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America’s Impact On Canadian Confederation Essay, Research Paper
From the years between 1789, when the American Constitution was put into effect, through to l867,
when British North America became the Dominion of Canada, there existed foreign influences
which impacted on the formation of Canada as an independent country. The United States of
America had a major impact on Canadian Confederation and played an influential role in its
formation. American attitudes and political, military, and economic actions were influential factors
that nudged Canadians along the path to union.
The American attitudes such as Manifest Destiny and slavery had an impact on Canadian
Confederation. The idea of Manifest Destiny was that it was the United States of America’s God
given right to be in control of all of North America. “Continental expansion was becoming part of
God’s plan for the American republic.” The idea of it seemed to appear in every action like the Civil
War, Trent Affair, St. Albans Raid, Fenian Raids and the cancellation of the Reciprocity Treaty.
There were a number of reasons for these actions but one underlying reason was to accomplish
Manifest Destiny. “By the United States controlling its neighbouring countries it controlled its own
destiny.” This says that the United States had to control everything just to prove it could control
itself. Slavery was practised in some parts of the United States. Canada was opposed to slavery and
would not want to be part of a country where fifteen out of thirty states practised it. This is presented
by Canadians supporting the abolitionists during the Civil War.
The Political actions that affected Canadian Confederation were the American Constitution and the
St. Albans raid. When the American Constitution was written, the Unites States had a fear of central
government. They decided to have “states’ rights”. Here they had a weak central government and
strong state governments. This eventually lead to the Civil War eighty years later. When slavery
came about half of the states practised it while the other half were opposed to it leading to conflict
and the Civil War.
One of the Fathers of Confederation who drew
lessons from the American experience was John
A. Macdonald. Determined to avoid the difficulties Associated with “States’ Rights” agitation
in the United States, he initially argued for a
legislative form of Union. (Based upon a single
Central government and no provinces). Only when
Macdonald’s preferred scheme met with resistance
and proved impracticable did he endorse the alternative of federal union.
Canada was bound and determined to learn from the American’s mistake and when Confederation
occurred they made a strong central government and weak provincial governments. “There was no
intention of imitating the United States” This again shows the dislike for the United States structure,
and Canada’s want for their own style of government and society.
The St. Albans Raid, which happened during the Civil War, was an attack on the northern United
States by the southern United States. Britain was allied with the south as it required cotton for its
textile industry. This made British North America allied as well as they were a British colony. The
Canadian people were in disapproval of Britain’s support for the South. The Raid occurred when
some Southerners travelled up to Canada, went down to the northern United States and robbed a few
banks in St. Albans, then went back to Canada. The Canadian government, being their allies only
arrested the raiders, returned the money, and let them go. This was a circumstance where the people
and the government were not aligned which would cause vulnerability and the possibility of being
assimilated. This encouraged Confederation as Canada needed to be powerful enough to defend
themselves from assimilation.
Military actions, such as the Civil war and the Fenian raids, had a considerable effect on the
Confederation movement. As seen, during the Civil War the people and the government were not
aligned in Canada. The government, being British, was allied with the south, while the people, who
were anti-slavery, were allied with the north. This caused conflict between the Canadian people and
their government resulting in weakness and instability leaving them open for a possible assimilation
from the United States.
The Fenian raids had a similar impact. A group of Irishmen from the United States attacked Canada
in 1866 in hopes of trading it with Britain for Ireland. If the Fenian raiders could cause a dramatic
uprising then Canadians wondered how they could defend themselves if the United States ever
decided to wage a full force assimilation attempt. After this it seemed that Confederation was
necessary for Canada’s defence.
The economic action that motivated Canadian Confederation was the ending of the Reciprocity
Treaty. The 1854 Treaty was a free trade agreement between the United States and Canada.
The experience of losing American reciprocity
evoked for some colonial politicians memories
of l846, when Britain embraced free trade and
left Canada almost economically abandoned.
This resurrected the thought of Manifest Destiny. “A few advocates envisioned that cancellation
would leave British North America economically crippled, thus inviting annexation.”
It can be argued that there were other very powerful forces driving Canada toward Confederation.
Along with the United States, Britain had a dramatic impact on the Confederation movement. As
well as external forces, there were also internal pressures. During the Trent Affair, Britain tried to
make Canada pay for troops for their own defence against America. Canada did not want any part in
a war between Britain and the United States.
As Donald G. Creighton once wrote: “The anxious
encouragement of Great Britain was the first of
the external forces hastening national expansion;
the second was the pressure of a resentful and
predatory United States.”
Britain was pushy and had control over Canada. There was also a “political deadlock” in the
Canadas in the 1840’s. The Act of Union was an unworkable system in establishing equal
representation for both East and West Canada. In 1861 there were almost three hundred thousand
more Anglophones than Francophones. This made passing legislation nearly impossible, leaving
Canada in a deadlock. These internal forces and Britain’s influence drove Canada to confederate so
they could not be controlled by any outside force and also have the proper government internally.
Arguing that Confederation occurred primarily because of Britain and other internal pressures
ignores a larger factor that influenced Canadian confederation. The United States stands out as
having an immense influence on the confederation movement. “While the reasons for the
Confederation of Canada in 1867 were many and varied, the American Civil War gave dramatic
impetus to the movement.”
George E. Cartier of the Parti Bleu went so far
as to declare that the colonies had either “to
obtain British American Confederation or be
absorbed in an American Confederation.”
This is saying Canada would have been absorbed by the United States of America, not Britain,
showing that America caused the considerable threat that in turn had the larger result.
From looking at the American attitudes and political, military, and economic actions, it can be
concluded that Canada’s developmental stages through the 1860’s were greatly affected by the
United States. There were a myriad of influences which impacted on the formation of Canada as an
independent country. Canadian Confederation, which occurred on July 1, 1867, was directly
inspired by the United States of America and it played a vital role in Canada’s development.
Without the United States as its neighbour, Canada may not have developed as successfully as it
has.
Bennett, Jaenen, Brune, Skeoch, Canada: A North American Nation, McGraw Hill, Ryerson LTD,
Canada, 1989
Christopher James R. The North Americans, Oxford University Press: Toronto, 1988
Copp, J.T. Confederation: 1867, The Copp Clark Publishing Company: Canada, 1966
http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/E.manifest/manif2.htm “The Manifest Destiny” copyright 1997.
Department of Humanities Computing
http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/E/manifest/manif3.htm “Manifest Destiny” copyright 1997. Department
of Humanities Computing
http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/E/manifest/manif4.htm “The Manifest Destiny” copyright 1997.
Department of Humanities Computing
http://odur.let.rug.nl/~us/E/manifest/manif5.htm “Manifest Destiny” copyright 1997. Department of
Humanities Computing
http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/confed/raids.htm “Raids and Skirmishes” copyright 1995-09-22. National
Library of Canada
http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/confed/stalban.htm “The St. Albans Raid” copyright 1995-09-22. National
Library of Canada
Mackirdy, Moir, Zoltvany, Changing Perspectives in Canadian History, J.M. Dent & Sons: Canada,
1971
Waite, P.B. The Life and Times of Confederation 1864-1867, University of Toronto Press, 1962
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