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February 25, 2021 History NotesTHESE NOTES CORRESPOND TO YOUR READING ASSIGNMENT FOR MARCH 4. Study these notes to get a head start on understanding the War of 1812. FOREIGN AFFAIRSBARBARY PIRATESMuslim pirates living along the coast near Tripoli, Libya in N. Africa preyed on American shippingIn order to allow American commerce in the Mediterranean, we were forced to pay ‘tribute’In 1805, during Jefferson’s administration, these pirates increased the rate of tributeThus, Jefferson dispatched the American navy to N. Africa where the pirates were defeated STEPHEN DECATUR was the individual hero in this war with these Muslim pirates. His fame lives on in navy history even today because of the daring raid he led to rescue* the U.S.S. Philadelphia, a war ship that had been captured by the pirates. Using trickery and bravery of the first order, his men were unable to sail the Philadelphia out of Tripoli harbor, so they burned the ship instead to keep the enemy from using our own ship against us. WAR IN EUROPEMeanwhile, war raged in EuropePresident Jefferson wanted to remain neutral, but neutrality was difficultOff the VA coast in 1807, the English navy brought the U.S. to the brink of warThe Leopard (English) stopped the Chesapeake (American) looking for English sailors who had desertedChesapeake refused to allow officials from Leopard to conduct a searchLeopard opened fire3 Americans were killed and 4 were impressed into service of the British navyEMBARGORather that declaring war, Pres. Jefferson asked Congress to declare an embargo against EnglandThis embargo ended trade between England and the U.S.American merchants hated the embargo because it cost them profitsOur entire economy was damaged by the EMBARGO, but we didn’t go to warELECTION OF 1808 JAMES MADISON BECOMES OUR 4TH PRESIDENTJefferson had served his 2 terms, so it was time to elect a new PresidentJefferson left many problems for the newly elected James MadisonFIRST LADY DOLLY MADISON became one of the most beloved First Ladies in our history—she had a great personality which was important because her husband James was quiet and shyBecause her husband was Vice President, Dolly actually served as First Lady for President Jefferson whose wife had died prior to his election as President—making her the longest serving First Lady Page 2Americans were angry with England because of: 1. their aggressive behavior toward American ships and sailors 2. the negative effects of the embargo 3. the Indian attacks England instigated targeting pioneer farmers/families Henry Clay, a Senator from Kentucky, and other ‘War Hawks’ were clamoring for warClay told Congress that the British were encouraging Indians to rebel and supplying them with armsSpecifically, Tecumseh was one of those Indians to whom England was supplying arms… INDIAN WARTECUMSEHTecumseh, a Shawnee chief, and his brother ‘The Prophet” were great leaders who had 2 goals: 1-to restore Indian lands that had already been taken by settlers 2-to stop more settlers from settling on Indian land“The Prophet” accurately predicted an eclipse of the sun to gain widespread support of the IndiansShortly after the eclipse, there was a powerful earthquake that further fueled Indian superstitionNEW MADRID EARTHQUAKE1811/1812, one of the most powerful series of earthquakes ever recorded occurred in MissouriThis New Madrid earthquake was felt as far north as Montreal, CanadaIn NW Tennessee, a 22,000 acre section of land sank about 60 feet during the quakeThis low area filled with water and formed what we call today Reelfoot LakeThese natural occurrences were seen as positive omens or signs by the superstitious IndiansAs a result, many Indians were motivated to join with the British in fighting America TIPPECANOEIn the spring of 1812, a battle was fought in Indiana between the Indians and an American militiaThis was a great victory for the American militia and its commander, William Henry HarrisonWAR WITH ENGLANDWAR OF 1812With all that had happened, Madison had little choice but to ask Congress to declare war on England Madison became the first President in American history to ask Congress to declare warWar of 1812: 1812 – 1815 England and her Indian allies v. The United StatesSome have called this war OUR SECOND WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE Page 3ENGLAND’S STRATEGY TO DEFEAT THE UNITED STATES Part 1: Attack America from Canada—Arm the Indian tribes—encourage them to rebel against settlersHappily for America, this part of the plan was a great English failure!Why did it fail? Partly because of the American victory at Tippecanoe earlier in 1812. But there was another reason for this English failure. It failed because Oliver Hazard Perry with a small American fleet fought and defeated an English fleet on Lake Erie. Perry wrote the following famous line when reporting to his commander:“We have met the enemy and they are ours.”This part of the plan also failed because Harrison won another important battle against the IndiansBattle was fought in Ontario, CanadaTecumseh, by this time an officer in the British army, was killedAmericans for spite burned some Canadian government buildings English and Indian opposition in the north basically came to an endEven though he was now dead, Tecumseh’s influence still lived to the southThe Creek Tribe, under chief Red Eagle Chief Red Eagle was actually 7/8 white with the English name William WeatherfordThe Creeks attacked Fort Mims neat Montgomery, ALAlmost all of the 500+ settlers who had taken refuge there were killed--women, children includedGovernor Blount of TN feared for the safety of Nashville following this attackBlount called for an army of TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS to take on the CreeksANDREW JACKSON was named commander of this army of VOLUNTEERSBATTLE OF HORSESHOE BEND Jackson and his army went looking for the CreeksThere were no roads over which to move the army and supplies ran shortJackson never backed down, however, saying they would eat ‘acorns’ if necessary Jackson walked with his men and ate what they ate. His men began calling himOLD HICKORY because he was so toughJackson’s army encountered the Creeks near Dadeville, AL on the Tallapoosa RiverCreeks were ‘fortified’ in a bend of the river with water on 3 sides and a barricade on the 4th Jackson had 3000 men to about 1000 CreeksBattle lasted about 7 hoursJackson gave the Creeks a chance to surrender, but when they refused, all but about 50 were killedOnly 51 Americans were killed and 148 woundedWith their defeat, the Creeks gave up 23,000,000 acres of land to the U.S. Page 4Part 2 of the British Plan to Defeat the U.S. in the War of 1812—ATTACK FRO THE EASTAn English army attacked Washington D.C. in 1814. Washington was completely unprepared and fell to the British in short orderPresident Madison just managed to escape capture The Whitehouse and other government buildings were burned Dolly Madison managed to save a valuable portrait of George Washington before fleeingFrom Washington the English army moved quickly to Baltimore to join their navy in an attackHowever, Baltimore was very prepared where Washington had been unpreparedThe military stationed in Baltimore repelled the English attackThe garrison inside Fort McHenry was most important in this victoryAs a side note, Francis Scott Key was on board one of the English ships that fired on Fort McHenryHe was a lawyer and was on the English ship trying to negotiate the release of an American prisonerBecause of darkness, Key could not see how the battle was progressing, but “by the dawn’s early light” he could see that the American flag was still flying over the FortAt that point he wrote the words on an ENVELOPE to the Star Spangled Banner, the song that would become our national anthem The English failure at Baltimore resulted in the failure of the 2nd part of their plan to defeat the U.S.. ................
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