison negotiated the transfer of 3 million acres of land from three different Indian tribes to the territory of Indiana. This was, for the most part, a peaceful trade with little animosity.
Even though we only resolved one issue, we gained something that we were not initially looking for- respect. That is why I feel that the War of 1812 was a type of win for America.
The War of 1812 was, by no means, a war won by either side. No significant geographical changes were made, no external opinions had been laid down or enforced by invading or attacking countries, and the Treaty of Ghent, essentially an armistice, essentially declared a tie. But, though the war fought was of no tactical advantage or conquest, the United States still gained what they originally wanted, that being the freedom of the seas as well as the release of the impressed sailors in the British navy. Being one of the major reasons that the United States had initiated war with Britain (/Canada) was to be able to trade, sail, and defend our borders as we see fit without the constantly looming threat of the dreaded British impressment. So as far as the evidence goes: The British didn’t gain an Indian buffer zone, Maine, or Minnesota as they wanted. Borders set before the war were returned to their original status. The United States did not annex Canada. The impressments of US seamen stopped and all previously impressed men were released. Everything from before the war had returned to status quo, apart from the United States regaining freedom of the seas (as well as the lives lost in the war itself on both British and US sides). So as it stands, the United States was the power involved in the War of 1812 to gain anything in particular. This may not necessarily constitute as victory in the war, but the US definitely came out better than most other countries.
I would describe the War of 1812 as a tie. There really isn’t a fine line between losing and winning in a war, but this exception counts as one of the rare few. America didn’t annex any land in Canada as they hoped to, but they did stop the British from taking parts of Maine and Minnesota. The War Hawks pushed for the invasion of Canada, thinking that Britain, occupied with its war with France, would have left Canada an easy target, and they were wrong, and that almost cost the U.S.A. its hard-won land. On the other hand, the War of 1812 stopped the impressment of our sailors by France and Britain. So, did we win? Certainly not. The risk we took was much too great and we got too little in return for putting the freedom of our people in such danger. Did we lose? We failed to acquire more land, but we did end the impressment of our sailors, which in turn ended the embargos that devastatingly affected our economy. There is an argument that because of the size of Britain’s Army and Navy and its wealth of resources versus. America’s bottom of the barrel scraps, we won. But in the end, no one side gained an advantage over the other, and no one side was able to demonstrate total dominion over the other. This war was a tie, clean and simple. It was a bad idea to start with, and its lucky we didn’t lose, because if we had, we would have been in deep trouble.
Although America did not achieve the goals it set out too, I believe we won a different war, and one with a much bigger prize. The military tie between Britain/Canada and America was a win because it declared us as a country of the world. Independence doesn’t create a nation, it creates an opportunity. And after the United States had unhinged itself from Britain, there remained the question if this new democracy, with it’s far-fetched political ideas, could ever last, or compete with the other countries of its time. The War of 1812 solidified our standing as a player in the world, and has created a lasting precedent for America. Before the war, we were various groups of migrants who came from around the world, but by joining against one common enemy after we had declared independence, formed desperately needed unity. The numerous war hero’s and quotes that came from the war shaped a unique American Identity that set America apart from Britain. Pieces of literature such as the “Star Spangled Banner” were formed during the War, and at a time of struggle between Federal and State power, it created a sense of pride and national unity that is essential to a developing nation. Moreover, the War of 1812 pit a small and weak nation, against a behemoth, and yet this newly found country came out alive and stronger than ever despite Britain’s great power and wealth. Despite not achieving our original goals, the various prizes that came out of the War were much greater than anyone could have hoped for.
I believe that the War of 1812 was a success for the U.S. it showed that were not willing to take crap from Britain after we beat them in our war of independence. We went into this war with three goals 1. freedom of the seas for trade; 2. gaining new land like Canada; 3. dealing with Indian issues. In my opinion freedom of trading on the seas and dealing with the british assisting indians were incredibly important and the whole land part was sort of a bonus if we beat the british in the end.
