USA wins the war of 1812

Would they be stronger or weaker because they would end up controlling so much territory.
I think it would have made them much stronger in the long run because they would have so many more natural resources, as Upper and Lower Canada would probably cease to exist.
 
The most territory I can see the USA taking are the Eastern Townships, Southern Ontario, all of the disputed parts of Maine, and maybe what's left of Lower Canada. They won't take Quebec due to the Catholic/French speaking inhabitants and the Maritimes are too well defended. But the US may later buy out the HBC.
 
How dramatic of a win are we talking about here?
The most amount of territory I'd have them taking would be some of the lands in between the Great Lakes. It'd be nice, and enough to form a new state, but not really anything spectacular or too earth-shaking.
 
Welcome aboard commander. As this is has been a much discussed question here, you might find it interesting and informative to click on this forum's "search this forum" icon and type in "War of 1812".

To answer your question, I could see the US gaining Upper Canada (Ontario of the 45th parallel) and the disputed northern part of what later became the OTL state of Maine.
 
I have a question as patriotic American and as a lover of history: How on earth would the US 'win' the war of 1812?!?!

Seriously, the American Navy consisted of six frigates and a few smaller ships. The overwhelming majority of the small US Army consisted of militia. Both federal and state governments didn't have the resources to fund a large military force if England decided to put more effort into the American theater (which was only a minor sideshow for them then the Napoleonic Wars) then they did IRL. Much of America was still depending on foreign imports for manufactured items. America had some domestic industry at this point, but it wasn't self sufficient.

To simplify things, the War of 1812 was the new guy on the block walking up the toughest guy on the block, spitting in his face, and then getting the snot beat out of him. Remember, this is not the US of today, the early 1900s, or even the 1860s. The US of 1812 was the geo-political nonentity out in the boondocks. That US only did as well as it did because England didn't want to waste their time or effort with the US when they had more important fish to fry.
 
hmm... i guess in my eagerness to begin posting i didn't think the scenario through. Let's keep it slightly more realistic and say that USA made it up to Berlin (Kitchner) a small city in Ontario, would they be able to negotiate a peace or just lose anyways?
thanks for all the replies:)
 
The USA could win the war if (1) the British were more distracted, and (2) the USA didn't expend so many of its own troops on slaughtering Native Americans. Getting to (1) perhaps means that Tsar Alexander reaches an accommodation with Napoleon, freeing Napoleon to challenge British naval superiority. Getting to (2) is tougher than it may look from modern times, because it involves taking a more cautious, planned approach to settling the west, but a cluster of subtle policy changes in the Revolutionary period might be able to pull it off.
 
IMO, the USA 'won' about everything it could in the war, since it survived as a nation, got to keep New Orleans and the Louisiana Purchase, kept all it's territory intact, forever squashed British hopes for Native 'buffer' regions, ended the only real threat of a united Native resistance (under Tecumseh), and was able to expand and grow without any more interference or threat from Britain. It's hard to imagine Britain allowing the USA to keep any part of Canada through out and out conquest...
 
Could the US win if the invaded Canada properly at the start. I mean none of the three seperate columns nonsense, they just all march on Toronto.
 
Could the US win if the invaded Canada properly at the start. I mean none of the three seperate columns nonsense, they just all march on Toronto.

Toronto didn't exist back then.

I mostly agree with Dave except I think the US might be able to get away with some territory, at least all of the Aroostook County.
 
I have a question as patriotic American and as a lover of history: How on earth would the US 'win' the war of 1812?!?!

Seriously, the American Navy consisted of six frigates and a few smaller ships. The overwhelming majority of the small US Army consisted of militia. Both federal and state governments didn't have the resources to fund a large military force if England decided to put more effort into the American theater (which was only a minor sideshow for them then the Napoleonic Wars) then they did IRL. Much of America was still depending on foreign imports for manufactured items. America had some domestic industry at this point, but it wasn't self sufficient.

To simplify things, the War of 1812 was the new guy on the block walking up the toughest guy on the block, spitting in his face, and then getting the snot beat out of him. Remember, this is not the US of today, the early 1900s, or even the 1860s. The US of 1812 was the geo-political nonentity out in the boondocks. That US only did as well as it did because England didn't want to waste their time or effort with the US when they had more important fish to fry.

Guess what?? There is this amazing thing called ALTERNATE HISTORY!! GET INTO SPIRIT!!
There were many ways I'm sure that could result in a US win.
 
Charlie950, there were no ways that the US could defeat or even force a stalemate against the British once the Napoleonic Wars were over.

It took the US more than two years of war to have a total army, many units of uncertain quality, over the entire territory of the US, half the size of what the British sent to Waterloo alone in a matter of weeks.
 
Guess what?? There is this amazing thing called ALTERNATE HISTORY!! GET INTO SPIRIT!!
There were many ways I'm sure that could result in a US win.

There's also a catagory around here called ASB. While a grand US win in the War of 1812 is not ASB, it is extremely unlikely given the realities of the of the day.
 
Charlie950, there were no ways that the US could defeat or even force a stalemate against the British once the Napoleonic Wars were over.

It took the US more than two years of war to have a total army, many units of uncertain quality, over the entire territory of the US, half the size of what the British sent to Waterloo alone in a matter of weeks.


So what your saying is a POD in the Napoleonic Wars which keeps them going or even increase them in scope is needed:D. How helpful. And understanding of the words alternate history and POD
 
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