Important People, Groups, and Events



|IMPORTANT PEOPLE, GROUPS, VOCABULARY AND EVENTS |

|Assimilation |Mercantilism |

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|To join another culture and to give up one’s own language and traditions |An economic system based on colonialism, in which the home country uses raw |

| |goods imported from the colonies to manufacture goods. |

|Corn Laws | |

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|Laws which protected agriculture in the British Empire by limiting import of | |

|grain from other countries | |

| |Lord Elgin |

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| |Lord Elgin, the governor of the Canadas, was charged with the task of putting|

| |responsible |

| |government into operation, |

| |despite the opposition. |

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|Responsible Government | |

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|Responsible government (1849) meant that the elected Assembly had the real | |

|authority to make laws. No longer could the governor veto bills proposed by |Rebellion Losses Bill |

|the Legislative Assembly | |

| |A bill promising compensation to people of Canada East who suffered property |

| |damage during the rebellions of 1837. |

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|Confederation |Sir John A. Macdonald |

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|A political union of provinces (former BNA colonies) in which certain powers |John A. Macdonald represented the Tory |

|are retained, while others are given up to a strong central government |party in Canada West, and was a leading figure in the drive for |

| |Confederation. |

| | |

| |His views were less democratic than were those of his opponents, but he was a|

| |better politician. He made a deal (coalition) with the Parti Bleu to combine |

| |the Tory and Parti Blue parties into one Liberal- Conservative party. |

|To Annex | |

| |Manifest Destiny |

|To take over a territory and add it to the territory of another country (i.e.| |

|America trying to annex the BNA colonies) |An American idea that it was the fate of the United States to control all of |

| |North America |

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|American Civil War |Coalition |

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|Began in 1861 and ended in 1865. The industrialized North fought the |In politics, when one or more political parties or interest groups work |

|agricultural South. A divisive issue was slavery, which the South supported. |together to achieve a common goal |

|Louis- Joseph Papineau |George Etienne-Cartier |

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|Leader of the Patriotes during the rebellions in Lower Canada, Papineau |George-Etienne Cartier represented the most powerful political party in |

|returned from exile to lead the Parti- Rouge in Canada East. |Canada East, the Parti Bleu. He defended French Canadian rights, and, |

| |therefore, had much support from the French-speaking population and from the |

| |Catholic |

| |Church. |

|Parti Bleu |Clear Grits |

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| |Led by George Brown, the Clear Grits were the Radical party in Canada West. |

|Was the conservative party in Canada East, led by George – Etienne Cartier. |The Grits attacked corruption in government, wanted more democracy, and |

|The party main focus was the protection of French- Canadian culture and |defended English- Canadian interests. The also pushed for representation by |

|rights. It was not as radical as Parti Rouge, and it had the support of the |population. |

|Catholic Church. | |

|Corruption |Representation by Population |

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|In politics, taking bribes or using one’s influence to gain an unfair |A form of proportional representation in government; areas with higher |

|advantage. |populations have more elected officials in government |

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| |This was the rally cry of George Brown who wanted the number of seats in the |

| |House of Commons to represent the growing population of Canada West. He felt|

| |it was unfair that Canada West (now with a larger population), should be |

| |locked into an equal number of seats with Canada East |

|The Tories |Double Majority |

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|Conservative Party in Canada West. Led by John A. Macdonald. Views were less |A stipulation in the government of the United Province of Canada which meant |

|democratic that clear grits (during confederation, pushed for strong central |that a bill became law only if a majority in both Canada East and Canada West|

|government) |voted for it in the Legislative Assembly. |

|Political Deadlock |Reciprocity |

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|The term used for the little-to-no progress that was being made with |An agreement that provided for free trade between the United States and the |

|government matters in Canada East and Canada West, due to the double majority|British colonies (1856-1865) |

|rule. | |

|Lord Elgin |George Etienne-Cartier |

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|Lord Elgin, the governor of the Canadas, was charged with the task of putting|George-Etienne Cartier represented the most powerful political party in |

