Why did the War of 1812 end in 1814?

Answer 1

The war petered out because the United States completely failed in it's objectives, and the British had no intention of attempting to undo American independence, but it was not a war without winners and losers.

Britain was locked in a major war with Napoleon, in which both sides were blockading the other, which means stopping any ship that might be delivering goods to the other side. Ships from various nations, including the US, were boarded. The Royal Navy was also grabbing American sailors: many were, in fact, deserters from the Royal Navy. Some were not. In any case, Britain stopped impressment before the war began.

But the president and Congress were stampeded into war by a group of congressmen called the War Hawks. They were annoyed that American settlers swarming in Indian territory were being stopped, sometimes violently, by the natives whose homeland is was. The War Hawks were also annoyed that the British had good relations with the natives, which included trading with them.

The group argued that invading, and forcibly annexing Canada, would be. in Jefferson's words, "merely a matter of marching," given that the US population was then 20 times that of Canada. This was not all that popular: The New England states, amazed at the idea, started openly discussing seceding from the Union. There were anti-war riots in Boston.

And so, in June of 1812, the United States attacked its neighbour. Big mistake. Much larger American forces crossed into Upper and Lower Canada, which was defended by only 5200 British solders and roughly three times as many natives and Canadian militia. The invaders were decisively defeated in a series of battles, and retreated, not only back over the border, but beyond, surrendering Detroit, Buffalo, and Fort Dearborn (Chicago).

The British went on the offensive, taking Washington and burning the White House. However, at no time did they attempt to retake the United States. In fact, weary of war after defeating Napoleon, the British rather generously turned back all the American territory it had conquered and signed the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the war.

It was a big victory for Canada. An American win would have ended any possibility of "Canada." Ironically, the American invasion, the second since an American army attacked Canada in 1775, brought English and French speaking Canadians together, and began talk of nationhood, which began a reality in 1867.

Answer 2

The War of 1812 ended when the Treaty of Peace and Amity was signed by the British and the United States on December 24th, 1814. The war started in 1812, but was not officially over until this treaty was signed and it took almost two years for both parties to do so.