Who Really Won the War of 1812?

Watch exclusive history videos, like our latest on South America's Wars of Independence, over on Armchair History TV. Use code ARMCHAIR75 for 75% off your first month. On the first days of 1815, British guns pounded American earthworks in Louisiana's swampy bayous. Thousands of Redcoats advanced against the outnumbered defenders. Freshly victorious over Napoleon, the British were ready to project their full might on the young republic. But in just 30 minutes, hundreds of Redcoats lay dead. It was a decisive victory for the Americans, yet the battle seemed like pointless bloodshed. It did not affect the course of the war at all. A peace treaty was already signed in Ghent, dominated by two words. Status Quo. The War of 1812 went down in history as a war that nobody won. Neither the United States nor the United Kingdom achieved its strategic goals or gained any territory. Still, the United States, United Kingdom, and even Canada all came out ahead after the conflict ended. And this begs the question, who really won the War of 1812? Before we continue, I'd like to thank the sponsor of today's video, War Thunder. The most comprehensive vehicle combat game ever made. Take command of over 2,500 tanks, planes, helicopters, and ships of 10 major nations, ranging from biplanes and armored cars of the 1920s to the fighter jets and main battle tanks of today. Immerse yourself in intense combat, where incredibly detailed vehicles, realistic graphics, and authentic sound effects place you right at the helm of the most powerful war machines of our time. I'm especially impressed with War Thunder's dynamic and detailed damage mechanics, which assigns damage to your vehicle's crew and components rather than using hit points, and its in-depth comprehensive customization system, which offers countless camouflages, historical markings, and decorations for all types of vehicles, including community-created ones. Play War Thunder now for free on PC, PlayStation, or Xbox, join a worldwide community of over 70 million players in epic PvP battles today, and delve into the breathtaking experience that is War Thunder. Sign up today using our link in the description below, and for a limited time, new and returning players that haven't played for at least 6 months will receive a massive bonus pack that includes an exclusive Eagle of Valor vehicle decorator, 100,000 silver lions, and 7 days of premium account time. By James Madison's second term as president, Americans had a long list of grievances against the United Kingdom, which had constantly undermined the United States. Through its orders in council, Britain forbade all neutral countries from trading with France. Royal Navy vessels even forcibly conscripted American sailors into British service to fill up manpower reserves in the fight against Napoleon. This policy, known as impressment, brightly angered the American population. Many Americans also felt that sovereignty and independence were at stake. Britain supported several American Indian tribes and confederations, most notably Tecumseh's confederation, and tried to create a native buffer state to thwart American expansion. Through traders in Canada, Britain supplied the tribes with weapons and ammunition that enabled them to raid throughout the American frontier. In addition to the grievances, many in the southern and western U.S. sought to annex some, if not all, of Canada. Although this was a controversial topic, in the summer of 1812, the long list of complaints motivated Madison to ask Congress to declare war. Ironically, Britain had already ordered the suspension of the orders in council, which had led to so many American grievances, but the news had not yet reached U.S. soil by the time war was declared. At first, it seemed like the British faced overwhelming odds. Napoleon still dominated Europe, and now an overstretched, financially burdened Britain was forced to open another far-away front. Its territories were threatened by an ambitious republic with a far larger population than British North America. Fortunately for the crown, the American armies weren't ready to defeat Britain in Canada. American forces were underprepared and led by elderly, cautious leaders. Madison was a shy scholar with little knowledge of warfare. His Secretary of War, William Eustace, obtained the position through political connections, not skill. Instead of a quick conquest of Canada, the war escalated to include all of eastern North America. Britain and its American Indian allies fought the Americans in the northwest, across the Great Lakes, and in the Deep South. Famously, they even captured Washington, D.C. and burned down the White House in 1814. In that particular battle, they failed to take their main goal, Baltimore. It was that battle that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the Star-Spangled Banner. Many American offensives failed, but the nation did succeed defensively, like at Lake Erie and New Orleans. The war created a new sense of identity, patriotism, and