|responsible |Canada East, the Parti Bleu. He defended French Canadian rights, and, |

|government into operation, |therefore, had much support from the French-speaking population and from the |

|despite the opposition. |Catholic |

| |Church. |

|Fenian Raids |Great Coalition |

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|Raids conducted on BNA colonies in 1866 by an Irish organization known as the|A coalition formed in 1864 by John A. Macdonald (Tories), George- Etienne |

|Fenians. The Fenians were Irish immigrants who lived in the US. They wanted |Cartier (Parti Bleu), and George Brown (Clear Grits) to promote confederation|

|revenge against the British, who had occupied Ireland for centuries. They | |

|also blamed Britain for the Great Potato Famine in | |

|Ireland in the 1840s. They attacked certain areas of Canada. Although their | |

|efforts were ineffectual, they did help John A. Macdonald convince the | |

|colonies of the need to unite. | |

|Charlottetown Conference |Quebec Conference |

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|Occurred on Sept 1 1864 where the maritime provinces of PEI, NS & NB were |October 27, 1864, delegates met again and outlined the 72 Resolutions –the |

|outlining the plans for a Maritime union. The Great Coalition of the |specifics of a possible union. The chief writer was John A. Macdonald. It |

|Canadas were in invited to propose their idea of a greater union. The |was here that it was decided that Canada would operate under a Federal |

|proposal was successful and leaders opted to meet again in Quebec. |system, but one that retained power to provincial governments as well. |

|London Conference |British North America Act |

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|Delegates meet one last time during December of 1866 and make some minor but |NB, NS & Canada (CE & CW) decided to join together as one union and asked |

|important changes to the resolutions. They also draft the Constitution of |British Parliament to pass this law. Dominion of Canada is created by passing|

|Canada. |the British North America Act on July 1, 1867. |

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|NB, NS & Canada (CE & CW) decided to join together as one union and asked | |

|British Parliament to pass this law. Dominion of Canada is created by passing| |

|the British North America Act | |

|Constitution |3 Branches of Canada’s Federal Government |

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|The document that describes the powers and responsibilities of the government|Refer to chart on page 119 of Horizons |

|and its parts, and the rights of citizens. | |

|Division of Provincial and Federal powers (p. 120) | |

MAIN IDEAS AND CONCEPTS

1. What is meant by "Victorian attitudes and values"? How did this affect life in the Canadian colonies?

a) Victorian attitudes and values reflected the tastes of Queen Victoria. These included some of the following: British citizens throughout the empire tried to adopt her habits: from her strict, Christian moral code to her dark clothing.

b) Most Victorians believed that they were superior to all other peoples. Upper class people were snobbish towards the lower class. They also took pride in material wealth. Social class played an important role in the colonies as well. Although Canadians were less formal than Europeans, there was still a strict moral code and snobbery.

2. Explain the significance of scientific and medical breakthroughs in this period.

The discovery of germs helped people understand the nature of diseases better. Antibiotics and vaccines were discovered to help fight disease, and vaccines became available to the public. People hoped that discoveries would lead to cures for disease such as cholera and smallpox.

3. How did changes in Britain's economic policies affect the Canadian colonies?

Britain moved towards freer trade and abandoned its mercantilist ties to Canada (i.e. repeal of the Corn Laws). The colonies were forced to become more self-sufficient since they could no longer rely on a guaranteed British market. Britain's economic changes led to a depression in the colonies. As a result, Canadians began to consider creating their own country.

4. Describe the Canadian evolution towards "responsible" government.

When Lord Durham proposed that the colonies should have a responsible government, the British government rejected the idea. Seven years later, however, Britain decided that freer trade was in its own best interests. Because the colonies were considered too expensive to maintain, Lord Elgin was assigned to set up a responsible government in Canada.

5. Lists the reasons the Canadian colonies felt they had to become one country.

• The economy would be stronger because trade barriers between each colony would be eliminated.

• The US would be less likely to invade a strong, independent country.