Freedom of trade is key we learned during and before the war we could not self-sustain. in the embargo Jefferson thought that self commerce could fund the country well enough, but when the government started going further and further into debt we realised that we could not keep our country afloat by ourselves,no pun intended, so when we signed the treaty we were able to start trading again with the world and put our country in more prosperous position.
dealing with the indians and stopping the british from interfering with them made life in our own country a lot easier we didn’t have to worry about a serious inter-country threat now that the indian weapons supply had been lessened. so that was a load of the countries back. then theres the land part which would have been a plus if we had gotten it but the whole negotiation thing let Britain keep its land. which isn’t awful. so a solid ⅔ goals accomplished is good way to go. if he was a baseball player he’d be better than Miguel Cabrera against Junichi Tazawa this postseason.
I find that at the end of the War of 1812, both Britain and the US lost and won in some ways. Britain maintained their settlements in Canada without giving any of it up to the Americans, defeating one of America’s goals of 1812, acquiring land. However, Americans stop the British from taking Maine and Minnesota, as they would’ve liked to, and did not let them turn the Great Lakes area into a reservation for Indians, to serve as a buffer zone between Canada and the US. Both countries won in the sense that neither country suffered great losses, but they also both lost in the fact that neither gained much. The United States, however, proved that even with a severely unprepared army, we could defend ourselves, at the very least. Had the US waited in order to prepare for a war, we would’ve been a much greater chance against the British and most likely would’ve gained more than we did. We had won against the British during the Revolution, and were still able to keep them from taking our land back, as they had desired to. This war helped us to prove ourselves as a real country, able to fight off enemies and maintain our independence. Coming from such a young country, this was a major victory for our growing nation. This is probably why many people in America see the winners of 1812 as the United States. We had twice fought the British and twice remained standing and surviving.
I believe that the War of 1812 was an American victory. There may have not been a great victory of land or riches, but they did not loose anything in the War, which in my opinion is an accomplishment for a baby country like America was. There was also a win for getting our seamen back from the British that took them hostage while they were on their way to trade. Before the War of 1812 in 1809 congress passed the Non-Intercourse Act that was good for a year and cut of trade with Britain and France it did disastrous things for American trade after a year the Macon’s Bill No. 2 was put in effect. The bill said that we would continue trade until something happened with our seamen being taken; it became terminated when France took our seamen three months later. The British and French navies, in the West Indies or Europe, were oppressing American seamen still. By the end of the War of 1812, thanks to the Ghent Treaty the seamen were released with their ships and trade went back to a peaceful action. I consider that a win for America. Even though with the Ghent Treaty America, did not gain any new land they did not loose land either. It would have been a loss for America if they lost land, but because they did not loose land it was neutral. America did try to take land from Canada but did not succeed, that could be a small victoria for Canada but they did not win anything from us, so I say it is not a full win just like how America didn’t loose land and it was still a small victory that can be considered neutral. It is more or less a loss for Britain because they did not get what they wanted: the land for Indians in the Great Lakes region. The Indian issue was a win because we fought and killed their leaders that were going against us. As awful as that is it was a big accomplishment for America. Indians no longer had someone with great power telling them not to modernize. All these mini victories added up end in a victory for America and a loss for Britain.
Contrary to Canadian belief, the Americans did win the war of 1812. We entered the war with the bold ambitions of acquiring the land in Canada, getting freedom of the seas and ending Indian issues and although we didn’t leave the war with all the things we hoped we would get, we still won. Freedom of the seas wasn’t fully given to the Americans, but the British did release all the imprisoned American sailors. The Treaty of Ghent did not say anything about future seizures of sailors, which means that we didn’t fully accomplish what we wanted to in regards to the freedom of the seas. The Treaty of Ghent also said that all land acquired during the War of 1812 would have to be returned to the owner of the land from before the war. This didn’t hurt the Americans because we hadn’t captured Canada, which was the land we wanted, and we got the land that we had lost during the war back. The Indian issues was the only thing that got resolved during the War of 1812. Americans had wanted to settle Canada which was full of Indians. The Indians were constantly invading and harming Americans because of this which made the Americans feel threatened. Although Indians were killed, the Americans still were able to negotiate land with the Indians and be peaceful with the Indians. In 1776, Americans fought so strongly for their independence from Britain. The War of 1812 was a second war of independence for the Americans. The Americans were fearful that the British would tighten their grip on the Americans once again, and that proved to be true. The Americans were fighting an empire that was much bigger and much more experienced than them. Although the Americans only accomplished one of their three goals, they still were able to hold their own against a nation much larger and more powerful than them. To me, the Americans keeping their independence and warding off the British is a clear win on their part.
