War of 1812!

[Higgins86]

Being British this isn't really a war we learn a lot about at school as it is often regarded as a sideshow to the napoleonic wars. Was always aware of the conflict and the mainn events but it wasn't until recently that I really got into the nitty gritty and learned some suprising things. Tecumseh for example was someone I knew little of but he a massive impact on the war preventing the American forces from invading Canada etc.
Can anyone recommend any books on the war or even any documentaries that I can get my teeth into and hopefully expand my knowledge on this very interesting conflict?

 

[Penderyn]

Being British this isn't really a war we learn a lot about at school as it is often regarded as a sideshow to the napoleonic wars. Was always aware of the conflict and the mainn events but it wasn't until recently that I really got into the nitty gritty and learned some suprising things. Tecumseh for example was someone I knew little of but he a massive impact on the war preventing the American forces from invading Canada etc.
Can anyone recommend any books on the war or even any documentaries that I can get my teeth into and hopefully expand my knowledge on this very interesting conflict?

With 'War and Peace' for competition, it's not surprising that we hear little about it. But, apart from the two world wars, what wars do we hear about? Militarism isn't really our thing, I think.

 

[Red_Dave]

Being British this isn't really a war we learn a lot about at school as it is often regarded as a sideshow to the napoleonic wars. Was always aware of the conflict and the mainn events but it wasn't until recently that I really got into the nitty gritty and learned some suprising things. Tecumseh for example was someone I knew little of but he a massive impact on the war preventing the American forces from invading Canada etc.
Can anyone recommend any books on the war or even any documentaries that I can get my teeth into and hopefully expand my knowledge on this very interesting conflict?

When did you to school if you dont mind me asking? we learnt **** all about this stuff.

 

[Higgins86]

When did you to school if you dont mind me asking? we learnt **** all about this stuff.

I was born in 1984 so went to school mostly in the 90's. But my dad was in the army so I lived on a lot of foreign bases in cyprus, germany etc and we tended to learn a lot more military history than social history.

 

[Higgins86]

With 'War and Peace' for competition, it's not surprising that we hear little about it. But, apart from the two world wars, what wars do we hear about? Militarism isn't really our thing, I think.

this is true, we don't even learn about the Falklands.

 

[Aunt Spiker]

We 'learned' but man when you're a kid ( at least for me ) it was so boring I don't remember anything.

But in my later years going ot college - I love history and everything that comes with it.

 

[Temporal]

Higgins... many aspects of the war of 1812 are not often discussed in American public schools. The main reason is that the Canadian, native, and British forces burned the original White House to the ground. It used to be made of wood... hence the stone and marble replacement. Our middle class education system is very geared toward indoctrinating nationalism, and so American victories are talked about much more than defeats, especially when they are righteous victories as in WWII.

We never hear about the American occupation of the Spanish Phillipines, its part in the First and Second Opium Wars of China, and other 20th century attempts at imperialism. America is always portrayed as "good" in the public education system. Even in college, it's similar, unless you take specialized courses and happen to have learned, unbiased professors.

 

[Higgins86]

Higgins... many aspects of the war of 1812 are not often discussed in American public schools. The main reason is that the Canadian, native, and British forces burned the original White House to the ground. It used to be made of wood... hence the stone and marble replacement. Our middle class education system is very geared toward indoctrinating nationalism, and so American victories are talked about much more than defeats, especially when they are righteous victories as in WWII.

We never hear about the American occupation of the Spanish Phillipines, its part in the First and Second Opium Wars of China, and other 20th century attempts at imperialism. America is always portrayed as "good" in the public education system. Even in college, it's similar, unless you take specialized courses and happen to have learned, unbiased professors.

Yeh its crazy how most people in the UK and America are unaware of the burning of thw White house or even the freakish storm that tore the British army apart just after!
Your point about the bias is history is very relevent especially today! In Britain its the same thing, you learn about WW2, WW1 and a then of course stuff like the English civil war, armada, war of the roses etc. You never hear about the Boar wars, India or even the American revolution. It will be interesting to me especially having fought in the Iraq war how we teach our kids 50 years from now about the war on terror ( if we even teach them at all).

 

[Temporal]

^ We won't even know what really went on in Iraq because the American government has actively censored and controlled journalism in the region. Anyone with footage of what's really going on there normally gets detained, unless they are one of the select few to make it out. History will show that hundreds of thousands of Iraqi people died as collateral damage, however there will be no visual record of this, and it's the visual record that speaks volumes that intellectual essays.

