Lopardo6
Umberto Lopardo
Mr. Fitzpatrick
Canadian History (CHI 4U)
7 February 2014
Why Canada was Successful in the War of 1812
North America as a continent has seen very diverse groups of inhabitants living on her for thousands of years such as: the Aboriginal peoples, the French, the English, the Americans, and finally, the Canadians. The one thing that all these groups had in common was their ambition for land. In some cases this meant decimating populations to get it. The Americans in the 1800's were going through a time in their history known as Manifest Destiny, which was a term coined by John L. O'Sullivan in 1845. (Manifest Destiny) This idea of expanding America's borders began prior to the War of 1812 when Former President, Thomas Jefferson, stated that taking over Canada would be a "mere matter of marching."(Jefferson) Most Americans felt very confident in capturing Canada because the British were fighting in the Napoleonic Wars so they would not be able to defend the Canadians as well.
English: This plaque commemorating the life and de...
English: Maj. Gen. Sir Isaac Brock
"Push on, brave York volunteers!" shouts Brock, wh...The Americans outnumbered the Canadians seven million to five hundred thousand. (Defining Canada) Many Canadians felt that they were fighting a battle that they would inevitably lose. Despite these odds, they repelled the Americans from their attempted invasion. Canada was successful in protecting their homeland in War of 1812 because of British military leadership, Aboriginal alliances, and aid from people in the colonies.
America was more superior to Canada in most aspects, but one thing that Canada had over the Americans was their British military leadership from men such as James Prendergast and Sir Isaac Brock. James Prendergast also known as the "Unsung Hero" of the War of 1812 was given this name because he was very courageous in important battles but he never received any glory. The Battle of Chrysler's...