james madison was president when the british burned down the white house during the war of 1812.
james madison was president when the british burned down the white house during the war of 1812.
who was president when the british burned down the white house during the war of 1812?
james madison
after napoleon's abdication following the march 1814 battle of paris, the british began to shift soldiers to north america. under general george izard and general jacob brown, the u.s. launched another invasion of canada in mid-1814. despite an american victory at the battle of chippawa, the invasion stalled once again. meanwhile, the british increased the size and intensity of their raids against the atlantic coast. general william h. winder attempted to bring together a concentrated force to guard against a potential attack on washington or baltimore, but his orders were countermanded by secretary of war armstrong. the british landed a large force off the chesapeake bay in august 1814, and the british army approached washington on august 24. an american force was routed at the battle of bladensburg, and british forces set fire to the federal buildings of washington. dolley madison rescued white house valuables and documents shortly before the british burned the white house. the british army next moved on baltimore, but the british called off the raid after the u.s. repelled a naval attack on fort mchenry. madison returned to washington before the end of august, and the main british force departed from the region in september. the british attempted to launch an invasion from canada, but the u.s. victory at the september 1814 battle of plattsburgh ended british hopes of conquering new york.
presidency of james madison
the last major point of opposition against the war of 1812 came when the british burned the white house, along with other public buildings in washington, d.c, in august 1814. many argued that america deserved to be treated with the same wartime respect that the european powers received, especially when a battle did not involve native americans or american militia forces. other feared it might weaken britain's position at the congress of vienna. for britain, many viewed the burning as a moral failure, since the white house was not a fort or a battle encampment. the continued outrage contributed to parliament's decision to expedite peace negotiations, which resulted in the treaty of ghent in december 1814.
opposition to the war of 1812 in britain