The war of 1812 was a tie between America and Britain because the three reasons America went to war were not truly resolved. The British gave back the impressed soldiers after the Treaty of Ghent was signed but never acknowledged that they were impressed, simply prisoners of war. America invaded Canada during the war because they figured that Britain was weak from fighting Napoleon. They seriously underestimated the strength of the Canadian forces because the American army invaded, only to be kicked out, invade again, and get kicked out again. The Americans were too weak to fight the Canadian troops because the British were invading New England. Britain was unable to capture Baltimore, but was able to invade and burn down Washington (although the city was very small and not well defended so it wasn’t that much of a victory, and it led to the construction of the bigger and better Washington DC that we know today). The only issue the truly settled was the issues with Native Americans. Andrew Jackson and William Henry Harrison defeated Indians that were in the way of America’s westward expansion and refused to sign a treaty with the Americans. The Treaty of Ghent settled border disputes between America and British Canada but didn’t give either side more land. The only things achieved in the war of 1812 were the ending of impressments and the settlement of the disputes America had with Britain, British Canada, and Native Americans. Neither side (America or Britain) truly gained any power. Peace was only made because neither side was doing well in the war, and neither side was going to benefit from it. The ‘second war for American Independence’ was ended in a draw because America did not the win the war, but neither did Britain.
In my opinon, the War of 1812 was not an American victory. Although today many Americans think that we won the war, the issues America went into war hoping to solve were not resolved. The three causes of the war were freedom of the seas, gaining Canada as territory and solving conflicts with Indians. The war did not fix any of these issues, besides lessening the Indian conflicts a little bit. The impressment of American sailors that pushed America towards war with Britain was solved on its own when the conflict between Britian and France ended. The war had no effect on that. America unsuccessfully invaded Canada multiple times. We did not gain or capture Canada or any other land. The battles with the Indians did destroy a lot of the tribes’ power, which benefited America but not in a way that was worth a full fledged war with Britain. The Treaty of Ghent was signed to end the war. It did not declare any nation as a winner. It was just made to end the fighting, and called for everything to go back to how it was before. This does not indicate a victory on either side, especially for America. The War of 1812 should not be considered an American victory, but it also is not an American loss. The war did not have any immediate drastic results that benefited the US. It is reasonable to say the War of 1812 was a tie between the two sides of the war, since neither side benefited or lost drastically from the war.
I think the war of 1812 was not a victory of America; it was more as the Canadians saw it, a victory for the British. America had three goals going into the war of 1812. Out of those three goals, only one goal was achieved. That one goal was to deal with Indian issues. One reason this goal was achieved is because William Henry Harrison decided to give us 3 million acres of land. The other two goals, the ones they did not achieve, were to gain new land like Canada and to gain freedom of the seas for trade. We attacked Canada two different times. Once, was in 1812 and we were defeated. Again, was in 1813 and we were defeated once more. Britain had been attacking American ships at sea and taking out men. One instance in which this happened is the Chesapeake affair. Although America got all their seized people and boats back, they still did not have complete freedom over the seas. What hurt America even more was when Jefferson enacted the Embargo Act, this act made it so America could not trade with any foreign countries. After the embargo act, was the non- intercourse act. America saw how the embargo act was hurting them and figured they would only restrict trade with France and Britain, thinking that France and Britain depended on America for their trade. In the long run it turned out that America needed Britain and France more than they thought. Overall, America did not do much good for them and although we dealt with the Indian issues, we didn’t gain Canada and the Embargo act and non-intercourse act hurt America even more.
