Today the first international war fought by the USA broke out

The war of 1812-1815 was a secondary chapter of the great tragedy of the Napoleonic wars, but it had this curious characteristic of presenting the USA on the international stage for the first time.

After a period of complex relations (the so-called "Quasi War") relations between the USA and France had normalized and then become excellent when Napoleon agreed to sell Louisiana to the US for 15 million dollars in 1803, a settlement which doubled the territory of the USA. On the contrary, relations with the United Kingdom had progressively stiffened. The Treaty of Paris, which had ended the War of Independence, was unclear on many points. The UK routinely stopped US ships for inspection and for the forcible recruitment of British-born sailors, and US sanctions didn't work even then.

Then on June 18, 1812, President Madison declared what became known as the “War of 1812,” pitting the United Kingdom and the United States of America for nearly three years, from June 1812 to February 1815. This war can be considered as the last war between the two Atlantic powers, which have since become allies, as the second war of independence of the United States, which consolidated their sovereignty and their international prestige, and as the true moment of birth of the States United, which established itself as a united and strong nation.

The war was caused by a variety of reasons, including trade restrictions imposed by the British on US merchants because of their war against Napoleonic France, the Royal Navy's practice of forcibly conscripting US sailors into its ranks, support British to Native Americans who opposed US westward expansion, and US territorial ambitions over Canada, a British colony.

The war was fought on several fronts: on US and Canadian soil, on the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific, and in the Caribbean. The war saw some dramatic moments, such as the British burning of Washington in 1814, the US naval victory on Lake Erie in 1813, the heroic resistance of the Canadians at Queenston Heights in 1812, and the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. where General Andrew Jackson defeated the British after the signing of the peace treaty.

During the war the city of Baltimore was attacked by the British and, on that occasion, the poet Francis Scott Key, who witnessed the bombardment of the fortifications, wrote the poem "Defence of Fort McHenry," which later became the words of the hymn " The Star-Spangled Banner,”

In the same war you served the USS Constitution, the oldest military ship still in service, which fought and won against the frigate Guerrere, capturing it.

The war ended with the treaty of Ghent, signed on December 24, 1814 and entered into force on February 17, 1815, but after the signing of the peace treaty, the battle of New Orleans was still fought, which saw an American victory with the emergence of the figure of the future president Jackson.

The treaty established the status quo ante bellum, i.e. the return to the pre-war situation, without territorial modifications or commercial concessions. However, the war had important political and cultural consequences for both sides: the United Kingdom definitively recognized the independence of the United States and renounced to interfere in their internal affairs; the United States developed a strong sense of nationalism and patriotic pride; Canada consolidated itself as a distinct community from its southern neighbour; Native Americans lost much of their power and lands; and slavery in the United States was boosted by economic growth due to the war.

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The article Today the first international war fought by the USA broke out comes from Scenari Economici .

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This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/oggi-scoppiava-la-prima-guerra-internazionale-combattuta-dagli-usa/ on Sun, 18 Jun 2023 20:30:46 +0000.