The War Of 1812 Pitted Two Western Powers - 1253 Words

The War of 1812 pitted two western powers against one another, the newly established United States of America and the ancient United Kingdom. Battles raged on for roughly two and a half years, resulting in what many agree ended in a tie. What many disagree with is how the war came to fruition. The two research papers within Retrieving the American Past seek to connect the dots. Firstly, Reginald Horsman cites many concrete reasons behind the warfare: British impressment, calling back the return of American soldiers deemed responsible to serve in the Royal Navy, upon the American army, meddling with maritime trade between the States and European nations (notable France), and inciting or taking part in Indian attacks against the colonies.†¦show more content†¦Although both papers contain the truth, Horsman’s comes much closer to explaining the reasons behind the War of 1812. McCoy speaks through the eyes of the Jeffersonian community, not the entire American population. Due to its smaller scope of the relevancy, Mccoy’s paper is less effective than Horsman’s. Drew McCoy’s paper includes much more depth into the Jeffersonian mindset. The American economy depended largely on the exportation of farm-grown items. Clearly, access to foreign markets is a must for success. These markets were made inaccessible by the presence of British ships scattered about the passageways to France and other European countries. Jeffersonians, peaceful by definition, suggested a lengthy embargo. This holdout would put pressure on Americans to manufacture within their country, thus building a feeling of unity. However, the embargo lasted for a little longer than a year and a half, yielding no positive results for America. Jefferson himself was attacked and accused of resisting commercialism. It was soon decided that foreign commerce was best for the country’s economic welfare. As McCoy states, the Jeffersonians were presented with two options: â€Å"†¦ accept the failure of peaceable coercion to remove restrictions on American commerce and submit to the British orders-in-council, or they could attempt, through military means, a forcible assertion of America’s right to an independent and unrestricted access to