The War of 1812 The War of 1812 was a major turning point in American history. Due to the fact that America had managed to fight the world′s greatest military power, they had gained international respect. The war started on June 18, 1812 because America wanted to expand their territory, and Britain wanted to restrict US trade. The United States took on the greatest naval power in the world, Great Britain. There were many different aspects in the war of 1812, such as the causes, battles, and consequences resulting in the effect of the war. There were many things that contributed to the start of the war of 1812 and very famous people involved. The people being Andrew Jackson who was a general in the U.S. army, William Winder, a general who commanded the disorganized American forces at Bladensburg, and President James Madison who signed the Declaration of War against Great Britain. The circumstances that were contributing to the start of the war of 1812 would be that the British were trying to stop US trade. In addition to that Americans also wanted to expand land into Indian, British, and Spanish territories. Another reason being that Great Britain had violated American sovereignty by refusing to surrender western forts as promised in the Treaty of Paris after the Revolutionary War. The war officially began when the United States’ declared war against Great Britain on June 18, 1812. This led to the first battle of the war, the surrender of Fort Detroit, which was the first major U.S. defeat of the War of 1812. The battle of Fort Detroit, when the British captured 1,593 people, may have been the first but not the most important. One of the most important battles were the Battle of Baltimore and Siege of Fort McHenry which occurred on September 13th and 14th in 1814. The Battle of Baltimore was a sea/land battle fought between British invaders and American defenders. American forces repulsed sea and land invasions off and killed the commander of the invading British forces, leaving the British to withdraw with an American victory. Other battles of the war would be the battles of Lake Ernie, Plattsburg and Bladensburg and burning of Washington but the last battle before the war was over was an American victory of Lake Champlain. In this battle the Americans won and this British defeat to America was a turning point in the War of 1812, which led both sides to reach a peace agreement. This peace agreement was called the treaty of Ghent which officially ended the war of 1812. Due to America being able to fight Britain and still stand it instilled a greater sense of nationalism among its citizens. It prompted James Monroe and John Quincy Adams to pen the Monroe Doctrine, the nation′s first articulation of a foreign policy. After the war is over and during the presidency of James Monroe that time is referred to as the “Era of Good Feeling.” The War of 1812 did not have much of an impact in England, however, it did assure the survival of the British colonies in Canada, and ultimately paved the way for the Canadian Confederation. The Federalist Party, founded by Alexander Hamilton, and once the dominant political party in America, declined precipitously following the War of 1812. Its members had opposed a war with Great Britain. The war of 1812 was also able to increase American patriotism, weaken Native American resistance, as well as increase U.S manufacturing. The war officially ended when the Treaty of Ghent was ratified by the U.S. Senate on February 17, 1815. However, sporadic fighting continued over several months in remote locations where word of the peace treaty had not been received, such as the battle of New Orleans. A meeting in Belgium of American delegates and British commissioners ended with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent on December 24, 1814. It took effect in February of 1815. Great Britain agreed to relinquish claims to the Northwest Territory, and both countries pledged to work toward ending the slave trade. As seen there are many causes, battles, and different things that came from the war of 1812.