Editing Canada–United States relations (section)

=== Post War of 1812 and mid-19th century ===
In the aftermath of the War of 1812, pro-British conservatives led by Anglican Bishop [[John Strachan]] took control in Ontario ("Upper Canada") and promoted the Anglican religion as opposed to the more republican Methodist and Baptist churches. A small interlocking elite, known as the [[Family Compact]] took full political control. Democracy, as practiced in the United States, was ridiculed. The policies had the desired effect of deterring immigration from the United States. [[Rebellions of 1837|Revolts in favor of democracy]] in Ontario and Quebec ("Lower Canada") in 1837 were suppressed; many of the leaders fled to the US.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Dunning | first1 = Tom | year = 2009 | title = The Canadian Rebellions of 1837 and 1838 as a Borderland War: A Retrospective | journal = Ontario History | volume = 101 | issue = 2| pages = 129–141 | doi = 10.7202/1065615ar | doi-access = free }}</ref> The American policy was to largely ignore the rebellions,<ref>Orrin Edward Tiffany, ''The Relations of the United States to the Canadian Rebellion of 1837–1838'' (1905). [https://www.amazon.com/Relations-United-Canadian-Rebellion-1837-1838/dp/1236388712/ excerpt and text search]</ref> and indeed ignore Canada generally in favor of the westward expansion of the [[American Frontier]].

The 1842 [[Webster–Ashburton Treaty]] formalized the U.S.–Canada border in Maine, averting the [[Aroostook War]]. During the [[Manifest Destiny]] era, the "[[Fifty-Four Forty or Fight]]" agenda called for U.S. annexation of what became Western Canada; the U.S. and Britain instead agreed to a boundary of the 49th parallel. As harsher fugitive slave laws were passed, Canada became a destination for slaves escaping on the [[Underground Railroad]].<ref name="Cross 2010 p. ">{{cite book | last=Cross | first=L.D. | title=The Underground Railroad: The long journey to freedom in Canada | publisher=James Lorimer Limited, Publishers | series=Amazing Stories | year=2010 | isbn=978-1-55277-581-3 |page=intro}}</ref><ref name="CBC g717">{{cite web | title=Underground Railroad | website=CBC | url=https://www.cbc.ca/history/EPCONTENTSE1EP8CH1PA3LE.html#:~:text=In%20all%2030%2C000%20slaves%20fled,white%20sympathizers%20who%20helped%20runaways.&text=Canada%20was%20viewed%20as%20a,black%20person%20could%20be%20free. | access-date=Apr 4, 2024}}</ref>