The Causes of the War of 1812

by Reginald Horsman

The origins of the War of 1812 have long been a source of confusion for historians, due to the lack of attention that had been paid to England's part in precipitating the conflict and to the overemphasis placed on "western expansionist" factors. This volume offers the first analysis of the causes of the war from both the British and American points of view, showing clearly that, contrary to the popular misconception, the war's basic causes are to be found not in America but in Europe. For unless one accepts the view that America committed an act of pure aggression in 1812, one must turn to the motives underlying British policy to determine why America felt it had to fight.

345 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1962

About the author

Reginald Horsman was Distinguished Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He earned his BA (1952) and his MA (1955) at the University of Birmingham, and his PhD from Indiana University in Bloomington in 1958. Horsman taught at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee from 1958 until his retirement in 1999, during which time he received the Kiekhofer Teaching Award (1961), a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship (1965), and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Alumni Award for Teaching Excellence in 1995.