Background of the War

The war developed out of interference with United States ships during Great Britain's conflict with France under Napoleon. Under a plan called the Continental System, Napoleon attempted to cut off Britain's sea trade by declaring its ports blockaded and all the ports of continental Europe closed to British vessels. Britain, in turn, issued orders requiring neutral ships destined for continental ports to stop first in Great Britain to pay a duty on their cargoes. The British said they would seize ships that refused to comply, and the French, in turn, announced they would seize any ship entering or leaving a British port.

Another form of interference was the British practice of halting American ships to impress (seize and put into service) sailors on the grounds that they were deserters from the British navy. Although the British did not confine this practice to American vessels, it was especially abusive when American ships were involved because of the two nations' common language; many American citizens were impressed simply because they had what sounded like British accents.

In an attempt to force the British to change their maritime policies, the United States passed the Nonimportation Act in 1806, forbidding the importation of certain British goods. The act failed to have the desired effect.

In 1807 the U.S. Navy frigate Chesapeake was fired upon and severely damaged by the British frigate Leopard. Several United States sailors were killed, and the British seized four sailors they claimed were deserters from their navy. The Chesapeake-Leopard incident aroused public opinion against the British and there was a demand for war. To avoid a conflict, President Jefferson got Congress to pass the Embargo Act (1807), forbidding United States ships to sail to foreign ports. Jefferson thought that the act would be more effective than the Nonimportation Act because of Great Britain's great need for American goods.

The Embargo Act was replaced in 1809 by the Nonintercourse Act, which allowed commerce with all nations except Great Britain and France. Great Britain refused to modify its maritime policies but the French foreign minister gave the Americans the impression that Napoleon had revoked his decrees regarding neutral shipping, when in fact he had not. American anger was directed toward the British.

Great Britain, seeing that war fever was building in the United States, finally revoked the offending restrictions. But it was too late; Congress declared war two days later on June 18, 1812. If there had been some way to make Great Britain's action promptly known in Washington, war might have been averted.

New Englanders strongly opposed war, believing it would only make worse the harm that was being done to their shipping trade. The strongest pressure for war came from Congressional leaders known as "the War Hawks," who mainly represented the western frontier and the South. Their chief interest was the conquest of Canada and Florida. They aroused feeling for war by charging that Tecumseh's Indians, who had inflicted severe losses on William Henry Harrison's forces at Tippecanoe in 1811, had obtained arms from the British in Canada. Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun were among leaders of the War Hawks.