Aftermath of the War of 1812.
The Treaty of Ghent which concluded the hostilities of the War of 1812 did not address most of the issues which led to the war; British impressment of sailors, the Orders in Council, and the suppression of free trade. The British commissioners attempted yet again to establish an independent Indian state in the treaty, which was roundly rejected by the Americans. The treaty ended the war with the territorial boundaries of the United States and Canada status quo ante bellum, meaning nothing changed. No territory exchanged hands between Great Britain and the United States.
The United States did acquire territory as a result of the war. The Creek and Cherokee lands ceded in the Treaty of Fort Jackson to the United States added to federal lands. The destruction of the Tecumseh confederation ended the threat of Indian raids in the Northwest, and lands which had been too dangerous to settle in before the war were opened for settlement. After the war of 1812 the western expansion began in earnest. The United States began its movement towards the concept of manifest destiny, and towards a greater influence in world affairs.
The United States Navy gained an illustrious reputation during the war and its officers became heroes, celebrated in verse, song, statues, and commemorative plates and dishes. The war settled the argument over the need for a strong navy and the navy grew steadily following the war. American warships suppressed piracy, the slave trade, and opened the Pacific to trade and American commerce with Asia, often working alongside its former foes in the Royal Navy. Matthew Galbraith Perry, brother of the victor at the Battle of Lake Erie, opened Japan to trade with the United States. David Farragut, who fought alongside Porter at Valparaiso, led Union fleets in the Civil War.
The early failures of the American troops due to the poor leadership of their officers led to changes at the United States Military Academy, whose graduates had for the most part performed far better than the politically appointed senior officers. These changes to curriculum and doctrine would impact later wars, in Mexico and in the United States. The United States, suspicious of trained standing armies before the war, had relied instead on the militias of the several states. After the War of 1812 the United States retained a professional army, although much smaller than during the war for a time.
Both sides have argued for victory since the war, and both sides have cause to, though in reality neither side won or lost anything but lives and treasure. The Duke of Wellington commented that nothing in the prosecution of the war gave the British cause for declaring victory. The Americans were left with a destroyed capital city and heavy war debts. A brisk trade quickly emerged between the two nations, with British mills soon absorbing up to 80% of American cotton. The trade led to the industrialization of the American north and the expansion of the cotton states in the lands formerly occupied by the Creeks, the true losers of the War of 1812.
Where do we find this stuff? Here are our sources:
“The Republic in Peril”, by Roger Hamilton-Brown, 1971
“Tecumseh: A Life”, by John Sugden, 1998
“Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the US Navy”, by Ian W. Toll, 2006
“The Invasion of Canada 1813-1814”, by Pierre Berton, 1980
“The Naval War of 1812”, by Theodore Roosevelt, 1882, available at Project Gutenberg
“Journal of a Cruise Made to the Pacific Ocean”, by Captain David Porter, 1815, online
“The Day They Burned The Capitol”, by Willis Thornton, American Heritage, December 1954