What if Anyone Won the War of 1812?

of all the wars the us has had over the years the war of 1812 was certainly one of them it's such a uniquely pointless war one that each side thinks that they won except for britain who forgot the whole thing even happened the us invaded canada and failed britain invaded washington dc and burned it to the ground then sort of just left if there was any decisive winner of the war it was pre-independence canada yes canadians i can hear you typing however for the sake of this video the us didn't go to war with canada it went to war with britain and between these two nations the war just kind of fizzled out the us seeing it as a draw and britain being too preoccupied with napoleon to care ah yes the americans won at the battle of new orleans that's great to the british public this news was quickly forgotten by their own victory at waterloo both sides walked away in some way thinking they had won historians have called this conflict a draw and that's mainly because no territory exchanged hands well except for native americans in the midwest who were abandoned by their british allies as a result of the war yippee despite what you think the result of the war was there's no denying both sides could have done better so what if in an alternate timeline one side any side won decisively in the war of 1812 this is going to be short there are a few factors that led to the war of 1812 most were scandals or offenses between britain and the us that occurred ever since the us was independent britain passed a law in 1807 which taxed american ships before they could trade with other european powers there was the infamous seizing of u.s sailors in the atlantic britain was supporting native resistance to colonial expansion simply put after the breakup there were still negative feelings the us government felt the best way to settle the various disputes was through a war for the british the first two years was seen as a north american affair they were too busy with france to send their own troops to defend canada though canadian militias did well enough on their own although they did blockade the eastern seaboard with reasonable effectiveness after the european war was over the british sacked dc and lost at the battle of new orleans america took this win as a victory and went off feeling better about itself britain shrugged it off candace still talks about burning the white house to this day overall in comparison to the gargantuan battles occurring in europe at the same exact time the war of 1812 was really just militias fighting it out over michigan and toronto it can be argued that britain was victorious in the war black are you dumb are you getting rude or at least wasn't affected by the conflict at all the laws britain installed which the us used as a basis for war were already rescinded before the war was even declared though nobody knew this of course communication was slow what exactly does it mean then for the british to have an actual decisive victory in the war they weren't going to take over the united states again there wasn't even plans to take any territory despite the narrative on the american side that this was the second american revolution britain's objective was simply hold the u.s at bay or use their navy to squeeze them into submission a total victory in this alternate timeline is that they effectively win every single engagement with the us the battle of lake erie ends with commodore perry and his fleet either sunk or retreating leaving the lake in british hands the battle of baltimore results in a british landing and if there even is a battle of new orleans it ends with the jackson defeat while none of these result in land being taken they do change the mindset americans have about the war by the time an alternate piece is called by the british the americans would have foreseen three years of defeat after defeat an already unpopular war is not saved at the last minute by a win at new orleans the reality that the us went headfirst into a war it wasn't prepared for sets in to the majority of the public in the end all the young nation had to show for the conflict was a burnt capital what was a reinforcement of american ideals in our timeline instead becomes a national embarrassment doubt sets in on the entire experiment fingers start being pointed the war of 1812 was declared in congress by the slimmest margins in us history you know back when america did declare war new england and the north wished not to go to war as their economy relied on trade with britain while the southern and rural states wished to expand the us the biggest critics of the war were the federalist party based mainly from new england a region already peeved by the political power of the south the federalists pushed for denouncing the war at least until the victory of new orleans which was such a propaganda victory even being against the war in the first place was deemed unpatriotic even treacherous and politically it destroyed the federalists in this alternate timeline the war would be seen as a disaster politically this is a win for the federalists riding the i told you so train but this isn't enough to save their already dwindling popularity they were the party of the elite industry and hamiltonian economics not many people even in new england really liked them however their anti-war sentiment is still shared with the people of the north the fact that most of the congressmen who voted for the war in the first place were from the south and the influence the south has in washington becomes a popular rallying point in the north after the revolution britain supported native resistance groups in the midwest leaders like tecumseh little turtle or blue jacket fought against american colonization in ohio and indiana often by the support of local british forts it was a goal for britain to create a native border state in the great lakes region not only as a reward for loyal native tribes