The winner of the War of 1812 depends on who you are asking the question to. It is a highly speculated and controversial topic among different historians, but the war clearly ended, so there had to be some kind of conclusion. And there was one; a stalemate. Neither side won or lost, as clearly stated in the Treaty of Ghent, both of the countries would go back to a state as if the war never happened, in the sense of land aquisitions. The United States entered into the war with three main goals in mind: the freedom of the seas, the dissapation of Indian threats, and the possession of Canadian land. In the end, the US succeeded in accompliishing two of those three goals, but that majority did not necessarily mean that they won the war. The US were able to squash the Indian rebellion in a critical way with two major battles that killed the two leaders, Tecumseh and the Prophet. So we had succeeded in one of our goals. We than, with tthe help of the Treaty of Ghent, managed to stop the impressment of our seamen. That made for another success goal wise. The third is what clearly defined this war as a draw, we were never able to take control over Canada. This is much more pivotal because our war is with the British and even if we killed some Indians, it does not affect their cause all that much. We lost most of the battles that were truly founght with the British/Canadians. Our single most important victory was won AFTER the war had ended! So, yeah, we succeeded in some of our goals, but the main war between the British and Americans was not quite so black and white. The major thing that sets into stone the fact that the war was a tie was all the negotitions with the Treaty of Ghent. Clearly, with the treaty, neither side got an advantage. The terms clearly state that neither nation gained anything and when neither has the upper hand, than neither won. And so, there is the answer. No one won land or power over the other, they ended it as if nothing had ever happened or caused it to happen. So, the war was a draw, a tie, a stalemate.
Although we say that the United States was victorious in the War of 1812, I’ve gotta disagree and say we were defeated. Our three goals were to bring about freedom of the seas, take care of our Indian problem, and to conquer Canada. Jefferson attempted to free up our seas by establishing a trade embargo….with the entire world. He thought the world depended upon our goods, but it turns out it was exactly the opposite and he wound up screwing over our economy instead of protecting it. We did wind up taking care of the Indians at the Battle of Tippecanoe and Battle of the Thames, but that was the only problem we actually solved. We wound up trying to invade Canada, but our strategy was terrible and all of our invasions wound up being repelled back. Instead of invading and going after Montreal, the center of Canada, we split up our forces and tried three separate invasions, all of which failed to penetrate British forces. The Treaty of Ghent also restored borders to their original positions, so there was no land gained or lost from Canada, so we failed. On three of our goals, we only accomplished one in the War of 1812. So why does almost all of the US think we were victorious? News of the Treaty of Ghent arrived a few weeks later than the famous Battle of New Orleans, in which Andrew Jackson gained much fame from. But the treaty had actually been signed several weeks before the battle happened, and if the news had spread faster, the battle wouldn’t have happened and the world would’ve seen that we lost, rather than the US being able to mask our loss under Jackson’s victory.
In my opinion, the War of 1812 was a draw for both Britain and America. The reasoning behind my point of view is that the Treaty of Ghent returned everything back to normal, but it did confirm that America existed as its own nation and we got the freedom to freely trade with other nations. America and Britain did accomplish some of the things they both set out for. America wanted to stop the seizing of American sailors, freely trade with OTHER European nations, and last but not least stop the British from arming the Indians. Britain wanted America to set aside land around the Great Lakes for the Indians to reside and to have control of Minnesota. America only accomplished the Britains to stop giving the guns to the Indians when we killed two indian leaders: Tecumseh & The Prophet (brothers), the British didn’t gain any land…1-0 was the score. The British did crush our army though because we were still a small nation with little to no experience of a militia. The British won though because they did not gain any of the Canadian land from the Brits. As I stated in my debate, the Americans were not really too fond of gaining Canada, it was just a distraction for them to declare the war, but they lost out because they needed as a buffer to stop the illegal trade.America did not so much win the war but we gained wisdom and acknowledgment because it was the first we had declared and we earned our hard worthy respect we desperately fought for and it made us develop a strong feel for nationalism.
