Some of Donald Trump’s ideas are so stupid that no one has even considered trying them before.
- Injecting bleach, anyone?
- Space Force?
- Deploying nuclear devices to stop hurricanes?
- Proposing to cure cancer by eliminating windmills?
- Pontificating on sharks vs. electrification?
- Suggesting that a giant faucet in Canada controls water flow to California?
But invading Canada isn’t one of them.
You ever wonder why teachers spend a lot of time discussing the causes of the French and Indian War, the American Revolution, the U.S. Civil War, the Great War (renamed World War I), and World War II — even the Korean and Vietnam wars — but not so much about the causes of the War of 1812? It’s simple.
The cause was the United States invading Canada. And Uncle Sam got his ass kicked.
(BTW, that “Uncle Sam” nickname was coined in 1813 during the War of 1812, which lasted until 1814. Ironic, huh?)
Roughly 15,000 Americans died in that war, while the British casualties (that includes His Majesty’s subjects born in Canada) numbered about 8,600, half that.
President James Madison oversaw the expenditure of $105 million ($2.5 billion in today’s money) to accomplish nada, except to turn those they invaded against the invaders. Just like today, Canadians weren’t all that into Americans.
In other words, this was the United States’ first Vietnam.
Donald Trump, of course, doesn’t know this. (Donald Trump and right-wing pundit Candace Owens don’t even know why we fought World War II, so forget knowing about an obscure American war.)
But I thought you should know.
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