The War of 1812

We have officially gone back in time from the 1960s to 1812. But I suppose that history is all about going back in time, isn't it? Hmmmm. Anyway, today we talked about the four main reasons that caused war to break out again between England and America. Here they are:

1. The English were arming and instigating the Amerindians, thus causing them to attack the Americans that were expanding South and West. These were literally acts of war, caused indirectly by the British
2. The English were forcing people without proper paperwork to join their navy. Basically, they were putting Americans into slavery saying that they were "Once a British citizen, always a British citizen.". This greatly irritated the Americans because they had just fought and won a war over Independence.
3. The British were attacking American ships and killing sailors.
4. The British decreed that the Americans could not trade with the French even though, again, we were our own nation and could make our own decisions.

Overall, I think the most significant event was number four. For one thing, it showed the British trying to control the American despite our Independence, something sure upset many. Also, France was one of the largest nations in the world and I'm sure that their trade was huge for us, especially since we were an emerging nation.