Actually, we don't teach it at all, as it is of such marginal importance to British History. It might get as much of a mention as, "In 1812 the Americans invaded Canada, but were defeated." in a lesson on the Napoleonic Wars, but that would be about it. Even at the time, the American Invasion of Canada was of marginal importance, as Britain was fully committed to war with Buonaparte.
It depends on what you referring to. Although as 1812 is completely absent from any formal education syllabus over here, as I think it always has been.
You may be referring to the Leopard/Chesapeake affair, where HMS Leopard illegally sent an officer to demand back British deserters. When they were denied, the much larger Leopard fired upon the helpless unprepared Chesapeake. No one disputes this was a breach of the law, but Britain didn't care all that much, as they knew the Americans were enticing men to desert from British service to crew their merchant fleets, in a time when the Royal Navy was the only thing stopping Napoleon destroying the British completely. This is often seen as the flashpoint of the war, however it's a short-sighted view to think this incident 5 years before the war stated is actually why it all happened.
President Jefferson took a measured response to the incident, letting tensions cool down and avoiding talking about the deserters whilst making official complaints. He blocked American ports for British ships in non-emergency situations, however this was more to stop any more mishaps than any real punishment. Jefferson's real aim, betraying his desire for a continental United States, is revealed in this section of a letter to the American ambassador in France:
If the English do not give us the satisfaction we demand, we will take Canada which wants to join the Union, and when with Canada we shall have the Floridas, we will no longer have difficulty with our vessels, and this is the only way to stop them.
Which gives us a clear basis on general US aims before the conflict. To see how this fits in, the European situation at the time has to be considered.
Britain and Napoleon were at this point fighting one-on-one, with Britain losing all allies and trading partners on the continent due to the Berlin Decree which essentially barred all trade with the British, including US and other neutrals, and set up the beginnings of the Continental System. So Britain now had no trade in Europe, and a massive threat in the form of all the Naval production of the continent. All efforts for the British from 1805 onwards were focused on maintaining control of the seas, and containing and destroying Napoleon's naval potential. This explains why they refused to negotiate with small states like the US over their right to maintain and source seamen however they saw fit.
We have now, what we had once before... ... a maritime war in our power, unfettered by any considerations of whom we may annoy, or whom we may offend - British Foreign Secretary at the time.
In 1807 the Orders of Council were released, which in response to the Berlin Decree banned all trade with ports under French control. All ships now had to dock in British ports first to be checked, and if they didn't they could be seized completely. Napoleon responded once more that year with the Milan Decree which said any neutrals which had entered a British port were liable to be seized. This put a bit of a pinch on the US which now had its merchant vessels snapped up from all sides.
In response Jefferson did something a little odd - he banned all American exports. The rationale was it would hurt Britain, who relied on American ships and supplies, and bring them closer to Napoleon. In reality it was impossible to enforce, unpopular and destroyed the huge tax contribution from exports, whilst Britain continued to trade with coastal cities as well as build up other trade routes in South America. The Embargo Act was essentially repealed by 1809.
There's a lot of forward and backward between Jefferson and Britain/France after this, but we don't need to go into it as Jefferson was mainly ignored as unimportant in the grand scheme of things. The real tipping points came with Madison's presidency, and it's where we can see that it wasn't British dickishness which caused the war.
Macon's Bill Number 2 was put in place by the US in 1810 to invite Britain or France to stop seizing American vessels - whichever did would win their trade. Britain had eased the Orders in Council to try and build a relationship with Madison, but instead Madison went with Napoleon and a frankly ridiculous promise which was promptly broken as Napoleon stepped up seizures of American shipping. All the while Madison enforced the bill he disliked by banning trade with Britain.
Next Madison sent out the US frigates to cruise and protect shipping. The US navy was still angry about Leopard/Chesapeake, and none more so than Commodore Rodgers of USS President. One US congressman noted that:
"sending out our navy in its present condition, is to send it to war"
At the same time the US got more aggressive, and more determined to deal with an untrustworthy Napoleon, Britain was trying to calm down relations with America. Fresh orders for ships on the US coast read:
"you are to be particularly careful not to give any just cause or offence to the Government or subjects of the United States of America." - Sawyer to Bingham, Apr 1811. Admiralty records 1/501 f105.
Britain also repealed the Orders in Council, although this was not entirely benevolent. The destruction of American trade did not sit well with the Federalist eastern states (those which relied on maritime trade). They blamed the Jefferson/Madison for their current crippled economic position. Britain hoped the split would happen soon and solve the problem of America on its own. Hickey, Donald. The War of 1812, page 42
Commodore Rodgers cruised off Maine, hoping to find HMS Guerriere. He thought he had, mistaking in his eagerness and fury the diminutive HMS Little Belt for the much larger Guerriere. He fired into the small, vastly outmatched sloop in the dark, killing 11 and wounding 20 more. Lambert, Andrew. The Challenge, page 41
Although this didn't cause the war immediately, relations deteriorated further. 'War Hawks' had to try to unite the nation in a hatred of Britain with rhetoric.The issues of impressment were never going to be fixed peacefully, and Britain was blamed for arming the Indians at the battle of Tippacanoe. This was obviously not true - just a few old muskets that happened to be of British manufacture. Although the Federalists in general favoured peace, the anti-British rhetoric built a majority of Americans who thought Britain was a real enemy. Madison worked for peace but was outdone by Congress, who debated new warships to fight their enemy, but decided against the expenditure. Lambert, Andrew. The Challenge, page 52
This resulted in an urge for war, but a navy vastly under equipped to have any effect. The build up continued. The blaming of Britain for Indian raids, and the urge of American expansionism, such as this quote from US congressman Richard Johnson:
"the war has already commenced. ... I shall never die contended until I see England's expulsion from North America and her territories incorporated into the United States"
And Jefferson's famous quote:
"The acquisition of Canada this year, as far as the neighborhood of Quebec, will be a mere matter of marching, and will give us the experience for the attack on Halifax, the next and final expulsion of England from the American continent"
So in summary; initial economic concerns in the US, driven by the Napoleonic wars, were compounded by poor handling by the US government. A weak navy left the US unable to defend their interests, and a decision to side with Napoleon left them on the wrong side of the world's only naval superpower. A hatred of the British by key figures in the US and an urge for their own continental empire caused a slide into belligerence, even as the British worked to ease tensions.
hi! there have been lots of questions here about the War of 1812; I can't say that I recall anyone approaching it from that angle, but you might find something useful amongst the links here: