The War of 1812 and the Monroe Doctrine

Grade 8 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Going to war in 1812 (cards A to D). Card A, from President James Madison's message to Congress of June 1, 1812 (Miller Center transcript): "British cruisers have been in the continued practice of violating the American flag on the great highway of nations, and of seizing and carrying off persons sailing under it". He says that under the pretext of searching for British subjects, "thousands of American citizens" have been "torn from their country and from everything dear to them", and he criticizes "the sweeping system of blockades, under the name of orders in council". He ends: "We behold, in fine, on the side of Great Britain, a state of war against the United States, and on the side of the United States a state of peace toward Great Britain." Whether to use force is, he writes, "a solemn question which the Constitution wisely confides to the legislative department of the government". Card B, a summary in our words from the National Park Service (NPS) and the House history office: the NPS says Madison's message named three chief grievances: impressment, the British Orders in Council, and Britain's incitement of Indian warfare on the western frontier. The House voted 79 to 49 on June 4, 1812, "a largely sectional vote", with northeastern members objecting. The Senate approved the House resolution, with three amendments, 19 to 13 on June 17, and Madison signed it the next day. The NPS says: "Not a single Federalist voted for the war", so all 98 yes votes came from Republicans, yet "one-quarter of Republicans either voted against the measure or abstained from the vote". It adds: "It remains the closest vote in America's five formally-declared wars." Card C, a summary in our words from two historians writing for the NPS: Federalists in New England said Madison "had fabricated a threat of invasion when none existed" and that London would modify its position on impressment. The historians call this "partly true": "The Orders in Council were to be repealed." They add: "Had the administration waited a little longer, the expensive war might have been averted." Card D, a summary in our words from the State Department's Office of the Historian: France banned neutral trade with Britain in 1806, and Britain banned trade between France, her allies and the Americas in 1807. The United States passed an embargo in 1807 and later the Non-Intercourse Acts; "The embargo and non-intercourse act proved ineffective". In 1810 it reopened trade with both countries if they ended their blockades. Britain "continued to stop American merchant ships to search for Royal Navy deserters, to impress American seamen on the high seas into the Royal Navy, and to enforce its blockade of neutral commerce". The Office adds that Madison "made the issue of impressment from ships under the American flag a matter of national sovereignty--even after the British agreed to end the practice". Another Office page says "Congress passed a declaration of war on June 17, which Madison signed the next day".

2. 1.

   Card A is Madison's own message to Congress. What is it best evidence for, Ari asks?

   • The reasons President Madison gave Congress for the crisis with Britain
   • How ordinary sailors on British ships felt about the sailors they took
   • What historians today conclude about why the war really began
   • Why the British government chose its blockades, in its own words
3. 2.

   A student claims: "Card A shows that Britain wanted a war with the United States." How strong is that claim, Bo asks?

   • Weak: a message to Congress cannot count as evidence about any question
   • Strong: card A says the British Parliament formally declared war in the spring
   • Strong: Madison writes that Britain was already in "a state of war" with the United States
   • Weak: card A gives Madison's description of British acts, not British leaders' aims
4. 3.

   Card B: the House voted 79 to 49 to declare war. About what share of the House votes was yes, Esme asks?

   • About 62 percent, a bit less than two votes in three
   • About 38 percent, the share of the votes that said no
   • About 62 percent, so the House was nearly unanimous
   • About 79 percent, because 79 members voted yes
5. 4.

   Card B: the House voted June 4 and the Senate June 17. How many days passed between those two votes, Jun asks?

   • 13 days, from the House vote to the Senate vote
   • 1 day, from the Senate vote to Madison's signature
   • 16 days, counted from Madison's message on June 1
   • 14 days, counting June 4 and June 17 both
6. 5.

   Card B: all 98 yes votes were Republican, and one-quarter of Republicans voted no or abstained. About how many Republicans were there, Kira asks?

   • About 123, found by adding one-quarter of 98 to 98
   • About 98, because the whole party voted yes
   • About 131, because 98 is three-quarters of them
   • About 25, the number in one-quarter of 98
7. 6.

   In card A's last quoted line, Madison writes of a "state of war" on Britain's side and "a state of peace" on ours. What does he mean, Noah asks?

   • The president alone could choose war, and Congress was just being told
   • Britain had formally declared war and Congress had agreed to it
   • British acts already amounted to war on the United States, which had stayed at peace
   • The United States was already fighting Britain, while Britain stayed at peace
8. 7.

   Using card D, which link best explains why Madison asked for war after trade limits, Pia asks?

   • France's 1806 ban on trade was aimed at the United States and no one else
   • Trade limits proved ineffective, and Britain kept stopping American ships
   • The Treaty of Ghent later showed that trade limits could not work
   • Trade limits worked so well that Britain gave in, which left war as the next step
9. 8.

   Card C is by two historians writing for the National Park Service long after 1812. How should a reader treat it, Ren asks?

   • As useless, because the historians were not alive in 1812 to see events
   • As a modern account of Federalist arguments, not a Federalist's words from 1812
   • As the last word on the vote, because a national park published it
   • As a Federalist's own words from 1812, because it quotes Federalist views at length
10. 9.

    A student claims: "Impressment was Madison's only grievance against Britain." How strong is that claim, Tala asks?

    • Strong: card B says Congress voted on impressment alone
    • Weak: card B lists three grievances, and card A also names blockades
    • Strong: card A is a speech, so its other complaints are not worth counting
    • Strong: card A mentions impressment first, so it must be the sole reason
11. 10.

    Using card D, how did the American response to British and French seizures change from 1807 to 1812, Zee asks?

    • It stayed the same, because Britain kept its policy unchanged
    • It moved from asking for war toward trade limits
    • It moved from trade limits toward a request for war
    • It moved toward peace talks because the Treaty of Ghent was signed