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Thursday, 30 January 2020

Treatment of People with Developmental Disabilities Essay Example for Free

Treatment of People with Developmental Disabilities Essay Throughout history people with developmental disabilities were treated as defective or somewhat less than human.   They were placed in institutions and often forgotten, drugged or tortured simply because they were misunderstood.   Jean-Marc Itard began working with people in France in the early eighteen hundreds in a first attempt to train developmentally disabled people.   He later moved to the United States and continued his studies and practice.   The first asylum to treat people with disabilities was opened in 1851. (History 6) The purpose of the asylum was to protect the people from the harshness of society and to educate the people with disabilities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The beginning of the 1900’s consisted of a change to an attempt to protect society from the disabled people by putting them all in institutions.   In the first half of the nineteen hundreds the number of institutions and the number of people in them grew significantly.   The general public treated disabled people as deviants and people that should not be allowed to live among other people (Minnesota, part D).   In 1924 a law was passed that allowed sterilization of people deemed as â€Å"feebleminded†.   This population included epileptics and alcoholics (Longmore 1). By passing this law, the nation demonstrated it was not yet ready to fully accept people with developmental disabilities. Between 1925 and 1950, people began to realize again that the developmentally disabled were harmless to society and were best if they were trained.   This did not keep people from placing their disabled children in institutions or keep doctors from recommending that parents place their children in institutions.   Once a child was diagnosed with a disability, the child was often placed in an already over crowded institution where he was essentially forgotten.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Towards the end of the 1950’s and early 1960’s the views towards disabled people changed again.   When John Kennedy became president he and his sister chose to spend time helping people with disabilities live more productive lives (National 1).   During this time the trend began to change to respecting them and keeping people at home if possible.   From that time, research has gradually increased to study the causes of developmental disabilities to greatly reduce the number of people born with them and when possible reduce the severity of the effects. Because of this the number of yearly cases of people born with severe disabilities has been greatly reduced.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   From the later half of the nineteen hundreds to the present, the trend has moved towards encouraging people to keep their disabled children at home when possible and to educate the children along with average children.   This method helps average children be more respectful of children with disabilities and helps the children with disabilities develop skills more quickly.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For many years people with disabilities were treated as less than human and often became the subjects of traveling shows carnival attractions.   When not in shows, they were kept in institutions, where people could pretend they did not exist.   Fortunately in the last fifty years, the public no longer fears disability and are not only more accepting, but willing to assist them.   Society has come a long way towards accepting those who are different, but progress continues and needs to continue to be made. Works Cited: â€Å"A Short History of treatment for People with Mental Retardation†. 11 February 2008 http://www.ahrcnyc.org/pdf/chapter1_history.PDF Longmore, Paul. â€Å"Disability History Timeline† 2002. Rehabilitation Research and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Training Center on Independent Living Management. 11 February 2008   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://isc.temple.edu/neighbor/ds/disabilityrightstimeline.htm National Institute of Child Health and Development. 8 September 2007.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   11 February 2008 Establishment and history â€Å"Parallels in Time† 2007. Minnesota’s Governor’s Council. 11 February 2008 Parallels In Time: A History of Developmental Disabilities

