History 30 Canadian Studies

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Society

Society- A system where individuals and
social organizations performing a variety
of roles interrelate with each other
according to a set of mutual
expectations and in ways controlled by
the social and natural environment
Examples of Aspects of Society
Role of government
 System of education
 Democratic freedoms
 Role of service groups
 Behavioural expectations

World View

A description of reality providing “natural
and believable” knowledge which is
generally accepted by members of a
cultural group to help them meet their
needs, create order and coherence, and
provide a basis for predictions. How a
specific group thinks “the way things
should be”
Criteria for World View





Spiritual Beliefs- defining the meaning and
purpose of existence
Moral Beliefs- about peoples right and
obligations
Social Beliefs- about the organization of
individuals into society
Intellectual Beliefs- about determining the
truth and beauty
Economic Beliefs- how Wealth is created
and distributed
Economic Beliefs- how Wealth is
created and distributed
 Political Beliefs- about making and
enforcing decisions within society

What Shapes World View?
 Will some of us in this room share
differing world views?
 Is that a good or bad thing?

Social Contract

An agreement between the members of a
group which explicitly defines the rights
and obligations of each member. The
social contract also defines the rights and
duties of the rulers and the ruled.
What do we have in Canada which serves
as our Social Contract?
 Has the Social Contract between teachers
and students changed in the past 20
years?

Social Change
Societies adjust to patterns of reality in
ways that seem reasonable at the time
 Over time realities change making it
necessary for society
 Society may not choose to respond to
change until more change forces society
to deal with it

Steps for Change
1. Denial
 2. Acknowledgement
 3. Acceptance
 4. Defence

Criteria

Are rules or standards which are
accepted and used to provide a
consistent basis for making judgements.

What grounds do we use for making
judgements?
Dialectical Evaluation

Is the process of
 Defining relevant viewpoints within the




information
Testing the viewpoint for factual accuracy
Testing the viewpoints for morality
Evaluating the factual and moral testing
Forming your own conclusion about the
issues
Legitimacy

Legitimacy in making and enforcing
decisions is based on people’s belief that ;
Decision makers have the necessary authority
based on criteria such as tradition, morality,
consensus, majority rule, position within a
group or status
2. The decisions are being made are legitimate
according to the prevailing criteria / values of
the society’s worldview
3. All members of society have an obligation to
accept and obey legitimate decisions even if
they don’t agree with them
1.
Implementing change in a
Democratic Society

Burden of Proof
 The assumptions made about who should be
required too prove that a position is correct and
who should be given the benefit of the doubt
 How do we do this in our Society?

In all decision making there is a measure of
uncertainty about the consequences and
costs associated with the decisions
3 Moral Tests
New Case Test- How does this set a
precedent?
2. Role Exchange – Apply to both parties
3. Universal Consequences
1.
Exploration of North America
By the 17th century countries such as
Russia, Spain, Portugal, France and
Britain had all explored Canada
 Britain and France had the largest
impact on Canada

The French Foundation

New France had two distinctive forms of
government
 Government under the 100 Chartered
Associates (wealthy French Merchants
1627)
 Royal Government (1663) New France was
run a colony of France controlled by the
King
The Features of the Fur Trade
The explosion in popularity of the beaver
pelt spurred on the exploration of North
America
 Early Settlement took place along the St.
Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers
 Settlements were established along the
northern St. Lawrence
 As demand for beaver furs for coats and
hats increased during the mid 18th century
these areas became trapped out of beaver

Inland routes became necessary to help
provide enough pelts
 This was dangerous as many ships
were raided or sunk on their way back to
France
 In 1627 the King of France Louis XIV
granted a charter to a group known as
the 100 Associates
 It was believed that New France would
not succeed unless a monopoly was
given to allow less competition and more
profit

The 100 Associates were in the North
America for one reason only-profit from
Fur
 They were not interested in diversifying
the economy or promoting agriculture
which is what the King wanted
 In 1608 Samuel de Champlain
established a permanent settlement at
what is today Quebec City where the
monopoly was controlled from

French traders would trade
manufactured goods with the First
Nations in return for beaver pelts
 The French became allied with the
Algonquin and Huron peoples around
Lake Ontario
 The Fur Trade had a huge impact on the
First Nations people. They had always
been self reliant, living off the land as
they needed

The fur trade changed the focus of day
to day living as the men now spent most
of their time hunting beaver which they
would trade for European goods
 Diseases also wiped out huge portions
of their population base.

Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
Why was the expansion of the fur trade
important
The King of France gave the 100
Associates a Charter in 1627. What
responsibilities did these wealthy
merchants have? What did the King
get in return?
How did Charles L’Allemant see the
monopoly as a bad thing? List
What impact did the Fur Trade have on
First Nations people of Eastern
Canada?
Phases of the fur trade
The French depend on the Huron,
Algonquin, and Iroquin nations to act as
middlemen to bring the furs to the trading
posts
 The Huron and Iroquois are in competition
for these furs and often fought over them
 The Iroquois became unhappy with the
French and begin attacking them instead of
trading and eventually ally with the British






The English and Dutch are established in
what is today New York state
These conflicts lead the 100 Associates to
lose profits
Eventually in 1652 the Iroquois stop the
flow of all fur into Quebec and they attack
the Huron and kill the French missionaries.
The King is unhappy with 100 Associates
as they are not making money and the
colony is not doing well.
He sends in French troops in 1663 and
establishes Royal control over the colony
Questions
1.
2.
3.
Why did Champlain form an alliance
with the Huron as opposed to the
Iroquois?
What is the Royal Governments? Why
was it established and was it
successful?
With the development of peace with the
Iroquois & France and the death of the
Huron what two problems developed.
French/ British Contact
In 1670 King Charles
II granted all the
rivers draining into
the Hudson Bay to
an English Company
 The French now had
competition to the
North (English) and
the south (Dutch)

The French then led a series of raids
headed up by Pierre de Iberville against
HBC posts from 1686-1697
 This increased tensions in the New
World between the two Old World rivals
 The start of the 18th century saw a new
problem appear for the French. They
did not have enough First Nations to
serve as middlemen, damaging the
efficiency of the Fur Trade.
 A new group of middlemen emerged the
Coureurs de Bois

The Coureurs de Bois (Runner of the
Woods) were French adventurers who
were seen as celebrities in France for
their daring, and they were very well
compensated for the work they did.
 This caused problems for France
because instead of young men settling
New France and becoming farmers they
were taking off into the wilderness in
search of their fortune.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_Ysuq
kkBa8&feature=related
With the British controlling to the North
and South of New France, the French
attempted to build new trading
posts/forts in the interior bringing them
in direct confrontation with the British
 This led to battles which spread the
French even thinner and unable to
protect its assets

Exploration of North America
Europeans were motivated by three
main things which led to the exploration
and settlement of North America
1. God- The desire to convert people to
their religion
2. Gold- the quest to acquire as much
wealth as possible through colonization
3. Glory- the desire to bring glory to their
country and excitement of the
adventure

Development of an Empire
By the mid 18th century France controlled
much of North America
 They were aided in their exploration by
their proximity of the Great Lakes which
connected them to much of Canada
 Conversely the British were hemmed in
along the Eastern Seaboard by the
Appalachian Mountains.
 The fur trade and missionary worked
changed the goal from looking for a route
to the orient to settling the new world.

The Fall of New France
By the 1680’s the British had replaced
the Dutch as the powerhouse in the
Ohio Valley and southern St. Lawrence
 From 1680 to 1759 the French and
British continued to battle for control of
the New World
 In the 1720’s France started to build the
fortress Louisbourg on the northern tip
of Cape Breton Island


It was to serve as the “Gibraltar of North
America” as any ships looking to enter
the St. Lawrence seaway had to sail
past, as well it was an easy sail to try
and intercept British ships headed for
the 13 colonies
In response to the French fort the British
settled Halifax in 1749 and Fort Anne in
Annapolis Royal.
 In 1755 the British who controlled the
area of the Maritimes known as Acadia
shipped all of the French residents
(Acadians) to the 13 colonies
 In 1756 the Seven Years War began
which led the British to invade the
Fortress
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkxlTt
EWyjU


This was part of the “Three Pronged
Attack by the British” as they also
attacked French settlements at Lake
Champlain before turning their sights on
Quebec
Plains of Abraham
In 1759 the British are victorious at the
Plains of Abraham ending 150 years of
French rule in Quebec
 At the conclusion of the Seven Years
War in 1763 the Treaty of Paris gives
the British control over all French
territory in the New World.
 This is a significant moment in Canadian
history

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4eVwzZ9
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British
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Royal Proclamation
Put forth at the conclusion of the Seven
Years War
 One of the most important documents in
the history of Canada
 Had three main points
1. Boundaries of Quebec would be set
along the St. Lawrence River

