Dbq War Hawks

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In the beginning of 1812 there were many people who wanted war with britain one of the leading groups for this cause were called War Hawks. Among the leaders of the War Hawks were Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun. When the discussion of war with britain started they were not the only country that was mentioned. At first france was mentioned but soon videod because there resentment towards britain was much stronger. Many war hawks also wanted war with britain to end impressment. When the war had started it was mainly fought on water due to the size of the british navy and there amount of seafaring men. When the united states declared war on britain was in need of direr repair due to the size of britain's massive fleets and experience of being …show more content…

One of the leading groups for the cause were called war hawks. Many war hawks wanted war because britain was seizing American trading ships. In the past year statistics showed that over 10,000 seamen and 1,000 merchants were impressed and over 5,000 ships were seized. This topic was very strongly debated among the leaders of the War Hawks (Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun) but finally they came to a decision and Madison asked Congress for the declaration of war. (wikipedia.com) On June 4, 1812, the House of Representatives took a vote to declare war on Britain, congress voted 79 to 49and on June 17, by a vote of 19 to 13, passed the bill. When the war started the us navy was in dire repair. Its Navy was barely eighteen-years-old with barely a dozen ships to its name. This was devastating to the american navy when it was realized that The British Royal Navy, had over five hundred active warships. And Eighty-five of these ships were sailing in American …show more content…

Navy started building a squadron of gunboats and two frigates in the remote town of Erie, on the shores of Lake Erie. It was an odd choice, given that there were no access roads, no foundries, rope factories or shipwrights nearby. But the area’s dense forests provided the critical resource – tall straight timbers for planking and masts. In fact, the timber resources in North America were one of the several reasons that Britain wished to hold on to the Canadian provinces. Timber on the British Isles was all but gone – any new ships for the Royal Navy would be fashioned out of New World wood. Not surprisingly, British shipwrights were also busy building ships on the Great Lakes, in Amherstburg and Kingston,

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