R. Hickey’s Text on the War of 1812, Research Paper Example

Introduction

In Donald R. Hickey’s text on The War of 1812, he refers to it as “the forgotten conflict,” what does he mean by this and how does it relate to the argument that the war brought on a new wave of industrial growth in America?”[1] In addition to significantly impacting industrial development, the role the War of 1812 played in setting the ground floor for America to have a successful revolution against the British and ultimately expand the their reach into the west with little resistance from the Native Americans, can all be attributed to this war. The following research will assess why a war often recognized as America’s second war of independence, has become a forgotten conflict in the history books.

There are a variety of impacts caused by the War of 1812 that have never gained much recognition. For example, economic and industrial development that emerged from the war resulted in a dramatic increase in medical schools and the medical industry. This largely moved child births out of the home, with midwives, into the hospital. This also marked the period when women started to take on more domestic roles as a direct consequence of industrial development. The following research breaks down the war of 1812 into a multidimensional model to evaluate the historical impact of the war and why this impact has gone overlooked within academia when compared to other wars in history.

Background

The War of 1812 most commonly refers to the military conflict that occurred between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland against the United States. The United Kingdom of Great Britain utilized Ireland, those loyal to the crown in their North American colonies and their Native American allies in the war, which was caused initially by issues related to the Napoleonic Wars.  The war resolved many issues which remained from the American Revolutionary War but resulted in no actual boundary changes. When Britain engaged in war with France, it brought about trade restrictions on the US, as well as an impressment on US merchant sailors, where they were captured and forced to join the British Royal Navy. Britain also provided support to Native Americans which interfered with U.S. initiatives to expand west. For all of these reasons, the United States declared war against Great Britain, for a second time, on June 18, 1812.

The War of 1812, revealed America’s ability to once again defend themselves from Great Britain, which was largely recognized as the greatest economic and military super power at the time. While the American Revolution was a battle for diplomatic independence, the war of 1812 served more as a battle for economic independence. The war did not just impact American history, but Canadian history as well. By its end, both British Canada and United States had cultivated a strengthened sense of patriotism. Canadians evolved from a cluster of people loosely-banded by geographical boundary and became a group of individuals who developed a shared identity rooted upon anti-American sentiments. The author goes on to point out that long after the war had passed, this anti-American sentiment could been reflected in many of the divisive policies British Canada established regards to trade with the U.S., and overall diplomatic interaction. This influence would largely shape the contrasts in culture between Canada and the U.S. to date.

The Forgotten War

Sokoloff and Khan (1989) attribute much of the innovation that occurred during the War of 1812 to substantial changes in geographic and occupational distribution of patentees, a dramatic increase of patents being awarded to patentees with little or no career patents in their history. Many of these innovators had a low level of specializations. The authors note that this trend produced, “a pattern of individuals with few career patents and low specialization being disproportionately represented among patentees in transitional counties which had only recently realized substantial increases in per capita patents.”[2] Many of the patents during this period related to innovations like the power loom, which was used to revolutionize manufacturing. This created an environment where innovations were highly more elastic and experimental and provided for increased economic expansion. Economic expansion and development is an intangible factor that can easily be attributed to the America gaining independence after the American Revolution, but in reality, the economic growth was a byproduct of the War of 1812. The thirty years following the war of 1812 represented some of the most dramatic transitions in industry and manufacturing during the 19^th century. American manufacturers positioned themselves in direct completion with some of the top British industries. American manufacturers also worked to support household workers many aspects of business that resulted in increased wealth distribution across states, and greater resources. While financial incentives are largely the driving force behind war, they can often be overlooked, but these factors contributed largely to the industrial revolution that would occur in the United States during the 1900’s.

In Donald R. Hickey’s text on The War of 1812, he refers to it as “the forgotten conflict.”[3]  Essentially, Hickey is referring to popular consensus among many historians, academics, and texts that focus primarily on the American Revolution and the Civil War and that skip over the War of 1812 altogether.  The most significant impact overlooked by the war of 1812 is the spur in innovation and economic and industrial growth it created.  In addition to significantly impacting industrial development, the role the War of 1812 played in setting the ground floor for America to have a successful revolution against the British and ultimately expand the their reach into the west with little resistance from the Native Americans, can all be attributed to this war.  Many details of the War of 1812 and its impact are overlooked due to the fact that it’s often overshadowed by the American Revolution. While the American Revolution did allow the United States to gain sovereignty over the New World, there were many aspects of diplomatic interaction and international policy regarding the relationship between the U.S. and the British that were not formalized, and this resulted in further conflict.

