The War of 1812 in Canada
While Britain was engrossed in the struggle with Napoleon, writes J. Mackay Hitsman, a defensive war with the United States was fought along the frontiers of Upper and Lower Canada.
In 1812 many Americans still nursed grievances against Great Britain from their War of Independence, resented British assistance to the hostile Indian tribes of the Old Northwest, and were eager to make up for their earlier failure to acquire Canada. They were further enraged by the Royal Navy’s continued violation of American neutral rights.
Britain was engaged in a life-and-death struggle with Napoleon and had issued Orders in Council aimed at preventing all maritime trade with French-dominated Europe. War had been close in 1807, when H.M.S. Leopard battered U.S.S. Chesapeake into submission in order to remove four alleged British deserters. That crisis blew over, but British captains kept on stopping American merchant ships.
Yet the Federalist political strongholds of New England, New York, New Jersey and Delaware bitterly opposed the declaration of war, voted by a sharply divided Congress and proclaimed by President Madison on June 19th, 1812, because it would interrupt the very lucrative American trade with the British Empire.
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