The War of 1812 ended in a stalemate between America and Great Britain (Canada). America set out to end British impressment of American seamen, gain land in Canada and end conflict with Indians on the frontier. Britain allowed American ships to travel with out harassment (or impressment) after the Napoleonic Wars, not after the US’ “victory” in the War of 1812. Uncle Sam planned to attack Canada from Detroit, Niagara and Lake Champlain. Defenses held at Lake Champlain but no other battle was won in Canada or with forces from Canada. With regards to issues with Native Americans, America managed to fight off Natives at the Battle of Tippecanoe and the Battle of the Thames. Andrew Jackson defeated more Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend and after the war in Florida. These battles ended our problems with Natives but they are not to be celebrated as we wrongfully took the lands of people who arrived there thousands of years before us. It should be frowned upon how we took advantage of the Indians who did not know how property was traded in the Western world. Although it may seem that this was a British victory because of how poorly the Americans did in the war against the British, major victories for America at Lake Champlain and New Orleans, losses elsewhere (Canada), Britain did not achieve their goals during the war either. England entered treaty talks at Ghent wanting to annex Maine and Minnesota to Canada while creating a Great Lakes Indian buffer region. Britain also expressed the want to re-colonize America, although this was less likely to materialize. The Treaty of Ghent did not give any additional land to Great Britain or the United States. Neither party gained what they wanted going into the war but both gained a peace that was well received.
I believe that the War of 1812 wasn’t a victory for either side. America and Britain had to return any land gained because of the Treaty of Ghent. Even though neither side won, this war showed the rest of the world that America is no joke. That we can defend our selves by any means. We originally went to war for three reasons. 1: freedom of seas, 2: gaining land from Canada, and third to deal with Indian issues. At the end of the war, we got our sailors back, and we learned that the world doesn’t depend on us for trade. That we depend on them, the embargo that Jefferson put in place only hurt us. Our economy was very severely hurt. After we signed the treaty we were able to trade again with the rest of the world and flourish as a country. Also to bring our economy back to life. The Indian threat was drastically decreased because Britain did not supply the Indians with weapons anymore. So we did not have that much of a threat with the Indians anymore. We did not get any land but we could have gained a lot if we did not return it to Britain. Britain did not receive the land they were hoping for either. No one essentially gained anything after the War Of 1812. America gained some knowledge about how to handle things, and Britain did not even gain that. The War of 1812 to some is a tie and to others Britain won. But if you look at everything as whole, no one gained anything.
The war of 1812 also known as the second war of independence or Mr. Madison’s war (this is because president madison attacked Canada) was as close to tie as there is in war. The U.S tried twice to annex Canada from the British and both times did not succeed. This effort for Canada was fueled by the “war-hawks”, young po-americans that were primarily from the south and west. While Britain was fighting a war with the French, they also had to protect Canada. This exhausted the British and war debts were piling up. At one point in the war Britain had a lot power over the U.S. The British had offered the idea of an Indian Buffer state that would stretch to the area that is now Ohio, Indiana and Michigan. The U.S flat out disagreed and had no intentions of loosing that much land. Once Britain became aware that there was a vast amount of British citizens opposing wartime taxation and that merchants in Liverpool and Bristol had asked to re-open trade with America, Britain realized it would be more prosperous to end the war. In simpler terms it was just costing too much money to keep fighting when there was really no point in it. The Treaty of Ghent restored all land back to America and Great Britain as if it was before the war. One of the major reasons the U.S entered the war was for more land and now that is off the table. Also Britain failed with their idea of an Indian buffer state. Trade had been reopened with Macon’s 2nd bill and trade was restored to normal. The only change was that the Indians were no longer a threat to the Americans because the British had stopped supplying them. This war was a tie because no land was annexed or ceded, neither nation gained a major impact, and it changed nothing. The only thing this war actually did was create the Era of Good feelings that only lasted for two years anyways.
