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Seems that in this year of the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, Canadians are more in favor of commemorating it than are Americans. Here are a few reasons from a USA Today article which propose why Americans aren't that keen on remembering it:
•Confusing causes. Was the war fought to stop Britain's seizing of U.S. sailors from U.S. ships to serve in the Royal Navy? Or to end trade restrictions? Or to seize Canada? Or to open the American West to settlement without interference from British-allied Indians? Or all of the above?…•Leaders with feet of clay. The war made some great men look bad. James Madison wasn't much of a war president; he became the only one ever driven from the White House. His sainted predecessor, Thomas Jefferson, wasn't much of a seer; he'd predicted the conquest of Canada “will be a mere matter of marching.”…•Britain's heart wasn't in it. For the British, preoccupied with war in Europe against Napoleon, 1812 was a sideshow. “They sent their B team,” says Maj. John Grodzinski, who teaches at the Royal Military College of Canada….•An inconclusive conclusion. The war, which ended for lack of (British) interest and (American) money, “is ignored today because it was a tie,” Grossman says. “A narrative that doesn't end definitively is hard to make interesting.”
War of 1812 bicentennial: USA shrugs as Canada goes all outDo you agree with these observations?
Agree about the Brits. Not only were they preoccupied. they already lost the colonies and were concentrating on Australia and India.
It was a relatively unimpressive war. It also showed the early nation to be militarily incompetent with the exception of the Battle of New Orleans. I mean, the Capitol got burned and the Brits actually took D.C. if only for a few days. I can totally understand why the Americans are trying to ignore the war. Its conduct and outcome certainly don't show the early Republic in a good light.
And a bit of commentary I came across on one of the lessons of the War of 1812:
Despite hopes to the contrary, the military disasters of this war made it clear that the U.S. could not rely on its geography as a national defense nor on strictly defensive armaments and troops; America would have to maintain an increased standing army and construct a blue-water navy, capable of both offensive and defensive action on a large scale. Most Americans recognized this fact and committed themselves to a stronger military. In the following decades, average federal defense spending remained much higher, as Congress and the American people kept in mind the unacceptable cost of failing to provide for the common defense of the United States.
War of 1812 Showed Importance of Maintaining Military Strength
“How much do you know about the critical but overlooked War of 1812?”http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18451128I got 5 out of 9
The quiz won't load for me. 🙁
Got the same kind of problem with Mozilla Firefox, had to switch to another well known server (no spamming intended here)
