On Apr 27, 5:19 am, "David Martel" wrote:
I suspect that Tom is hoping for just that answer since Canada was not a
nation at that time. The US has had lots of border forays with it's neighbor
to the north both before and after it became a nation.
....

I apologize profusely to all for the off topic post. I will try to
restrain myself in the future. I was in no way attempting to play a
game of "gotcha". I think the historic record is clear and that the
relations between the United States and Canada since it became a free
dominion have been remarkably peaceful. There have been no disputes
between the national governments of the countries that any reasonable
person could claim were military invasions. Prior to Canadian
nationhood and going back into the colonial period the wars that took
place across the border were reflections of disputes between the great
European powers. While this is self-evident for wars like the French
and Indian War (Seven Years War on the Continent) it is also arguable
for the American Revolution which would have been unwinnable without
French support and the War of 1812. The root cause of the War of 1812
was British interference with US trade at sea and particularly the
impressment of sailors (whew! finally something to do with boats!) as
a result of the British war with France. The War ended in America
when the European hostilities ceased because the trade issues were
mooted. The War was fought everywhere that US and British interests
met. On land, that included the Eastern seaboard and the Canadian
border. Pretty much everywhere that British regulars met US forces on
land the British won. They also raided the US coast at will and even
burned Washington. Of course, the US forces were also badly beaten
along the Canadian border. An interesting aspect of the war as it
evolved on the Canadian border is that many US pundits (particularly
students of Jefferson) assumed that many Canadian colonists along the
border area wanted to join the United States. However, the colonists
were overwhelming in their support for the British. I think this
profound expression of a distinct Canadian identity that became
evident during the war, often overlooked south of the border, is key
to the Canadian understanding of the war. However, the assertion that
the War of 1812 was primarily an invasion of Canada and part of series
of US invasions that show an evil pattern of US covetousness for
Canada is not supported by history.

-- Tom.