The war of 1812 was a tie for several reasons, but first I am going to state why it was not a win for America or Britain/Canada. The war of 1812 was ended in a treaty that did not benefit any nation more than the next, what i mean by this is after the war was over Britain didn’t get the buffer zone in the great lakes region that they wanted, the impressment of American sailors had stopped with out any real navy warfare between America and the British or the french, we failed to take Canada from Britain, and no matter how strong our military was compared to the that of the British or the French almost zero land was traded because of the war. The military strength of a nation before going into a war does not determine whether a war was a victory or a defeat. The war was a tie because there was no substantial difference made in any of the nations involved because of the war. Although America had successfully stopped the impressment of Sailors traveling from America to Europe, I do not think that is enough of a change to justify all the causalities caused by the war. In my opinion in order for a war to be considered a victory more lives have to have been saved by the results of the war than lives lost in the war itself and in this instance I do not think that is the case so I personally would rule this as a draw.
The War of 1812 should not be considered a victory for the Americans, or the British. The results and aftermath make it a tie between both countries. The Americas had three main goals they wanted to achieve with the war; expand our land into Canada, stop the British from impressing our sailors, and fix the issues with the Indians. Out of all three of these, the only goal that ended successfully was fixing the issues with Indians. The American army didn’t have the numbers or strength to take over any part of Canada, which had been thought of as an easy target for them. The Battle of Thames was the only battle for the Americans to not be defeated, but even that made no significant difference to us. No borders between America and Canada changed by the end of the war, which was a disappointment for the Americans. The Embargo Act weakened our economy, and the Americans thought they knew how to build it back up. The war did not fix the issues that had been created by the acts passed by Congress, such as the Non-Intercourse Act and Macon’s Bill No. 2. These acts actually made shipping and trading much more difficult for the Americans because Britain did not stop impressing our sailors. The Americans were successful with the Indians because of William Henry Harrison’s forces fighting at the Battle of Tippecanoe, and also because of Andrew Jackson defeating the Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. The Treaty of Ghent is a big part of what made the war a tie. It release our sailors that had been impressed, the British didn’t get any parts of Maine, Minnesota, or the Great Lakes area, and land taken over by America and Britain was all returned. The War of 1812 had wins and losses for both America and Britain, making it a tie between the two.
In my opinion, America did not win the War of 1812. But this does not mean that I think Britain won. I don’t think there needs to be a winner of all wars and especially in this case there wasn’t much of one. We went into the war for three reasons: British impressment of sailors, Indian annoyances on the West borders, and for the hope of gaining land in Canada. Out of the three the only thing we gained was freedom from Indian attacks on the West. British naval officers did not stop impressing sailors until the war was over and it was no thanks to us because they would have done it if we had joined or not. Also we gained no Canadian land and were very unsuccessful at winning many battles with them. In the end we only stopped Canadians from arming Indians. The only reason Americans feel so victorious and patriotic about this war is that we did so well fighting off the British. Our small navy on the east coast fought off numerous, heavily armed British ships and we won. Two battles that stood out for their tremendous victories were the Battle of Plattsburg and the Battle of Fort McHenry. The Battle of Fort McHenry inspired the song “The Star Spangled Banner” which is now used as our national anthem. These victories were very impressive. So it is evident that many small things that came from the War made it seem that we were victorious but in actuality we were not.
Due to the reiterating nature of the War of 1812 (little achieved and hardly anything changed), it is likely to be conceived that the Americans had “lost” the war despite the official declaring that they had won. It is with utter conviction that I say that this is ultimately a false idea. The fact that the Americans changed their given predicament little is something to be remarked upon with a sense of satisfaction to this day. We were likely the weakest country involved in the affair, and yet emerged as the winner. If we hadn’t won this war, we would be crushed by the reign of the British and they would be the leading political factor of the world to this day. The fact that the war did, as a matter of fact, not change the situation that we were under is, in all essence, something to revel in for the American Nation. Take a moment to sit back and think about what we were truly up against; THE STRONGEST MILITARY IN THE WORLD. Their navy consisted of over 200 ships with superior weaponry, while we only had a mere 12. The strongest two empires came back at us, both with a vengeance, and we kept our nation a whole. Whilst boundaries remained the same, impressing stopped without the warfare even occurring, and the only thing we really gained from the war was a strong fix towards the armed Native American problem, the majority of all these replies neglect the fact that these were goals of change that we wanted to happen. We had already earned our independence, and that was everything that we held at stake. All in all, we wave a metaphorical middle finger back towards Europe and secure our homeland, shutting down any sore loser retaliation from the Brits, also cutting off their gun trade to the natives. We kicked some butt with both hands tied behind our back and emerged relatively unscathed, and that is how American nationalism is truly shown. A country of liberals liberating yet again; the War of 1812 was in fact, the second war of American Independence.
