How does that old chestnut go? “History is written by the victors.” I guess it depends on who you think won….
Article link
The War of 1812 revisited
Chris Wattie, National Post
Published: Thursday, September 27, 2007
As early preparations for the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 get underway in Canada and the United States, organizers in Canada have run into an unexpected hitch: Their American counterparts seem to think they won.
The historical disconnect between American and Canadian interpretations of the war, during which tens of thousands of American troops invaded Canada - then still a British colony - and were repulsed by the outnumbered defenders, has left Canadian organizers of the bicentennial events shaking their heads in bemusement at their American colleagues' staunch insistence that the war was a victory for the then-young United States.
Sandra Shaul, the city administrator in charge of the bicentennial projects, said she was a little surprised to hear her counterparts on the U.S. side of the border discuss their view of the War of 1812 and see some of the plaques and presentations at historic sites such as Fort Niagara, in Lewiston, N.Y. or Sackets Harbor, N.Y., the base for the two attacks on Toronto in 1813.
"The Americans, well, they feel they won the war," Ms. Shaul says, choosing her words carefully. "They have their perspective and we have ours. It's a question of emphasis: They emphasize their version of the story ... and of course we emphasize ours."
Connie Barone, the site manager of Sackets Harbor state historical park in northern New York, sounds pretty unequivocal about the outcome of the three-year war: "Certainly we won. Because if we hadn't, we'd be using loonies and toonies instead of dollar bills, wouldn't we?"
…more on link
Perspectives, eh?