Second Independence Day

Today, January 8th, 2009 is the 194th anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812 against Great Britain. Just some fifty years after the Declaration of Independence, Great Britain was threatening to take back the North American continent, or at least encircle the United States with British territories. After British seizures of American sailors and vessels, the Americans considered war. After the British assisted Native Americans in the northwest (then Ohio, Michigan, Indiana) Americans, led by the War Hawks in Congress decided to declare war on Britain. The war brought economic devastation and hardship on the American states and when Andrew Jackson and his militia men were sent to defend New Orleans and the Mississippi River, Great Britain controlled the Great Lakes, much of the West, and had burned The District of Columbia to the ground. Jackson's stand not only saved New Orleans, but forced the British to retreat and consider a peace negotiation. Andrew Jackson and his band of volunteers defended America's independence. Today is a day of great thanksgiving and celebration. Think of it as our second Independence Day.