The American Revolution started April 19^th 1775 and lasted for eight years, ending September 3^rd 1783. The war had death toll estimates ranging between 45,000 and 50,000. The main cause of the war is attributed to a conflict that brewed between America and the British during the Seven Years war Britain was fighting with France. The American Revolution spawned out of the British taxing colonists in an attempt to mitigate the debts they incurred from the war in France. The war was concluded on September 3, 1783, by the Treaty of Paris, which established sovereignty of the United States. The American Revolution involved the United States, the Dutch Republic, Spain, Vermont Republic, and the Kingdom of France. These combined forces fought against Great Britain and Loyalists of Britain. The war resulted in peace between Britain and Paris and American independence, along with British recognizing the United States of America as a sovereign nation. This was a major step forward for the U.S. diplomatically and the shifts could be seen in Britain losing control over areas east of the Mississippi River and south of Great Lakes. Britain also lost St. Lawrence River to the U.S. and it lost Florida to Spain and the United States East Florida. Minorca Britain, West Florida and Senegal lost to the Dutch Republic and France. The American Revolution represented a substantial loss for Great Britain.

Importance of the War of 1812

Many of these aspects of the American Revolution create confusion when one tries to identify the importance of The War of 1812 in comparison. For starters, during the American Revolution, the United States was not recognized as an independent country. This meant that during the War of 1812, the U.S. was defending itself for the first time from invasion. Both wars were over financial conflicts that trigger conflict. For example, the American Revolution occurred as a result of American citizens opposing unfair taxation, by Great Britain, to assist with the war with France. The war of 1812 similarly spawned out of conflict Britain was having with France; and once again, they took advantage of Americans through capturing their trade vessels and impressing American sellers into the their navy. The main difference between the two wars is that the war of 1812 spurred innovation and established an industrial rivalry between the U.S. and Great Britain in a way that survived well past the war itself. Trade played a much more significant role during the War of 18 12 than in any other war prior.

Authors Barbieri and Jack (1999), in their study “Sleeping with the enemy”, they assess the influence of war on trade. This is a significant topic due to the fact that the War of 1812 spawned out of trade issues. Great Britain was fighting Napoleonic France and in an attempt to prevent Napoleon from receiving the goods he needed to continue fighting, the Royal Navy tried to blockade the French cost.  They were also in desperate need of skilled naval officers, so they kidnapped American merchants and forced them to enlist in the Royal Navy. These merchants were captured when British navy vessels intercepted American ships attempting to trade with France. Prior to the start of the war, the U.S. took a neutral position between the two countries.  Both nations violated the sovereignty of American ships, and while the U.S. government protested, it was in no position militarily to retaliate.  It’s estimated that both Britain and France seized ships bound for Europe accounting for more than 10,000 American sailors forced into foreign services.[4]

Interfering with America’s right to trade with France was a direct violation of perimeters set during the Treaty of Paris, but it also challenged the U.S. government’s ability defend its borders and protect its own. In a way it represented Great Britain not acknowledging the U.S. as a sovereign nation even though they defeat the British army in in 1783.  Despite all of this, authors note that, “British insurance companies continued to insure French naval and commercial ships and to pay enormous sums to replace ships that were actively being searched and destroyed by British warships (Pares, 1963). Trading with the enemy was also widespread during the Seven Years’ War, the War of 1812, and the Crimean War.”[5] It’s further noted that this phenomenon has continued to increase over the past century. The fact that Great Britain continued the insure French chips during the Seven Years war and the War of 1812, says something very puzzling about the nature of war and its true objectives. It’s clear that economic interests are truly the ones that drove political and diplomatic objectives.

