Canadian perspective of the War of 1812

After some years of worsening relations, the Americans declared war on Great Britain on 18 June 1812. There were several causes. One was British high handedness in searching American ships on the high seas during the Napoleonic blockade, removing British subjects aboard them and recruiting them on her navy. Another was the British failure to abandon the Ohio Valley, where military posts continued to monitor the fur trade. Most of all, the Americans coveted Canada, which they proceeded again to invade in 1812 and 1813. A succession of invading armies were thrust back through the major entry points: the Detroit-Windsor corridor, the Niagara peninsula, and Lake Champlain. A relatively small number of British regulars, assisted by colonial militia and Native peoples, held the province against American armies, which were neither well trained nor well led. A number of Canadian heroes emerged from the war, their reputations to be further mythologized after it was over. General Isaac Brock, Tecumeseh and Laura Secord.

The appearance of invading American armies posed a crisis of allegiance for many of the American settlers in Upper Canada. Most remained silently on their farms, although some supported their countrymen and retreated across the border with them. A handful of Americans were arrested and tried for treason at Ancastem in 1814. Before the war ended, York (Toronto) was burnt, the American capital at Washington was sacked in retaliation, and Fort Michilimackinac (on western Lake Huron) was captured and held by Canadian voyageurs.

The Americans treated the War of 1812 as a second War of Independence, a necessary struggle to complete the process of separation from the mother country. National survival was taken as victory. From the British perspective, the war had been little more than a sideshow to the major struggle, which was against Napoleon in Europe. Only in the Canadas did the War of 1812 have any great impact. The great struggle between British and American allegiance was played out internally in Upper Canada between 1812 and 1815 and the British won. After 1815 the overt American influence on the Upper Canada would gradually decline.

There was yet another outcome of this war, and that was the growth of Canadian nationalism. As historian George F. Stanly has said, the war gave Upper Canada a history, and in this history anti-Americanism was a dominant ingredient. During the Revolutionary War Loyalists had suffered at the hands of uncontrolled mobs, who burned and looted their possessions, finally driving them into exile. Now once again, they were victims of American aggression. But this time they stood up and confronted the enemy. Led by the stalwart hero Sir Isaac Brock, innocent people rose up to defend their homeland, and through superior courage they repelled a much stronger invader conveniently ignoring the role played by British regulars and Aboriginal fighters. Their brave deeds proved that the Upper Canadians were loyal and worthy subjects of the British Crown. Americans, by contrast, were not to be trusted.

Before AfterAccording to the lesson, what are the causes of the War of 1812?

Were there any winners or losers in the War of 1812?

Are there any heroes in the War of 1812? Any villains?

Were there any atrocities committed during the war?

Answer after reading the text: How does history change when seen through different perspectives?

Before & After: War of 1812

War of 1812

Aim:______________________________________________ _________________

Do Now: “History is told through the eyes of the victor.” Analyze this quote and explain what it means.

A. Causes of the WarImpressment

1. Britain and France were fighting a war in Europe2. Britain began capturing American sailors ____________

them, or forcing them to work on British ships3. By 1807, Britain had seized more than ________ American

ships

Embargo Act of 1807

1. President Jefferson convinced Congress to declare an ______________.

America’s Desire for Canada

2. Americans wanted more land and believed that people in _________ would want to _______ the United States

B. The War Hawks

1. A group of ___________ Congressmen who wanted war against Britain

2. Led by Senator ____________ of South Carolina and __________ of Kentucky

C. Election of 1808

1. _______________, a Democratic-Republican, won

2. In the Spring of 1812, Madison decided to go to war against Britain

D. The War in Canada

1. The British captured Detroit and the Americans _____________ capture Canada

2. Many ________________ helped the British because they wanted to stop Americans from taking more _______

E. The War at Sea

1. In November of 1812, the British blockaded the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays

2. The ____________ grew throughout the war

F. The War on Land

1. Battle for Washington

a. British soldiers burned the Capitol, the White House,

b. ___________ saved a famous painting of George Washington

G. The Battle of New Orleans (1815)

1. Americans were lead to victory by ______________________

H. The Treaty of Ghent

1. In December, 1815, British and Americans met in ______________ to negotiate a peace treaty

2. Results of the war:

a. Britain and American became better ________

b. America gained _________ from other countries