{"id":9773,"date":"2011-10-17T05:45:28","date_gmt":"2011-10-17T09:45:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.geneveith.com\/?p=9773"},"modified":"2011-10-17T05:45:28","modified_gmt":"2011-10-17T09:45:28","slug":"awkward-commemorating-the-war-of-1812","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2011\/10\/awkward-commemorating-the-war-of-1812\/","title":{"rendered":"Awkward: Commemorating the War of 1812"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Next year marks the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812.\u00a0\u00a0 We have been commemorating the Civil War and tend to mark significant anniversaries of other major events in American history.\u00a0 But not much is being planned for this one.\u00a0 Except in Canada, which is planning a big celebration of how they defeated the American invaders.\u00a0 From a piece by David Shribman:<\/p>\n

What is the best way to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812? . . . .<\/p>\n

How does Canada celebrate its victories over American invaders without alienating its biggest trading partner? How does the United States approach a war in which its principal adversary, Great Britain, is now one of its closest friends? And do the British pause to mark this event at all, given that for them it was but a brief, minor sideshow in the far more important Napoleonic Wars?<\/p>\n

Along with the Korean War, the War of 1812, which most Americans remember dimly as being about impressment on the high seas and freedom of movement on the Great Lakes, is often called the Forgotten War.<\/p>\n

\nIt is sad\u00a0 that Americans are so forgetful, for this conflict, which lasted roughly two and a half years, gave the United States its national anthem and its national identity, cemented in large measure the nation\u2019s cultural and geographical boundaries, ushered in 200 years of peace with Britain and Canada, made the White House white and provided durable heroes such as Andrew Jackson, William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, Oliver Hazard Perry and Tecumseh.\n

It ended in virtual stalemate \u2014 no side lost substantial territory except, of course, the Indians \u2014 and was a decidedly mixed experience for Americans, whose generals were execrable, whose militia didn\u2019t fight well and whose twin theories of warfare (that the French Canadians would rush to the U.S. side and that Canada would collapse into American arms) were ludicrous.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe acquisition of Canada this year, as far as the neighborhood of Quebec, will be a mere matter of marching,\u201d wrote Thomas Jefferson, then out of office, \u201cand will give us experience for the attack of Halifax the next and the final expulsion of England from the American continent.\u201d Maybe Jefferson wasn\u2019t a genius after all.<\/p>\n

At the same time, however, the American Navy excelled, forcing the British to lose whole squadrons, which had rarely happened before. American naval prowess on the Great Lakes is still the stuff of legend, as is the old warship, the USS Constitution, known then and now as Old Ironsides.<\/p>\n

But from the viewpoint of Canada, whose War of 1812 heroes are Isaac Brock and Laura Secord, the conflict is a different matter altogether, remembered for its glorious victories over American invaders.<\/p>\n

\u201cThus the war that was supposed to attach the British North American colonies to the United States accomplished exactly the opposite,\u201d the late Canadian historian Pierre Berton wrote in his two-volume history of the conflict. \u201cIt ensured that Canada would never become a part of the Union to the south. Because of it, an alternative form of democracy grew out of the British colonial oligarchy in the northern half of the continent.\u201d<\/p>\n

All this was two centuries ago, but it remains potentially awkward today.<\/p>\n

Stephen Harper\u2019s Conservative government, which often stresses renowned moments in Canadian history, vowed in its federal election platform to undertake a vigorous commemoration of the war. Now, however, it is trying quietly to steer the commemoration away from noisy celebrations of American defeat, an effort that may not be entirely successful.<\/p>\n

Canadian military historian Jack Granatstein believes the commemoration will be the occasion for what he calls an anti-American festival. \u201cThe normal discourse in Canada is anti-American,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s a secular religion, and this is the only acceptable form of bigotry in Canada. So when we have a chance to get up on our high horse and be self-righteous and say we whipped the United States, we\u2019ll do so. It doesn\u2019t mean more than one Canadian in a hundred knows a thing about the war. They don\u2019t. Usually we have a moral superiority. This time we have 200-years\u2019-old military superiority.\u201d . . .<\/p>\n

The war ended in a draw, but the contest to conduct the most comprehensive commemoration isn\u2019t even close. The Canadians have appropriated millions, the Americans hardly anything. At this rate, the Canadians will appropriate the war entirely, at least for the next several years. Which brings us to a lesson for our time: Even forgotten wars can be lost 200 years later.<\/p>\n

via War of 1812 anniversary poses dilemma \/ LJWorld.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

HT:\u00a0 Jimmy, my brother, who remarks, \u201cI was wondering if our Canadian neighbors know that when we play the Star Spangled Banner before ballgames with the Toronto Blue Jays, the \u2018bombs bursting in air\u2019 were aimed at Canadians. I just hope they don\u2019t find out, and to commemorate the 200th\u2019s anniversary of the war of 1812 they add another verse to Oh! Canada, which celebrates how they defeated us in our northern campaign to liberate them from the British.\u201d\u00a0 Actually, Jimmy, if you would come to visit us out here, far from Oklahoma, we would take you to Ft. McHenry in Baltimore harbor where that song was written and where you would learn that these were bombs being lobbed by British mortars into American fortifications.\u00a0 But still, your point is well-taken.\u00a0 I can\u2019t understand\u00a0why these countries we are always trying to liberate, to the point of\u00a0going to the great trouble and expense of invading them, \u00a0just don\u2019t want to be liberated!<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n<\/blockquote><\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Next year marks the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812.\u00a0\u00a0 We have been commemorating the Civil War and tend to mark significant anniversaries of other major events in American history.\u00a0 But not much is being planned for this one.\u00a0 Except in Canada, which is planning a big celebration of how they defeated the American […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1281,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,20,49],"tags":[370,2329],"class_list":["post-9773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-america","category-history","category-war-2","tag-canada","tag-war-of-1812"],"yoast_head":"\nAwkward: Commemorating the War of 1812<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Next year marks the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812.\u00a0\u00a0 We have been commemorating the Civil War and tend to mark significant anniversaries of 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