RELATIONS WITH THE UNITED STATES

The tension between Britain and the United States did not end with
the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783. Many issues continued to
aggravate relations between the two countries. For example, Britain
had still not vacated many posts in the Ohio Valley, although it had
promised to do so.
The Americans believed Britain was encouraging First Nations
hostility toward settlers moving west. Britain, once again at war with
France, had also been seizing American ships on their way to France
with trade goods. The British also boarded American ships in search
of deserters from the British Navy. In some cases, American sailors
were forced into service with Britain. This impressment of American
sailors was especially irritating to American politicians. For its part,
Britain was upset about the treatment of Loyalists and that British
subjects were unable to claim debts owed to them before the war. By
1794, tensions seemed about to erupt.

JAY'S TREATY, 1794

To avoid another war, American President George Washington sent
negotiator John Jay to London. For several months, British and
American negotiators haggled over the terms of a new treaty to
resolve their differences. The Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and
Navigation —Jay's Treaty, as it is more commonly known—was
signed in November 1794.
The treaty handled some of the issues between Britain and the United
States. For example, both countries agreed that, in the future, joint
commissions or arbitration would help settle disputes over debts or
boundaries. Britain agreed to finally abandon its posts in the Ohio
Valley by 1796. In return, the United States recognized the rights of
First Nations peoples to move and trade freely across the border
between the United States and British North America. These "free
passage" rights are still exercised today, especially among members
of the Akwesasne First Nation, whose territory had been divided by
Jay's Treaty. Free passage rights have been formally recognized by
the American government, but not the Canadian government.
However, Jay's Treaty gave no protections for First Nations lands in
the Ohio Valley. Once again, First Nations interests had been
sacrificed at the negotiating table.
Finally, the treaty established a preferential trading agreement
between Britain and the United States. Trade increased between the
two nations and war was avoided.
However, most terms of the treaty expired after a decade and the two
countries could not reach an agreement on a replacement. The
relationship between the United States and Britain deteriorated
steadily after 1806.

DISSATISFACTION GROWS
Not all Americans were happy with Jay's Treaty, even in the
beginning.
Some American politicians, such as James Madison and Thomas
Jefferson, strongly objected to closer ties to Britain. These critics
wanted the freedom to trade with whatever nation would give them
the best price for their goods, including Britain's rival, France.
Even though Britain had left its forts in the Ohio Valley by 1796,
many Americans continued to be suspicious about British
involvement in the uprising of First Nations communities in the
American West. Some Americans believed Britain was still supplying
guns to First Nations.
In addition, Britain was still at war with France and was still boarding
American ships at sea. Americans were tired of being harassed —their
trading fleets were often delayed as Britain boarded them seeking
deserters or boycotted goods.
By 1812, a group of American politicians from the South, nicknamed
the War Hawks, believed Britain was once again strangling their
political and economic goals. The War Hawks called for the
opportunity to permanently rid North America of British influence.

WAR OF 1812
The War of 1812 began on July 12, 1812, when American General
William Hull invaded Upper Canada with a force of 2000 men. His
force occupied Sandwich (present-day Windsor, Ontario). He then
issued propaganda to try to convince the population not to oppose the
invasion.
No one was sure how Upper Canadians would respond. Many people
were Loyalists and might have reasons to repel the Americans.
However, some people had joined the Loyalist migration only to
receive free land. British leaders worried that these "land Loyalists"
might welcome the American invasion. However, after quickly taking
Sandwich, the American troops experienced supply problems. They
then retreated to Fort Detroit.

THE BEST DEFENCE IS OFFENCE

Sir Isaac Brock had been head of British forces in Canada since 1811.
After the invasion, he worried about the general mood of the
population, which seemed defeated. Brock wrote to another military
official in July 1812:
My situation is most critical, not from any thing the enemy can do,
but from the disposition of the people .... A full belief possesses them
that this Province must inevitably succumb .... What a change an
additional regiment would make in this part of the Province! Most of
the people have lost all confidence. I however speak loud and look
big.
Rather than wait for the Americans to attack again, he decided to go
on the offensive. He joined forces with Tecumseh, leader of the
Shawnee First Nation, whose territory was in the much-coveted Ohio
Valley. In return for Tecumseh's help, Britain promised to support his
people's claim to territory.
The two leaders planned an invasion of Fort Detroit, and on August
16, they mounted their attack. Their victory was decisive, even though
the Brock/ Tecumseh force numbered only 1300 to Fort Detroit's
force of 2000. General Hull was terrified by the cries of Tecumseh's
forces outside his fort walls and surrendered almost immediately. The
quick success at Detroit helped build support among the general
population for the fight against the Americans.
Canadians began to believe that perhaps they could win the war.
When the call for militia members went out, more men signed up.
The ensuing war comprised numerous battles on both sides of the
border, on the Great Lakes, at sea, and in the American South. British
soldiers and militia in Upper and Lower Canada, as well as First
Nations and Méri Sala moht off the Americans.
THE TREATY OF GHENT, 1814
After two years of fighting, the War of 1812 ended in a stalemate. In
the Treaty of Ghent, neither side made any territorial, economic, or
political gains. Britain had hoped to guarantee land for First Nations
communities in the Ohio Valley, but did not force the point during
negotiations.
Britain wanted to finish negotiations as quickly as possible and focus
on its war with France.