Tuesday, 21 January 2020

The Awakening :: essays research papers fc

The Process of Edna Pontellier's Awakening The society of Grand Isle places many expectations on its women to belong to men and be subordinate to their children. Edna Pontellier's society, therefore, abounds with "mother-women," who "idolized their children, worshipped their husbands, and esteemed it to a holy privilege to efface themselves as individuals" (689). The characters of Adele Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz represent what society views as the suitable and unsuitable women figures. Mademoiselle Ratignolle is the ideal Grand Isle woman, a home-loving mother and a good wife. Mademoiselle Reisz is the old, unmarried, childless, musician who devoted her life to music instead of a man. Edna switches between the two identities until she awakens to the fact that she needs to be an individual, but encounters resistance from society. This begins the process of her awakening. Chopin carefully establishes that Edna does not neglect her children, but only her mother-woman image. Chopin illustrates the idea by telling the reader, "...Mrs. Pontellier was not a mother-woman" (689). Edna tries to explain to Adele how she feels about her children and how she feels about herself, which greatly differs from the mother-woman image. She says, "I would give up the unessential; I would give my money; I would give my life for my children; but I wouldn't give myself. I can't make it more clear; it's only something I am beginning to comprehend, which is revealing itself to me" (720). Similarly to Edna's relationship with her children is that with her husband, Leonce. The Grand Isle society defines the role of wife as full devotion and self-sacrifice for your husband. Edna never adhered to societies definitions. For example, the other ladies at Grand Isle "all declared that Mr.'Pontellier was the best husband in the world" (689). And "Mrs. Pontellier was forced to admit she knew of none better"(689). By using words like "forced" and "admit", Edna has to acknowledge her true feelings towards Leonce. Edna's leaving Leonce's mansion is another important detail when considering the process of her awakening. By moving to her own residence, Edna takes a big step towards her independence. Throughout The Awakening, Edna increasingly distances herself from the image of the mother-woman, until her suicide, which serves as the total opposite of the mother-woman image. Adele Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz, the two important female supporting characters, provide the two different identities Edna associates with. Adele serves as the perfect mother-women in The Awakening, being both married and pregnant, but Edna does not follow Adele's footsteps.

Monday, 13 January 2020

Learning To Play Piano Essay

I have always been interested in art since I was young so it did not take me too much time to decide the general area for my project. Drawing, singing or dancing have been growing with me since I was little. However, to make this project more challenging and interesting, I will try to do something I have never done before. At the end, I come up with the idea why don’t I try to learn how to play piano. Piano is a pretty popular instrument that lots of people play so I think that this is a good chance for me to start learning something new. I choose to go with this project because I have strong connection with art so somehow this will help me. Learning how to play piano is not as easy as it seems. To become successful, there are so many steps and challenges you may obstruct with. Briefly, my project will include four parts. First, I need to learn how to put my hand position correctly on the keyboard. Second, I will learn how to read the note precisely and where does it go. Third , I will start playing short music sheets to get used to moving my fingers around. And finally, the most challenging part, I will learn to play a long music sheet smoothly. Since I have been singing when I was young, I think that this will help me with reading the notes faster and understand how the melody goes throughout the music. At the end, I hope that I will not make any mistakes in playing wrong notes and everything will be fluent. However, nothing will be successful without effort. It will take a lot of time to finish this so I need to plan everything ahead and start early. As you can see, to be a good pianist, it takes people from years to years to actually play beautifully. Another obstacle is being patient. I am not a very kind of patient person so I think it will be hard for me to read all the notes slowly, also practice and practice again every day. The last problem I think that not so many people struggle with is that my fingers are really small so it is hard for me to surf on the keyboard and they are also easy to