American War Dbq

The United States waged war with Great Britain yet again in 1812, although America had been staying clear from being pulled into numerous wars between Britain and France since 1790. President Washington issued the Neutrality Proclamation in 1793, asking fellow citizens for impartiality between France and Britain. President Adams, in 1800, had agreed to the Convention of 1800; which ended the French-American alliance formed during the American Revolution, an alliance that threatened dragging America into the European wars. President Jefferson, like his predecessor, continued to avoid war with Britain and France until both countries violated American trading rights. Britain often would stop American ships, impressing sailors, and seizing cargoes. As an attempt to force the countries to respect their trading rights, Jefferson issued the Embargo Act of 1807, banning all foreign trade. However, this seriously harmed the American economy, leading to mass unemployment. After James Madison

As stated In volume 23 of The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States, First to Eighteenth Congress, “...one principle to make a nation great...is to protect every citizen...” and they found it a necessity to protect them as “[t]hese rights [were] essentially attacked, and war is the only means of redress...” Fighting for the protection of their rights established the notion that America would not tolerate disrespect and was not to be