Getting into War
Canada’s location, next to the United States, made it the principal theatre of a war fought for issues that did not concern Canadians.
Canadians had no grievance against the United States that was worth risking war. Upper Canada welcomed American immigrants. Many families had relatives on both sides of the border. Pioneer societies in Upper Canada and western New York were very similar and linked by close social and economic ties. War with the United States would threaten these connections and expose emerging communities to invasion and destruction.