Since 1796, France and Britain had been continuously fighting. The United States, rather than take sides, continued to trade with both countries. However, this did not make either France or Britain very happy. The United States was divided between whether to side with Britain or France. Many Americans wanted to side with the French, but others, including Alexander Hamilton, wanted to annul the alliance the United States had made with France, and side with Great Britain. George Washington, however, decided that it would be best to remain neutral, and therefore issued the Proclamation of Neutrality on April 22, 1793. In the same year, the French sent Edmund Genet to try to influence the Americans in favor of the French. Although he was originally liked by many Americans, he was later disliked because of his attempts to convince American ships to prey on British shipping.

France was not the only country with dirty tricks up their sleeve. Britain also did its fair share of causing problems for the Americans. This time the problems occur

In October of 1814, the Hartford Convention took place. Twenty-six New England Federalist delegates proposed several amendments to the Constitution, one of which the approval of 2/3 of Congress was needed to declare war.

The War of 1812 gave the United States renewed self-confidence in its military. The military had proved to the people that it could defend the country. The War of 1812 brought about the Era of Good Feelings, where Americans were brought together behind a common purpose. The War of 1812 told the Americans that they could defend themselves against foreign nations, and that they should now focus on expanding their country.

red on the sea. British ships began to capture American merchant ships on their way to France. They sent captured American ships back to England as prizes of war, and forced the sailors into impressments. In 1794, George Washington sent John Jay to Britain to try to end the seizing of the ships. John Jay succeeded getting the British out of the Northwest Territory and compensation for all American ships they had previously seized. This was not good enough for many Americans because there was nothing in the treaty that prevented the British from seizing the American ships. In 1795, Thomas Pinckney went to Spain and secured a treaty with them. This treaty, called Pinckney's Treaty, allowed Americans to use the Mississippi River to ship goods to New Orleans, and made the 31st parallel the boundary between Spanish Florida and the United States.

By this time, both sides were tired of fighting, and the Treaty of Ghent was written, agreed upon an

Some common words found in the essay are:
Edmund Genet, War Hawks, President Adams, House President, Embargo Act, France Americans, Feelings Americans, Northwest Territory, Thomas Pinckney, Hartford Convention, american ships, war 1812, britain france, france britain, thomas pinckney, george washington, france americans, war hawks, 1796 france, hartford convention,
Approximate Word count = 1080
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)