Why did the War Hawks push for the invasion of British-held Canada?
to deprive Indians of their main source of arms
to turn the Native Americans against the British
to gain control of all of North America
The War Hawks, a group of American politicians who advocated for war with Britain in the early 19th century, pushed for the invasion of British-held Canada for multiple reasons. While one of their objectives was to gain control of all of North America, there were other key motivations as well.
One reason was to deprive the indigenous peoples, particularly Native Americans, of their main source of arms. The War Hawks believed that the British supplied Native American tribes with weapons, which allowed them to resist American expansion into their lands. By capturing British-held Canada, they hoped to cut off this source of weapons and weaken the Native Americans' ability to resist American expansion.
Another reason was to turn the Native Americans against the British. The War Hawks believed that by capturing Canada, they could demonstrate to the indigenous peoples that the United States was the dominant power in North America. They hoped that this display of strength and territorial expansion would convince Native American tribes to align themselves with the United States instead of the British.
Lastly, gaining control of all of North America was indeed one of the goals for some War Hawks. These expansionist politicians believed in the concept of Manifest Destiny, the idea that it was America's divine right to expand its territory across the continent. By annexing Canadian territories, they aimed to fulfill this vision and establish American dominance over the entire region.
It is worth noting that not all War Hawks held the same motivations, and some had different priorities or intentions behind advocating for the invasion of Canada.