In my opinion, the War of 1812 was a loss for the Americans. America went into the war with three main issues; freedom of the seas for trade, gaining more land like Canada and dealing with Indian issues. Out of the three problems that we went into war trying to solve, only one was really able to be accomplished. Since the French Revolution, American ships and sailors who were caught up in trading in the West Indies or in Europe were being seized by British and French navies. Trying to prevent the act of impressments, President Jefferson approved of the Embargo Act of 1807, which stopped all trade between America and the world. The whole point of the Embargo Act was to stop the impressments but it ended up being a huge problem for merchants. The second reason that Americans went into war was for more land in Canada. America invaded Canada twice and was only successful at the Battle of Thames, which was where Tecumseh died. Even after that success, in 1814 American burned down Canada’s capitol, not expecting the Canadians to put up a fight but they did, preventing the seizure of their land. Therefore, Americans were driven back to their own territory. The only issue out of the main three that was solved during the War of 1812 was the Indian issues. Conflicts with the natives ended instantaneously after the battles of Tippecanoe and Thames. I believe that the War of 1812 was a loss for the Americans because, they went into war with the three main issuse of freedom of the seas for trade, gaining more land like Canada and dealing with Indian issues but, out of those three they were only really able to accomplish one. Although neither side really benefited or lost anything from the results of the war, overall, America really wasn’t able to accomplish everything that they wanted from the war.
Whether or not America won the war of 1812 is a highly debated and controversial topic. America went to war to resolve Indian issues, for freedom of the seas, and for the possibility of gaining more Canadian land. In all fairness these are very ambitious goals for the weak nation that we were at the time, so in terms total totally kicking the British’s behinds, no we did not win the war. Although if you look at the war from a different perspective, it may seem as if we were able to win a symbolic victory by fighting off the well organized and highly trained British troops. Sure we didn’t gain any new land due to the treaty of Ghent or solve our problems at the seas, but we did solve our Indian issues and kept the British from completely destroying us and reclaiming us as their own. We were like the big time underdogs in a UFC match that was able to hold out to the point where it was declared a draw. Technically it wasn’t a win for the little guy, but it was still pretty impressive that he didn’t get the snot beat out of him right away. America was able to solve their Indian issues by putting a stop to them getting guns given to them by the British. That solved one of our three problems that we went to war for so it’s not like the war ended and absolutely nothing had changed. All in all, when you look at the war of 1812 with a very technical view it may seem like we lost, but if you dig deeper into what we gained you will find that America ended the war with a new sense of nationalism which is the most important prize that was pulled from the war.
The War of 1812, if not a British victory, is a tie. In my opinion, America in no way won this war. America’s issues/goals were to get freedom of the sea which was because the British were invading American ships and taking control over the American sailors to force them to join their Navy. Another goal was to gain more land in mostly Canada. This was important for America but couldn’t be accomplished. Lastly, dealing with Indian issues was another goal. This goal was actually accomplished and could be looked at the only positive American outcome of the War of 1812. America’s goal of solving issues with the Indians was successful because they pretty much took over the main forts and got into more fights with the Indians. The “gaining more land” goal for the Americans did not become successful because Canada proved to be very difficult to capture. The war hawks wanted to capture Canada to stop New Englanders from trading illegally with Canada. Also their issue with the freedom of the sea didn’t really come until the treaty of Ghent, which was established after the War of 1812. In this treaty, Britain would have to give back all the sailors that were held captive, America had to return the Forts and Britain must return the western territory. I believe that the War of 1812 could be looked at as a tie instead of a victory for America is because the only positive things we got out of this war are that the British couldn’t use the Great Lakes as their Indian buffer zone, and America had a victory in the Battle of New Orleans. Other than those positive outcomes, Britain controlled most of the war like invading Baltimore and also the newly constructed capitol, Washington D.C.