Why do we celebrate the War of 1812?
“Why should we care about the War of 1812?” some visitors ask when viewing the special exhibit currently on display at Creemore’s Log Cabin.
“Because it created Canada,” is the short but oversimplified answer, as well as the reason the Harper Government funded special celebrations and exhibits across Canada and especially here in Ontario.
Because we won important battles in that war, the argument goes, Upper Canada (now Ontario) was not conquered by American invading armies, and thus not absorbed into the United States. But the threat of becoming American was not the reason British regulars, Canadian militia, and First Nations warriors were fighting.
In 1812, Great Britain was deeply involved in war with France. All its military and economic efforts were aimed at defeating the French Emperor Napoleon and his allies. The United States was a neutral nation, trying to profit from trade with both sides. The British blockaded American ports and captured American ships to impress American sailors needed to man British ships. And (Americans believed), the British armed Native peoples and incited them to violence to stop the westward spread of American settlement in the large area that is now the American Midwest. Also, some Americans wanted to extend the victories of the American Revolution and drive all British forces from the entire continent. Nevertheless, a large body of American opinion strongly opposed the war.
Despite being totally ill-prepared, in June of 1812, at the urging of President James Madison, the U.S. Congress declared war. For more than three years battles were fought. At sea and on the Great Lakes they were mostly won by Americans. On land, especially in the Niagara peninsula, the early battles were mostly won by British troops with Canadian militia and Native support. Later battles were mostly won by Americans. On the American coast invading British forces mostly won, including those raiding Washington, the nation’s capital. But there was no conclusive victory by either side. The war ended with a treaty returning to the status quo ante bellum. In other words, no grievances were settled and nothing, supposedly, had changed.
But because of the war, much indeed had changed. For the United States, the British would never again be a threat to their sovereignty. (The war was dubbed by some historians, “The Second War of Independence.”) For the British, American invasions of British North America had forever been rebuffed (though defences along the Canadian border would be maintained for another half century). Napoleon was defeated and the world was at peace. For the First Nations, the war was a total disaster. No matter which side they fought for, all their hopes for an independent “Indian territory” were dashed, unsupported by both the Americans and the British.
And for Canadians? The war kept the Americans militarily at bay, but it also reinforced British colonial rule. For Canada, it was a war not of independence but of dependence – everything depended upon the whims of British policies and politics. Claims by Upper Canadian farmers for personal losses caused by the war were left unpaid, promises forgotten. Civil and property rights of American-born settlers were threatened and new American immigration was discouraged. Religious groups (unless Anglican or Catholic) were discriminated against. Cries for cheaper land, lower taxes, better roads, better bridges, better schools, fairer markets, fairer courts, fairer government appointments, lower public salaries, open elections, financial accountability, and open elections were all either silenced or ignored. There would be no “responsible government” for many years to come.
In short, the War of 1812 may have meant that Canadians would not become Americans, but it would be half a century or more before Canadians would become Canadians, with enough power to begin to take charge of their own destiny.
The exhibit on “The War of 1812 in Simcoe County” at the Log Cabin will be open the next two Saturdays (June 1 and 8) from 9:30 am to 3 pm, Sundays (June 2 and 9) from 1 to 4 pm, next Wednesday (June 5) from 1 to 4 pm – or by special arrangement: 705-466-2261.
