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 A good attempt Jul 04, 2010
Being a student of history as well as having a BA in history I think this was a good attempt at trying to introduce the war of 1812. It is not a perfect documentary and at time does use a broad stroke and skips over other details and events. It is also at times tends to over state and repeat itself. However this is a tendency of most History Channel documentaries. Since it is a very unknown war compared to the Revolutionary War and Civil war it would be hard to create a very in depth documentary considering the target audience of most History Channel viewers.
Despite this it is a good introduction to viewers about a forgotten or little heard about war in American History. It tries to reaffirm the idea that this was the second war of Independence for the United States. It captures and tries to portray the image of a new nation trying to find its place and confidence. Despite the burning of its capital and facing the world's most elite army it does manage to survive. Wars are not won by who wins battles but by the perception of who left standing at the end. Though the almost unmentioned failure of the Canadian invasion and the burning of the Washington American's managed to hold of the might of the British Empire.
Back across the Atlantic public opinion and political opinion had turned against the war for various reason. The added set backs at Baltimore and other places helped aid this turn in opinion adding to the British seeking terms which the United States were also eager for. The battle of New Orleans, though fought unknowingly by the combatants, added to many American's a sense that they had emerged victorious. Had no treaty been signed the victory at New Orleans would most likely had resulted in a peace treaty anyways. They could have brought in a more deeper treatment of the wearing affects of the war on both sides.
The critiques about who won or lost the war is not all fair. The invasion of Canada was doomed before the first shot was fired. It was ill planned and logistically almost impossible to attempt. Any chance to take Canada was lost in the Revolutionary war. That venture to seize Canada should have taught the Americans how difficult and endeavor it would be. During the American revolution Philadelphia, the capital, was also capture yet the rebellion went on. The burning and capturing of Washington can't not be viewed as winning the war though humiliating it might be. What it did do was a mistake that they would not repeat at Baltimore and helped show the strength of the American character.
I would recommend this documentary for any new students to history as well as an introduction to the war of 1812. Like any student of history though it is always a good thing to read and view material from all different perspectives. This documentary was told from an American History point of view so yes it does have a point of view bias, but almost any book or documentary does.
1 of 4 found the following review helpful:
 A boost to fragile American egos Jun 26, 2010
Are American egos so fragile that they need this form of revisionist history to bolster themselves? I watched this spurious load of drivel after viewing the Canadian production on the same subject, which was historically more accurate.
At least the Canadian production referred to Tecumseh, Brock and Perry, and tried to understand the underlying reasons for the conflict beyond "we wuz invaded and that ain't right". It also examined the problems faced by the native First Nations in dealing with the continual bad treatment and broken treaties with the American government. No mention is made in the History Channel production of this problem, nor of the root cause of naked American aggression - so-called "manifest destiny", other than to claim that the War of 1812 established Anerica's "right" to manifest destiny, the right to treat the continent of North America as their own, handed to them by their god, and theirs to do with as they will.
All the talking heads (I hesitate to call them historians) speak of the glory of the US fight and its victory over the invaders, conveniently forgetting the battles that the US army lost - battles that were glossed over by this program, and that the US was the initial aggressor by invading Canada. They speak of the US greatness, of its coming-of-age, its establishment of nationhood and identity, and its recognition of ownership over the continent.
After watching this DVD, I came to an understanding of how these conclusions could have been reached. Americans need to proclaim everything they do as the best, the greatest, the most powerful. They must proclaim themselves the leaders of the world, trumpet their achievements, wave their flag at every opportunity. They have to call their baseball season, in which no other nation takes part, the "World Series". Their fragile egos just cannot deal with the fear of their own mediocrity. And no amount of chest-beating, chanting of "USA USA USA", or tub-thumping about their right to pre-eminence is going to cover the fact that America as a nation is, at its core, terrified.
But to claim this war as a victory, to see it as a nation building exercise, as a reason why America has the right to aggressively acquire more territory in the name of manifest destiny, and to blame others for the war's instigation, is close to a crime against history.
The War of 1812, declared by the US and begun by US aggression against a weaker nation (Canada) was fought for no good reason, caused the pointless deaths of thousands, caused untold misery and destruction, nearly destroyed a nation, and for what? Well, they eventually got a national anthem out of it.
Like Iraq and Afghanistan. Except the Americans already have an anthem.
If you are an American, then this DVD is for you. Just don't expect everyone else to take it at face value.
0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Some historical nit picking. Jun 14, 2010
I'll repeat the other reviews in saying this is a good buy if you are looking for an overview of the War of 1812. It covers the broad strokes of the war and spends most of its time on the sack of Washington, the bombardment of Baltimore, and the battle of New Orleans. The Ironclad bit is baffling but that isn't my real problem with this dvd. k
Someone mentioned earlier the obvious pro-American bias in the film and that wouldn't have bothered me - I'm American so I love hearing about how great I am just for being born in the right place - except for the fact that in the rush to cut the less glamorous parts of the war, the program leaves out huge chucks of very interesting bits of history that had a real impact on the course of history. I don't think I heard one mention of Isaac Brock through out the program. Nor a mention of Tecumseh. Oliver Perry doesn't get mentioned. Not even future American President - for a very short while anyway - William Henry Harrison is heard of. The program got so caught up in talking about the National Anthem and the burning of Washington that it took 2 hours to impart a set of facts that could have been told in twenty minutes.
That aside, there were also a few factual errors. First the the film makes it sound like impressment was the sole issue of the war with other issues as merely peripherals. This doesn't come close to the truth. The Orders in Council had as much to do with the war as any other issue. The program also states the impressment was abolished by the British government right after war was declared. This is also false. What was repealed were the Orders in Council - impressment stayed. It also says that there were antiwar protest in Baltimore. The opposite was true. Baltimore was a Pro-War city. The incident they program refered to was one where Pro-war rioters assaulted anti-war Federalist in their homes and beat some to death (Fun fact - Robert E. Lee's father was almost for being a Federalist). And it implies that the battle of New Orleans mattered in any way other than launching Andrew Jackson to the presidency.
It hits the broad strokes and if that's what you're looking for, then buy it but if your a history buff looking for historically accurate and informative entertainment look elsewhere.
0 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Not bad, but not great May 17, 2010
I'm a teacher, and I had hopes for this series but it's not great. All the facts are there but the telling is... well propagandistic.
The primary documentary on the war of 1812 is pretty good, even if it does make it appear as though G-d was actively on the side of a U.S. win.
The one about the flag is good from an informational standpoint, but would send my students to sleep.
The documentary about Jackson tends to really push how unfairly maligned he has been by history. There are other, better, documentaries out there, such as Andrew Jackson: Good, Evil and the Presidency also shown on the history channel, that are far more even-handed about him. The linked documentary shows his brilliance and value while not trying to skirt the issue that he was also a deeply prejudiced individual, and address things like his ultimate betrayal of Indian allies without whom he might not have won the battle for New Orleans and the trail of tears. It also addresses the irony of his face being on our twenty dollar bills today.
0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 very well done Apr 18, 2010
This is a very well done documentary on the war of 1812. History is sometimes presented in a boring way, but this video broke the mold. Highly recommend.
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