Was the War of 1812 useless? The War of 1812 proved to be the most serious challenge the United States had faced since the country's birth. This "Second Revolutionary War" perhaps changed American history as we know it. This essay will discuss the causes of this war by evaluating whether there were actually valid reasons for the United States and Great Britain to go to war or whether the entire War of 1812 was simply born out of "useless aggression." The War of 1812 was a truly useless war. It broke out just as one of its main causes (The Orders in Council) was removed and its greatest battle (New Orleans) was fought soon after the peace was signed. The war was not necessary from the British point of view, but for the Americans it was inevitable. The Royal Navy had kidnapped 3,800 American sailors and pressed them into service. The Orders In Council had deprived the United States of profitable trade with France and can be seen as having ruthlessly subordinated American economic interests to the political interests of the British Empire. American farmers also blamed the orders, perhaps unfairly, for the decline in agricultural prices that caused a depression in the West in the years immediately preceding the war. On the frontier it was universally believed that the Indian unrest was a war fomented by British agents, although in reality American oppression must also be seen as a major cause of this. America's war with Great Britain seemed inevitable, although the Americans did everything possible to avoid it, even though there seemed to be endless provocations on the part of Great Britain, for example in 1807 when a British frigate, the Leopard, opened the fire on an American frigate, the Chesapeake. The choice before America, agreed upon by Jefferson, the former president, and his successor Madison, was war or submission: fight or reverse one of the major achievements of the revolution and accept England's total defeat in international affairs. As John Quincy Adams said "It was not a question of dollars and cents, there remained no alternative but war or the abandonment of our right as an independent nation." The crimes committed against the United States were the main provocation of the war, the reasons otherwise the claim can be considered a rationalization. There was obvious anger at what the British had done to America and many Americans simply wanted revenge, but the war was fought for so much more..