• The government would be better organized (avoiding double majority situations) and more stable (avoiding coalition governments) than in the past.

• A united Canada could afford to build a transcontinental railway to link the colonies.

6. Discuss the major points for & against Confederation.

The ‘for’ argument is answered in question 5.

Against:

• At first, people were concerned that the provinces would lose control to a powerful, central government.

• The Maritime colonies had independent trade relations with Britain and the US and did not see the benefit of inter-colonial trade

• The Maritime colonies, although they were suffering economically, did not want to assume even more debts from the other colonies.

• NFLD and PEI would not benefit from an intercolonial railway.

• French Canadians were opposed to Confederation because they believed that their language and culture were threatened.

• Smaller colonies and minority groups were concerned that they would become smaller parts of the larger whole.

7. In what ways does the BNA Act demonstrate compromise?

Compromise is evident in the allocation of powers. While the national government has control over trade, defense, and legal tender, the provinces control taxation, hospitals, and law.

COMPREHENSION

1. List some of the breakthroughs of 19th century science and medicine. How did these breakthroughs affect life for ordinary Canadians?

• The discovery of germs, Aspirin, antibiotics, antiseptics, X-rays, vitamins, hormones, and the widespread use of vaccines.

• Vaccines became available to ordinary people. People became excited by scientific discoveries, but were also afraid of these.

2. Recall the Rebellion Losses Bill. Explain how Lord Elgin's signature was responsible for bringing democracy to Canada.

• Under the new, responsible government, the governor could no longer veto a bill passed by the Legislative Assembly.

• When the Legislative Assembly passed a bill (The Rebellion Losses Bill) giving compensation to rebels who had lost property during the Rebellions of 1837, many Canadians became violently outraged as they thought treason was being rewarded.

• Despite much opposition from anti-rebel forces and despite his own reservations, Lord Elgin signed the bill. His signature symbolized the beginning of democracy in Canada.

3. How did the American Civil War affect the Canadian colonies?

During the American Civil War, the British had supported the South. When the North won, Canadians were afraid that the US might punish Britain's colonies. The Northern army was larger than the total population of the colonies. It was also argued that the scattered Canadian colonies would be no match against the American army. Many believed that the US would be less likely to attack a more organized, independent country. Fear of invasion helped quicken the pace towards Confederation.

4. a) Explain “double majority” b) How did it contribute to the push for Confederation?

a. Double majority is a situation whereby a bill needs to be passed in both Canada East and Canada West legislatures. This was meant to protect French-Canadian interests and made Canada difficult to govern between 1840 and 1867.

b. The "double majority" clause created political deadlock and often stunted the progress of any bill being passed. It also resulted in many changes in government. If the move to Confederation was successful, they would avoid the double majority situation entirely.

5. To what extent was the Great Coalition responsible for achieving confederation?

Only a coordinated effort would have worked to end the deadlock in government. The actions of Macdonald, Brown, and Cartier were crucial to the development of Confederation, as was their action in travelling to Charlottetown to gain Maritime support.

6. To what extent did fear of the Americans contribute to the achieving of Confederation?

The American Civil War demonstrated what could happen in a weak federal union, and it fueled fears that the Americans might invade Canada. Manifest Destiny was also a concern. Finally, the Fenian Raids, though small, demonstrated the need for a stronger British North America.

7. a) Who were the four original partners in Confederation? b) Which two original participants decided not to join? Why?

a) The four original partners of Confederation included Canada West (Ontario), Canada East (Quebec), Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick.

b) Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland did not join Confederation. Newfoundland had no trade links with Canada. These colonies saw no advantage in the construction of a railway.

8. The BNA Act laid out the division of power between the federal and provincial levels of government.

a) What powers did the national government obtain?

b) What powers did the provincial governments obtain?

a) The national government controls trade, defense, and legal tender.

b) The provincial governments control taxation, hospitals, and legal matters.

See Chart that was copied down for the Confederation conferences assignment (the actual version of BNA).

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