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In 1812, America declared war on the United Kingdom in response to the British navy's practice of stopping American merchant vessels and "impressing" (conscripting) sailors from those ships into the British navy. President James Madison asked Congress to declare war, and so his political opponents called the war "James Madison's War." Those in favor of war generally called it the "Second War of Indepedence." Today the war is known as the War of 1812. It was the first war was formally declared by the US Congress, as it is currently constituted, since the original War of Independence was authorized by the Declaration of Independence. The war is generally considered to have been a stalemate. America invaded the British Dominion of Canada and was repelled, but captured New Orleans, a major Southern port which had been sold to America by France some years before but was then held by the British. The British controlled most of the Atlantic during the war and were able to raid inland, including burning Washington, DC, but the war became costly enough for them that they negotiated a peace in order to focus on their war with Napoleonic France.

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16y ago

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