United States declaration of war on the United Kingdom

An Act Declaring War between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Dependencies Thereof and the United States of America and Their Territories was passed by the 12th United States Congress on June 18, 1812, thereby beginning the War of 1812. It was signed by James Madison, the 4th President of the United States.

The United States (US) and Great Britain have a history of tension and disagreement.^[1] However, according to American Battlefield Trust, the War of 1812 was an avoidable conflict, which was a "result of ineffective foreign policy."^[2] Starting in the 1800s, Thomas Jefferson, who was the US president from 1801 to 1809, was in the pursuit of conquering more land.^[3][4] When French Emperor Napoleon began to sell territory in North America, Great Britain retaliated and declared war on France.^[2] The US grew angry with Great Britain as they repeatedly mistook US vessels on Atlantic Ocean for French vessels, violently forcing US sailors to join the Royal Navy.^[2] To alleviate this problem, Thomas Jefferson created the Embargo Act, restricting trade with Great Britain.^[2] However, it did not resolve the issue.^[2] In addition to impressment and trade restrictions, the US disagreed with Great Britain's relationship and support of US Indigenous people.^[2] In particular, many US citizens accused Great Britain of helping Indigenous people resist US expansion.^[2] Eventually these tensions mounted, causing US president James Madison to declare war on the United Kingdom in June 1812.^[2] The US started by attacking Canada, which they assumed was a key source of support for Indigenous people.^[2] Another reason the US targeted Canada was to maintain national honour and prevent the British from gaining more influence of North America.^[5]

The US government in 1812 was run by President James Madison, who represented the Democratic-Republican Party.^[6] President Madison was a key driving force in the declaration of war.^[7] As president, he created a declaration of war speech, which he presented to Congress, arguing that war was a necessary measure.^[7] The House and Senate were significantly divided in political opinion, resulting in passing votes only exceeding opposing votes by a small margin.^[8]

A group of congressmen, known as the "War Hawks", were a key driving force of the War of 1812.^[9] The War Hawks efforts ultimately persuaded President James Madison to declare war on the United Kingdom.^[9] This young group, composed of mainly people from Southern and Western States was led by Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun.^[9][10] Specifically, Henry Clay was elected the speaker of the house by the US Congress in 1811.^[9] Henry Clay stated that war, "calamitous as it generally is, seems to me the only alternative worthy of our Country. I should blush to call myself an American were any other adopted."^[11] The War Hawks ensured their involvement in political progress by keeping representatives in all congressional committees, such as the "Foreign Relations Committee, and War Hawks chaired the Naval, Ways and Means, and Military Affairs Committees."^[12]

The War Hawks expressed anger and resentment towards Great Britain due to years of perceived mistreatment.^[13] The War Hawks not only blamed Great Britain for economic struggles and humiliation faced during Napoleonic Wars, but they also argued that Great Britain had overstepped neutral trade agreements.^[12][13] Additionally, the War Hawks discussed the issue of American seaman impressment which violated maritime rights.^[14][9] Another grievance that the War Hawks emphasized was the pressure coming from Indigenous people on the western frontier.^[9] They worried about the Indigenous resistance to white settlement and the US involvement in supporting their efforts.^[9] Lastly, the War Hawks appealed to US patriotic beliefs, reminding President James Madison that the US must prevent Great Britain from conquering Canada to reinforce national honour.^[12]

The United States' declaration of War against Great Britain was a result of various events and disagreements.^[1] Much of the conflict originated because the US was caught in between Great Britain and France who were at war.^[15]

The Rule of 1756 was enacted during the Seven Years' War.^[15] The rule permitted Great Britain to block all French ports to prevent France's transportation of goods with other continents, which could support its war effort.^[15] It also declared that all neutral nations "could only carry items that had been transported in times of peace."^[15] Any country that disobeyed the rules would be committing an act of war.^[15] Americans resented the rule because it prohibited US trade and re-export with its ally France.^[15] It also gave the British justification to board and take over US ships.^[15] As a result, the US created the Non-importation Act of 1806, which was intended to address the violation of US neutral trade rights by preventing the importation of British goods.^[15] Unfortunately, Great Britain's response did not improve matters, as they created more blockades.^[15]

The US created the Embargo Act of 1807 to address British and French interference with US neutral ships.^[16] Officially, the act "closed US ports to all exports and restricted imports from Great Britain."^[16] Nonetheless, the act did not work as planned.^[16] It was later lifted in 1809 and was replaced by the Non-Intercourse Act.^[17] This act allowed the US to trade with nations other than Great Britain and France.^[17] Regrettably, neither act solved British interference with US shipping.^[16]

