Pro-war members of the Twelfth U.S. Congress were known as the War Hawks.
The War Hawks were mainly young Democratic-Republicans from the South and West who pushed for a more forceful response to British attacks on American shipping, restrictions on trade, and the impressment of American sailors. Their pressure helped lead Congress toward the War of 1812.
Henry Clay of Kentucky, elected Speaker of the House, was the faction’s leading figure. Other prominent War Hawks included John C. Calhoun, William Lowndes, Langdon Cheves, Felix Grundy, and William W. Bibb. Many also favored invading British Canada, believing that conquest would improve U.S. security and strengthen America’s bargaining position.
The label was political rather than an official membership category; historians disagree about exactly who belonged. Copperheads were later antiwar Democrats during the American Civil War, while Know Nothings and Radicals belong to different political eras. The Twelfth Congress served from 1811 to 1813 and declared war on Britain in June 1812.