The War of 1812 was America’s ‘Second Revolution’ – little understood by many in America how precarious the survival of the new nation was. This segment enlarges the student’s understanding of the causes of the war and how the Napoleonic War on Europe’s continent distracting the British military may very well have saved the nation. Ending in 1815 with the ratification of the Treaty of Ghent, the war directly led to the penning of our nation’s national anthem, The Star Spangled Banner and propelled Battle of New Orleans’ famous General Andrew Jackson to the Presidency of the United States, serving as its seventh president. To place an ancestor in the context of history, this segment paints the landscape of the social climate during the War’s four year course – 1812 to 1815.