History of America 1800-1815

Experience the History of America 1800-1815 with WisdomMaps: The Future of the Past!

Perspective

Our digital history of America 1800-1815 begin with continuing British bellicosity after the Treaty of Paris that had supposedly settled our differences. But on the high seas, the British continued to impede American shipping, and they continued to seize thousands of American sailors and force them into the Royal Navy to fight Britain’s war against Napoleon. In North America, the British supported Indian attacks on American settlers in the hope of frustrating American expansion westward. Despite strong opposition from the mercantile community who wanted to avoid disrupting trade with Britain, Congress declared war on June 18, 1812.

The war was frustrating for both sides. Neither side could gain the upper hand, thanks to the incompetence of American commanders and the ineffectiveness of the American militia. Soldiers refused to enlist and the government was unable to muster the forces needed to drive the British from Canada. As the British blockade halted American commerce, it exhausted the Treasury and angered the smugglers who had sustained trade. Once the Americans had defeated the Indians under Tecumseh, Andrew Jackson extinguished the remaining Indian hostilities in the Southeast. In all, these actions effectively ended Indian efforts to regain their territories.

In 1814, the British attacked and burned Washington, but were turned back at Baltimore, where Francis Scott Key penned the “Star Spangled Banner” to celebrate the American success. Then in early 1815, Andrew Jackson defeated the British in the Battle of New Orleans, making him a war hero. With the news of Jackson’s victory of New Orleans and the exile of Napoleon, the causes of the war no longer obtained. Soon, a peace was negotiated that left intact the boundaries that had existed before the war.

The federal government outlawed the Atlantic slave trade after 1820. As a result, prices for cotton and the demand for slaves soared in the Deep South, and slavery became more widespread. In fact, the federal government had outlawed American participation in the Atlantic slave trade after 1820. As a result, prices for cotton (and slaves) soared in the Deep South, and the slave population increased as slavery became more widespread.

The Second Great Awakening in the first half of the 19^th century converted many Americans to evangelicalism. Moreover, it inspired social reform movements, including abolitionism, women’s rights, and temperance. Even though abolitionists demanded freedom for the slave, the condition of the slaves remained dire.

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