I love it – the statue looks like two giant plastic army men, from 1812, bases and all. Part of the point is to remind Candians that the US lost that one. Apparently some of us Yanks have been starting to think we won:
Actually, I never heard anyone say the US won. They generally say that it had no definite victor. And they ignore all the possible causes except for British impressment of US sailors, leaving out all the stuff about us invading Canada.
I haven’t heard anyone claim that the US won the War of 1812, though a couple of people rather emphatically stated that “Canada didn’t win because the battles were fought by British troops”.
Given that any Canadian soldiers back then would’ve been considered part of the British army, it’s a bit of a silly distinction to make… but if it makes you Yanks feel better, I’m willing to play along.
It was a draw, inasmuch as it was settled on terms remarkably similar to those both sides could have had before it began, if they hadn’t been so stiff-necked.
1.) Cool – I never heard that story (Of course, we don’t hear an awful lot of Canadian stories here in the states)
2.) Cool – having a famous great grandmother.
3.) Don’t be greedy. You already have a statue and a monument. There aren’t any statues of my great grandmothers.
One of my best friends has dual citizenship and attended high school in California for a year c. 1984. She brought home a history text that I can still quote from verbatim: “Canada was invited to join the union in 1812, but declined.” Full stop, next paragraph, new subject.
…one hopes that little morsel was fleshed out a bit the next year.
Not only is Coupland an artist (and a pretty good one at that), he’s also been dabbling in urban planning… Coupland was commissioned to design a new park to be built just a few blocks east as part of a new condo development. It’s still not completed, but if the plans are any indication, it should be pretty cool - especially since that part of the city is lacking in greenspace.
(also, does having Laura Secord as a direct ancestor qualify you for a lifetime supply of French Mint bars? because that would be even cooler! )
sings And the White House burned burned burned and we’re the ones who did it. It burned burned burned and the President ran and cried. It burned burned burned and things were very historical. And the Americans ran and cried like a bunch of little babies wah wah wah in the War of 1812.
