| |
|
|
National Character Although many wars come to define a national character, The War of the Roses for England, the Napoleonic Wars for the French republic, the Franco-Prussian War for the modern German state . . . the War if 1812 is unusual in that it helped spawn the national character of two states. Victors on both sides became instant heroes. For the US it gave us the national anthem and the Navy's motto "Don't give up the ship." And for Canada it very much determined the character of the Canadian state and that it would not, at any future date, be incorporated into the US. Yet for England its effects would be quickly lost: "The events of the War of 1812 have not been forgotten in England . . . for they were never known here" -- William Kingsford
|
|