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

became president in 1809, he had to face the same problem. After three years of failed attempts to settle problems peacefully, Madison finally asked Congress to declare war on Great Britain. America’s war with Britain was an event that defended them from the injustice of impressment, strengthened the Democratic-Republic, and raised national morale.
According to Annals of the Congress of the United States, written by the Twelfth Congress, impressment was one of “...the great[est] causes of complaint against Great Britain...” as they had “...capture[d] every American vessel...” and “...enslave[d] seamen...” As an attempt to force European powers to force European powers to respect American trading rights, President Jefferson had issued the Embargo Act, banning all foreign trading; regrettably, his efforts were futile, causing America to face harsh economic hardships.

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

overlooked.
America’s political parties were divided on the topic of war. The Democratic-Republicans were in favor of war, while the Federalists were in strong opposition. The Federalists would be most affected by a war with Britain, since a majority of their trade was with England. The South and West regions supported the reelection of President Madison, while the New England region opposed his reelection. President Madison closely won the reelection against the Federalist candidate, DeWitt Clinton. The Federalists did not hold presidency after John Adam’s defeat in 1800, and their membership in Congress had diminished. If the Democratic-Republic support had not been so strong, the war not have occurred, and America would likely be subject to European power.
National morale increased as the war went on, citizens becoming more confident in themselves and their country. 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...” America protected its citizens when their rights were threatened from impressment by declaring war. This allowed Americans to feel pride in their country and continue to fight for their freedom from oppression by European powers, and later win the war with an intention of keeping those events reoccuring.
America had won the war and its respect. Its citizens pride restored and strengthened after the country had fought for its health and independence from oppression. The Democratic-Republic had grown stronger, drastically outnumbering the Federalist party. Without the strong Democratic-Republican support, the war would not have occurred, changing history and the lives of Americans.