The War of 1812 was fought in 1812-1815 between the United States of America and the British Empire. While the British naval blockade of the U.S. coast was a success, the land warfare was a draw. The U.S. initially tried repeatedly to invade Upper Canada with no success; the British launched multiple invasions that were beaten back. At the end, the British held parts of Maine and some outposts in the west while the Americans held Canadian territory near Detroit, but all occupied territories were restored at the end of the war.

The immediate stated causes for the U.S. declaration of war were a series of trade restrictions introduced by Britain to impede neutral trade with France with which Britain was also at war, that the U.S. contested as illegal under international law and the impressment (forced recruitment) of U.S. citizens into the Royal Navy. An American rallying cry early in the war was "Free Trade and Sailors' Rights". Another major cause of American anger was alleged British military support for American Indians who were waging war against the United States.

After two years of warfare, during which the major causes disappeared and neither side saw a reason to go on, peace was signalled when the Treaty of Ghent, was signed on 24 December 1814. However news of the treaty arrived only after a U.S. victory at the Battle of New Orleans. This final victory produced a sense of euphoria regarding a "second war of independence." However, the confederations of Indian tribes allied to the British had been broken. Britain, which had regarded the war as a sideshow to that against Napoleon Bonaparte in Europe, was less affected by either the fighting or the result.

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