Unit 2
Results of the War of 1812
Lesson 5
Results of the War of 1812
After many long and hard battles, the War of 1812 ended on December 24, 1814, with both sides signing the Treaty of Ghent. The British and American officials agreed to an armistice, but the news of this truce did not reach North America in time to stop the Battle of New Orleans. At this time, news had to be brought by ship across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe to North America.
Treaty of Ghent
The Treaty of Ghent was signed to end the War of 1812 by Great Britain and the United States. It was signed on Christmas Eve, 1814, in Ghent, Belgium.
These peace negotiations were started the year before, but many details need to be worked out before an official signing could have occurred. The negotiations were challenging. Both the American and British armies were equally skilled and neither army had accomplished their goal of defeating the opposition.
In Ghent, both sides selected fifteen initial points to discuss. The British agreed to nine of these discussion points and two more were added. The Treaty of Ghent contained these eleven articles. All things taken were to be returned to the proper owners. Both sides were to stop their actions against First Nations communities. The British were to stop providing weapons for Indigenous groups to take up action against the United States.
The war officially ended with the Rush-Bagot Agreement. This was a signed treaty between Great Britain and the United States of America, which limited the amount of naval ships on the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain. Each country was allowed to maintain a small naval presence on each lake to prevent smugglers from importing illegal goods to either country.
Other Results
The War of 1812 had many other results for British North America, besides military disarmament.
1. American immigrants were discouraged from moving to British North America. There was now a push to encourage more people from Great Britain to settle in British North America.
2. The border was officially set at the 49th parallel north.
3. Great Britain had begun to think of the United States of America as an independent nation.
4. The people of Upper and Lower Canada had to work together during this war to defend their country against American invasions. This helped build a sense of national unity amongst the population.
5. The British government changed their policy of cooperation to assimilation towards the First Nations people. Britain no longer needed the First Nations people as allies against the Americans now that the peace treaties had been signed.
6. The increase in trade along the St. Lawrence River and Great Lakes during and after the war encouraged the building of the Welland and Lachine canals. The building of these canals made it easier to move along these bodies of water and cheaper to ship goods.
7. The Atlantic colonies saw an increase in economic activity due to the main British naval base being in Halifax, and their developing trade relationship with the New England states.
8. The Rideau canal was built to ensure that an alternate trade and military route was available in case of a future American attack. The building of this canal helped the development of Bytown, and brought many new immigrants to British North America to help with the canal’s construction. Queen Victoria took a special interest in this town, and decided to move the capital city to Bytown (Ottawa) in 1857.