An Unnatural War -1812

The War of 1812 was fought between the United States and England. It ended in 1815 and did not accomplish anything it was being fought over. For the United States, the War of 1812 seemed to just be one failure after another. The United States did not present a united front leading to multiple failures such as military defeats to states and citizens being divided over the causes of the war. Because of these failures, it is quite valid to call the War of 1812 poorly fought and unnatural.

When the war began, Americans fought to address their grievances toward the British. This seemed like a justifiable cause for a war, however not all of the citizens shared the same sense of unity about the political issues the war was being fought over. The United States was quite upset about the continuing impressments of American sailors into the British Navy and the seizures of American merchant trading vessels by the British. Another reason the United States wished to go to war with Britain was because of their dealings with the Indians in the West. The British were not only trading with the Indians, but they were also providing weapons and encouraging them to attack American settlements. Along with these reasons, the Americans, now becoming hungry for land, dreamed of capturing Canada. Also, the Americans still contained a certain degree of resentment from the Revolutionary War, which they were eager to take out on the British. Even though these were the causes the nation was supposedly fighting for, the entire country lacked the force to gain restitution for them. Everyone was only concerned with their own problems instead of being concerned with the problems facing the nation. In normal circumstances a three-year war would not break out over this list of grievances.

Many groups throughout the United States all had their apprehensions about the war at hand. New England didn't want a war because it would cut down on their profitable shipping. The South had similar views as New England because Britain bought most of their cotton and tobacco, and a war with Britain would cut off the trade and severely damage the economy. The Federalists feared that citizens of Canada would infiltrate into the United States and would then end up supporting the Jeffersonian Republicanism, lessening Federalist votes. Because of these apprehensions toward the war, the citizens were not able to unite and join together to support the war that was going on around