After the revolution, the British empire and the American republic remained uneasy neighbors in North America. In addition to spawning the republic, the revolution consolidated British control over Canada, which offered a haven for 40,000 American Loyalists expelled by the Patriot victory. Loyalists did not believe that the British Empire had permanently lost the fight against the republican revolution.  Neither Britons nor Americans thought that their rival political systems could coexist for long in a shared continent. Britons predicted that the republic inevitably would collapse into anarchy and civil war. With equal conviction, Americans insisted that nature destined their republic to dominate the continent. Eventually, they predicted, the Canadians would join the United States by rejecting the artificial rule of a foreign empire. Created by the revolution, the border between the republic and the empire seemed tenuous and temporary: destined to shift either north or south as one or the other collapsed.  By invading Canada in 1812, the governing Republicans in the U.S. hoped to fend off a menacing convergence of internal and external enemies. Recommended Reading: 1812: War and the Passions of Patriotism, by Nicole Eustace; The War of 1812: A Forgotten Conflict, by Donald R. Hickey; The Challenge: America, Britain, and the War of 1812, by Andrew Lambert; The Civil War of 1812: American Citizens, British Subjects, Irish Rebels, and Indian Allies, by Alan Taylor; The Internal Enemy: Slavery and War in Virginia, by Alan Taylor.  Provided by the CAST Senior Center, our Documentary Programs provide an endless variety of interesting subjects in a prerecorded, professional film format. They take us across the country and around the world, experiencing and learning about places and people which we wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to experience. Our documentaries are entertaining, informative, and inspiring. They offer a unique and powerful form of storytelling that captures your attention and provoke thought and discussion. Scheduled every Tuesday afternoon, unless noted, at 1pm at the CAST Senior Center, our Documentary Programs are free and open to the public. There are no membership dues and everyone is welcome to attend. Programming is provided by Curiosity U and other online providers. Check out our documentary program schedule every month and join us. We look forward to seeing you!