Excerpts from Books and Wikipedia
"With most of its army in Europe fighting Napoleon, Britain adopted a defensive strategy, with offensive operations initially limited to the border, and the western frontier. American prosecution of the war effort suffered from its unpopularity, especially in New England, where it was derogatorily referred to as "Mr. Madison's War". . . . Unaware of the treaty, British forces invaded Louisiana and were defeated at the Battle of New Orleans in January 1815. These late victories were viewed by Americans as having restored national honour, leading to the collapse of anti-war sentiment and the beginning of the Era of Good Feelings, a period of national unity." [Wikipedia] "Since winning its freedom from England the country had been subjected to a series of humiliations by the major powers of Europe. France and England, locked in struggle in the Napoleonic wars, disregarded American rights and sovereignty as though they did not exist. . . . In a real sense the War of 1812 was part of search for national identity. There was another reason, almost as important and far more pragmatic. American expansion! For years Americans dreamed of taking Canada from England." [Andrew Jackson 1, p. 165-6]