British Keystone

Overview

Locale: Old Fort Mackinac on Mackinac Island, Michigan When Henry Clay’s western firebrands prodded Congress into declaring war on Great Britain in 1812, the plan was to drive the British out of Canada and thus to “make America safe for Americans.” The prompt British capture of Fort Mackinac at the crossroads of the Great Lakes crushed this plan and lead, after a mutually unprofitable war, to the establishment of an unfortified border between Canada and the United States.