The author notes that between the end of the American Revolution in 1783 and the start of the War of 1812, American manufacturers were seeking secure markets, where British imports and house hold manufacturers were vulnerable to competition. They states that, “this mean, in the cotton industry, concentrating on coarse and medium yarn spinning before the War of 1812 and, thereafter, developing an efficient power loom (which within two decades eclipsed the household hand loom), and on making coarse and medium cotton goods like shirtings, sheetings, and bed ticking.” [6] The way the War of 1812 spurred this industry was by creating demand for coarse cloths. As manufacturers supplied this demand, it resulted in the development of more power looms and increased transportation networks to distribute products. The primary goal of American manufactures was to displace their English rivals from the market. Ironically, maintaining trade between England and America during the war of 1812 enabled American manufacturers to acquire the materials needed to reach this goal. Major expansion developed following the War of 1812, but it was between 1790 and 1812, that American manufacturers were able to enlist the work of families and their household looms to further the market. Jeremy notes that, “between 1790 and 1812, a structural pattern arose of small partnership firms horizontally specialized in factory spinning and utilizing the family as the fundamental labor unit.” [7] In many ways the innovation of the American power loom spurred more innovation and economic growth throughout the United States, leading towards a reinassance in mechanized industrialization and establishing the US, evenmore as a soverign nation.

Conclusion

In sum, while popular consensus shares the belief that all conflicts between America and Britain were resolved at the conclusion of the American Revolution, the War of 1812 reveals this is not the case. There are a variety of impacts caused by the War of 1812 that have never gained much recognition. For example, economic and industrial development that emerged from the war resulted in a dramatic increase in medical schools and the medical industry. This largely moved child births out of the home, with midwives, into the hospital. This also marked the period when women started to take on more domestic roles as a direct consequence of industrial development. The key implication of the war of 1812, that is most commonly overlooked, is that the war created a defining line between America’s new place in the world and the position it was in prior to the American Revolution. It did this in a way that the American Revolution and the Treaty of Paris was not able to solidify. The treaty of Ghent formally set the guidelines for how America and England would interact on a diplomatic scale, but it also defined terms of trade.  In many ways, the war of 1812 serves as the final chapter of the American Revolution, with its 1814 Treaty of Ghent being the lynchpin that officially established the United States as a sovereign nation.

Bibliography

Barbieri, Katherine, and Jack S. Levy. “Sleeping with the enemy: The impact of war on trade.” Journal of Peace Research 36, no. 4 (1999): 463-479. Print.

Benn, Carl. The Iroquois in the War of 1812. University of Toronto Press, 1998. Print.

Dudley, William S. “War of 1812 Trilogy.” The Journal of Military History 78 (2014): 747-751.

Goodman, Warren H. “The origins of the war of 1812: A survey of changing interpretations.” The Mississippi Valley Historical Review (1941): 171-186.

Hickey, Donald R. The War of 1812: A forgotten conflict. University of Illinois Press, 2012. Print.

Jeremy, David J. “Innovation in American textile technology during the early 19th century.” Technology and Culture (1973): 40-76.Print.

J.C.A. Stagg. The War of 1812: Conflict for a Continent (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012), 28-30.

Sokoloff, Kenneth L., and B. Zorina Khan. “The Democratization of Invention During Early Industrialization: Evidence From the United States, 1790-1846.” (1989).

Wu, Yuhao. ‘War Of 1812: The Conflict And Its Effects On Canada And North America’. War Museum. N.p., 2015. Web. 4 May (2011). Print.

[1] Hickey, Donald R. The War of 1812: A forgotten conflict. University of Illinois Press, 2012.

[2] Sokoloff, Kenneth L., and B. Zorina Khan. “The Democratization of Invention During Early Industrialization: Evidence From the United States, 1790-1846.” (1989).

[3] Hickey, Donald R. The War of 1812: A forgotten conflict. University of Illinois Press, 2012

[4] J.C.A. Stagg. The War of 1812: Conflict for a Continent (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012), 28-30.

[5] Barbieri, Katherine, and Jack S. Levy. “Sleeping with the enemy: The impact of war on trade.” Journal of Peace Research 36, no. 4 (1999): 463-479.

[6] Jeremy, David J. “Innovation in American textile technology during the early 19th century.” Technology and Culture (1973): 40-76.

[7] Jeremy, David J. “Innovation in American textile technology during the early 19th century.” Technology and Culture (1973): 40-76.