2. Territories beyond the Appalachian
Mountains were not open to settlers or
traders until peace was made with the
First Nations of the area
3. The colonies in British North America
were made into a group of separate,
self-contained units: Acadia, Quebec,
and the thirteen colonies, each would
work on its own.
Government in Colonies
After the Royal Proclamation
Governor
(Has Total Power in Colony, appointed by the
crown)

Executive Council
(British Citizens only and appointed by the
Governor )

Citizens had little say in Gov’t
 The French had none as they were
Catholic

Quebec Act
Governor Sir Guy Carleton was appointed
to lead Quebec in 1766
 His main job was to secure the loyalty of
the newly conquered French
 Many merchants from the 13 colonies were
coming to Quebec hoping to receive cheap
land, power and influence
 Initially, Carleton sided with the merchants
but eventually came to see that if Quebec
was to survive it would need the Canadians

He believed that the 13 colonies were
on the verge of revolt (They were) and
did not want Quebec to join them
 Canadians were required to make the
fur trade work as no one else was tough
enough to survive the climate
 A loyal Canadian population would help
if there were any further Anglo/France
conflicts in the future.
 So Carleton lobbied to have legislation
passed that would bring the Canadians
on their side

Quebec Act of 1774

The French Catholic Canadians
received the following:
 Recognition of the Catholic Church
 Minority Representation on the Executive
Council
 French Civil Law code retained
 Seignerurial System retained
 Borders of the Province extended south
Gov’t under the Quebec Act
Governor
Executive Council
(17-23 British Members & a minority of
French)
People
(Had no vote or say in Government)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jnd6lCE
UXug
American Revolution

The Quebec Act further upsets the 13
colonies because:
 Merchants are not given full rights in
Quebec
 Establishment of Catholicism in a British
Colony
 Denial of an elected legislature
 Expanded boundaries of Quebec make
western expansion more difficult
The British imposed the Naval
Navigation Act against merchants to
ensure they would pay tax and not
simply import goods illegally or trade
with the French which was also illegal
 This act called for smugglers to be tried
by the Navy instead of a sympathetic
jury
 The citizens of the 13 colonies were
beginning to develop the ideas of
personal freedom which were to define
the identity of their country

Things like the Stamp Act, Quartering
Act, Townsend Act further enraged the
citizens
 Events like the “Boston Tea Party” left
the population ready for independence
 War began in 1775 with the skirmishes
in Massachusetts
 The Americans attacked Quebec and
Nova Scotia hoping to prevent England
from setting up a base to fight the war

They drove the British north of Lake
Champlain and neared Montreal but
were unable to drive the British out
 July 4th, 1776 they issued the
Declaration of Independence which has
provided the framework for the
governing of the United States ever
since
 The war does not end until 1783 when
the British are driven out.

United Empire Loyalists
Not all were hoping to see the colonies
split from England
 Many remained loyal to the King and
were forced to suffer for their loyalty
 Many eventually emigrated to the British
colonies to the north for protection and a
continuation of the British way of life.
 They were given land grants upon
arriving in Nova Scotia and New
Brunswick

Many also settled south of Montreal in
an area known as the Eastern
Townships
 They also brought along traditional
British values and political views.
 This differed greatly from the republic
that they had left to the south.

Constitutional Act of 1791 AKA
The Canada Act
The British were beginning to wonder
about the wisdom of imperialism.
 Colonies cost too much money and
were causing problems for Britain
 They learned from the American
Revolution that you could not give too
much autonomy to the colonies and
expect them to remain loyal

The Canada Act recognised that there
were two races, two languages,
cultures and two sets of institutions
 Creates Upper (English)and Lower
Canada (Quebec)
 Created a new system of government

Gov’t est by Canada Act

Governor (appointed by British Parliament)

Executive Council (appointed by Governor for
life)

Legislative Council ( appointed by Gov for life)