The internet is the last bastion of free and truthful information, including history. You can find out about every single dirty little campaign that our governments have done in history... but I fear that the internet as a resource is going to come to an end relatively soon. The last thing the mass media wants is a place for people to find out the truth.

 

[samsmart]

Being British this isn't really a war we learn a lot about at school as it is often regarded as a sideshow to the napoleonic wars. Was always aware of the conflict and the mainn events but it wasn't until recently that I really got into the nitty gritty and learned some suprising things. Tecumseh for example was someone I knew little of but he a massive impact on the war preventing the American forces from invading Canada etc.
Can anyone recommend any books on the war or even any documentaries that I can get my teeth into and hopefully expand my knowledge on this very interesting conflict?

To be fair, most Americans aren't taught much about the War of 1812. Here are a few of things we *are* told.

1) It happened.
2) It was in 1812.
3) It was fought over the British impressment of American sailors.
4) It had a battle that inspired the Star-Spangled Banner.
5) Andrew Jackson fought the Battle of New Orleans 2 weeks after the war was officially over.

And, if you're lucky, you're taught that the British burned down the White House and ravaged Washington, D.C.

If you really want to read up on it, check out this article.

War of 1812 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[apdst]

Higgins... many aspects of the war of 1812 are not often discussed in American public schools. The main reason is that the Canadian, native, and British forces burned the original White House to the ground. It used to be made of wood... hence the stone and marble replacement. Our middle class education system is very geared toward indoctrinating nationalism, and so American victories are talked about much more than defeats, especially when they are righteous victories as in WWII.

We never hear about the American occupation of the Spanish Phillipines, its part in the First and Second Opium Wars of China, and other 20th century attempts at imperialism. America is always portrayed as "good" in the public education system. Even in college, it's similar, unless you take specialized courses and happen to have learned, unbiased professors.

The, "many aspects", of every war that the United States was involved in go without mention.

 

[StillBallin75]

Being British this isn't really a war we learn a lot about at school as it is often regarded as a sideshow to the napoleonic wars. Was always aware of the conflict and the mainn events but it wasn't until recently that I really got into the nitty gritty and learned some suprising things. Tecumseh for example was someone I knew little of but he a massive impact on the war preventing the American forces from invading Canada etc.
Can anyone recommend any books on the war or even any documentaries that I can get my teeth into and hopefully expand my knowledge on this very interesting conflict?

There's one lengthy chapter in this book about it:

Amazon.com: From Colony to Superpower: U.S. Foreign Relations since 1776 (Oxford History of the United States) (9780199765539): George C. Herring: Books

More useful if you want to learn more about US foreign policy history and diplomatic relations in general.

 

[StillBallin75]

Higgins... many aspects of the war of 1812 are not often discussed in American public schools. The main reason is that the Canadian, native, and British forces burned the original White House to the ground. It used to be made of wood... hence the stone and marble replacement. Our middle class education system is very geared toward indoctrinating nationalism, and so American victories are talked about much more than defeats, especially when they are righteous victories as in WWII.

We never hear about the American occupation of the Spanish Phillipines, its part in the First and Second Opium Wars of China, and other 20th century attempts at imperialism. America is always portrayed as "good" in the public education system. Even in college, it's similar, unless you take specialized courses and happen to have learned, unbiased professors.

I dunno where you went to school, but I did hear about these things.

 

[Higgins86]

To be fair, most Americans aren't taught much about the War of 1812. Here are a few of things we *are* told.

1) It happened.
2) It was in 1812.
3) It was fought over the British impressment of American sailors.
4) It had a battle that inspired the Star-Spangled Banner.
5) Andrew Jackson fought the Battle of New Orleans 2 weeks after the war was officially over.

And, if you're lucky, you're taught that the British burned down the White House and ravaged Washington, D.C.

If you really want to read up on it, check out this article.

War of 1812 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

lol why even bother posting?

 

[samsmart]

lol why even bother posting?

Well you seemed to wonder what Americans are normally taught about it. The answer seems to be the same as what the British are taught about it: not much.

The reason why Americans aren't taught much about it is because the War of 1812 puts the U.S. in an extremely bad light. The politicians at the time seemed to think that the best way to strike at Great Britain was by conquering Canada. And I think we all can deduce how well that went.

