Joe Sweeney, age 15, of Bessemer, Ala., for his question:
WHAT WAS THE WAR OF 1812?
In many ways, the War of 1812 was the strangest war in United States history. It was really a war of faulty communications.
The war was not an all out struggle. The British, on one side, found it to be just an annoying part of their struggle with Napoleon. For many Americans, it was an unjustified attempt to gratify the expansionist ambitions of the South and West. The war settled none of the issues over which the U.S. had fought but they faded out during the following years.
Two days before the war was declared, the British government had stated that it would repeal the laws which were the chief excuse for fighting. If there had been telegraphic communication with Europe, the war might well have been avoided.
In addition, speedy communication would also have prevented the greatest battle of the war. The Battle of New Orleans was fought on Jan. 8, 1815, 15 days after a treaty of peace which ended the war was signed in Belgium on Dec. 24, 1814.
The War of 1812, which was supposed to be fought for the freedom of the seas, began with an invasion of Canada. America planned a three way attack from Detroit, the Niagara River and from the foot of Lake Champlain. All three campaigns failed, with the British troops driving back the Americans and also capturing Detroit and Fort Dearborn, which is now Chicago.
In 1813, the Americans advanced into Canada and captured York, which is now Toronto. They held it for only a short time. Then, when the Americans destroyed the British fleet on Lake Erie, the British pulled out of Detroit and much of the Michigan territory came under U.S. control. An American campaign in the autumn against Montreal failed.
In 1814 the British troops invaded Washington, D.C., and burned the Capitol and the White House. The British were driven back, inspiring Francis Scott Key to write "The Star Spangled Banner."
The reason for the war was the U.S. charge that the British were interfering with shipping.
Great Britain had been fighting France since 1793 and declared a blockade of French ports and of ports in Europe and elsewhere that were under French control. American ports were included.
The blockades had disastrous effects on U.S. shipping. Shipping that had increased fourfold between 1791 and 1805 suddenly came to an end. And so came the War of 1812.
Many tries by the American government to change the British policy toward neutral shipping failed. In 1807, Congress passed an Embargo Act which shut out British goods from American markets. But the embargo and other efforts did not produce the results that had been desired.
President Madison asked Congress to declare war against Great Britain on June 1, 1812, two days after the British had repealed their blockades.