The War of 1812: An Opinion Essay
Alma Huuskonen
Introduction
The War of 1812 was a two year and eight month long military conflict between the United States of America and the North American colonies of the United Kingdom, and its allies. This war did not have much of a purpose, caused a lot of unnecessary bloodshed, and didn’t achieve a lot. It is barely remembered in the UK, but Canada and the US remember the war clearly. It is much debated who won, as there was no clear conclusion, with both parties signing a treaty in the end. There were many reasons that fuelled the fire of conflict, which will be explored shortly.
What were the main causes of the War of 1812?
The main causes of the War of 1812 stemmed out of issues related to the Napoleonic war. While this war was being fought, the United Kingdom put many regulations upon any neutral trading vessel that was bound for Europe. The US greatly contested this, as they wanted to continue their trade as normal and they felt that the UK shouldn’t have any say over what they could or couldn’t do. This was one of the main areas of contention between the two parties.
At the same time, British fleets were …show more content…
Admittedly, after the war was finished, the Canadian troops felt very good about themselves, thinking they singlehandedly held back the American troops, and conveniently forgetting about all of the Native warriors that truly did most of the work. This gave them a confidence boost, which in the end may have contributed somehow to Canada’s nation-hood, but there weren’t any true positive outcomes. It also made the US think twice about trying to invade Canada again, which was helpful in the long run. In the grand scale of things, this war was one of the most unnecessary and non-constructive wars in Canadian history. While it may have had some influence on the future of Canada, there were not enough overall benefits to outweigh the
Alma Huuskonen
Introduction
The War of 1812 was a two year and eight month long military conflict between the United States of America and the North American colonies of the United Kingdom, and its allies. This war did not have much of a purpose, caused a lot of unnecessary bloodshed, and didn’t achieve a lot. It is barely remembered in the UK, but Canada and the US remember the war clearly. It is much debated who won, as there was no clear conclusion, with both parties signing a treaty in the end. There were many reasons that fuelled the fire of conflict, which will be explored shortly.
What were the main causes of the War of 1812?
The main causes of the War of 1812 stemmed out of issues related to the Napoleonic war. While this war was being fought, the United Kingdom put many regulations upon any neutral trading vessel that was bound for Europe. The US greatly contested this, as they wanted to continue their trade as normal and they felt that the UK shouldn’t have any say over what they could or couldn’t do. This was one of the main areas of contention between the two parties.
At the same time, British fleets were …show more content…
Admittedly, after the war was finished, the Canadian troops felt very good about themselves, thinking they singlehandedly held back the American troops, and conveniently forgetting about all of the Native warriors that truly did most of the work. This gave them a confidence boost, which in the end may have contributed somehow to Canada’s nation-hood, but there weren’t any true positive outcomes. It also made the US think twice about trying to invade Canada again, which was helpful in the long run. In the grand scale of things, this war was one of the most unnecessary and non-constructive wars in Canadian history. While it may have had some influence on the future of Canada, there were not enough overall benefits to outweigh the