Western Frontier Conflict Causes the War of 1812

Do Now: Answer the questions below.
____ 1. Which of the following was NOT an effect of the Embargo Act?
(a) Britain could not trade with any country.
(b) American merchants lost large amounts of money.
(c) American ports were closed to British ships.
(d) American ships could not sail to foreign ports.

____ 2. How did the Embargo Act affect President Thomas Jefferson?
(a) The Embargo Act depleted Jefferson’s belief in America.
(b) The Embargo Act strengthened Jefferson’s personal alliance with Alexander Hamilton.
(c) The Embargo Act allowed Jefferson to gain more support from the Senate.
(d) The Embargo Act decreased Jefferson’s popularity among American citizens.

3. What is impressment? (1 sentence)


____ 4. How was the Non-Intercourse Act different from the Embargo Act?
(a) It allowed American trade with all countries with all goods except cotton and silk.
(b) It allowed American merchants to trade with the new French Revolutionary government.
(c) It allowed American trade with all countries except Britain, France, and their colonies.
(d) It allowed American trade with all countries with all goods except tea and whiskey.


The Conflict over Land

In the early 1800s, conflict occurred between American settlers and Native Americans as thousands of American settlers moved into western America and forcefully pushed Native Americans off of their land.
America had taken this land in the Treaty of Greenville. But Native American leaders hadn’t agreed to this treaty, so they protested the settlers’ arrival. These frustrated Native Americans considered what to do. In the meantime, Britain saw an opportunity to slow American’s westward expansion. British agents from Canada began to give guns and ammunition to Native Americans who were living along the western frontier. When Americans heard about this they became angry.

1. Paraphrase the paragraph above. (2 sentences)

• I Underlined 2-3 key words in the paragraph.
• I Combined the 2-3 underlined words with my own words and I told what the paragraph literally means.
• I Added historical context.
• I did NOT include personal thoughts or guesses.

Tecumseh Resists U.S. Settlers

Tecumseh (tuh-KUHM-suh), a Shawnee chief, seemed more than capable of defeating the American settlers. He was a brilliant speaker, and he warned other Native American tribes about the need to stop American settlers from taking over Native Americans’ lands. He believed that the Native Americans had to do what white Americans had done: unite.
Tecumseh tried to unite the Native Americans of the northwestern frontier, the South, and the eastern Mississippi Valley. His brother – a religious leader named the Prophet – helped him. They founded a village called Prophetstown for their followers near the Wabash and Tippecanoe rivers.

The Battle of Tippecanoe

William Henry Harrison, the Indiana Territory’s governor, was watching Tecumseh with fear. Harrison called him “one of those uncommon geniuses which spring up occasionally to overturn the established order.” The governor knew that Britain was arming Tecumseh and his men, and therefore, viewed these Native Americans as a serious threat to American power in the West.

2. Analyze: What does Harrison mean that Tecumseh was a “genius” that could “overturn the established order”? (3). (1-2 sentences)

In 1810 Tecumseh met face to face with Harrison. The governor urged him to follow the Treaty of Greenville that had been signed in 1795. Tecumseh replied, “The white people have no right to take the land from the Indians, because the Indians had it first.” No single chief, he insisted, could sell land belonging to all Native Americans who used it. In response, Harrison warned Tecumseh not to resist the power of the United State
Tecumseh traveled south to ask the Creek tribe to join his forces. In his absence, Harrison attacked. Harrison raised an army and marched his troops close to Prophetstown. Then the Prophet attacked Harrison’s camp on November 7, 1811.
The Native Americans ambushed Harrison’s camp, but Harrison kept a “calm, cool, and collected” demeanor. During the all-day battle, Harrison’s soldiers forced the Native American warriors to retreat. Then the American troops destroyed Tecumseh’s village. Chief Shabbona said, “With the smoke of that town and loss of that battle, I lost all hope.” The defeat in the Battle of Tippecanoe destroyed Tecumseh’s dream of creating a great Native American confederation. After the battle his followers continued to raid settlements in Indiana and southern Michigan, but Tecumseh had to flee to Canada.
3. Paraphrase the paragraph above (2 sentences)


The evidence of British support for Tecumseh further inflamed Americans. A Democratic-Republican newspaper declared, “The war on the Wabash River is purely BRITISH.” Many Americans felt that Britain had encouraged Tecumseh to attack settlers in the West.
The War Hawks
Several young members of Congress – called War Hawks by their opponents – took the lead in calling for war against Britain. These legislators (law-makers) – most of whom were from the South and West – were led by Henry Clay of Kentucky, John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, and Felix Grundy of Tennessee. They saw war as the only answer to Britain supplying the Native Americans with weapons and encouraging them to fight the Americans settlers. “If we submit,” Calhoun warned, “the independence of this nation is lost.” Calls for war grew. These leaders wanted to put a stop to Britain’s influence in the West. The War Hawks also wanted to invade Canada and gain more land for settlement. War Hawks gave emotional speeches urging Americans to stand up to Britain.

4. Analyze: What did the War Hawks want? (1-2 sentence)
The Opposition
New England Federalists argued against the War Hawks. New England’s economy had been nearly destroyed by the Embargo and Non-Intercourse Acts. These New England Federalists wanted to start trading with Britain again, instead of fighting another war. Other politicians argued that war with Great Britain would be foolish.

5. Paraphrase: Use our U.C.A.N. strategy to paraphrase the paragraph above. (2 sentences)


Declaring War

Republican James Madison was elected president in 1808. He felt growing pressure from the War Hawks to start a war against Britain. By 1812 he decided that Congress should vote on war. Speaking to Congress,
Madison blasted Britain’s conduct.
When Congress voted a few days later, the War Hawks won. For the first time in the nation’s brief history, Congress had declared war. A few months later, American citizens elected Madison to a second term. Madison served as commander in chief during the War of 1812.
“Whether the United States shall continue passive under these … accumulating wrongs, or, opposing force to force in defense of their national rights, shall commit a just cause into the hands of the Almighty Disposer of Events, … is a solemn question which the Constitution wisely confides to the legislative department of the Government. In recommending it to their early deliberations I am happy in the assurance that the decision will be worthy the enlightened and patriotic councils of a virtuous, a free, and a powerful nation.”
—President James Madison, War Message to Congress Washington, June 1, 1812


6. Paraphrase the primary source quotation from James Madison (1-2 sentences)

7. Explain: Why did the United States declare war in 1812? (2 sentences)