The War of 1812

            The War of 1812 was fought by the Americans against the British and certain tribes of Native Americans and served as a staple in American History. While each side had many advantages and disadvantages, there were consequences for everyone involved. The main reason that America declared war on the British, and therefore the Indians was that they thought that the victory would grant them true independence once and for all.  Also, the British in Canada were trading with the Indians and they wanted it stopped.  Another factor was that the Shawnees at Tippecanoe were defeated; this made the western war hawks want to break Indian resistance altogether.

            Some of the advantages that the Americans had coming into the war were that they were better armed and organized as far as American History goes. A big disadvantage was that they were ill-prepared for an all out war against the stronger British army.  The Indians had an amazing military prowess and an abiding hate of Americans which really helped with keeping up morale.  Also, as mentioned above the British had more resources as far as weaponry and more men to help them, as well as the Indians who had superior knowledge of the land.

            When the war first ended the British tried to make Americans agree to create an Indian territory in the Upper Great Lakes Region. This would have changed American History forever. They also proposed to make them cede much of the state of Maine to England. Of course, Madison and his Americans would not agree to any of this and negotiations went on.

            The final compromise was that each side would retain the land that they possessed at the beginning of the war, and that is how American History was written. America demanded that the British stop impressing their sailors and supplying the Indians with arms, but they made no concessions to these demands. Some of the American soldiers and sailors who engaged in battle with the British and Indians paid a high price for a year or two by being held as prisoners, they were scarcely fed and witnessed horrible acts against their comrades.

            In conclusion, the Americans as well as the British and Indians had a few advantages and disadvantages against each other at the beginning of the war, that seemed to even out throughout the ordeal.  There were a few major consequences for each side, but mostly the lives of those who fought were the biggest consequences.  Americans saw it as “Mr. Madison’s War”, and that’s precisely what it was. It wrote several pages in the books of American History.