This past week we covered (“covered”) the War of 1812 in my U.S. history survey sections.  I told my students right off the bat that I will not be asking them to recall the names of naval officers or the details of particular troop movements on the exam — though it doesn’t get much more memorable than “Oliver Hazard Perry,” or much more of a close call than the British burning Washington and marching toward Baltimore, or much more unambiguously lopsided than the Battle of New Orleans.  Instead, I focused on some significant consequences of the war in terms of Read more