And don't knock Wikipedia articles. They're a very good way of learning the nuts and bolts of an issue. It may even serve as a guide for further inquiry from other sources, which was what you seemed to be interested in.

 

[Higgins86]

Well you seemed to wonder what Americans are normally taught about it. The answer seems to be the same as what the British are taught about it: not much.

The reason why Americans aren't taught much about it is because the War of 1812 puts the U.S. in an extremely bad light. The politicians at the time seemed to think that the best way to strike at Great Britain was by conquering Canada. And I think we all can deduce how well that went.

And don't knock Wikipedia articles. They're a very good way of learning the nuts and bolts of an issue. It may even serve as a guide for further inquiry from other sources, which was what you seemed to be interested in.

lol sorry I thought you were being sarcastic! I will give the wiki link a read, really just want to find a non biased book on the war especially the native Americans part of the war!

 

[DrunkenAsparagus]

It was a war by accident. The United States government was po'd at Britain for several reasons: we believed that they were supplying Indian attacks on western settlements, we kind of wanted Canada, and most importantly, the British Navy kept impressing US sailors into its fighting force. Congress declared war, but by the time the declaration reached London, parliament had already abolished the practice. The war didn't go terribly well for America. The invasion of Canada was pushed back by British troops, and Washington was burned to the ground. However, the most celebrated battle of the war occurred at New Orleans, where future president Andrew Jackson led a force in defending the city and preventing General Packingham's men from taking the city and controlling the Mississippi, but the peace treaty was signed two weeks before the battle. The treaty that settled the conflict, the Treaty of Ghent, essentially did not change anything. The war was a stalemate, but it did serve to unify the country and give America more of a national identity.

 

[Higgins86]

It was a war by accident. The United States government was po'd at Britain for several reasons: we believed that they were supplying Indian attacks on western settlements, we kind of wanted Canada, and most importantly, the British Navy kept impressing US sailors into its fighting force. Congress declared war, but by the time the declaration reached London, parliament had already abolished the practice. The war didn't go terribly well for America. The invasion of Canada was pushed back by British troops, and Washington was burned to the ground. However, the most celebrated battle of the war occurred at New Orleans, where future president Andrew Jackson led a force in defending the city and preventing General Packingham's men from taking the city and controlling the Mississippi, but the peace treaty was signed two weeks before the battle. The treaty that settled the conflict, the Treaty of Ghent, essentially did not change anything. The war was a stalemate, but it did serve to unify the country and give America more of a national identity.

most celebrated battle from the American point of view, obviously the burning of Washington will go down as the biggest scalp from the British standpoint.

 

[FluffyNinja]

America is always portrayed as "good" in the public education system. Even in college, it's similar, unless you take specialized courses and happen to have learned, unbiased professors.

Yes, how dare we attempt to justify any of our past actions................it's just so beyond the realm of human nature to do that. And, by the way, be careful of using catch phrases and broad generalizations such as "always"..........Some of us actually teach history objectively and allow our students to judge for themselves. :shrug:

 

[FluffyNinja]

Oh, I forgot to add that I've read a few good books on this subject and the best that I have read is still The War of 1812 ,by Henry Adams. It is thorough, well-researched, makes great use of primary source material, and, most importantly, it is written objectively. The book does not always paint the actions of the US "in a positive light" as some posters have previously commented. It was published in 1999 and was excerpted from Adams' History of the United States of America published way back in 1891, but this work still has a great deal of relevancy.

 

[Penderyn]

Higgins... many aspects of the war of 1812 are not often discussed in American public schools. The main reason is that the Canadian, native, and British forces burned the original White House to the ground. It used to be made of wood... hence the stone and marble replacement. Our middle class education system is very geared toward indoctrinating nationalism, and so American victories are talked about much more than defeats, especially when they are righteous victories as in WWII.

We never hear about the American occupation of the Spanish Phillipines, its part in the First and Second Opium Wars of China, and other 20th century attempts at imperialism. America is always portrayed as "good" in the public education system. Even in college, it's similar, unless you take specialized courses and happen to have learned, unbiased professors.

A story I like is about a British tourist being shown round and told about how the British burned Washington. 'I knew', said he, 'that we did it to Joan of Arc, but I never heard about our burning him!

 

[NaturallyChill]

The crazy thing is that it's not like this stuff is hidden: The National Anthem of the United States is about the War of 1812!