but also as a buffer between british north america and the growing united states of course this never came to be in part because after the war britain stopped encouraging native rebellion to focus on other matters with such a total victory however the british could force the us to recognize the midwest as native land who's to say how long this would last but for a few decades it may keep americans at bay leaders like tecumseh would not die after being beaten back yet instead may live to an old age as one of the largest political figures on the continent such a situation leads to a terrible relationship between canada and the us expanding west was literally one of the main reasons for the american revolution and even in independence the young nation by force would be prevented from expanding over decades the u.s would be successful in conquering the midwest expansion is seen less as seddler simply moving west and instead what it really was a military conquest of another people there is no era of good feelings instead the us is in a constant struggle with its neighbors hindering expansion and making the ohio river one of the most dangerous borders in the new world with a successful native state established tecumseh would have the political backing of the british to encourage more revolts east of the mississippi perhaps had the war gone differently the creek war could have ended better for the natives of georgia and alabama keeping the americans at bay that would mean that general andrew jackson would not succeed during the creek war or the battle of new orleans he never gains national prestige to ride to the presidency not only does this alternate us have to deal with a british native alliance in the midwest but also doesn't have jackson in office to illegally expel the tribes of the southern united states with no jackson in office such an event like the trail of tears doesn't occur the trail of tears was controversial even in its time solely it was the will of jackson who even defied a court order to expel thousands west of the mississippi the us without jackson is a scenario entirely in itself but the scenario is already as long as it is so let's move on in summary a total british victory in the war of 1812 is a demoralizing event for the young us had they pressed the issue a native border state could have been created in the great lakes perhaps preventing entirely northern industrial states from ever existing that in itself changes the entire balance of the slave issue in the us making the majority of states that do join the union primarily in the south but in realistic terms americans simply out-populated both canada and the natives so it was inevitable that they would eventually take over a legally recognized state the british wouldn't wish to constantly intervene in a continent half a world away eventually one side would have to give and the natives at one point would simply lose their land even if it was a few decades later than our own timeline and most likely does push the issue of slavery back another generation or so such a conflict about it not occurring until the late 19th century but anyway what if the americans won considering the demands the u.s had before the war were met once war was declared and the war still continued on we all know what would be the result of a total american victory canada or british north america is annexed by the united states the united states actually winning the war as in conquering canada is incredibly unlikely it'd require the u.s to not only take the cities of york and montreal but also hold off any actual british reinforcements sailing down the saint lawrence river britain wasn't simply going to abandon their north american subjects it'd be a major embarrassment however say the war was too costly much like during the american revolution and somehow they just couldn't retake canada then britain agrees to american demands and seeds the territory the people of the north have some political representation in congress if say they are admitted as new states but canada for a while is a headache for the us despite its small size just a few decades earlier canada saw an influx of political refugees from the colonies loyalists who fled once the rebels won the revolution and now the united states has taken this territory too it'd be difficult to say when if ever canadians actually get political authority considering most of them are absolute loyalists this alternate annexation of canada would be a unique situation for the united states as instead of conquering a nation in the caribbean or overseas instead it's a fellow anglo settlement the question over what rights or authorities canadians should have is extensively debated canadians wouldn't even wish to partake in american politics instead resorting to outright rebellion and protest meanwhile americans wouldn't trust canadian politicians in congress believing they'd sell the country out and for the whole system to work for a few decades i believe canada if anything simply lives under military rule the next few decades in canada result in resentment and rebellion against the united states however this type of action eventually fizzles out perhaps simply from being out populated by incoming americans since the political barriers are gone americans from new england simply migrate west replacing the very culture and politics of canada very much in the same way quebec rebelled and protested against british occupation after the seven years war anglo-canadians would do the same to anglo-americans as the 19th century continues on the idea of canada at all begins to fade away new generations descended from americans are born and out populate the aging loyalists the political autonomy of quebec or as it was called lower canada becomes a contested one in america while freedom of religion technically would be within the u.s constitution the catholic tithes and civil law that remained in quebec would be seen as a