unity, kick-started economic and military reform, and reshaped the political landscape. Overall, the War of 1812 did not create a military victor, but it did produce a number of cultural, economic, and geopolitical victories. In the case of the United States, they achieved a defensive victory. The Madison administration wanted to assert American independence from the United Kingdom, and guarantee its rights to international law as a sovereign nation. Prominent politicians, from John C. Calhoun to Henry Clay, all agreed that making American trade subject to the will of the British crown essentially meant reinstating the colonial system. The war was mostly a bluff to force policy concessions from Britain. If the war is seen as a bluff to change British policy, a U.S. defensive victory becomes more meaningful. The British Empire couldn't maintain harmful policies that America would simply have to comply with. Battles at Lake Champlain, Fort McHenry, and New Orleans proved that the British could not force the Americans into pro-British compliance. After the War of 1812, the United States emerged as a far more unified nation. During the war, the Democratic-Republican Madison administration was frustrated by Federalists in New England who opposed the war, refused to contribute militias, and even covertly traded with British forces in Canada. The Federalists were one of the most important casualties of the war. As war support rose in the United States, especially after the Battle of New Orleans, the anti-war Federalists were discredited as unpatriotic. During the last weeks of 1814, as rising military star Andrew Jackson prepared the defenses of New Orleans and the ink on the Treaty of Ghent dried, New England Federalists met in Hartford. They discussed the war, the federal government, and relations with the United Kingdom. Some firebrands even argued for secession. The convention angered many Americans and damaged the Federalist Party beyond repair. The party soon ceased to exist as a political force, replaced by a newfound unity under the Democratic-Republican Party. Aside from the political and cultural shifts the War of 1812 and the collapse of the Federalist Party caused, the United States emerged as a more powerful military and economic force. Its initial military unpreparedness highlighted the need for change. The United States needed a stronger navy. Maritime rights took center stage in this conflict, which required a powerful navy to enforce and defend. The American Navy proved its value, especially at Lake Erie and Lake Champlain, where it thwarted British supply lines and ground the defensives to a halt. After the war, Congress passed the Act for the Gradual Increase of the Navy, which significantly enlarged the U.S. fleet. The United States also became much more powerful economically. The war provided a large stimulus to American manufacturing. The trade restrictions with Europe had forced the United States to develop its own manufacturing market to continue developing goods that were previously imported from Europe. By 1815, the American geopolitical situation was far better than it was in 1812. Though the Treaty of Ghent restored the status quo between Britain and the United States, other factions were considerably weakened or even destroyed. Britain's American Indian allies, like Tecumseh's Confederacy and the Red Sticks faction of the Muscogee, were soundly defeated. Spain's hold over Florida was crippled after American strategic invasions of Mobile and Pensacola, and Spain would sell the territory to the United States just three years later. And while the U.S. did not acquire Canada, the war enabled westward expansion that would expedite America's rise to great power status. Like the U.S., the United Kingdom emerged from the War of 1812 with a defensive victory. Though conquering Canada may not have been an American objective, the Empire's hold on its North American territories was under threat. Weeks after the war was declared, American armies crossed the Detroit River into sparsely populated Ontario. American invasions in Canada repeatedly failed. After being defeated in Ontario, British forces under Major General Isaac Brock captured Detroit with an outnumbered force. Detroit served as a base for British and Shawnee forces to threaten the American Northwest for over a year. Another American invasion across the Niagara was beaten back at Queenston Heights, once again by an outnumbered British force. Canada's largest cities, Montreal and Quebec City, were never seriously threatened. British successes extended beyond Canada. The capture of Washington and burning of the White House was one of the war's most notable acts. In 1813 and 1814, the Royal Navy took control of the Chesapeake Bay, trying to divert American forces from Canada and pressure the U.S. into a favorable peace deal. While occupying Washington was a notable British victory, the strategic offensive mostly failed. The British were defeated in their attempts to capture Baltimore, the main prize of the campaign. Rather than