Snap debate

Today we had a snap debate over the causes of the War of 1812. I was in the group that advocated for incitement. Incitement was when the British armed Amerindian's with weapons and ammunitions and instigated attacks upon American citizens on settlements along the western frontier. Impressing was a British policy where they would forcibly place American citizens into their navy. In total they kidnapped approximately 140,000 Americans and acted on the ideal of "once a British citizen, always a British citizen." The Chesapeake Affair, was when a British ship attacked a U.S ship in the Chesapeake bay and captured American citizens. This act violated American sovereignty and basically added a new level of violence to impressment. Orders in Council restricted trade between France and the rest of the world, acting in retaliation to Napoleon's Continental System. Britain's navy was far superior and this ended up with a win for Britain. After analyzing a source document each of the four groups had to try and convince the others that their event was the most important. After everyone went, I still believed that Incitement held the most important as it was occurring on our soil and most directly effected American citizens. However several people did switch after hearing all the arguments, most switched to ours. I found this was a very helpful lesson and a fun way to learn. It combined finding knowledge, applying it and then personal opinion. I really enjoyed it and would like to do it again!