Creating a timeline is a great way for students to be able to understand the sequence of historical events and visualize the history they're learning. This is especially effective when studying the major causes of a war, as students are able to see how one thing leads to another and how countries and people respond to actions that are taken.
In this activity, students will create a timeline to outline and explain the major causes of the War of 1812. This will allow students to research and understand the major political and geographic causes that led to the U.S. declaring war on Great Britain. Students will be able to explain and analyze what exactly caused the war, and why the young, developing United States even considered war as an option. Furthermore, it will give deeper perspective what the state of affairs was in the early years of America.
For an alternative to the timeline layout, have students create a timeline poster to incorporate into a presentation or gallery walk. You can add more than one template to this assignment to give students lots of options, and update the instructions accordingly.
Extended Activity
Have students research Jefferson’s foreign policy. Students should define what measures he took in dealing with other nations, especially concerning trade, the Louisiana Purchase, and his Embargo Act of 1807. This will allow students to draw deeper connections to what helped instigate the War of 1812.
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Student Instructions
Create a timeline detailing the major causes of the War of 1812.