Franklin Pierce returned to the White House and immediately convened the cabinet. He had no desire whatsoever to go to war with powerful Britain.
Yet President Pierce quickly discovered that not everyone shared his view. In fact, not only were the congressmen thinking differently—even some members of his own cabinet believed this was the perfect time to attack Canada.
In 1812, the United States had not suffered a complete defeat; they had beaten the British at sea.
And America truly needed an outlet now. The lingering grievance of 1812 remained, while the shadows of the Mexican War and the Cuban War refused to fade.
For a nation on the rise, such a state of affairs was intolerable.
Moreover, Canada was not entirely a frozen wasteland. Northern factory owners knew perfectly well that it possessed cheap minerals, furs, and timber. The Great Lakes region in particular was practically heaven's chosen land for the industrial age.
Even from the abolitionists' perspective alone, establishing a Liberal Canton in the North would be a tremendous boon. It would strengthen the Liberal Cantons and diminish the South's influence.
The American South, meanwhile, had no wish to intensify the conflict. Compared to that, they wanted to ease tensions and preserve the status quo.
At the end of the day, the American South was simply weaker than the North. The British were also a source of both love and hatred for Southerners—love for Pound Sterling, hatred for British abolitionism.
As the saying went, every grievance had its source, every debt its debtor. To many Southerners, abolitionism was an imported thing. Some even believed that if the British had not been stirring up trouble all day long, Northerners would not be constantly shouting about abolition.
But for Franklin Pierce, going to war with Britain was never an option.