Causes and Impressment
What is the term for the British practice of taking American sailors and forcing them to serve on British ships?
Impressment
Who was Tecumseh?
Tecumseh was a Shawnee chief.
What name was given to the group in Congress that pushed for war with Britain?
The War Hawks
In what year did the Battle of Tippecanoe occur?
1811
Name the U.S. president during the War of 1812.
James Madison
What was Tecumseh’s main goal for Native American tribes?
He wanted to unite many tribes into a confederacy to protect their land.
Name two leaders of the War Hawks mentioned in the study guide.
Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun
Which side won the Battle of Tippecanoe?
The U.S. (Harrison’s forces) won
Why did the United States try to remain neutral before the War of 1812?
The U.S. wanted to stay neutral in the war between Britain and France.
Who was the governor of the Indiana Territory who made treaties to acquire Native land?
William Henry Harrison
Give one reason the War Hawks wanted to go to war with Britain.
To stop British support of Native Americans (or to defend American honor)
While Tecumseh was away, who led the attack on his village?
William Henry Harrison
Explain how impressment affected American public opinion toward Britain.
Impressment angered Americans because their citizens were seized from U.S. ships and forced into British service; it was seen as a national insult and violation of U.S. sovereignty.
What was Tecumseh’s argument against the treaties Harrison made with some Native leaders?
Tecumseh argued the treaties were not fair because land belonged to all tribes, not just the few leaders who signed.
Explain how western expansion (settlers moving West) related to the War Hawks’ goals.
Westward settlers wanted land and security; War Hawks wanted to remove British influence and Native resistance to open western lands for expansion.
Why did the Battle of Tippecanoe make tensions with Britain worse?
Because Britain was suspected of helping Native tribes, the attack suggested Britain was interfering in U.S. frontier affairs, worsening relations.
Besides impressment, name one major cause of rising tensions between American settlers and Native Americans that helped push the U.S. toward war.
American settlers moving westward onto Native lands (leading to conflict).
Describe the significance of the Battle of Tippecanoe (1811) for U.S.–Native relations and its effect on tensions with Britain.
The U.S. victory at Tippecanoe weakened Tecumseh’s confederacy but increased suspicion that Britain was supporting Native resistance, raising tensions between the U.S. and Britain.
Analyze how the War Hawks’ desire to “defend American honor” could influence public support for war. Give one example from the guide that connects to this idea.
The War Hawks framed British actions (like impressment) and frontier conflict as attacks on U.S. sovereignty and honor, which rallied public support for war; for example, anger over impressment and western attacks helped their argument.
Summarize how frontier conflicts, British actions on the seas, and the War Hawks combined to push the United States into the War of 1812. (Two- to three-sentence answer.)
Frontier conflicts (settlers vs. Native tribes), British impressment of sailors, and War Hawks’ political pressure combined to create public and congressional support for declaring war on Britain in 1812.