When The British Empire Set The White House On Fire
On June 17th, 1812 the U.S. Senate voted to approve a resolution declaring war on the British Empire by a 19 to 13 margin.
You can view the Senate’s approval of the resolution declaring war on the British Empire here.
The House of Representatives had already voted to approve war against the British Empire by a margin of 79 to 49.
President Madison signed the bill into law on June 18, 1812, marking the start of the War of 1812.
This declaration of war was the first in American history.
(To learn more about the legal mechanisms by which the U.S. government declares war, see here).
The declaration of war was prompted by a desire among some American policy-makers to annex British Canada, frustration with European trade embargoes, the British Empire’s alliance with indigenous peoples locked in a bloody battle for survival with an America expanding westward, and British harassment of U.S. vessels in the Atlantic.
(Learn the full backstory here.)
Octagon House.
On August 24, 1814, the British Empire captured Washington D.C. and set the White House ablaze, forcing President Madison to flee to Virginia and later take up temporary residence in Octagon House, located a few blocks away from the White House.
Abbe House.
And Madison’s successor as president, James Monroe, would be forced to use Abbe House as a temporary executive residence while the White House underwent repairs.
The British assault on Washington D.C. also resulted in the immolation of the Capitol Building and the U.S. Supreme Court Building.
The war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent (agreed in Ghent, located in present-day Belgium) in 1814.
The Treaty required that all territories captured during the war be returned.
Written By: Aiden Singh Published: July 19, 2020