The United States and the War of 1812 - Essay Example

Both houses approved the message and they signed an accord, which supported war against Britain on 18 June (Turner, 11). How the United States became involved in the War of 1812 Americans constantly call the War of 1812 as the second American War of Independence. The major reasons that prompted the United States to declare war against the British was their constant abuse of America’s sovereignty. Particularly, the British interfered with the affairs of North America. This intrusion of Great Britain in North America angered the United States (Martin, 2).

In various occasions, the Royal Navy prevented neutral ships from getting inside the ports controlled by Napoleon. It emerged that most of these neutral ships that the British stopped came from the United States. Eventually, most Americans felt that the British were restricting their important trade (Turner, 22). Americans also felt that this restriction of trade by the British occurred in a way that Britain did not consider America as a sovereign nation. The British continued their intrusion as if America did not exist.

In addition, the British acted in a way to suggest that America was only a young and minor nation which did not require respect and which could not pose any threat (Healey, 3). The British also angered the Americans due to the habit of the Royal Navy stopping neutral ships from America in search of contraband and deserters who had fled from the cruel and brutal life on British warships (21). In some occasions, the British captains acted impulsively and even lured men who were native-born Americans into service on British warships.

These actions by the British continually angered the Americans who felt that the British were interfering with their important affairs (Turner, 22). Even though America attempted to reverse these situations through diplomatic complains, the British continued with these operations. In another attempt to stop these harassments, America summoned a invalidate trade restriction intended to punish the British, but it made many American merchants insolvent. It seemed to America that the British were too anxious to fight Napoleon that they did not consider the peril of United States.

In addition, the British did not care of what the Americans can do since they considered it as a young nation without ample military and economic foundation (Healey, 5). Thomas Jefferson, the American president was responsible for defending the nations honor. Since Jefferson was an educated person, he closed up the American waters from supplying water to the British warships, facilitated the release of three seamen and ordered the British to end their harassment actions towards America. Even though the British compensated the Americans for their actions, impressments still went on unabated (Hickman, 1).

There was still another grievance that lay at the heart of American hostility toward Great Britain and which prompted America to join the war. During that time, America was expanding its boundaries as it was outgrowing its coastal boundaries westward (1). Britain also realized the potential of this huge and already managed a vast amount of the land in its Canadian provinces. Instead of leaving things the way they were, the British supported the American Indians to struggle and fight against American settlers who were migrating westward from the original United States (Healey, 2).

Most Americans in the west assumed that the