Download The Drive to Nationhood

The Drive to
Nationhood
1854-1868
Group 3
8-23
Rep by Pop
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Definition: the number of elected members of
legislated assembly (LA) based on the number of
voters
West Canada’s View
Wanted rep by pop because its population was
already higher than East Canada-meaning they
would have more LA members than East Canada
East Canada’s View
Against rep by pop because it would result in less
power in LA
It also seemed unfair because when East Canada
had a higher population than the West, there
were equal reps from both sides
With equal reps from the East and West there
was a deadlock-this was solved by coalition
between the East and West
This ended up forming the federal union of the
Province of Canada (the Atlantic colonies and the
North-West Territories)
The House of Commons in 1860
The Reciprocity Treaty
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British North American’s had to
search for new destinations for
exports after Britain repealed the
corn laws
The treaty meant there would be
free trade of natural products
between British North America and
the United States
The economic situation improved
with the treaty
This meant that British North
American Colonies could sell
products to the United States
without paying tariffs when
products entered or left the area
The treaty ended in 1866 because it
was felt that Canada was the only
one benefiting from the treaty
The signing of the Reciprocity Treaty in 1854
Expansion of the United States and
the Threat to the Canadian
Colonies
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In 1860 North America and South America were at war.
South America battled on Canadian soil and North America
planned to invade British territory
In 1866 the Fenian’s invaded the British in Canada to win
back Ireland. Because the Fenian’s couldn’t attack the
British directly, they attacked the North American’s. This
attack was thought to of been a threat from Canada
After the American Civil War, the American’s got land
from Spain, Mexico, France and Great Britain. People were
concerned about the American threat in Western British
North America. So they had two choices: to buy land or
invade land.
A Fenian soldier
There were worries that the western sides of Vancouver
Island and British Columbia would be taken over by the
American’s.
The land in western Canada was good for farming but the
American’s and the Canadian’s both wanted the land. If the
colonies of British North America were to join, then they
would’ve gotten the Canadian land that they wanted.
The British thought that if they formed together, they
could defeat the American threat.
The American Civil War
American Expansion and the
Colonies Desire for Union
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Because the British North American
Colonies were part of the British
Empire, they received favour status
when they traded with Britain
In 1846 Britain entered a period of
free trade
As a result of the free trade period,
the British North American Colonies
lost their special status with Britain.
Because of this British North America
lost most of their market and economic
hard times resulted
When the Reciprocity treaty was
signed in 1854 between British North
America and the United States, the
economic situation improved
In 1865 the United States decided to
end the Reciprocity treaty which
spread the idea of Confederation in
British North America
A map of British North American Colonies in 1775
American Expansion and Great
Britain’s Desire for Union
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The Canadian’s were worried about
another invasion by the American’s
Because it was expensive to defend
the American’s, the governors of the
colonies were encouraged to unite or
form a Confederation
The desire for union was important
because the British North American
colonists were very loyal to Britain
This worked to the Canadian’s
advantage as what the British
wanted many would agree with
Britain was also in favour of these
colonies taking responsibility for
governing themselves
This desire for union was an
important part of Canada’s struggle
for self government
Map of Great Britain’s land as of 1854
The Atlantic Colonies (1854-1864)
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The Atlantic Colonies consisted of these
current Provinces of Canada: New Brunswick,
Nova Scotia, PEI and Newfoundland
New Brunswick
In 1866 the lieutenant governor was
instructed to encourage Confederation
There were many circumstances that changed
between elections that encouraged the
eventual Confederation
Fear of an American invasion
Great Britain announced that they supported
Confederation
People thought about the possible economic
benefits to Union or Confederation
People thought that Union would equal more
money for railway construction which would
supply more jobs
The railways that needed to be constructed
were necessary for settlement
Nova Scotia
By 1867 Halifax had become an important port
and military center and they wanted Halifax
to become part of Canada
An 1854 map of the Atlantic Colonies
Charlottetown Conference
(1864)
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The Charlottetown Conference was
held in Charlottetown, Prince Edward
Island (PEI) on September, 1st 1864
Representatives came from Nova
Scotia, New Brunswick and PEI to
discuss Canadian Confederation and
economic and military power in the
ongoing United States Civil War
Britain encouraged the Maritime
Union between these colonies, hoping
they would become less dependant
on the Crown
The majority of the Conference was
held in the Province house, but some
was also held in the Government
house
The Conference ended on
September. 8th, 1864 with a ball and
a banquet
The Parliamentary delegates present at the Charlottetown Conference
The Fathers of Confederation
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The Fathers of Confederation generally
refers to all of the people who represented
British North American colonies
