War Of 1812 Causes Essay

Throughout the history of America, the nation has had many conflicts. One of the most notables, especially when referred to early history, is the Revolutionary War against Great Britain. Many people, however, may not know that even though the U.S gained independence in 1776, Britain forces returned no less than 40 years later. This conflict, or war, was known as the War of 1812. It is arguable on what exactly led Americans to declare war on Great Britain, as they can be broken up into many causes. In a nutshell, the cause of the War of 1812 can be summed up to the constant quarreling and antagonism between Great Britain and the United States. Most notably, the U.S itself was divided on whether or not the country should go to war with Britain.

As Americans continued to move out further west and push remaining Native American tribes out of their homeland, one leader of the Shawnee tribe, known as Tecumseh, reached a breaking point against the U.S. “Tecumseh was a great Indian Leader who united all native american nations of the midwest. His goal was to stop the white man. Britain aids Tecumseh’s power army (Hales Ntbk. 25).” Despite the Treaty of Greenville with Native American Tribes, the United States continued to expand rapidly into the Midwest. Tecumseh potentially saw this as a reason to go to war against the U.S before all of their tribes would be eradicated. In order to gain more support, they allowed the British to aid them. With the buildup of Tecumseh's army and British annoyance. President Jefferson declares war on June 1, 1812 by stating, “We behold, in fine, on the side of Great Britain a state of war against the United States (Doc. 4).” President Jefferson’s primary reason for this declaration of war is the lawless violence caused by Britain by capturing ships, and even forcibly drafting American soldiers into the British