The War of 1812 Was Opposed By Many Americans

The Declaration of War Passed the Congress, But Divisions Remained

When the United States declared war against Britain in June 1812, the vote on the declaration of war in the Congress was fairly close, reflecting how unpopular the war was to large segments of the American public.  Though one of the main reasons for the war had to do with the rights of sailors on the high seas and the protection of American shipping, the senators and representatives from the maritine states of New England tended to vote against the war.

Sentiment for war was perhaps strongest in the western states and territories, where a faction known as the War Hawks believed that the United States could invade present day Canada and seize territory from the British.  The debate about the war had been going on for many months, with newspapers, which tended to be highly partisan in that era, proclaiming pro-war or anti-war positions......To Read More...

The Chase and Escape of USS Constitution Boosted Morale in the War of 1812 -  The escape of the USS Constitution from a squadron of British warships early in the War of 1812 served as an inspirational story at a time when the United States Navy was not expected to perform well against the much more powerful Royal Navy of Britain.  The chase of the Constitution played out for more than 70 hours, as the sailors of the American frigate, under the direction of its very skillful captain, engaged in backbreaking work which succeeded in moving the ship despite the absence of any wind.......Back on the open ocean, Constitution encountered one of the ships which had chased it. In what would be one of the most famous naval encounters of the 19th century, USS Constitution defeated HMS Guerriere on August 19, 1812.....

My Take - Contrary to common and popular opinion - America lost the war of 1812.  There were - surprisingly - naval victories, but the only real victory on land was the Battle of New Oreleans, and the war was offically over by then.  America - not Britain - appealed for a treaty to end the war.  The Treaty of Ghent was signed on Christmas Eve 1814.  One writer claims American won the war...and why... because America survived.  

Interesting take!  Don't you think?  

The question we should be asking is this.  If the British hadn't been fighting Napoleon for all those years - was financially strapped as a result - and the British people were sick of war - would America have survived?  

Interesting question.   Don't you think? 

Answer:  During the war of 1812 England fought on American soil and won over and over again until New Orleans.  But the English weren't stupid.  They knew they won because the American army wasn't really a trained army, that many of the senior officers were mostly old Revolutionary officers without the fire needed to fight, and they knew time and distance was on the side of America.   

They knew better soldiers would be on the way.  They knew better officers would be on the way.  They knew the toll that would be extracted by American militia tactics draining their army of men and material.  

They knew that because it happened before and they knew it would happen again, and they knew over time they would lose.