get tired. Despite all these disadvantages, I will still try my best to work on it. There are many learning goals I hope that I can achieve after finishing the project. Hopefully, I will find my interest in piano and keep playing for a long time so I can play some famous classical sheets. To achieve this, I cannot just go straight to the piano and start playing it. First of all, I need to do some research about how to play the piano such as looking up some videos people playing it. Then, I have to spend a little  time from every day to practice so by the time of presentation, I can play it beautifully. Besides the learning part, I will also look for some information about how piano has grown up throughout our lives and how it affects so many people in the world. I will also talk about some famous pianists. Since I cannot handle all of these by myself so I think that I really need someone’s help. With no doubt, my best friend, Tony, I think he will be the perfect teacher for me because he has been playing piano for about ten years. Ten years is long enough for me to believe that he will be a very good â€Å"expert†. He will help me a lot in finishing this project. In the first week, I will learn how to read the notes. Then, he will fix my hand position so that I can play the keyboard easier and more correct. He will also help me keeping the melody and beats in track and make sure that everything is going right. At the end, to make this project more special and interesting, we are going to play a song together on the piano. With all the problems we have gone through, I hope that the audience will be interested in my project. For the budget section, luckily, I have most of things are available for me. I can go the PA building because there are free pianos there for me to practice. I just need to set up my schedule to spend time going there. I may need to go to the library to borrow some books to look up some information about â€Å"how to play piano† and its history. To consider my project as â€Å"significant† I think that at least I need to achieve all the goals I have above and especially make the audience feel interested and excited after the presentation, make them actually want to learn how to play it, too. Since art is a very common area that lots of people will do so I think it is necessary that I need to make it special and unique. Although this project may not be meaningful for my long term carrier because my major is not about art, but it gives me another hobby so that I can have fun with, add beauty and entertain to my life. Playing the piano is also an excellent way to strengthen eye-hand coordination and fine motor skills, and people who take piano lessons learn a lot about discipline, dedication and the rewards of hard work. To demonstrate to the review panel that I met my learning goals, I will record everything that I did from the beginning to the end so that they can see how I have improved and what did I really achieve. Since my project takes a lot of time to finish, I need to start it early. I will spend at least an hour most of everyday to practice. First, I  need to spend hours to do the research about history of piano and how it continues throughout these years. Then, I also need to look up for the music sheets that I am going to play. As I plan, I will need to learn how to read short music sheet first, then Tony will help me with the hand position and start playing around with random notes. It might take one or two days for me to get used to it. After that, I will start with playing single notes with each hand. This may take up two or three days. Finally, I will learn how to play both hands together. I think this part is the most difficult and will take a lot of time so I will spend for the whole week to play two short easy music sheets for beginners. Then, after getting used to with everything, I will start learn how to play a longer and faster music sheet to show how much work I have put into this. I will meet up my â€Å"expert† maybe twice or three times a week so he can help me checkup things and if there is any problem, I can ask him to spend time together a lot to practice, understand each other so that we can both finish the song fluently. Since his and my study schedule at school is different so it is hard for us to find free time to study together. Therefore, I think that it will take even much longer time for us to finish studying the sheet, at least for two or three weeks. In conclusion, to make this project successful and significant, I have to spend lots of effort, courage, and time. Planning ahead is a very important thing to do so that the presentation will be finished on time. Hopefully, my project can make the audience find their interest and know more about piano. Also, for me, this project will be something meaningful and special for my life goals.

