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What Caused the War of 1812? (Documentary)

Real Time History

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The War of 1812 broke out after a series of escalations between Great Britain and the still young United States. The impressment of American sailors into the Royal Navy desperate to crew their ships in the ongoing war against Napoleon, the question if the US could trade with Britain and France at the same time and thus profit of the war, all came to a head after failed negotiations.

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» SOURCES
Benn, Carl. “The War of 1812”, Osprey Publishing, 2024
Bickham, Troy. “The Weight of Vengeance: The United States, The British Empire and the War of 1812”, Oxford University Press, 2017
Esarey, Logan. “Messages and Letters of William Henry Harrison: Volume 1, 1800-1811”, Indiana Historical Commission, 1922
Green, John Richard. “History of the English People – Volume 4”, MacMillan and Co., 1883
Latimer, Jon. “1812: War with America”, Belknap Press, 2010
Perkins, Bradford. “Prologue to War: England and the United States 1805-1812", The University of California Press, 1961
“The trial of John Wilson, alias Jenkin Ratford, for mutiny, desertion and contempt: to which are subjoined, a few cursory remarks”, John Howe and Son, 1807
Whickar, J. Wesley. “Shabonee’s Account of Tippecanoe” Indiana Magazine of History, Vol. 17, No. 4, 1921
Woods, David. “Free Trade and Sailors’ Rights”, 1812-1815

»CREDITS
Presented by: Jesse Alexander
Written by: Mark Newton
Director: Toni Steller
Editing: Toni Steller
Motion Design: Philipp Appelt
Mixing, Mastering & Sound Design: http://above-zero.com
Research by: Adam Franti, Mark Newton, Jesse Alexander
Illustrator: Juan Gomez Cabello https://www.artstation.com/juangomezc...
Fact checking: Florian Wittig
Executive Producer: Florian Wittig

Channel Design: Simon Buckmaster

Contains licensed material by getty images, picture alliance, and Reuters
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20 Comments

@realtimehistory Creator 5 months ago Pinned

@gohanssj48 5 months ago

The 1812 War is the one that I always remember that happened but never remember any reason why happened.

@JesseAlexanderHistory 5 months ago

Given the importance of this war to my native Canada, this was a fun and meaningful video for us to work on. Hope you enjoy and learn from it.

@FrankP846 5 months ago

You fail to mention that at that time the US government was financially nearly bankrupt and Banker, Merchant, Mariner and Philanthropist Stephan Girard nearly single handedly financed the American effort. At the time he was the richest man in America.

@ghill628 5 months ago

I taught middle school for 20 years, working in different districts and using different textbooks. The one commonality was any real depth of instruction about the War of 1812. Heck, I even worked with a highly regarded "history guru" who said students didn't need to know anything about the war because it wasn't important. That guy won history teacher of the year once & has a school named after him. Is it really any wonder why Americans are oblivious to the causes of the War of 1812?

@randyvolters7719 5 months ago

@14:35 - growing up in Ohio, in history classes, Tecumseh was something of a hero figure for us. Plus, the name "Tecumseh" was also held by one of our most famous sons, William Tecumseh Sherman. There was even a public school building named after the general in the vicinity I grew up in.

@LeaveMyFreedomBe 5 months ago

The war of 1812 highlights the fundamental flaw of most wars. Why? Because too many times they end by one or both sides accepting concessions that they could have just accepted to avoid the war.

@andrewsoboeiro6979 5 months ago

I have been begging for Jesse/RTH to make more Napoleon content ever since their excellent “Napoleon’s Downfall” series was prematurely canceled. And while this isn’t exactly the same thing, it does give me hope!

@chriscanzanese5063 4 months ago

The first charter the United States had with a central bank expired in 1811. Congress didn’t renew it, and then the war of 1812 happened. Kind of like how everyone that tries to sell oil in something other than US dollars gets bombed. The people that control the banks in New York controlled the banks in London long before that.

@Synystr7 2 months ago

Brock and Tecumseh... The greatest what if bromance of history.

@superlyfe1498 1 month ago

What a time to be alive. I wonder if I would be as depressed as I am now if I lived back then

@concernedcitizen7385 1 month ago

We used to say ‘pressganged’ not ‘impressed’

@firstgenchevelleman 2 months ago

The fact that the national bank wasn’t re-chartered was a factor

@LovelyWorld1773 5 months ago

My ancestors got land after this war and it’s why they moved west into the USA .. kinda cool to learn history, they didn’t immigrate west til after this war was over.

@peterlynchchannel 5 months ago

The only youtube channel to speak out against the Non-Intercourse Act.

@hlynnkeith9334 5 months ago

During the Peninsula Campaign, Wellesley wrote passes for American ships that supplied his army with grain and other foods. In other words, show your pass to the Royal Navy when boarded and you were free to go. The American ship captains skirted the Embargo Act 'cause they were not sailing to the UK or France but to Portugal.

@kennethjackson7574 5 months ago

And, less known, after the American-British war ended the Creek Nation, who had allied themselves with Britain, didn't stop. One of my ancestors was a Mounted Rifleman in the Battle of Horseshoe during the Creek War.

@jamesdevine5296 3 days ago

Thank you very much for this in depth explanation to the war of 1812. I knew a bit about Tippecanoe, but not about its connection to the war of 1812. I really appreciate this lesson.

@concernedcitizen7385 1 month ago

If we look back at history and still can’t find the reason for wars then we are simply not being told the truth

@postscript5549 1 month ago

I'm only half way through your wonderful presentation so far. Well done. Very informative and appropriately timed: thorough detail without overly wordiness.