In the Battle of the Thames, General William Henry Harrison defeated a combined British and Native American force led by Colonel Henry Procter and Tecumseh. The success of Oliver Hazard Perry at the Battle of Lake Erie, gave the United States control of that Great Lake. However, America did have some important victories the following year. The United States had hoped to invade Canada in 1812, but British soldiers successfully rebuffed the assault. The first major battles of the war occurred in 1813. In 1812, President James Madison asked the United States Congress to declare war. Most of the soldiers were located along the Great Lakes, providing Native Americans, like the Shawnee leader Tecumseh, with support in their struggle against American settlers. Finally, British soldiers continued to occupy territory belonging to the United States, despite Great Britain's promise to remove these soldiers in the Treaty of Paris (1783) at the end of the American Revolution. Britain also tried to prevent United States farmers from trading with the French. To acquire more men for its navy, Great Britain began to stop American and other ships and impress (take by force) sailors from them. Britain began to face a shortage of skilled sailors. During the late 1700s and the early 1800s, Great Britain was at war with France. The War of 1812 was fought between the United States and Great Britain from 1812 until 1815.

Madison also became a supporter of industrialization, a traditional Federalist policy. Portrait of President James Madison (1751-1836), who during his presidency signed the declaration of war that officially started the War of 1812.

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