Review (PDF) The War Of 1812: A Forgotten Conflict, Bicentennial Edition
This comprehensive and authoritative history of the War of 1812, thoroughly revised for the 200th anniversary of the historic conflict, is a myth-shattering study that will inform and entertain students, historians, and general readers alike. Donald R. Hickey explores the military, diplomatic, and domestic history of our second war with Great Britain, bringing the study up to date with recent scholarship on all aspects of the war, from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada. The newly expanded The War of 1812: A Forgotten Conflict, Bicentennial Edition includes additional information on the British forces, American Indians, and military operations such as the importance of logistics and the use and capabilities of weaponry. Hickey explains how the war promoted American nationalism and manifest destiny, stimulated peacetime defense spending, and enhanced America's reputation abroad. He also shows that the war sparked bloody conflicts between pro-war Republican and anti-war Federalist neighbors, dealt a crippling blow to American Indians, and solidified the United States's antipathy toward the British.
Paperback: 480 pages
Publisher: University of Illinois Press; Revised edition edition (January 3, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0252078373
ISBN-13: 978-0252078378
Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1.6 x 9.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #69,324 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #6 in Books > History > Military > War of 1812 #289 in Books > History > Europe > Great Britain #715 in Books > History > Military > United States
The War of 1812 by Donald Hickey is an worthy rendering of this little remembered conflict. It seems that to many Americans any events before the Civil War is lost in the mists of history. While the Revolution attracts some attention, the War of 1812 is remembered for little more than Old Ironsides and the Battle of New Orleans.Prof. Hickey covers all aspects of this conflict, at least from the American side. He begins with the disputes which led to the conflict. The divisions within the United States, both geographical and political, are well explained. The war created a division between commercial, Federalist New England and the agricultural, Democratic-Republican south and west. The hardships of the war provided a boost for the declining Federalist Party, but with the return of peace, its decline toward oblivion resumed at a rapid pace. The economic interests of the various sections are well treated.The war was occasioned by a coalition of interests which combined to overcome the significant opposition. This was, in fact, probably America's most unpopular War, Vietnam notwithstanding. The British impressment of seamen, American lust for Canada and resentment resulting from British incitement of Indians, combined to put together a political majority for war. Some of the maritime issues had led to a series of economic responses over several years prior to the commencement of hostilities.The initial efforts to resolve the issues were a series of shifting and conflicting economic measures, including boycotts and trade restrictions which began before and continued during the war.At the beginning of the war there was a difference of opinion as to whether the war should be fought only at sea or whether a land campaign was also to be prosecuted.
This is a solid work on the War of 1812 that covers the political and social events of the period more than the battles and campaigns. Of the 309 pages of text, divided into eleven chapters plus an introduction, only three of the chapters (100 pages) cover the land campaigns, the war at sea, and the war on the lakes. Unfortunately, that coverage does not help anyone who wishes to study a military history of the war.The book is competently done, but it is not a definitive history of the war and could, and probably should, have been longer. The author's stated premise, however, was to produce a political and social history of the war and that mission was accomplished very well. Such subjects as the Baltimore Riots of 1812, the causes of the war (in some depth) and the Hartford Convention are very well done, are quite informative, and are sufficient to give the reader a solid basis in those subjects. Further, the author covers the problems that the Democratic-Republicans (confusingly referred to as just `Republicans' in the volume) under Jefferson caused the country, and the country's economy, with their fervent anti-British ideology and hostility to any and all regular military forces in the United States, especially towards the US Navy.This is not a military history in the true sense and marks a definite difference between actual military histories (such as John Elting's work on the War of 1812, Amateurs, To Arms! which was published about a year after this volume), and has little to do with the actual marching and killing that is involved in fighting wars.
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