Sunday, 5 January 2020

War of 1812 - Fighting in 1813

1812: Surprises at Sea Ineptitude on Land | War of 1812: 101 | 1814: Advances in the North A Capital Burned Assessing the Situation In the wake of the failed campaigns of 1812, newly re-elected President James Madison was forced to reassess the strategic situation along the Canadian border. In the Northwest, Major General William Henry Harrison had replaced the disgraced Brigadier General William Hull and was tasked with re-taking Detroit. Diligently training his men, Harrison was checked at the River Raisin and unable to advance without American control of Lake Erie. Elsewhere, New England remained reluctant to play an active role in supporting the war effort making a campaign against Quebec an unlikely prospect. As a result, it was decided to focus American efforts for 1813 on achieving victory on Lake Ontario and the Niagara frontier. Success on this front also required control of the lake. To this end, Captain Isaac Chauncey had been dispatched to Sackets Harbor, NY in 1812 for the purpose of constructing a fleet on Lake Ontario. It was believed that victory in and around Lake Ontario would cut off Upper Cana da and open the way for an attack on Montreal. The Tide Turns at Sea Having achieved stunning success over the Royal Navy in a series of ship-to-ship actions in 1812, the small US Navy sought to continue its run of good form by attacking British merchant ships and remaining on the offensive. To this end, the frigate USS Essex (46 guns) under Captain David Porter, patrolled the South Atlantic scooping up prizes in late 1812, before rounding Cape Horn in January 1813. Seeking to strike the British whaling fleet in the Pacific, Porter arrived at Valparaiso, Chile in March. For the remainder of the year, Porter cruised with great success and inflicted heavy losses on British shipping. Returning to Valparaiso in January 1814, he was blockaded by the British frigate HMS Phoebe (36) and sloop of war HMS Cherub (18). Fearing that additional British ships were en route, Porter attempted to break out on March 28. As Essex exited the harbor, it lost its main topmast in a freak squall. With his ship damaged, Porter was unable to return to port and soon brought to action by the British. Standing off Essex, which was largely armed with short-range carronades, the British pounded Porters ship with their long guns for over two hours ultimately forcing him to surrender. Among those captured on board was young Midshipman David G. Farragut who would later lead the Union Navy during the Civil War. While Porter was enjoying success in the Pacific, the British blockade began to tighten along the American coast keeping many of the US Navys heavy frigates in port. While the effectiveness of the US Navy was hampered, hundreds of American privateers preyed upon British shipping. During the course of the war, they captured between 1,175 and 1,554 British ships. One ship that was at sea early in 1813 was Master Commandant James Lawrences brig USS Hornet (20). On February 24, he engaged and captured the brig HMS Peacock (18) off the coast of South America. Returning home, Lawrence was promoted to captain and given command of the frigate USS Chesapeake (50) at Boston. Completing repairs to ship, Lawrence prepared to put to sea in late May. This was hastened by the fact that only one British ship, the frigate HMS Shannon (52), was blockading the harbor. Commanded by Captain Philip Broke, Shannon was a crack ship with a highly trained crew. Eager to engage the American, Broke issued a cha llenge to Lawrence to meet him in battle. This proved unnecessary as Chesapeake emerged from the harbor on June 1. Possessing a larger, but greener crew, Lawrence sought to continue the US Navys streak of victories. Opening fire, the two ships battered each other before coming together. Ordering his men to prepare to board Shannon, Lawrence was mortally wounded. Falling, his last words were reputedly, Dont give up the Ship! Fight her till she sinks. Despite this encouragement, the raw American sailors were quickly overwhelmed by Shannons crew and Chesapeake was soon captured. Taken to Halifax, it was repaired and saw service in the Royal Navy until being sold in 1820. We Have Met the Enemy... As American naval fortunes were turning at sea, a naval building race was underway on the shores of Lake Erie. In an attempt to regain naval superiority on the lake, the US Navy began construction of two 20-gun brigs at Presque Isle, PA (Erie, PA). In March 1813, the new commander of American naval forces on Lake Erie, Master Commandant Oliver H. Perry, arrived at Presque Isle. Assessing his command, he found that there was a general shortage of supplies and men. While diligently overseeing the construction of the two brigs, named USS Lawrence and USS Niagara, Perry traveled to Lake Ontario in May 1813, to secure additional seamen from Chauncey. While there, he collected several gunboats for use on Lake Erie. Departing from Black Rock, he was nearly intercepted by the new British commander on Lake Erie, Commander Robert H. Barclay. A veteran of Trafalgar, Barclay had arrived at the British base of Amherstburg, Ontario on June 10. Though both sides were hampered by supply issues they worked through the summer to complete their fleets with Perry finishing his two brigs and Barclay commissioning the 19-gun ship HMS Detroit. Having gained naval superiority, Perry was able to cut the British supply lines to Amherstburg forcing Barclay to seek battle. Departing Put-in-Bay on September 10, Perry maneuvered to engage the British squadron. Commanding from