
US invasion plan for Canada (1920) [pdf] - vinnyglennon
http://strategytheory.org/military/us/joint_board/Estimate%20of%20the%20Situation%20-%20Red%20and%20Tentative%20Joint%20Basic%20Plan%20-%20Red.pdf
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LyndsySimon
The last time we marched on Montreal, Washington DC ended up razed and
Congress fled the Capitol.

In light of that, I might be coerced into supporting an invasion of Canada...

~~~
mhurron
Canada isn't a British colony now so it's doubtful the redcoats would burn the
White House this time.

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Kluny
Redcoats no, Canadians yes.

~~~
mhurron
ooooo the Canadians are coming. What ever shall we do?

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Jick3
This would make a great comedy. USA invades Canada, most Yank troops desert
and move to Canada. With severely depleted military horde, USA reinstates
draft. Most potential draftees move to Canada; Canadian militia now outnumbers
American Army. USA can't drop nukes a few miles from its own border; besides,
Exxon needs that tar sands oil. Canadian militia considers remodeling White
House again. Harper declares the militia illegal; Canadian civil war breaks
out. Mexico retakes Texas, the West Coast states (except for Orange County)
secede and join Canada, Quebec secedes and becomes New France. It was a normal
day.

~~~
pedalpete
The sequel to Canadian Bacon.
[http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi3602645273/](http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi3602645273/)

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beloch
I wonder if they had a plan for occupying Canada. As the conflicts in Iraq and
Afghanistan have proven, the challenges of long-term occupation are of a
different order of magnitude than merely defeating a nation's military.
Additionally, a Canadian insurgency would likely be far more difficult to deal
with than either of those countries. The population is higher than either Iraq
or Afghanistan, geographically more spread out and better
educated/trained/equipped on average. e.g. Canada is nowhere near the U.S. in
terms of total gun ownership, but they do have a _lot_ of rifles that see
daily use (Bears, eh!). There's also no language barrier and massive avenues
for intelligence leaks both ways thanks to the intertwined nature of the two
nations, but such leaks do tend to benefit the smaller, more mobile side
asymmetrically.

The U.S. economy would likely be crippled due to loss of trade with the U.S.'s
largest trading partner as well as foreign sanctions. Large portions of the
U.S. would be left without electrical power. The flow of fossil fuels from
North of the border would soon stop and likely stay stopped (Pipelines are
railroads are relatively easy for their own workers to disable). I honestly
doubt any U.S. administration that tried to attack Canada would survive the
domestic insurrection that would soon occur.

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arethuza
Related Wikipedia page:

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Plan_Red](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Plan_Red)

Also, if you find that interesting you might like the exercise "Operation
Skyshield" that had UK nuclear bombers successfully penetrating US air
defenses in the 1960s:

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Skyshield](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Skyshield)

Edit:

Also, the book "What Ifs? of American History" has a scenario with the US
going to war with the British Empire in 1896 - with the apt title of "The
Whale Against the Wolf".

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Ifs%3F_of_American_History](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Ifs%3F_of_American_History)

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redthrowaway
The US had plans to invade Canada, the Canadian Gov't planned to try to hold
out until the British rescued us, and the British figured Canada wasn't worth
the bother.

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trekky1700
Ironically, a year after this document was made, this was built:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_Arch](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_Arch)

 _May these gates never be closed_

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datawander
The US has invasion plans for every conceivable scenario, friend or foe.

As fascinating and as much as I like these topics, this is on Hacker News
because....?

~~~
joelrunyon
> As fascinating and as much as I like these topics...

From the guidelines: anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity.

Seems you answered your own question.

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daveslash
I've been told that the State of Maine is the only actual State to have ever
"Declared War" on another country. The term "war" is rhetorical, but I don't
think any other state has declared hostilities on a foreign country. The
Aroostook War was a confrontation in 1838/39\.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aroostook_War](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aroostook_War)

[edit] There is also still territory whose sovereignty is disputed between the
U.S. and Canada. Machias Seal Island is a small desolate rock off the Coast of
Maine. Both countries claim it. Canada posts 2 Canadian Coast Guard folks on
the island year round just to reaffirm their claim.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machias_Seal_Island](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machias_Seal_Island)

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sandworm101
An invasion scenario came up far more recently, during the Quebec referendum:

1.Quebec separates from Canada. 2.Northing Quebec (Native) separates from
south (French) 3.Protesters interrupt power lines through northern Quebec.
4.New York City goes dark. 5.US Paratroopers land in northern Quebec to
restore NY power.

~~~
chm
That's a good point there. I don't think separation would be desirable if the
natives aren't involved. Separation should guarantee them complete liberty and
more support than what is given by the Canadian Government.

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japaget
The download weighs in at 139 MB. Does anyone have a TL; DR?

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jitl
tl;dr a just-in-case plan by the US Armed Forces to invade Canada as part of a
war against Great Britain, see
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Plan_Red](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Plan_Red)

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sb057
Reminds me of the Swiss contingency plan in case poor French start invading,
and it was published last year!

[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/24329818](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/24329818)

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slyall
The West Wing - Invasion of Canada

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g81eGiLXA1M](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g81eGiLXA1M)

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jerryhuang100
Since most Canadians live within 30 KMs range of the US-Cdn border, I would
say it should take no longer than a day, eh?

~~~
mitchty
Depends on if we can get our hands on all that lovely syrup.

Otherwise we really don't have much reason to invade.

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sospep
bacon, my friend, bacon

~~~
qbrass
That's ham.

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lotux
American were crazy since 1920!, well, since forever

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pcvarmint
Mainly since Woodrow Wilson, who gave us involvement in WWI, The Federal
Reserve, The Income Tax, The Federal Trade Commission, The Clayton Act, The
17th Amendment direct election of U.S. Senators, The Espionage/Sedition Act.

Ever since Wilson, we've been imperial.

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aaron-lebo
Wilson gets criticized a lot, and I get that.

But wouldn't you have to say that the imperialism at the lastest started
during McKinley's administration and continued into Roosevelt's (consider for
example Roosevelt's actions towards Colombia to get the Panama canal).

But let's be fair, Wilson held out for a long, long time as far as WWI was
concerned. Teddy would have got into the war 2 years earlier.

I am interested in how the direct election of U.S. senators ties to
imperialism?

~~~
ewoodrich
I am interested in how everything but the Espionage/Sedition Act makes us
"imperial". The FTC, really?

