"Oh Say Can You See…?: How the War of 1812 Gave Us..." Topic

… Something Worth Fighting For.

"ON AUGUST 16, 1812, Americans saw a spectacle in red, white and blue that they had hoped never to witness. Above the red and blue striped marquee tent that staked a U.S. military camp on the Detroit River, a white flag fluttered in surrender. American General William Hull had just capitulated to British General Isaac Brock, surrendering 2,000 soldiers without firing so much as a shot, much less achieving the army's goal of conquering Canada.

That white flag might easily have marked a moment of national despair. Yet President James Madison insisted that this would be far from its final effect. "The national spirit rises according to the pressure on it," he said. As he explained a few months later, "the loss of an important post and the brave men surrendered with it inspired everywhere new ardor and determination."

Determined or not, the nation accomplished few of its stated goals in the conflict that became known as the War of 1812. Among the host of complaints that had sparked the war, the United States charged Great Britain with violating its international shipping rights and with impressing its sailors into the Royal Navy. By war's end in 1815, after the British had burned Washington, D.C., to the ground and the national debt had nearly tripled, from $45 USD million to $127 USD million, the only concession the United States won was the return of all territorial boundaries and diplomatic disputes to their prewar status. Yet Madison was right about one thing: The nation's "spirits" did rise. The war created what soon became celebrated across the country as an "Era of Good Feelings." In this remarkable triumph of feeling over facts, American patriotism arose in a new and powerful form…"
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Amicalement
Armand

It never fails to amaze me how a war in which essentially none of the war aims were achieved can be viewed as a victory

Well Frederick, we aren't subservient to any king so I guess that's a win for the Red, White and Blue.

Territorial gains were extensive in the south. All of Florida, Alabama and Mississippi.
The what if that is seldom discussed is the disposition of the Land claims due to the Louisiana Purchase. Canadian traders travelled the northern sections as much as American frontiersmen. It had only been a few years so American claims were not solid. So many other related issues. More wars between Canada and the USA would have filled the 1800s.

Certainly a victory for Upper and Lower Canada. Defended the land from the 'march' of troops from America.