Lawrence, Perry flew a large battle flag emblazoned with his friends dying command, Dont Give Up the Ship! In the resulting Battle of Lake Erie, Perry won a stunning victory that saw bitter fighting and the American commander compelled to switch ships midway through the engagement. Capturing the entire British squadron, Perry sent a brief dispatch to Harrison announcing, We have met the enemy and they are ours. 1812: Surprises at Sea Ineptitude on Land | War of 1812: 101 | 1814: Advances in the North A Capital Burned 1812: Surprises at Sea Ineptitude on Land | War of 1812: 101 | 1814: Advances in the North A Capital Burned Victory in the Northwest As Perry was constructing his fleet through the first part of 1813, Harrison was on the defensive in western Ohio. Constructing a major base at Fort Meigs, he repelled an attack led by Major General Henry Proctor and Tecumseh in May. A second attack was turned back in July as well as one against Fort Stephenson (August 1). Building his army, Harrison was ready to go on the offensive in September following Perrys victory on the lake. Moving forward with his Army of the Northwest, Harrison sent 1,000 mounted troops overland to Detroit while the bulk of his infantry was transported there by Perrys fleet. Recognizing the danger of his situation, Proctor abandoned Detroit, Fort Malden, and Amherstburg and began retreating east (Map). Retaking Detroit, Harrison began pursuing the retreating British. With Tecumseh arguing against falling back, Proctor finally turned to make a stand along the Thames River near Moraviantown. Approaching on October 5, Harrison assaulted Proctors position during the Battle of the Thames. In the fighting, the British position was shattered and Tecumseh killed. Overwhelmed, Proctor and a few of his men fled while the majority were captured by Harrisons army. One of the few clear cut American victories of the conflict, the Battle of the Thames effectively won the war in the Northwest for the United States. With Tecumseh dead, the threat of Native American attacks subsided and Harrison concluded an armistice with several tribes at Detroit. Burning a Capital In preparation for the main American push at Lake Ontario, Major General Henry Dearborn was ordered to position 3,000 men at Buffalo for a strike against Forts Erie and George as well as 4,000 men at Sackets Harbor. This second force was to attack Kingston at the upper outlet of the lake. Success on both fronts would sever the lake from Lake Erie and the St. Lawrence River. At Sackets Harbor, Chauncey had rapidly constructed a fleet that had wrested naval superiority away from his British counterpart, Captain Sir James Yeo. The two naval officers would conduct a building war for the remainder of the conflict. Though several naval engagements were fought, neither was willing to risk their fleet in a decisive action. Meeting at Sackets Harbor, Dearborn and Chauncey began to have misgivings about the Kingston operation despite the fact that the objective was only thirty miles away. While Chauncey fretted about possible ice around Kingston, Dearborn was concerned about the size of the Br itish garrison. Instead of striking at Kingston, the two commanders instead elected to conduct a raid against York, Ontario (present-day Toronto). Though of minimal strategic value, York was the capital of Upper Canada and Chauncey had intelligence that two brigs were under construction there. Departing on April 25, Chaunceys ships carried Dearborns troops across the lake to York. Under the direct control of Brigadier General Zebulon Pike, these troops landed on April 27. Opposed by forces under Major General Roger Sheaffe, Pike succeeded in taking the town after a sharp fight. As the British retreated, they detonated their powder magazine killing numerous Americans including Pike. In the wake of the fighting, American troops began looting the town and burned the Parliament Building. After occupying the town for a week, Chauncey and Dearborn withdrew. While a victory, the attack on York did little to alter the strategic outlook on the lake and behavior of the American forces would influence British actions the following year. Triumph and Defeat Along the Niagara Following the York operation, Secretary of War John Armstrong chastised Dearborn for failing to accomplish anything of strategic value and blamed him for Pikes death. In response, Dearborn and Chauncey began shifting troops south for an assault on Fort George in late May. Alerted to this fact, Yeo and the Governor General of Canada, Lieutenant General Sir George Prevost, made immediate plans to attack Sackets Harbor while American forces were occupied along the Niagara. Departing Kingston, they landed outside of the town on May 29 and moved to destroy the shipyard and Fort Tompkins. These operations were quickly disrupted by a mixed regular and militia force led by Brigadier General Jacob Brown of the New York militia. Surrounding the British beachhead, his men poured heavy fire into Prevosts troops and compelled them to withdraw. For his part in the defense, Brown was offered a brigadier generals commission in the regular army. At the other end of the lake, Dearborn and Chauncey moved forward with their attack on Fort George. Again delegating operational command, this time to Colonel Winfield Scott, Dearborn watched as American troops conducted an early morning amphibious assault on May 27. This was supported by a force of dragoons crossing the Niagara River upstream at Queenston which was tasked with cutting off the British line of retreat to Fort Erie. Clashing with Brigadier General John Vincents troops outside of the fort, the Americans succeeded in driving off the British with the aid of naval gunfire support from Chaunceys ships. Forced to surrender the fort and with the route south blocked, Vincent abandoned his posts on the Canadian side of the river and retreated west. As a result, American troops crossed the river and occupied Fort Erie (Map). 