fatbuckRTO |
04-26-2013 12:49 PM |
Quote:
Originally Posted by Papa_Complex
(Post 528667)
One of the stated goals of the United States, during the War of 1812, was annexation of Upper and Lower Canada (Ontario and Quebec). For that reason it was a victory ;)
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:shrug: Wikipedia's thoughts on the matter:
"According to Stagg (1981 and 1983), Madison and his advisers believed that conquest of Canada would be easy and that economic coercion would force the British to come to terms by cutting off the food supply for their West Indies colonies. Furthermore, possession of Canada would be a valuable bargaining chip. Stagg suggested that settlers demanded the seizure of Canada not because they wanted the land, but because the British were thought to be arming the Indians and thereby blocking US settlement of the West.[35][36] As Horsman concluded, "The idea of conquering Canada had been present since at least 1807 as a means of forcing England to change her policy at sea. The conquest of Canada was primarily a means of waging war, not a reason for starting it."[37] In agreement with Horsman is the view: "...American policy makers reasoned that they could take it [Canada] and hold it hostage while demanding that the British back down on other issues."[38] Hickey flatly stated, "The desire to annex Canada did not bring on the war."[39] Brown (1964) concluded, "The purpose of the Canadian expedition was to serve negotiation, not to annex Canada."[40] Burt, a Canadian scholar, but also a professor at an American university, agreed, noting that Foster—the British minister to Washington—also rejected the argument that annexation of Canada was a war goal.[41] During the phase prior to the war, he also rejected the possibility of an American declaration of war, despite having dinner with several of the more prominent War Hawks, so his judgement in these matters can be questioned. [42] Canadian scholar Reginald Stuart stated, "But what seemed like territorial expansion actually arose from a defensive mentality, not from ambitions for conquest and annexation."[43]"
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