Comments by "bart thomassen thomassen" (@thomassenbart) on "The History Chap" channel.

  1. Very good video and great narration Causes for the War: 1. Britain refused to abandon their forts, agreed to in the Treaty of Paris in 1783 2. Britain armed the Indians to fight the Americans 3. Britain seized US seamen, impressed them to man their ships 4. The Chesapeake affair 1807 President Madison did not declare on the British. This was beyond his power. Only the Congress can declare war. Madison merely asks the Congress to do so. What is interesting is that so many Canadians I have met, somehow believe that Canada defeated the US during this war. Given that Canada did not yet exist and that the Americans were not defeated, it is a very strange assertion and yet, so many Canadians somehow believe this. During the Revolutionary War, several French-Canadian Battalions were formed who fought with the Americans against the British. Not Tecumsay but Tecumseh (pronounced, Te coom suh) :) The war was not pointless. The war ensured that Britain abandoned their forts in the Northwest provinces, defeated a substantial Indian Confederacy and therefore opened up the West further to American expansion. In the South the war against the Creeks/Red Sticks, had similar ramifications for this region and also for Florida, which Spain sold to the US in 1821. Also, US seamen were no longer impressed.
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  2. No, Lincoln did not want war with Britain and did everything possible to avert war. Sec. of State Seward delayed a formal response to allow tempers to cool and give the Union time to gauge British intentions. International Law but declared that: Captain Wilkes acted without direct orders, giving the U.S. government a diplomatic escape. The Union conceded that Wilkes’ actions violated international law, which upheld the rights of neutral ships. British Restraint: While Britain prepared for war, its leadership recognized the risks of escalating the conflict. Many British officials preferred diplomacy to military action. On December 27, 1861, the U.S. released Mason and Slidell and stated that the seizure of the envoys was a mistake. The Union framed the decision not as an apology but as adherence to the principles of international law.
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