CONSEQUENCES OF THE WAR OF 1812

The war had many long-lasting consequences, even if they were not
part of the Treaty of Ghent. The St. Lawrence River had come under
attack during the war. To ensure an alternative transportation route in
case of another war, Britain began construction of the Rideau Canal.
Completed
in 1832, the Rideau Canal linked Kingston, Ontario, and an inland
port on the Ottawa River. This port, well protected from the United
States, was called Bytown (later Ottawa, Ontario).
Many historians have portrayed the War of 1812 as a time when
British Canadian nationalism was born. In particular, the war gave
Upper Canada a story of Loyalist heroism in the face of treason and
American threat. However, some historians have pointed out that
most of the population refused to fight and few leaders in Upper
Canada deserved the claim to heroism. Nevertheless, the Loyalist
myth unified and helped legitimizethe authority of the colony's small
Loyalist elite. This elite believed it had defended Upper Canada
during the war and that it should continue to lead the colony after the
war. Its bonds with Britain—and its suspicions of anything American
—were strengthened as a result of the war.

THE POST-WAR POPLILATION BOOM

From 1812 to the end of the 1840s, immigration to British North
America, especially from Britain, increased dramatically. From 1784
to 1815, 25 000 people had immigrated to British North America.
Most immigrants came from Britain and the American colonies. From
1815 to 1850, 960 000 people came from Britain alone. In addition,
the population grew from natural increase, especially in Lower
Canada. In that colony, the population doubled every thirty years
between 1750 and1875. Population growth resulted in the
development of more agricultural land, more towns, larger cities,
more canals, and the beginning of a boom in railway building across
the colonies.

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CHANGES

By the middle of the nineteenth century, British North America had
changed dramatically from the time of the Québec Act in 1774. The
Canadiens were still a majority in Lower Canada. However, British,
American, and African American immigrants had changed the
population mix in many parts of the colonies.
For example, British North America's Black population grew by about
40 000 people during the American Civil War (1861-1865). As in
other parts of the British Empire, Britain's Slavery Abolition Act
(1833) took effect in British North America in 1834. Until this act,
slavery had been practised in Canada since the earliest days of
Nouvelle-France. In British
North America, the practice continued, especially among Loyalists,
some of whom brought slaves with them. Both Black and First
Nations people had been kept as slaves, although the practice was not
as widespread as in the southern United States. After slavery was
abolished in 1834, escaped slaves and other African Americans often
looked for a new life in British territory. Many slaves arrived using
the Underground Railroad, which was a network of safe houses that
helped people escape slavery. Most African American refugees settled
in Upper Canada. Others moved to Nova Scotia and the West.
Britain tried to maintain First Nations rights to their land during this
period of change. However, the growing population wanted more
farmland. More often than not, First Nations' interests lost out to
colonists' demands. No longer needed as partners in war, First Nations
peoples were frequently ignored by colonial and British governments.
In 1857, the Province of Canada passed the Gradual Civilization Act.
The act had the explicit goal of assimilating First Nations people so
that they
"would no longer be deemed Indians?"
The Loyalist migration had helped create the beginnings of a middle
class. Some Loyalists began businesses, especially in the timber,
tanning, and clothing industries. Other Loyalists pursued trades and
professions, such as law and banking. The Loyalists also built schools
and established services in the new towns that took in many of the
immigrants, such as Kingston and York (present-day Toronto).
These towns were governed by British principles. To many Loyalists,
British laws and institutions were the best in the world. Yet even these
Loyalists had been influenced by their time in the United States. The
majority believed it was their right as British subjects to have a
government responsive to their wishes.

THE CANADA-UNITED STATES BORDER

Canada and the United States have not been at war with each other
since the end of the War of 1812. The roots of this peaceful co-
existence are outlined in a series of treaties written after the war. The
Treaty of Ghent merely established a truce. There were still other
issues, such as disarmament and boundary concerns, to be resolved.
The Anglo-American Convention of 1818 settled a major boundary
dispute over the western part of the continent.
It established the 49th parallel as the official western boundary,
running from Lake of the Woods to the Rocky Mountains.
The Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842 settled the border between
Maine and New Brunswick. In 1846, the Oregon Treaty extended the
border from the Rockies along the 49th parallel to the West Coast. In
this treaty, a compromise allowed the boundary to go south of the
49th parallel around Vancouver Island.