by Jonathan Rauch
I seem to have started a spatlet about who, if anyone, won the War of 1812. I like that. It's easier to to know we can't agree on who's winning in Afghanistan right now if we still can't agree on who won in 1812.
A sampling of mail…
America scored some victories, sure, and they scored them against the handful of second-rate ships that Britain could be bothered to dispatch to the New World while they were waging a fight for survival against the French. And, lest it be forgotten, the British torched the capital during the war, a humiliating (and symbolic) defeat for the United States. American historical propaganda likes to dress the War of 1812 up (and why not? It's a chance to portray the British as the Evil Empire again!), but it is not, in any way, a splendid little war, so much as it is a national embarrassment.
Actually, according to Budiansky and others, the U.S.'s pipsqueak navy managed to tie up much of the British fleet in protecting merchant shipping and blockading U.S. ports. Impressive.
The US went to war against Britain in 1812 to vindicate its rather expansive and unusual definition of neutral rights. It accepted a peace treaty in which NONE of its positions were accepted by Britain. After three years of war, the US got nothing but a status quo ante bellum agreement. And had its capital city raided in the meantime. The US settled because Britain was about to vanquish Napoleon and be able to turn its full attention to the US. It is a real stretch to call that a victory for the US.
But, after the Brits burned Washington, we rallied stopped them from reaching Baltimore, leading to the composition of a bad poem by Francis Scott Key, leading to the world's worst national anthem.
As for the nothingburger treaty, winning a draw from much stronger opponents, and then getting them out of your hair, is exactly what constitutes a victory in asymmetrical, insurgent warfare; just ask the Taliban.
But the real winner is…Canada
I'm a Canadian and I can assure you it was never viewed as a defeat here. The modern perception is that we fought off the American invaders, not an inaccurate one when you consider the Commonwealth forces, in what is now Canada, managed to win a series of victories and keep the borders where they started.
The Dish 