The War of 1812: A Short History

by Donald R. Hickey

This abridged version of Donald Hickey's popular The War of 1812: A Forgotten Conflict focuses on the military campaigns as well as the political and diplomatic history of the war. Intended for a general audience and students in introductory and upper division United States
history courses, the volume is gripping reading. It includes a chronology of major events during the war and a list of further suggested reading.
 

Genres: History, American History, Military History, American

152 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Don Hickey is a professor of history emeritus at Wayne State College. He earned his B.A. in 1966, his M.A. in 1968, and his Ph.D. in 1972 from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Reviews

[Bret Neff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book years ago on a trip to Put-in-bay on Lake Erie. I finally read it. It is a good short summary of the war. Gives good highlights of major events without excruciating detail. It is very interesting to read what really took place and the real results vs. the standard stories we always hear of greatness.

[Sydney · Rating 3 out of 5]

"FitzGibbon was warned of the attack by Indians as well as by a Canadian woman, Laura Secord, who walked twenty miles through rough and unfamiliar territory at night."

I bought this book when preparing to direct The Patrol, a short film written by our friend Marty Bertera about the War of 1812. I had visited Fort Meigs with my friend Bekah and wanted to know more about the time period before trying to make a movie about it without much historical context.
It's not a super well known war, or an Oscar winning film by any means, but I'm glad to have had the opportunity to use both my history degree and my film certification early on in my career.

[Greg Jablonski · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good introduction to the political, diplomatic and economic causes and impacts of the war combined with a concise but inclusive military history. A good first book to read about the war of 1812.

[Richard A · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted a short but good summary of the lead-up to the war, the war itself, and the impact of the war and I got exactly what I wanted in this book. I recommend this to anyone wanting to learn about the War of 1812, but not wanting to invest in reading a tome.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very interesting and readable book by someone who knows much more about the War of 1812 than I do. However, I wonder if he downplayed the effects of the Battle of Lake Erie and Jackson's Victory of New Orleans. Interestingly, he vividly portrayed the political wrangling of Congress and politicians, etc., that almost cost us our freedom from Great Britain. Regardless, these victories KEPT England from bothering us again.

[Mike McGrath · Rating 5 out of 5]

Years ago I got this book while traveling in the Midwest. Maybe it was on my visit to the River Raisin National Park. I've always wanted to learn about this "second revolution." Only 122 pages so it was my kind of quick read. Now back to others on my list.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pleasant and informative give that gave plenty of insight on the causes, events, and aftermath of the forgotten War of 1812.

[Wilson Hines · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently heard a very respected scholar in a lecture say the following, "No matter what you've heard, history doesn't repeat itself - ideas do." That is no more evident than in the study of this war!

And I do mean SHORT. It's a fantastic little introduction. My theory with this book was to read it as an introduction to The War of 1812: A Forgotten Conflict by Mr. Hickey, as well. From what I've read on Amazon and heard, that is precisely the primary purpose of the author in this "Short History."

I am currently enrolled in college as a B.A. in History. I haven't chosen my concentration yet, but I could easily jump on this horse! This is such a complex war with tons and tons of variables and caveats. It becomes extremely clear as modernity presses forward and after looking at the history of warfare in general, that most men and women die in and around combat completely out of lack of communication, more than anything else.

This book takes you from the early Jefferson administration and some of his challenges which he faced in dealing with international trade with such a young country. At the end of the day, this war isn't fought over impressment nearly to the degree as it is fought over Orders in Council, which basically interfered with America's, or anybody's for that matter, ability to do trade with France, of whom Britain was at war. There's no telling how many ships were confiscated, soldiers lost, and cargo lost.

This war was a war which literally bankrupted the United States to the point whereas the money was worthless and the banks had no way of loaning money or storing money. We here about an impending "insolvent government" today, but it really happened in 1815 and it wasn't a pretty picture. The government had defaulted on all of its loans and could not borrow a "red cent." If you wanted something your neighbor had, you better have something to trade with other than money.

Americans hold conventions when crisis arise. Between 1763 and 1783 we held six or seven conventions; New England held the Hartford Convention, and if it were not for the level minded in the room they would have ceded from the Union, with Britain's help!

Get this book, buy more books to come behind it! I also have on my shelf waiting for me to finish the other book by Hickey another 1812 jewel: The Civil War of 1812: American Citizens, British Subjects, Irish Rebels, & Indian Allies - get this book, too. It is written by the UC at Berkeley Dept of American History Chair & the same man is the Dept of Canadian History Chair. This gives him incredibly valuable insite where Mr. Taylor calls the War of 1812 "The War of Four Civil Wars", ie., American Citizens, British Subjects, Irish Rebels, & Indian Allies. I intend on delving into Taylor's book immediately after Hickey's authoritative book.

[Jc · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful concise history of this all but forgotten war. Usually all anyone knows about it is, 1) Washington was burned by the British; 2) American sailors were being impressed by the British; and 3) Some guy named Francis wrote new words to a drinking song. This book (abbreviated by the author from his longer work, "War of 1812: A Forgotten Conflict," iw really well written with an amazing amount of detail in its 110 or so pages. A nice introduction to how a still struggling young country nearly lost everything just 35 or so years after its founding. The only problem with the book is you will find yourself yearning to read the longer work.

[Gyoh80525 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is good for someone who doesn't know anything about the war of 1812. It is a shorter version of a longer history on the war and has a few gaps (especially for us non-historians). It is short though and gives a decent overview of war.

This book is good for those of us that have asked "what was the war of 1812? and why did we fight it in the first place?" While you may not get either of these questions completely answered (there may not even be good answers to these questions), this book will give you a little background on the subject for a small time investment.

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The War of 1812" by Donald R. Hickey makes for a detailed, factual, and highly researched book. The author makes great references and supply's massive amount of information to fully comprehend the War of 1812. The novel emphasizes an important war for America that is greatly ignored because of the close loss and embarressment to Britain. The book; however, does not make for a continuous read because it can switch frequently making the flow of reading short and choppy.

[Dan Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another required reading selection for my NEH Summer Workshop. At only 121 pages it was an easy read full of details yet not so difficult as to make it boring or tedious. It is written in an easily understood fashion which may thus appeal to anyone interested in gaining some knowledge and understanding of this little known American conflict.

[Cary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good, quick read

Easy to read, but the chronology of events is a bit distorted. All in all, I would recommend that all Americans read this in order to humble ourselves just a little bit.

[Edward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for a brief history, but feel like I missed a lot. I wish I had read Hickey's other book that he condensed down for this.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up because I really don't know much about this conflict and because, well, it was short. I think this type of resource will be important in education in the coming years for a couple of reasons: (1) younger students don't like to read, and (2) older students don't have the time to read. Instead of offering students a 500 page textbook with details that probably don't interest them and ones they will never remember, these short histories can offer a sound narrative in about a 100 pages. More importantly, the shorter textbooks allow room for additional primary source readings.

This is a good book. It covered the battlefield conflicts but also the internal conflicts within the United States government and the states. It also is a witness to the fact that inter and intra party disagreements and conflicts are nothing new; for example, the disagreements between the Federalist and Republicans seemed as intense as those between Democrats and Republicans today. We talk a lot about how divided our government is today; I'm not sure it was ever as unified as we might think it was.