An infographic titled The War of 1812 lists information about the causes, the first declaration, and the combatants’ preparedness for war.
A chart with information about the War of 1812 is divided into three sections. Section 1 contains the causes for the war: British interfere with American shipping; British kidnap American sailors; Americans believe British are persuading Native Americans to fight settlers; some members of Congress (War Hawks) want U.S. expansion into Canada. Section 2 states that Congress is divided over the first declaration of war: 62% of the House is in favor, and 38% is opposed; 59% of the Senate is in favor, and 41% is opposed. Section 3 compares the United States and Britain’s preparedness for the War of 1812. The United States had 12,000 troops, 6 warships, 4,000 sailors, and 1,800 marines. Britain had 10,000 British and Canadian troops, 584 warships of which only 2 were available, 140,000 sailors worldwide, and 31,000 marines.
Question
Based on the information in the chart, why might Congress have been divided about declaring war on Britain?
(1 point)
Responses
Members of Congress did not believe the American military could compete with the British military.
Members of Congress did not believe the American military could compete with the British military.
The War Hawks had more supporters in the House of Representatives than in the Senate.
The War Hawks had more supporters in the House of Representatives than in the Senate.
Southern representatives were less concerned about British interference in American shipping.
Southern representatives were less concerned about British interference in American shipping.
Some representatives were not convinced that the rumors about the Native American attacks were true.
Some representatives were not convinced that the rumors about the Native American attacks were true.
Based on the information provided in the chart, the reason Congress might have been divided about declaring war on Britain is:
Some representatives were not convinced that the rumors about the Native American attacks were true.
To answer this question, we need to analyze the information provided in the chart.
In Section 2 of the chart, it states that Congress was divided over the first declaration of war. It provides specific percentages of support and opposition in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. According to the chart, 62% of the House was in favor of the declaration of war, while 38% opposed it. In the Senate, 59% were in favor, and 41% were opposed.
Based on this information, we can conclude that Congress was divided about declaring war on Britain because there was a significant percentage of opposition in both the House and the Senate. The fact that the percentages differ between the two chambers suggests that there may have been differing opinions and priorities among the representatives.
From the given options, the most accurate answer to the question is: Some representatives were not convinced that the rumors about the Native American attacks were true.
This aligns with the information provided in Section 1 of the chart, which states that some members of Congress, known as War Hawks, wanted U.S. expansion into Canada. However, if some representatives were not convinced that the rumors about Native American attacks were true, it could have influenced their decision to oppose declaring war on Britain.
Therefore, the division in Congress could stem from differing beliefs about the legitimacy of the Native American attacks and their importance as a cause for war.