War of 1812

Consequences of the war

The Treaty of Ghent established the status quo ante bellum; there were no territorial concessions made by either side. Relations between the United States and Britain would remain peaceful, if not entirely tranquil, throughout the 19th century. Border adjustments between the United States and British Canada would be made in the Treaty of 1818. (A border dispute between the state of Maine and the province of New Brunswick was settled in the Aroostook War in the 1830s.) The issue of impressing American seamen was made moot when the Royal Navy subsequently stopped impressment after the defeat of Napoleon.

Related Topics:
Status quo ante bellum - Treaty of 1818 - Maine - New Brunswick - Aroostook War

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This war was also the first and only time since its independence that the US Capital was invaded and occupied.

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Effects of the war on the United States

The United States did gain a measure of international respect for managing to withstand the British Empire. The morale of the citizens was high because they had fought one of the great military powers of the world and managed to survive, which increased feelings of nationalism; the war has often been called the "Second War of Independence." The war also contributed to the demise of the Federalist Party, which had opposed the war.

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A significant military development was the increased emphasis by General Winfield Scott on improved professionalism in the U.S. Army officer corps, and in particular, the training of officers at the United States Military Academy ("West Point"). This new professionalism would become apparent during the Mexican-American War (1846–1848).

Related Topics:
Winfield Scott - United States Military Academy - Mexican-American War

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In a related development, the Army Corps of Engineers (which at that time controlled West Point), began building fortifications around New Orleans, as a response to the British attack on the city during the war. This effort then grew into numerous civil river works, especially in the 1840s and 1850s under General Pierre Beauregard. The Corps continues to be the authority over Mississippi (and other) river works to this day.

Related Topics:
Army Corps of Engineers - New Orleans - Pierre Beauregard

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The War of 1812 had a dramatic effect on the manufacturing capabilities of the United States. The British blockade of the American coast created a shortage of cotton cloth in the United States, leading to the creation of a cotton-manufacturing industry, beginning at Waltham, Massachusetts by Francis Cabot Lowell.

Related Topics:
Cotton - Waltham, Massachusetts - Francis Cabot Lowell

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The Southwestern campaign led to increasing contact and conflict with the Seminole tribes in Florida. The subsequent Seminole Wars eventually lead to American annexation of Florida in 1819.

Related Topics:
Seminole tribes - Florida - Seminole Wars - Annexation - 1819

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Effects of the war on Canada

The War of 1812 had little impact in Great Britain and was generally forgotten, since it was considered to be insignificant when compared to the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo on 18 June 1815. However, this was not the case in Canada, where the war had been a matter of national survival. The war united the French-speaking and English-speaking colonies against a common enemy and some pride of being largely successful in repulsing the invaders, giving many inhabitants a sense of nationhood as well as a sense of loyalty to Britain. At the beginning of the War of 1812 it is estimated that perhaps one third of the inhabitants of Upper Canada were American born. Some were United Empire Loyalists but others had simply come for low-cost land and had little loyalty to the British Crown. For instance, Laura Secord was originally an American immigrant to Upper Canada, but did not hesitate to make her arduous trek to warn the British forces of a pending attack by her former country. In fact, a primary reason Canadians remember the war is because they managed to repulse the American invaders and maintain their borders against poor odds; a conclusion many Canadians consider a victory in its own way.

Related Topics:
Napoleon - Waterloo - 18 June - 1815 - United Empire Loyalists - Laura Secord

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This nationalistic sentiment also caused a great deal of suspicion of American ideas like democracy and republicanism which would frustrate political reform in Upper and Lower Canada until the Rebellions of 1837. However, the War of 1812 also started the process that ultimately led to Canadian Confederation in 1867. Although later events such as the rebellions and the Fenian raids of the 1860s were more directly pivotal, Canadian historian Pierre Berton has written that if the War of 1812 had never happened Canada would be part of the United States today, as more and more American settlers would have arrived, and Canadian nationalism would never have developed.

Related Topics:
Democracy - Republicanism - Rebellions of 1837 - Canadian Confederation - 1867 - Fenian raids - 1860s - Pierre Berton

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A related idea that developed out of the war was that Canadian militiamen had performed admirably while the British officers were largely ineffective. Jack Granatstein has termed this the "Militia Myth", and he feels it has had a deep impact on Canadian military thinking, which placed more stress on a citizen's militia than a professional standing army. Granatstein feels that the militia was not particularly effective in the war and that any military success the British Empire had was by British regular forces and through British dominion over the sea.

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