Elected Assembly (all decisions had to be
approved by Leg. Council





The right to Veto at so many levels led to a
somewhat ineffective system of
government.
To have the right to vote you needed to
own land or pay a specific yearly rent
Elections were to be held every four years
The Elected Assembly were able to impose
taxes for local purposes
It created a colonial aristocracy and
established the power of the church (1/7th
of all land grants were given to the church)
Questions
How were dangerous tendencies to be
kept in check by the British Government?
2. What rights did the Loyalists demand
within the Canada Act?
3. How did the British Government get out of
levying direct taxes on her people in BNA?
Why was this different than they had done
in the 13 colonies?
4. What did the British government hope to
achieve by selling Crown Reserves?
1.
5. Why were the British worried about the
French? What did they do to appease
them?
6. How did the following groups view the
Canada Act?
French
B. Loyalists
C. English Merchants in Lower Canada
D. Upper Canadian English
A.
The War of 1812
Peace between the US and Britain was
short lived.
 The summer of 1812 saw violence
breakout between the US and England
as a result of the Napoleonic Wars in
Europe
 The Americans were mad at Britain for
imposing a naval blockade in the
exportation of goods into France

The United States had completed the
Louisiana purchase in 1803, which doubled
the size of the country and they wanted to
settle it
 They were angry with Britain for supplying
arms to the First Nations tribes trying to
prevent American expansion into the west,
led the US to declare war on the Britain
 Their goal was to remove British influence on
the Western frontier and seize British North
America 

A group known as the War Hawks
lobbied Congress to declare war on
Britain
 They were successful and in June of
1812 the Americans declared war on
Britain
 The War Hawks reasoned that the with
such a small population (8 mil vs
500,000) the US would win easily
 It did not work that way at all.
essentially the war was a stalemate

The Northeastern states did not support the
war and basically remained neutral
 Most of the fighting was in the St.Lawrence/
Great Lakes region
 The British Army was aided by Canadian
Militia
 If further demonstrated to Britain that it was
costly and difficult to protect Canada.

Great Migration
The population of Canada grew quickly
after the American Revolution
 Loyalists were joined with Late Loyalists
(1791-1812) to see the population of
Upper Canada explode
 From 1815-1850 thousands of people
came from the British Isles
 They changed the make up of Canada

People were leaving tough circumstances
brought on by the Industrial Revolution and
famine
 They brought with them ideas that greatly
changed thinking in Canada, many of the
Scots and Irish were unhappy with Britain
 Others brought with them the ideas of
political reform.

Social Divisions in British North
America
The British Government hoped the system
of government would keep the people
happy.
 But, problems occurred as the people
wanted more representation and control of
their own affairs
 The elite use their power in self serving
ways
 Money was spent to build canals to ship
commercial goods, instead of roads which
would help all

The people and the farmers felt that the
government was not listening
 For 20 years the reformers in the
legislative assemblies demanded the
right to have elected legislative and
executive councils so all levels would be
accountable
 Those in control refused political
change as it would limit their power

Questions
What parts of society did the elite
(Family Compact) control in society?
2. What were the names of the elite
groups in Upper or Lower Canada ?
How were the problems different in
each colony?
3. How did each oligarchy use the system
of government to preserve their power
and economic positions?
4. Who were Joseph Papineau and
William Lyon Mackenzie? What political
change did each want?
1.
Reform Movement in Upper Canada
In Upper Canada reformers wanted the
same powers as the Legislative
Assembly had in Britain, equal land
grant policy, and improvements in roads
and education
 Anyone who did not agree with the
Executive Council were usually thrown
out of the elected Assembly
 The Reformers called the oligarchy the
Family Compact

A large number of people were Methodists
and the Church of England was
Protestants
 Edgerton Ryerson was leader of the
Methodists, they elected a majority in the
Assembly and began to make problems for
the government
 William Lyon Mackenzie was also a
Methodist who always rejected the Family
Compact. He was the leader of the
Reformers, he owned a printing press and
always published newspapers denouncing
the Executive Council

Mackenzie was very radical. In 1835 he
was on an Assembly committee which
demanded an elected assembly like the
American Senate
 In 1836 Sir Francis Bond Head became
the new Governor. In that election year
Head and his buddies threatened people
to vote the “right” way.
 Head won control of the elected
assembly and gave economic control to
the Merchants which led to an economic
depression

After this Mackenzie started riots and
was forced to flee to the United States,
his rebellion failed.
 The problems in Upper Canada were
economic and more for individual rights

Reform Movement in Lower Canada
Joseph Papineau tried many ways to
make the Legislative Assembly more
powerful.
 He would try to limit money given to the
Executive Council for local enterprises,
this upset the British
 Papineau was so powerful within the
legislative assembly that the governor
dissolved it in 1823, which angered the
French.

