Upper Canada example essay topic

Many Upper Canadian settlers were neutral at the beginning of the war, but as increasing numbers of their compatriots were killed in battle, forced from their homes, or had farms pillaged by American forces, local support for the British defenders increased. Considering the foreign origins of most Upper Canadians in 1812, it is not surprising that there were some traitors in the crowd. For instance, Joseph Will cocks, a former member of the Upper Canada assembly, led a group called the Canadian Volunteers around the Niagara region. They fought alongside the American invaders, gathered information and did whatever they could to help the U.S. cause. The majority of Upper Canada's population actually developed a stronger commitment to their country over the course of the conflict. These settlers-cum-soldiers were extremely proud of their efforts to repel the enemy from Canada, their new home.

In Lower Canada, present-day Quebec, the canadian population was by 1812 reconciled to British rule and turned out for militia service when ordered to do so. British North American Governor-in-Chief Prevost recognized that Lower Canada, especially Quebec city, was key to a successful defence. In the end, however, the Americans launched only one major attack against the colony, which was thwarted by a mixture of British fencible's (regular troops recruited for local defence only) and canadian militia at the battle of Chteau guay in 1813. The War of 1812 was a time of relative peace in Lower Canada.

Faced with the possibility of an American invasion which posed a social, political and economic threat to their society, Lower Canadians from different social classes and political factions chose to close ranks. For instance, the francophone professional class temporarily suspended political bickering with the English-dominated government for the duration of the hostilities. They realized that their cultural interests were more likely to be protected under British institutions than they would be under American rule. The "habitant" farmers who made up the majority of the population were also wary of an American invasion.

They believed that land-hungry American settlers would cause overcrowding and exacerbate the land shortage problem. In an effort to preserve their rural heritage, the "habitats" enthusiastically joined local militia units. "Les Voltigeurs", a unit created by Charles-Michel de Sala berry, successful fended off the Americans at the Battle of Chateau guay. The elite members of Lower Canadian society also helped to foster loyalty to the British crown during the war. For example, the new governor general, Sir George Prevost, was a bilingual British officer with a great talent for conciliation.

He successfully eased the cultural and linguistic divisions within the colony. Also, the Roman Catholic clergy and the "seigneurs" (landholders) used their influence to promote the defense of established order over revolutionary American forces. Ironically, after the war ended, Lower Canada was once again torn apart by political bickering. The growing tension between Lower Canada's English rulers and the mainly-French citizenry erupted with the Rebellion of 1837. Upper Canada was the scene of many of the military operations of the war. At the outset, support for the British administration was not easily forthcoming.

Much of the colony had been only recently settled, largely from the United States, and many of these settlers could only be charitably described as "late Loyalists". There was sympathy for the American cause both in the colonial legislature and in the countryside. Determined to rally support for the British North American side, Major-General Isaac Brock, commander in Upper Canada, launched a pre-emotive strike on Detroit. His victories there and at Queenstown Heights persuaded many colonists that the province could be held and that they must do their duties as militiamen in the fighting which continued over two and a half years. Even within Upper Canada different areas were affected differently by the war. The eastern part of the colony faced a long open frontier with the Americans.

Each side raided the other throughout the war but the Americans made only one real offensive here. In the autumn of 1813 an advance toward Montreal was thwarted at Crysler's Farm, near present-day Morris burg. The Americans made more serious invasion attempts throughout the war along the Niagara frontier, where much of the heavy fighting took place. Brock's early advantage in taking Detroit was lost in 1813 by Major-General Henry Procter, who abandoned the western end of the colony after the defeat of the British squadron on Lake Erie. Although Procter was decisively defeated and his Shawnee ally Tecumseh killed by Major General William Henry Harrison, a future American president, at Moravian town on the Thames River, the Americans did not pursue their advantage but withdrew to their Detroit base. Peace negotiations began in the summer of 1814.

Britain had invaded France and Napoleon had abdicated, permitting the transfer of British troops from Europe to North America. While peace talks continued, an expedition raided and burned Washington, D.C. The American negotiators in turn were heartened by the news that Lieutenant-General Prevost had abandoned his expedition against Plattsburgh, N.Y., in September 1814 after his small naval squadron on Lake Champlain was destroyed. The Treaty of Ghent, signed on Christmas Eve, 1814, returned all territorial conquests made by either side but forced the British to abandon their tribal allies in the Northwest. The Treaty did not address the maritime causes of the war after all: with Napoleon's downfall they were no longer an issue. Andrew Jackson, another future American president, defeated a last British expedition that landed at the mouth of the Mississippi and attempted to take New Orleans, on January 8, 1815, before news of the peace treaty reached America. As this expedition had no connection with Canada, nor any effect on the outcome of the war, it is not considered further in this readers' guide.

Bibliography

1) Bert on, Pierre. Flames across the border, 1813-1814.
Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1981 2) Bowler, R.
Arthur. The War of 1812.
New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1973.
3) Hickey, Donald R. The War of 1812: a forgotten conflict.
Urbana, Ill. : Univ. of Illinois Press, 1989 4) Watts, Ryan James.
Two views of war: a comparison of nineteenth century central Canadian and American views of the War of 1812.
Ottawa: National Library of Canada, 1991.
5) Zas low, Morris, ed. The defended border: Upper Canada and the War of 1812: a collection of writings giving a comprehensive picture of the War of 1812 in Upper Canada: the military struggle, the effects of the war on the people, and the legacies of the war.
Toronto: Macmillan, 1964.