ABSTRACT
When the War of 1812 began the immediate American objective was the invasion of Canada, but the Revolution had shown that waging military operations on the United States—Canadian border was very difficult. Distances were great, roads were practically non-existent, and the large-scale movement of troops was limited to the dry, summer months. The United States was also badly hampered by its lack of careful military preparations and by the sharing of power between the federal government and the states. J. C. A. Stagg has argued persuasively that the United States in this period simply could not effectively organize the nation's resources for war. 1
