hist.g5.s.his.tecumseh_and_war_of_1812
Analyze Tecumseh's Confederacy (1809-1813) and the War of 1812 — Madison's presidency, Tecumseh's pan-Indigenous resistance, Battle of Tippecanoe 1811, US declaration of war 1812, burning of Washington 1814, Battle of New Orleans 1815, Treaty of Ghent 1814
Identify the War of 1812 (June 1812 - February 1815) as a war between the US and Britain with FOUR primary causes: (1) British impressment of US sailors (estimated ~6,000-10,000); (2) British naval restrictions on US neutral shipping during Napoleonic Wars; (3) British support for Indigenous resistance led by Tecumseh in the Ohio Valley and Old Northwest; (4) War Hawks in Congress (Henry Clay KY + John C. Calhoun SC) wanting Canadian and Spanish-Florida territorial expansion. TECUMSEH'S CONFEDERACY 1809-1813: Tecumseh (Shawnee, ~1768-1813) and his brother Tenskwatawa 'the Prophet' organized a multi-nation confederacy of Indigenous nations across the Ohio Valley and Old Northwest resisting US encroachment via 1809 Treaty of Fort Wayne (ceding 3 million acres). Tecumseh's 1810 Speech to Indiana Territory Governor William Henry Harrison and 1811 Speech to the Osage and 1813 Speech to the Choctaw and Chickasaw are primary sources of Indigenous diplomatic and political thought. BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE November 1811 (Harrison vs. Tenskwatawa while Tecumseh away — Confederacy decisively defeated; the Battle becomes Harrison's 'Tippecanoe' campaign slogan in 1840 presidential election). Tecumseh then allied with the British in the War of 1812; killed at Battle of the Thames October 1813 by US forces. WAR EVENTS: US declared war June 1812 (the war vote was the closest in US history — 19-13 in Senate, 79-49 in House — split largely along Federalist/Democratic-Republican lines); failed invasions of Canada 1812 + 1813; British burned Washington DC August 24-25 1814 (the White House and Capitol set on fire; Dolley Madison saved the Gilbert Stuart Washington portrait); 'Star-Spangled Banner' written by Francis Scott Key at the September 1814 Battle of Baltimore; Battle of New Orleans January 8 1815 — Andrew Jackson defeats British (fought AFTER the Treaty of Ghent was signed but before news arrived) making Jackson a national hero; TREATY OF GHENT December 24 1814 — restored pre-war boundaries; the war was a strategic draw but a US PSYCHOLOGICAL victory (sometimes called the 'Second War of Independence'); the war DESTROYED Tecumseh's Confederacy and the Federalist Party (which opposed the war at the Hartford Convention 1814). Apply MG-7 routine to Tecumseh's 1810 Speech + War Hawks debate + 'Star-Spangled Banner' lyrics (especially the rarely-taught third verse on enslaved people).
- Analyze the Monroe presidency (1817-1825) — Era of Good Feelings, Monroe Doctrine 1823, Missouri Compromise 1820 (also under Skill 11) — and the Adams-Onís Treaty 1819 (Spanish Florida)
- Analyze Andrew Jackson's presidency (1829-1837) — 'spoils system,' Bank War, and the Indian Removal Act of 1830 as the SETUP for Trail of Tears (treated in depth in Skill 16)
- Believing the War of 1812 was just US vs. Britain — Indigenous nations were primary actors (Tecumseh's Confederacy + Creek War 1813-14 in the South).
- Treating Battle of New Orleans as decisive — it happened AFTER the Treaty of Ghent was signed; news traveled slowly by sail.
- Forgetting Dolley Madison saving the Washington portrait — she also saved key state documents.
- Missing that the 'Star-Spangled Banner' was written 1814 but did not become the national anthem until 1931 (legislated by Congress).