American historians sometimes refer to War of 1812 as the “Forgotten War”, but this has never really sat well with Canadians. You know who has not forgotten about the War of 1812? Canada, that’s who! In the Anglo-Canadian historical imagination the War of 1812 looms large. Canadians (and especially Ontarians) learn that 1812 was a hard won Canadian victory against American aggression. But, it turns out, many Americans have learned that the war was more of a stalemate, and might even be considered an American victory. Who has it right? Tune-in and find out how bad YA historical fiction, The Guess Who, and gangs of navy kidnappers all play a role in the story.   

Works Cited

Bickham, Troy. Weight of Vengeance: the United States, the British Empire, and the War of 1812. Oxford University Press, 2017.

Hickey, Donald R. The War of 1812 a Short History. University of Illinois Press, 2012.

Kaplan, Lawrence S. “France and Madison’s Decision for Warm 1812.” The Mississippi Valley Historical Review, vol. 50, no. 4, 1964, p. 652., doi:10.2307/1916658.

Roosevelt, Theodore. The Naval War of 1812; or, The History of the United States Navy during the Last War with Great Britain; to Which Is Appended an Account of the Battle of New Orleans, by Theodore Roosevelt. G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1882.

Stagg, J. C. A. The War of 1812 Conflict for a Continent. Cambridge University Press, 2012.

Turner, Wesley B. The War of 1812: The War That Both Sides Won. Dundurn Press, 2000.

“War of 1812.” The Canadian Encyclopedia, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/war-of-1812.