Albert Gallatin, Madison's treasury secretary and one of the negotiators at Ghent, said people felt "more American" after the war. “They feel and act more like a nation."
Alan Taylor says the War of 1812 was very difficult for the United States, yet Americans remember it as a “feel-good war.”
At the same time, he says the War of 1812 also united Canadians.
“Despite all their divisions during the war, they felt so relieved they had fended off an American invasion that they remembered the war as a glorious victory over the more powerful United States.”
As a result of the war, Alan Taylor says both Americans and Canadians felt a greater sense of nationalism. And, because of that, the two nations could relate more peacefully. Each believed it could survive without having to defeat the other.
“And today the U.S. and Canada are each other’s primary trade and security partners in the world.”
But not everyone benefited from the end of the war. The opposition Federalist Party found itself greatly embarrassed by the peace. Its leaders had long denounced the war and said Britain could not be defeated. Many of the Federalists had traded with the enemy. Some had worked with the British against their own country. They had even threatened to break up the Union.
Once the war was over, the Federalist Party lost its supporters. And then the party itself soon disappeared, even in the New England states, its base of support.
最新
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25