The Chesapeake–Leopard affair demonstrates a major conflict between the US and Great Britain.^[18] The Chesapeake Affair occurred in early 1807.^[18] In spite of trade restrictions imposed on France, the British discovered two French vessels attempting to trade with the US in Chesapeake Bay.^[18] The ship, known as Chesapeake, was thought to have aided the British Navy seaman in deserting their roles in the Navy.^[18] As a result of this treason, Great Britain issued a search on the vessel, which was refused by the ship's commander.^[18] In response to this refusal, the Chesapeake ship was attacked, resulting in the commander and 17 others being injured, and 3 people killed.^[18] Individuals who survived the attack faced harsh punishments for leaving the Navy, such as 500 lashes and one being hanged(British subject).^[18] However, many of the deserters that were accused of leaving were not British subjects.^[18] In fact, only one of the deserters from the ship was from Great Britain.^[18] This event evoked anger and mistrust in the US, contributing to the decision to declare war.^[18]

Another contributing factor to the US declaring war was conflict with First Nations people in America.^[19] The US was angry at Great Britain for trading goods with First Nations.^[19] In particular, they disapproved of Great Britain's strong relationship with the chief of Shawnee, Tecumseh.^[19] The US were suspicious of the relationship, considering that Tecumseh led a fight against the US, which is now known as Tecumseh's War.^[19] Therefore, the US correlated the success and strength of the resistance with the support of Great Britain.^[19]

President James Madison's speech to the Senate and House of Representatives discussed affairs committed by Great Britain.^[20] Throughout the speech, he touched on four key arguments, including "impressment, illegal blockades, the orders in the council, and British involvement in Indian warfare".^[20] He emphasized that war is justified because of these affairs, while supporting his argument by claiming that peaceful approaches in the past proved ineffective.^[20] He also suggested that Great Britain would resort to war if they were to face similar challenges, and claimed that not declaring war would undermine US Sovereignty.^[20] Essentially, the speech conveyed the importance of fulfilling "the rights, interests, and the honour of [the] country."^[20]

The first aspect of President James Madison's speech is impressment.^[20] He declared that impressment is an injustice to US citizens, since they would be forced to fight for people that had 'oppressed them' in the past."^[20] This discontent is evident when he stated, "British cruisers have been in the continued practice of violating the American flag on the great highway of nations, and of seizing and carrying off persons sailing under it, not in the exercise of a belligerent right founded on the law of nations against an enemy, but of a municipal prerogative over British subjects."^[20] This quote effectively compares the ocean to a great highway that connects many nations.^[20] This conveys his concern with the fact that the British have prevented communication and commerce with other countries.^[20]

The second aspect of President James Madison's speech addressed the illegal blockades that were implemented to limit France's resources in the war.^[20] Although the blockades were intended to weaken France's defences, he highlighted the blockade's negative effect on the economic interests of the US, since it limited the importation and exportation of commerce.^[20] He also shared that without US participation in foreign markets of trade, the economy would inevitably undergo challenges.^[20] Furthermore, he described how the act would influence agricultural activities in the US, thus impacting the livelihoods of US citizens.^[20] President James Madison discussed this concern when he stated, "Under pretended blockades, without the presence of an adequate force and sometimes without the practicability of applying one, our commerce has been plundered in every sea, the great staples of our country have been cut off from their legitimate markets, and a destructive blow aimed at our agricultural and maritime interests."^[20]

The third aspect of President James Madison's speech addressed the impact of British Orders in the council.^[20] He discussed the detrimental impact that Great Britain's system of blockades had on the US economy.^[20] He demonstrates his dislike of the Orders in the Council when he states that it " has been molded and managed as might best suit its political views, its commercial jealousies, or the avidity of British cruisers."^[20]

The fourth aspect of President James Madison's speech addressed how Indigenous warfare impacted US livelihood.^[20] He emphasized the resistance against white settlement from Indigenous people.^[20] The speech also referenced the support that Great Britain was providing Indigenous people and the threat this posed to the US.^[20]

The House and Senate permit the president to sign the war declaration.^[21] With respect to the War of 1812, congress did approve of the declaration of war, though it was the closest vote in all of America's declarations of war.^[21] In the House, the vote supporting war was 79 to 49, which illustrated the divided opinion.^[21] Similarly, in the Senate there was a lack of unanimous support from the senators.^[21] They were divided based on their political affiliation resulting in 19 senators voting in favour and 13 opposing it.^[21]

The Republicans were the only political party that voted in favour of war.^[21] They contributed 98 votes.^[21] The Republicans were believed to have voted with domestic and partisan interests in mind.^[21] Many may have also voted in favour hoping that the war would unite Republicans.^[21] On the other hand, all Federalists were opposed to the war.^[21] Interestingly, Federalists were primarily from North Eastern states.^[22] This preference is likely due to the economic consequences that people would face if war were to occur.^[22] Unlike Western states, their livelihoods relied heavily on the coast's resources.^[22] Specifically, sailors and trades; "coopers, blacksmiths, sailmakers, shipwrights, rope makers, and chandlers" would suffer from battles on the coast.^[22] Additionally, farmers would experience challenges, due to their reliance on foreign trade.^[22] Therefore, due to a lack of unanimous agreement between voters, and the strong push from the president, the War of 1812 is commonly referred to as "Mr. Madison’s War."^[21]

The declaration of war against the United Kingdom was signed by President James Madison on June 18, 1812.^[23] This represented the beginning of the War of 1812.^[23]