Today marks the Bicentennial of the War of 1812....18 June 1812.
In the coming weeks I hope to start posting some recommended reading. But first off here are a few observation of your's truly on that long forgotten war.
Winners.
1. British Canada, particulalry the Enlglish of Upper Canada. The success of the Provincial Regulars with a leavening of the British Regualr regiments in defeating American invasions established Canada as a nation....it just took half a century for the paperwork to catch up.
2. The US Navy. Yes, I know by mid-war it was bottled up in east coast ports. But it showed it was the one professional NATIONAL security force and its prestige grew in this war, especially with its success on the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain.
3. The Westerners. Called Warhawks for pushing the war, the western states and territories of the US grew politically more powerful and pulled America's vision westward and away from the Eastern Seaboard and Europe. It laid the groundwork for Henry Clay and the American System.
4. The US Army Regulars. Despite an abysmal opening the Regulars learned and and applied those hard lessons. Training and tactics were improved. The curriculum at West Point was dramatically improved as a result. A small but professional corps was established which fought well in the wars of American Expansion up to the Civil War.
5. Southerners & Slavery. The clearing of the threat to Mississippi and expansion westward across the deep south and opened the Mississippi River to navigation. This allowed cotton to explode along with the slave population needed to work it.
Losers.
People of the First Nations. They bargained on the British being able to defeat the Americans and keep the expansion in check. What had previously been treaties to keep whites out of their lands became treaties of removal. The success of the Warhawks gave rise to political leaders (Harrison, Jackson, Tyler, etc) who wanted to increase white populations so territories could become states.
The Natives lost bigtime.
Draw
1. New Englanders. The war had been disasterous to the New England shipping industry since the RN bottled up or destroyed merchant fleets. The war was extremely unpopular, so much so that most states had real problems meeting enlistment quotas, municipalities would charge servicemen for nonpayment of taxes while away fighting, etc. Commerce was disrupted and many New Englanders openly traded with the British. And the talk of seccssion at the Hartford Convention hurt the area politically for decades. However, with the adoption of the American System and growth of the industry New England and the north would become the manufacturing center of quality goods which were traded to the south and west.
2. The British. While the British secured the eastern border with the US they lost their influence and control in the upper Mississippi watershed. They lost some of the markets for their manufactured goods to the North but made up for it with the import of Southern cotton over the decades to come.
So those are my first thoughts going forward.
I encourage all Wabbits to join in and perhaps if enough care we can get the War of 1812 its own subcategory if the interest is there.
Enjoy,
AR
In the coming weeks I hope to start posting some recommended reading. But first off here are a few observation of your's truly on that long forgotten war.
Winners.
1. British Canada, particulalry the Enlglish of Upper Canada. The success of the Provincial Regulars with a leavening of the British Regualr regiments in defeating American invasions established Canada as a nation....it just took half a century for the paperwork to catch up.
2. The US Navy. Yes, I know by mid-war it was bottled up in east coast ports. But it showed it was the one professional NATIONAL security force and its prestige grew in this war, especially with its success on the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain.
3. The Westerners. Called Warhawks for pushing the war, the western states and territories of the US grew politically more powerful and pulled America's vision westward and away from the Eastern Seaboard and Europe. It laid the groundwork for Henry Clay and the American System.
4. The US Army Regulars. Despite an abysmal opening the Regulars learned and and applied those hard lessons. Training and tactics were improved. The curriculum at West Point was dramatically improved as a result. A small but professional corps was established which fought well in the wars of American Expansion up to the Civil War.
5. Southerners & Slavery. The clearing of the threat to Mississippi and expansion westward across the deep south and opened the Mississippi River to navigation. This allowed cotton to explode along with the slave population needed to work it.
Losers.
People of the First Nations. They bargained on the British being able to defeat the Americans and keep the expansion in check. What had previously been treaties to keep whites out of their lands became treaties of removal. The success of the Warhawks gave rise to political leaders (Harrison, Jackson, Tyler, etc) who wanted to increase white populations so territories could become states.
The Natives lost bigtime.
Draw
1. New Englanders. The war had been disasterous to the New England shipping industry since the RN bottled up or destroyed merchant fleets. The war was extremely unpopular, so much so that most states had real problems meeting enlistment quotas, municipalities would charge servicemen for nonpayment of taxes while away fighting, etc. Commerce was disrupted and many New Englanders openly traded with the British. And the talk of seccssion at the Hartford Convention hurt the area politically for decades. However, with the adoption of the American System and growth of the industry New England and the north would become the manufacturing center of quality goods which were traded to the south and west.
2. The British. While the British secured the eastern border with the US they lost their influence and control in the upper Mississippi watershed. They lost some of the markets for their manufactured goods to the North but made up for it with the import of Southern cotton over the decades to come.
So those are my first thoughts going forward.
I encourage all Wabbits to join in and perhaps if enough care we can get the War of 1812 its own subcategory if the interest is there.
Enjoy,
AR
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