The document summarizes the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. It discusses key battles of the Revolutionary War such as Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, Trenton, and Yorktown. It describes how the Revolutionary War was ultimately won by the Americans after eight years of fighting and ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1783. It then summarizes the causes and key aspects of the War of 1812, including it being fought on three fronts in Canada, and ending with the Treaty of Ghent in 1815 without resolving the original causes of the war. Both wars helped establish American independence and sovereignty, though they came at significant costs of American lives.

1. The American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812
Hannah Brod
U.S. History

2. 2
Introduction
The Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 are two similar, but different wars. Each
war was fought, for independence and territory of land. Together, they helped to develop what is
America today, but to get there American soldiers gave up their lives in hopes of the betterment
of our country. There were many battles fought, lives shed, and soldiers wounded, but in the end,
America was victorious in the Revolutionary War and somewhat victorious in the War of 1812.
The Revolutionary War
The Revolutionary War started as a war for independence, but became much more than
that. 1 In 1775, Patrick Henry of Virginia stated that, “war was unavoidable”2. He warned the
Virginia people that, “the next gale that sweeps the north would bring the clash of resounding
arms”3. Through this, he was warning the American people, and letting them know to prepare for
war.4 In April of 1775, about 70 Minutemen ran to form two lines beside the road to Concord.5
The British soon formed a column too. After the first shot was made, there ended up being eight
dead and ten wounded Americans.6 The British then headed to Concord, where 73 British
soldiers and 49 American soldiers were killed.7
After the Battles at Lexington and Concord, was The Battle of Bunker Hill.8 On
Saturday, June 17, the day George Washington was named commander in chief, is the day of the
1 David E. Shi and George B. Tindall, America The Essential Learning Edition,1st ed. (New York: W.W. Norton &
Company Inc., 2015), 151.
2 Shi, America, 133.
3 John R. Alden, The American Revolution.(New York: Harper & Row, 1954), 14.
4 Shi, America, 133.
5 Bart McDowell, The Revolutionary War. (National Geographic Society, 1967), 38.
6 McDowell, The Revolutionary War, 40.
7 McDowell, The Revolutionary War, 42.
8 Shi, America, 136.

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first major battle.9 It was at this battle that the British lost 1,054 soldiers, more than half of what
America lost. On July 4, 1776, Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence.10 The next
battle was the Battle of Long Island, which happened late August.11 General Howe outsmarted
Washington during this war and defeated him, sending his army north.12
Following, was the Battle of Trenton in Morristown, New Jersey.13 During the Battle of
Long Island and the Battle of Trenton, Hessians were involved. Hessians were German
mercenaries leased to King George III to help Britain take down America.14 On December 26,
1776, Washington’s army surprise attacked the Hessians, which in return led to an American
victory.15
It was not until 1783 when the American Revolutionary War was finally over. The last
major battle of the Revolutionary War was the Battle of Yorktown.16 During this battle, George
Washington persuaded the commander of the French army to join on the attack of the British
Army.17 It was then that the commander of the British army, General Cornwallis, surrendered
because the American and French troops blocked off all of his escape routes.18 It took two
days to discuss the terms of the surrender until finally the British officer and George Washington
came to an agreement.19 On October 19, 1783, Washington signed the proposal and the British
9 Shi, America, 136.
10 Shi, America, 138.
11 Alden, The American Revolution,97.
12 McDowell, The Revolutionary War, 88.
13 Alden, The American Revolution,108
14 McDowell, The Revolutionary War,74.
15 McDowell, The Revolutionary War, 101.
16 Shi, America, 168.
17 Shi, America, 167.
18 Robert Middlekauff, The GloriousCause: The American Revolution,(New York: Oxford University Press,1982),
570.
19 Middlekauff, The GloriousCause, 570.

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army surrendered.20 It was then that the Revolutionary War was not quite over, but the choice of
peace seemed almost an impossible choice for the upcoming year.21
On September 3, 1783, the Treaty of Paris was signed to declare peace between America
and Great Britain.22 The treaty also doubled the territory of the United States nation.23 The
Treaty of Paris concluded the end of the Revolutionary War. The war had become one of
“endurance”, and “America held an advantage the whole time due to time, men, and supplies”.24
Thus, being why America came out on top during this eight-year-war with Great Britain.
The War of 1812
Over thirty-years after the Revolutionary War, America came upon another conflict with
Great Britain.25 Great Britain did not want to go to war, because it was preoccupied with
defeating Napoléon in Europe.26 Historians believe that the America wanted this war to happen
because Great Britain kept interfering with American trade and they wanted it to stop.27
Historians also believe they wanted to expand American settlement, and uphold the nation’s
sovereignty.28 Another one of the causes for the War of 1812 was because of the “impressment”
of sailors of American ships and the British’s violations of shipping rights.29
20 Middlekauff, The GloriousCause, 570.
21 Middlekauff, The Glorious Cause, 571.
22 Shi, America, 169.
23 Shi, America, 169.
24 Shi, America, 166.
25 Shi, America, 238.
26 Shi, America, 238.
27 Sidney Hart, and Rachel L. Penman, 1812:A Nation Emerges. (Washington,D.C.: Smithsonian Institution
Scholarly Press, 2012), 45.
28 Hart, 1812: A Nation Emerges, 45.
29 Shi, America, 238.

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The War of 1812 was really three different wars on different grounds.30 The only places
in which America could attack the British on land was in Canada.31 Like the American
Revolutionary War, this war would also become like a civil war.32 James Madison planned for
all three attacks to happen at the same time so that the British soldiers would be split up in
Canada.33 This caused for miscommunication between the three different war-grounds, and
ended up making everything a disaster.34
The Treaty of Ghent ended the fighting, but failed to state why the President declared war
in the first place.35 The War of 1812 reaffirmed American independence, economic
independence, and displayed the face that America has a world power.36
Conclusion
The Revolutionary War was fought in eight years to gain our independence and territory
of land. America was not as aggressive about war during the Revolutionary War, as it was during
the start of the War of 1812.37 During the time in which there was talk about war, both of the
presidents were not in favor, and America was not in favor.38 While during the Revolutionary
War, Washington was just named commander when the major Battle of Bunker hill broke out.39
Both of the Wars were “ended” by a treaty. Between each of these wars, there are indeed a lot of
similarities, but to each their own.
30 Shi, America, 242.
31 Shi, America, 242.
32 Shi, America, 242.
33 Shi, America, 242.
34 Shi, America, 242.
35 Shi, America, 250.
36 Shi, America, 251.
37 Reginald Horsman, Causes of the 1812 War. (New York: Octagon Books, 1975), 263.
38 Hart, 1812: A Nation Emerges, 45.
39 Shi, America, 136.

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Bibliography
Alden, John Richard. The American Revolution, 1775-1783.
New York, NY: Harper & Row, 1954.
Hart, Sidney, and Rachel L. Penman. 1812: A Nation Emerges. Washington, DC:
Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press, 2012.
Horsman, Reginald. Causes of the War of 1812. New York, NY: Octagon Books, 1975.
McDowell, Bart. The Revolutionary War. National Geographic Society, 1967.
Middlekauff, Robert. The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789.
New York: Oxford University Press, 1982.
Shi, David E., and George B. Tindall. America: The Essential Learning Edition. 1st Ed.
New York, NY: W.W. Norton, 2015.