foreign government within the u.s clashing with anglo-american values anglo-america while peeved would adapt better to the us than the french their rule of law and government is immediately changed to fit into american society it'd be very likely the only way this resentment goes away is just like in ontario where the local population is outnumbered by new american immigrants by some alternate 2021 there would be no issue of canada or quebec independence the idea that the north was once home to loyalists and the french simply becomes a part of the old history that's occasionally brought up probably by youtube videos just like this imagine it very much like new orleans which had its own distinct identity from the united states which was eventually blended away by the late 19th century as more anglos moved in canada a country with a distinct political worldview than its southern neighbor doesn't get the chance to grow and expand its legacy becoming a historical fun fact as the issues of its old population are swept away as new generations come in the us idea of manifest destiny over the next century expands across the entire continent not only can the americans take mexican territory but also rupert's land a large portion of the north owned by the hudson bay company this land is still largely unpopulated without an actual british presence on the continent it's very likely the land would have been sold to the united states in this alternate 19th century simply by taking this tiny portion of land the united states doubles its size even on our timeline there really isn't that big of a cultural shift between the rust belt in ontario and alberta might as well be an american state so imagine how similar most of the united states north america would truly be without a northern cutoff this shifts and alters the type of states brought into the union not just in the north but also the south if lower and upper canada were brought into the union they would be free states meaning alternate slave states would need to be created to balance out the dynamic even if we simply incorporated the canadian provinces as they are today that'd be an addition of 10 provinces and three territories making at minimum 59 states not 60. considering british columbia and washington would be one territory not split between two nations as this is just a rough guess who knows how state borders change when the arbitrary 49th parallel border just doesn't exist now if you're canadian you're either angry or absolutely hate the scenario so let me just say this this was very unlikely to happen the us in the early 19th century just simply did not have the capacity to conquer even this portion of canada yet had the war gone differently and had canada successfully been conquered nothing would have prevented the us from taking the rest of the north becoming the largest country in the world america the war of 1812 could have been a war with dramatic historical importance if things had gone differently yet things didn't neither side had a real capacity to overwhelm the other it was the last breath of revolutionary america and the start of a gradual alliance between all three countries it's interesting to imagine though if the status quo hadn't been brought back to normal it could have led to a century of tension and even more fighting one that may have shifted the world view of a young united states leading into the 20th century so feel proud canada you're not america's hat you're america's lid keeping your hot-headed neighbors to the south from exploding all over the place often when talking about historical events these people seem long off and distant even events 200 years ago just have a fog where we can't relate at all well these people lived had kids and died and their descendants lived today most probably never knowing the events their ancestors lived through but there is a way to uncover the past this episode was sponsored by ancestry i've been doing an exploration of my family's history lately and have been using ancestry to do it through ancestry records i was able to build my family tree to discover new branches or links i've never known before thanks to a dna test i knew the area of where my ancestors came from but i wanted to take it a step further using ancestry i discovered my six times great-grandfather on my mother's side a man named and this is not a joke solomon cauldron solomon served in the war of 1812 as a private in pennsylvania thanks to records from ancestry i uncovered that he served at camp dupont in november 1814 a camp organized of militia and regulars created on the shores of the delaware river after the british blockaded the bay in 1813. it's weird doing the same sort of research i would for a video but into my own history if you want to do this for yourself research the history of yourself you can get started by going to ancestry.com alt history and start a free trial to explore your family history today using ancestry you can see how far or little your family has traveled over the centuries or even find out you had a grandpa with the name solomon cauldron i'm sorry that sounds like a fake 19th century name you'd see in a teen romance book go to ancestry.com all history and start a free trial to start exploring your family history today you

Channel: AlternateHistoryHub

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Keywords: War of 1812 history, War of 1812, Revolutionary War, War of 1812 alternate history, alternatehistoryhub, alternatehistoryhub war of 1812, British, American expansion, US invasion of canada, invasion of canada, battle of new orleans, ancestry, history, alternate history, what if anyone won the war of 1812, alternatehistoryhub what if anyone won the war of 1812, alternatehistoryhub what if anyone, alternatehistoryhub what if, what if, what if history, early american history

Id: oBLENnc9MNs

Length: 17min 43sec (1063 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 24 2021