The Fathers of Confederation had to of been
to at least one of the three Conferences that
led to the Canadian Confederation
The three Conferences were
The Charlottetown Conference (1864)
The Quebec Conference (1864)
The London Conference (1867)
While over 36 parliamentary delegates
attended one or more of the Conferences, the
following people played an important role in
the many debates that occurred:
Sir John A. Macdonald
George Brown
George-Etienne Cartier
Alexander Tilloch Galt
Charles Tupper
Thomas D’Arcy McGee
Hector-Louis Lanjevin
The Fathers of Confederation at the Quebec Conference
The Confederation Debate
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It was the job of the delegates at
the Quebec Conference to convince
any Anti-Confederates to change
their minds about Confederationthis debate lasted about 6 weeks
In the end, great coalition had an
overwhelming majority on its side
(The vote was: 91 to 33 in favor of
Confederation)
There was strong opposition in the
Atlantic Colonies, they thought they
had little in common with the people
of the Province of Canada
Many Anti-Confederates thought
that they would have little influence
on the Union
Many people thought of the great
economic benefits-protection
against American invasion and the
connection with Britain this
eventually caused Pro-Confederates
to take over
The delegates at the Quebec Conference
The voting record of Confederation
Prince Edward Island and
Newfoundland
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PEI
There was a widespread opposition to the
idea of Confederation
People were concerned that only 5 PEI
representatives in the House of Commons
would not have any influence or power
PEI saw no advantage in the customs union
because the islands’ government operating
revenues came mostly from jobs which
supervised trade with more colonies
Newfoundland
The people of Newfoundland were not
interested in Confederation
They felt that they had a small amount in
common with the Province of Canada
They were more interested in the AntiConfederation events in more Atlantic
colonies
PEI in 1864
Newfoundland in the late 1900’s
The Constitution Act of 1867
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This Act refers to the agreement
between British North America and the
United States
The aim of Constitution was to create
federal union in the colonies of British
North America in association with Great
Britain
The writers of the Constitution had to
think about whether they should have
National and Provincial government or just
National government
The result was federalism- this means
the dominion of Canada would have two
levels of government
Federal government handles matters that
effect the entire Province of Canada
while Provincial government handles
matters within a specific region
Part of the Constitution Act Amendment
Sir John A. Macdonald-Canada’s
First Prime Minister
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Sir John A. Macdonald was born in
Scotland and shortly after came to
Canada. At age 14 he left school; he went
to law office at 15, and started his own
law practice at age 19
He helped to create the LiberalConservative party in Canada West in
1854
In 1856 he became joint Premier of the
Province of Canada and in 1867 he became
the first Prime Minister of the Dominion
of Canada
He was responsible for building the
Canadian Pacific Railway, which resulted in
the West becoming populated and joining
the rest of Canada
The Pacific Scandal caused Sir John A.
Macdonald and his party to resign in 1873
Sir John A. Macdonald and the
Conservatives won the election with a
reduced minority, but were accused of
accepting bribes. They resigned in 1873,
lost election of 1874 and returned to
office after 1878
Sir John A. Macdonald
The British North America Act and
Canada’s First System of
Federalism
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The Constitution Act-formally called the British
North America Act or the BNA Act was
designed to unite all of the colonies in Canada
and create a federal union (or Confederation)
The BNA Act stated the powers of the provincial
and federal governments, how they would be
structured and the guaranteed protection for
minority groups
The most important part of the BNA Act was
the decision of whether to have National
government or National and Provincial
government
Federalism is usually adopted in country’s that
display differences of climate, geography,
religion, and language, culture and economics
Canada’s first system of Federalism states that
it would be a system with a central government
and provincial governments; but the central
government would have more power than the
provincial governments
The signing of the British North America Act
The End of the British North
America Act
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The British North America Act created
the Dominion of Canada in 1867 and was
renamed the Constitution Act in 1867
The BNA Act’s original goal was to create
a federal union pf the colonies of British
North America associated with Great
Britain
Canada left the BNA Act in 1982 and was
overtaken by the Constitution Act of
1982
This was because the country and its
individual provinces were gaining more and
more power
*Although to this day the government of
Quebec still hasn’t signed the
Constitution of 1982*
The Constitution Act of 1982
REFERENCES
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INTERNET
http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/aia/default.asp
http://www.immg.search.com/2/2b.png
http://www.uppercanadahistory.ca
http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org
http://www.gracegalleries.com
http://www.content.answers.com/main
http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA
http://www.prov.vic.gov.au/peopleparlia.
http://www.webhome.idirect.com
http://data2.collectionscanada.ca
BOOKS
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Penney Clark and Roberta McKay (1992)
“Canada Revisited” Edmonton, AB Arnold Pub.
THE END