British Merchants in Lower Canada
complain to London because they are
not able to promote their self interest in
the Legislative Assembly
 As a result the British House of
Commons begins to take a look at
uniting the Lower and Upper Canada
into one colony and eliminating the
Quebec Act
 This would make the French a minority
and would all but guarantee English
domination

1834 Papineau comes up with 92
resolutions which basically stated that
the people were not happy with the
oligarchy, they wanted more freedoms
for the French and the Legislative
Assembly to have more power.
 The Governor Lord Russell came back
with 10 Resolutions but they did not
include a limit to the power of the
Executive Council
 As well they tried to bride Papineau with
a position on the Executive Council

This infuriated Papineau who started a
revolt as a result
 He had to flee to the USA and the revolt
failed
 The Revolt in Lower Canada was
primarily about French vs English.

Questions
1.
2.
What were the similarities and
differences between the grievances in
Upper and Lower Canada?
What would have been the likely
outcome had Upper and Lower Canada
merged in 1823?
Rebellions of 1837 & 38
Lower Canada
In Lower Canada a group led by Papineau
called the Patriotes voted to resist British
“oppression”
 They also talked of joining the United
States
 Street fights between the Fils de la Liberte
and the English Doric Tories were common
 The British Government fearing
widespread violence imposed Martial Law

The British were supported by the Red
Coats while many of the Patriotes lacked
weapons
 They had one moment of success though,
as they held off the British army at St.Denis
 The leaders like Papineau who never
supported violence, were forced to leave
and fled to the USA.

Rebellion in Upper Canada
News of the unrest in Lower Canada
spread to Upper Canada and British
troops were sent to Lower Canada to
put down the uprising.
 Mackenzie decided that this was a great
time to try and rise up against the British
 His plan called for his supporters to
storm the city hall and arrest Gov. Bond
Head and declare their independence

The revolt did not go as they had
planned as fewer than 800 rebels
gathered for the “attack”
 Mackenzie’s plans ended in humiliation
at the Battle of Montgomery’s farm.
Mackenzie was forced to flee and left
behind his briefcase with all of the plans
and names of those involved
 Mackenzie fled to the USA where he
continued to try and incite revolution and
eventually was arrested

Rebellions of 1838
The Rebellions of 1838 showed that
discord had not been quieted with the
fleeing of Papineau and Mackenzie
 More small skirmishes occurred with
more bloodshed
 Groups like the Patriot Hunters and les
Frères' Chasseurs tried to incite
revolution by utilizing guerrilla tactics
 These raids were largely ineffective and
were put down by the British

Impact of the Rebellions
They signalled to the British that there was
potentially some very serious discord in
British North America
 The discord was centred largely around the
lack of representation in government
 As a response Lord Durham is sent to
Canada and as a result he writes a report
which becomes one of the most important
moments in Canadian history
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyWFYF
oKIPo&feature=related

The Road to Confederation 18391867
The rebellions of 1837-38 reminded the
British of dealings with the 13 colonies
 They were concerned BNA might be next to
try and revolt and become independent
 Critics in British Parliament called for Reform
 This led to them sending John Lambton aka.
“Radical Jack” aka. Lord Durham to Canada
to serve as Governor General of Upper and
Lower Canada

Lord Durham
Durham arrived in Quebec in May of
1838 with the idea of combing all of the
colonies under one elected legislature
 He discovered that each colony was
against this as they feared getting into
the problems of the other colonies
 So Durham abandoned this idea in
favour of a union of Upper and Lower
Canada

A leading reformer from Upper Canada
Robert Baldwin proposed a form of
responsible government to Durham which
would more closely resemble the gov’t of
Britain.
 Durham agreed with the idea of responsible
Gov’t except in Lower Canada, where he
feared the French majority would block the
wishes of the British minority and gov’t
 This is why he proposed the Union of Upper
and Lower Canada.

Durham came under fire for dealing
leniently with the patriotes after the rebellion
of 1838 and resigned after five months as
governor general
 Upon his return to Britain he authored the
Durham Report which changed the course
of Canadian History

The Durham Report

1.
2.
The Durham Report made the following
recommendations
Limit the power of the Church of
England in Canada
That Lower Canada and its French
majority should be under rule of the
English and assimilated into English
culture
3. Durham also noted that many in the
colonies looked at the United States with
envy at their economic wealth and political
freedom. If Britain did not grant Canada
some of these liberties he believed that the
country would revolt violently or be annexed
by the USA
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