Revoulution
By any criteria the years following the War of 1812, otherwise known as the "Era of Good Feelings," must be considered a time of exceptional growth and development in the United States, but above all, it may be considered a time of evolution and ripening of American nationalism, unification, and economic prowess. The war of 1812 was a very problematic war. States did not fulfill their duties, while commanders and leaders were not informed or supplied enough to keep up the war. But what awakened during this time and afterwards is something much greater then victory. The war wasn't just about Britain holding land and impressing American sailors into their navy; it was a second war of independence. It was the first war as a united country, and it was a small new nation against a large European empire. That we survived woke us up, and let us know that we did have a nation. For the first time, we were united, not for a fight of our homes and freedoms, but for ideals (The Awakening of American Nationalism, AAN).The war of 1812 began long before war was declared. It began right after the war of Independence. The British were not too fond of us breaking away from their empire, and they soon figured out that many revolts were because we
Almost overnight the War of 1812 became a glorious triumph. On February 20 President Madison sent a message to Congress transmitting the treaty of peace. He congratulated the nation on the close of a war "waged with the success which is the natural result of the wisdom of the legislative councils, of the patriotism of the people, of the public spirit of the militia, and of the valor of the military and naval forces of the country." Public outrage over the issue of impressments grew increasingly vocal after an incident between the American naval frigate Chesapeake and a British vessel, the Leopard. In June 1807 the Leopard approached the Chesapeake only a few miles off the American coast and demanded to search the ship for British deserters. The Chesapeake's commander, James Barron, refused, and the Leopard opened fire. A number of American sailors were killed or wounded during the attack, and the Chesapeake surrendered. The British then sent a party aboard and dragged four crewmen from the vessel. After the incident, Jefferson ordered British warships to leave American waters and demanded an end to the practice of impressments. The British did make some apologies and restitution for the Chesapeake-Leopard incident, but continued to claim the right to seize American ships and inspect them for deserters. (War of 1812) Many people at this time also began to move westward. They no longer wanted to be kept in their little towns. They wanted to have their own farm large enough to make them all wealthy. Problems were encountered with the Indians though. Many of the Native Americans did not want to be moved off their sacred land. Most were forced off though, either by federal troops or just by the sheer amount in which people were moving out. They could not resist the movement of a nation, and their "destiny" to build an "Empire of democracy." had fought and won. They taxed our merchants, and hassled our ships, but they crossed the line when they began to impress our sailors into their navy. They claimed that these people had "deserted" the royal navy and should be given back. Though they may have been right on a few occasions, it has been proven that many innocent people were forced to be in the royal navy. The war debt was not of much concern to most of the people. Though it did run our nation a 3 billion-dollar debt, with the exploding market it would be paid off in no time. People wanted to build a better nation, and most were united in the cause. They realized that being divided and weak during wartime was no way to win. But they also realized that they did not want to become a world power just yet. The nation went into a period of isolation and did not come out of it until after the Spanish-American war. More realistically, the fledgling nation had the extraordinary good fortune to escape the consequences of a war that it had badly mismanaged from the outset.
Some common words found in the essay are:
American Nationalism, Proud American, Era Feelings, Independence British, France Britain, Americans Weather, President Madison, Native Americans, Jefferson British, John Rodgers, war 1812, american nationalism, nation united, country true, national pride, royal navy, empire empire, encyclopedia encarta, france britain, sailors navy,
Approximate Word count = 1947
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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