The War of 1812 is still one of American history’s least studied and known wars. Contemporary scholars refer to it as the “Second American Revolution.” It became a significant turning point, changing the American party system, breaking the resistance of Native Americans, and laying the ground for the partnership of Great Britain and the United States.
The war built the ground for the new American leadership generation that replaced the founding fathers’ era, like William Henry Harrison, and Andrew Jackson. Besides that, the war of 1812 marked the decline of the federalist party (Huntington, 2021), which resulted in the end of the first party system in the USA. Thus, the Second American Revolution showed the new political faces that supported the USA for decades.
The 1812 war opened up a new period in the history of Anglo-American relations. The war ended the peace, signed after the war of independence (Sang, 2019). The defeat of Native Americans, the win in the battle of New Orleans by Americans, and the signing of the Treaty of Ghent made Great Britain recognize American sovereignty as a separate country (Huntington, 2020). Consequently, events of the war helped build new agreements later in history.
Native American resistance suffered the biggest defeat during the war of 1812. Their leader Tecumseh was killed, and their coalition against the white invasion collapsed (Huntington, 2020). The war marked the early stage of Americans capturing the west later. (Cunningham, 2019) So, when Americans were pushing to the west, native Americans were more and more unable to fight.
Therefore, the War of 1812 was a turning point for American history in many spheres. It changed the country’s perception on the world stage and created a new generation that further developed the political field of the United States. Besides that, the war destroyed the alliance of Native Americans, which made it possible for Americans to expand further.
References
Cunningham, K. (2019). The War of 1812. Weigl Publishers.
Huntington, J. S. (2020). Lecture 09 – The War of 1812 [Video]. YouTube.
Huntington, J. S. (2021). Lecture 12 – The Era of Good Feelings [Video]. YouTube.
Sang, N. V. (2019) The reconstruction of the British – American relations: from the American
Revolutionary War to the War of 1812. UED Journal of Social Sciences, Humanities and Education, 9(5), 50 – 58. Web.