Nationalism: “loyalty and devotion to a nation…a sense of national consciousness exalting one nation above all others and placing primary emphasis on promotion of its culture and interests as opposed to those of other nations…”(Webster’s Dictionary). The American Revolution and the War of 1812 have many differences as well as many similarities, nationalism being one of the most dominant of their similarities. In both wars many colonists were seen being true patriots, protecting their country against all odds when everyone expected the British to defeat them and regain control in a matter of days. The question at hand in relation to these wars is what role did nationalism play in the Colonist/American victories?
In the American Revolution colonists were treated as though they were simply “bratty kids” retaliating against their elder, Great Britain. Loyalists in the colonies believed that the patriots would back down the minute Parliament showed their power. However, patriots proved many wrong when they stood their ground against all odds and …show more content…
She was thought to be easily defeated especially when up against Great Britain, who had better everything; from their soldiers to their artillery to their world renowned Navy. However America had one vital thing that Britain could not obtain, loyalty from its citizens and soldiers who were fighting for what was theirs. All things considered, without the show of nationalism from the early “patriot” colonists, later known as Americans, the country we love today would not exist. The textbook America at War: Concise Histories of U.S. Military Conflicts from Lexington to Afghanistan submits this theory when Terence Finn states that “…without men from New Hampshire, Maryland, the Carolinas, and the other colonies, men who left their families with musket in hand, men who believed in independence, the war that gave birth to a new nation would not have been won” (Finn
In the American Revolution colonists were treated as though they were simply “bratty kids” retaliating against their elder, Great Britain. Loyalists in the colonies believed that the patriots would back down the minute Parliament showed their power. However, patriots proved many wrong when they stood their ground against all odds and …show more content…
She was thought to be easily defeated especially when up against Great Britain, who had better everything; from their soldiers to their artillery to their world renowned Navy. However America had one vital thing that Britain could not obtain, loyalty from its citizens and soldiers who were fighting for what was theirs. All things considered, without the show of nationalism from the early “patriot” colonists, later known as Americans, the country we love today would not exist. The textbook America at War: Concise Histories of U.S. Military Conflicts from Lexington to Afghanistan submits this theory when Terence Finn states that “…without men from New Hampshire, Maryland, the Carolinas, and the other colonies, men who left their families with musket in hand, men who believed in independence, the war that gave birth to a new nation would not have been won” (Finn