The War of 1812 and the Monroe Doctrine

Grade 8 Social Studies Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Ending the war and the dissent at home (cards A to D). Card A, from the Treaty of Ghent (signed December 1814; Avalon Project). Article the First: "All territory, places, and possessions whatsoever taken by either party from the other during the war, or which may be taken after the signing of this Treaty, excepting only the Islands hereinafter mentioned, shall be restored without delay". Article the Ninth: each side will "put an end immediately after the Ratification of the present Treaty to hostilities with all the Tribes or Nations of Indians with whom" it is at war, and "restore to such Tribes or Nations respectively all the possessions, rights, and privileges which they may have enjoyed or been entitled to in one thousand eight hundred and eleven previous to such hostilities", "Provided always that such Tribes or Nations shall agree to desist from all hostilities". Articles 4 to 7 send disputed borders and islands to commissioners. Article the Eleventh says the ratifications "shall be exchanged at Washington in the space of four months from this day or sooner if practicable", and the treaty ends: "Done in triplicate at Ghent the twenty fourth day of December one thousand eight hundred and fourteen." The treaty does not use the words impressment, neutral or blockade. Card B, a summary in our words from two State Department pages: one says "By 1814 neither side could claim a clear victory and both war weary combatants looked to a peaceful settlement" and that "On Christmas Eve British and American negotiators signed the Treaty of Ghent, restoring the political boundaries on the North American continent to the status quo ante bellum". It adds that "the real causes of the war of 1812, were not merely commerce and neutral rights, but also western expansion, relations with American Indians, and territorial control of North America." A second page says "diplomats signed the Treaty of Ghent on December 23, 1814". Card C, from the Avalon Project's text of the amendments proposed by the Hartford Convention of 1814, as printed in Paul Leicester Ford's 1898 edition of The Federalist, in which the convention recommends measures to "the Legislatures of the several States" and says the seven amendments are to be "proposed by them for adoption by the State Legislatures". Third: "Congress shall not have power to lay any embargo on the ships or vessels of the citizens of the United States, in the ports or harbors thereof, for more than sixty days." Forth [sic]: "Congress shall not make or declare war, or authorize acts of hostility against any foreign nation, without the concurrence of two-thirds of both Houses, except such acts of hostility be in defense of the territories of the United States when actually invaded." Seventh: "The same person shall not be elected President of the United States a second time; nor shall the President be elected from the same State two terms in succession." None of the seven amendments mentions leaving the Union. Card D, a summary in our words from the NPS: Federalists in Congress "voted against war-related measures an astonishing 90 percent of the time". Senator Rufus King said he "regarded the war, as a war of party and not of country". By 1814 British forces occupied parts of coastal Maine and hurt the coastal commerce New England depended on, and the governors of Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts refused to send militia for an invasion of Canada. The NPS says: "One of the remedies proposed at the convention, New England's secession from the Union, struck many as extreme".

2. 1.

   Card C says the convention's recommendations went to "the Legislatures of the several States". Who was the audience, and why, Ari asks?

   • State legislatures, asked to propose limits on embargoes and wars
   • Congress, which was ordered to carry out the seven amendments at once
   • Voters, who were asked to elect a new President in the following year
   • The British government, as a plan for a separate peace with New England
3. 2.

   Card A prints treaty articles agreed by both governments. What is it best evidence for, Bo asks?

   • What each side promised about captured territory and the tribes
   • What most Americans believed about who had won the war by 1814
   • What the British Parliament wanted in its private talks at Ghent
   • What later historians concluded about the signers' private aims
4. 3.

   Cards A and B together explain the terms of the Treaty of Ghent. Which link is best, Jun asks?

   • Neither side had a clear victory, so the first article restored what had been captured
   • The treaty fixed new borders, so the war's causes were settled for good
   • The treaty ended impressment for good, so war aims had been met
   • The British had won on land, so the treaty made them return the captured places
5. 4.

   Using cards C and D, which link best explains why the Hartford amendments limited embargoes and war votes, Kira asks?

   • The Treaty of Ghent had already ended the war, so the amendments were no longer needed
   • Delegates wanted to help the Republican party keep its power in Washington
   • Canada had just been conquered, so New England wanted to stop any expanding
   • New England's coastal trade suffered, so delegates aimed at embargoes and wars
6. 5.

   A student claims: "Article 9 gave Native nations back all their land." How strong is that claim given card A, Milo asks?

   • Strong: the article is signed by Native leaders, so it was their free choice
   • Weak: the article does not mention Native nations by name
   • Weak: Article 9 covers 1811 rights and depends on the tribes stopping hostilities
   • Strong: Article 9 says both governments will restore everything the tribes owned before the war began
7. 6.

   Card A ends "twenty fourth day of December"; one page in card B says December 23. What is the best way to treat the difference, Noah asks?

   • Throw out the pages, because they disagree about one day of the date
   • Say there were two treaties of Ghent, signed on two different days
   • Average the two dates and say the treaty was signed at some point between them
   • Prefer the treaty's date line and the Christmas Eve page; treat December 23 as a slip
8. 7.

   Card B says territory and relations with American Indians were causes of the war. Does card A back that, Pia asks?

   • Yes, completely: the treaty text settles what started the war in June 1812
   • Partly: these issues were live in 1814, but the treaty cannot show they caused the war
   • No: the treaty discusses just commerce and neutral rights, not land or tribes
   • No: card B is a State Department page, so it cannot be checked against anything
9. 8.

   Card A says ratifications are to be exchanged "in the space of four months" from the signing date it prints. What is the last date that fits, Ren asks?

   • March 24, 1815, counting just three months
   • April 24, 1814, which falls before the treaty was signed
   • April 23, 1815, counting from the December 23 date on one page
   • April 24, 1815, four months from the treaty's own date line
10. 9.

    How would the historians behind card B and Senator King in card D differ about why the war was fought, Tala asks?

    • The historians list several causes; King calls it a war of party
    • The historians would say it was a plain victory for the United States
    • King would credit the Republicans for protecting New England's trade
    • Both would say it was fought over impressment and little else
11. 10.

    Card C's text comes from an 1898 edition, though the Hartford Convention met in 1814. How should a reader treat it, Zee asks?

    • As written by Ford in 1898, so it shows just what Ford thought then
    • As worthless, because it was printed so long after the convention met
    • As exact and beyond checking, because Avalon is a university project
    • As the 1814 proposals in a later printing, to be checked against another copy