second war between the United States and the mother country, unlike
the first, was scarcely more than a minor {216} annoyance to the
stronger party. In the years 1812-1814, England was engaged in
maintaining an army in Spain, in preying on French commerce by blockade
and cruising, and was spending immense sums to subsidize the European
nations in their final struggle against Napoleon. The whole military
and financial strength of the country, the whole political and
diplomatic interest were absorbed in the tremendous European contest.
Whig and Tory, landowner, manufacturer, and labourer were united in
unbending determination to destroy the power of the Corsican. The
Liverpool Ministry contained little of talent, and no genius, but the
members possessed certain traits which sufficed to render others
unnecessary, namely, an unshakable tenacity and steady hatred of the
French. The whole country stood behind them on that score.

In these circumstances, the English, when obliged to fight the United
States, were at liberty to send an overwhelming naval force to blockade
or destroy American commerce, but were in great straits to provide men
to defend Canada. It was not until a full year after the declaration
of war that any considerable force of regular troops could be collected
and sent there, and not for two years that anything approaching a
genuine army could be directed against America. {217} The defence of
Canada had to be left to the efforts of some few officers and men and
such local levies as could be assembled.

On the side of the United States, the war was bound to take the form of
an effort to capture all or part of Canada, for that was the only
vulnerable British possession. On the sea the United States could hope
at most to damage British commerce by means of the few national
cruisers and such privateers as the shipowners of the country could
send out. Without a single ship-of-the-line and with only five
frigates, there existed no possibility of actually fighting the British
navy. But on land it seemed as though a country with a population of
over seven millions ought to be able to raise armies of such size as to
overrun, by mere numbers, the slender resources of Canada; and it was
the confident expectation of most of the western leaders that within a
short time the whole region would be in American hands. "The
acquisition of Canada this year," wrote Jefferson, "as far as the
neighbourhood of Quebec, wil