1812 and All That (If Only)

I get a kick out of this old patriotic, loyalist stuff. Make the heart swell and that. Never felt the same about America. We almost made it out, too. In 1814 the Royal Navy extended its blockade of the United States to include New England. Nantucket lasted a few weeks and gave in- they made a separate peace with the British. This unleashed a cascade of similar deals up and down the coast. Massachusetts told London they'd come back when this whole Life, Liberty, Purfuit malarkey fell apart. I don't know about Connecticut or Vermont, but the rest of us would have seceded if the British government hadn't decided what with Napoleon vanquished there wasn't much point continuing. A bit late for the Battle of New Orleans, but there you go.
Just think- a head of state far away instead of glad handing and podium pounding every few years; ideals of peace, order, and good government, instead of how can I strut my stuff and make all my neighbors miserable; not being hated for something some blowhard in Tennessee says; a dollar worth a dollar. So close! This will never appear in any Rockets Red Glare history textbook. Who won the War of 1812? Canada- ask any Canadian.