My impression was that the press gangs led to the war, but Britain and the U.S. reached an agreement about the issue, but the war had already started by the time everyone heard about it. Was the U.S. just too eager for a chance to annex Canada?
capitalgentleman
The press ganging thing is a red herring. The war actually began as the Brits were fighting in Europe, and American generals thought that Canadians would love to be "liberated" from the British yoke. They were wrong. Canadians (who were Brits at the time) bitterly resented being invaded by the USA, so, they fought back - and kept fighting until the USA had been thoroughly defeated. Then, they returned home to their shops, and farms, having proved their point. The USA has allowed an invasion from the USA since then (Fenians raids in the 1850's), but, has never attacked Canada again itself.