1812: Surprises at Sea Ineptitude on Land | War of 1812: 101 | 1814: Advances in the North A Capital Burned 1812: Surprises at Sea Ineptitude on Land | War of 1812: 101 | 1814: Advances in the North A Capital Burned Having lost the dynamic Scott to a broken collarbone, Dearborn ordered Brigadier Generals William Winder and John Chandler west to pursue Vincent. Political appointees, neither possessed significant military experience. On June 5/6, Vincent counterattacked at the Battle of Stoney Creek and succeeded in capturing both generals. On the lake, Chaunceys fleet had departed for Sackets Harbor only to be replaced by Yeos. Threatened from the lake, Dearborn lost his nerve and ordered a withdrawal to a perimeter around Fort George. The situation worsened on June 24, when an American force under Lieutenant Colonel Charles Boerstler was crushed at the Battle of Beaver Dams. For his weak performance, Dearborn was recalled on July 6 and replaced with Major General James Wilkinson. Failure on the St. Lawrence Generally disliked by most officers in US Army for his prewar intrigues in Louisiana, Wilkinson was instructed by Armstrong to strike at Kingston before moving down the St. Lawrence. In doing so he was to link up with forces advancing north from Lake Champlain under Major General Wade Hampton. This combined force would in turn attack Montreal. After stripping the Niagara frontier of most of its troops, Wilkinson prepared to move out. Finding that Yeo had concentrated his fleet at Kingston, he decided to make only a feint in that direction before advancing down the river. To the east, Hampton began moving north toward the border. His advance was hampered by the recent loss of naval superiority on Lake Champlain. This forced him to swing west to the headwaters of the Chateauguay River. Moving downstream, he crossed the border with around 4,200 men after the New York militia refused to leave the country. Opposing Hampton was Lieutenant Colonel Charles de Salaberry who possessed a mixed force of around 1,500 men. Occupying a strong position approximately fifteen miles below the St. Lawrence, de Salaberrys men fortified their line and waited for the Americans. Arriving on October 25, Hampton surveyed the British position and attempted to flank it. In a minor engagement known as the Battle of the Chateauguay, these efforts were repulsed. Believing the British force to be larger than it was, Hampton broke off the action and returned south. Moving forward, Wilkinsons 8,000-men force left Sackets Harbor on October 17. In poor health and taking heavy doses of laudanum, Wilkinson pushed downstream with Brown leading his vanguard. His force was pursued by an 800-man British force led by Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Morrison. Tasked with delaying Wilkinson so additional troops could reach Montreal, Morrison proved an effective annoyance to the Americans. Tired of Morrison, Wilkinson dispatched 2,000 men under Brigadier General John Boyd to attack the British. Striking on November 11, they assaulted the British lines at the Battle of Cryslers Farm. Repulsed, Boyds men were soon counterattacked and driven from the field. Despite this defeat, Wilkinson pressed on toward Montreal. Reaching the mouth of the Salmon River and having learned that Hampton had retreated, Wilkinson abandoned the campaign, re-crossed the river, and went into winter quarters at French Mills, NY. The winter saw Wilkinson and Hampton exchange letters with Arm strong over who was to blame for the campaigns failure. A Dismal End As the American thrust towards Montreal was coming to an end, the situation on the Niagara frontier reached a crisis. Stripped of troops for Wilkinsons expedition, Brigadier General George McClure decided to abandon Fort George in early December after learning that Lieutenant General George Drummond was approaching with British troops. Retiring across the river to Fort Niagara, his men burned the village of Newark, ON before departing. Moving into Fort George, Drummond began preparations to assault Fort Niagara. This moved forward on December 19 when his forces overwhelmed the forts small garrison. Outraged over the burning of Newark, British troops moved south and razed Black Rock and Buffalo on December 30. While 1813 had started with great hope and promise for the Americans, the campaigns on the Niagara and St. Lawrence frontiers met with failure similar to those of the year before. As in 1812, the smaller British forces had proved adept campaigners and the Canadians showed a willingness to fight to protect their homes rather than throw off the yoke of British rule. Only in the Northwest and Lake Erie did American forces achieve an undisputed victory. While the triumphs of Perry and Harrison helped bolster national morale, they occurred in arguably the least important theater of the war as victory on Lake Ontario or the St. Lawrence would have caused British forces around Lake Erie to whither on the vine. Forced to endure another long winter, the American public was subjected to a tightening blockade and the threat of increased British strength in the spring as the Napoleonic Wars neared an end. 1812: Surprises at Sea Ineptitude on Land | War of 1812: 101 | 1814: Advances in the North A Capital Burned