demoralizing Americans, the burning of the White House galvanized them. Even the anti-war Federalists condemned the act. Britain's biggest claim to victory in the War of 1812 was America's failure to enforce any of its war goals. The orders in council and impressment were the main motivations for the United States to go to war. While these policies were repealed by the end of the conflict, it was not a decision that came about as a result of American pressure. Even before the war, British politicians were divided on the Empire's commercial policies. Due to their growing tensions with the United States and the worsening economic situation in England, Britain officially repealed the orders on June 23rd, just five days after the U.S. had declared war. Madison only learned of the repeal months later. Although the tensions with the U.S. influenced the decision, the war effort itself had little effect. Impressment also ended on Britain's own terms. After Napoleon's first surrender in 1814, there was no longer a need to recruit foreigners to fill the dwindling supply of sailors. Although the war highlighted the problem of impressment, American military pressure far from forced an end to the policy. For Britain, the geopolitical reality post-war was a double-edged sword. While they kept their maritime policies, Britain lost many American Indian allies, and had to give up on its desire to create an Indian buffer state in the American Northwest. However, by abandoning Tecumseh's Confederation and the Muscogee, Britain aimed to foster a more pragmatic and cooperative relationship with the United States. To London, the United States served British strategic and security interests much better as a partner than a frustrated geopolitical rival that cost the Empire many resources to contain. At face value, the Canadian claim to victory seems far-fetched. After all, Canada did not exist as a single nation until the colonies confederated in 1867. Nowadays, the war plays an important role in the Canadian national saga, serving as a war that made Canada. In the early 19th century, Canada was a sparsely populated and diverse territory. The French-speaking Catholic people in Quebec had very little in common with the British Loyalists who settled in Ontario after the American Revolution. The war created a narrative within Canadian nationalism that brought British Canadians, French Canadians, and First Nations together. For instance, the Royal Canadian Mint produced a commemorative coin in 2012 depicting a British sergeant, a Quebecois soldier, and an Iroquois soldier side-by-side to fight for their homes. The War of 1812 would become a symbol in Canadian nationalism to profile the nation as the other to the United States. Poets framed the Canadians as the virtuous Loyalists who stood by noble Britain in its darkest hour. When the continent of Europe was drenched with the blood of nations, the tyrant had his feet upon their necks, and England alone stood erect. The Democratic Party in the United States, most hostile to liberty, declared war against Britain and invaded Canada. The emerging theme in Canadian literature was one of a peaceful people who dropped their plows and grabbed their muskets to fight off the hordes of undisciplined American rabble for king and country. Like the Battle of Thermopylae, the Canadian Loyalists were Spartans who repelled the thousands of foreign invaders. Figures like Laura Secord, who warned the British of an impending American attack on the Niagara Peninsula, became prominent figures in Canadian nationalism. Isaac Brock and Tecumseh were considered heroes for their fights against American aggression, and their fighting deaths only solidified their legendary status. Although the War of 1812 doesn't play a huge role in modern Canadian public consciousness, politicians as recent as Stephen Harper framed the war as a defining event for modern Canada. So who really won the War of 1812? While good arguments exist for the United Kingdom and Canada, the United States most clearly emerged with a better geopolitical position. By defeating the Indian nations, finding a new national fervor, and experiencing significant economic expansion, the war catalyzed American growth in the following decades. While Britain secured its empire, and Canada gained a national origin myth, they both did so by acquiescing to, rather than curbing, American ambitions. The war ultimately allowed the United States to rise to great power status, while Britain and Canada ended the war, in geopolitical terms, with a status quo. Thank you to War Thunder for sponsoring today's video. Play for free on PC, Xbox, or PlayStation by using my link in the description below. And for a limited time, new and returning players that haven't played in 6 months will also receive a massive bonus pack across all platforms, including multiple premium vehicles and other goodies. Don't forget to check out Armchair History TV, and use code ARMCHAIR75 for 75% off of your first month. 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