Transcript REBELLIONS in UPPER & LOWER CANADA 1837 & 1838

REBELLIONS
UPPER & LOWER CANADA
1837 & 1838
Key Events In Canadian History
Which influenced
The Nation We Have Today
Background to the Issue
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Governance in the Colony
The Governors
Land Issue
Transportation Issue
Special Privileges for a Few People
Governance
in the Colony
• Colony had elected Assembly representatives
from each district
• Made plans for colony needing approval of
Governor & Councils
• Executive & Legislative Councils appointed
from ‘Upper Class’, & weren’t bound to follow
wishes of the people
• Real power was in the hand of the Governor &
Councils, the people had no REAL influence
The Governors
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British men appointed by English monarch
Unfamiliar with local issues & conditions
Depended on the advice of their councils
Usually United Empire Loyalists
They were wealthy & better educated so
better able to govern ordinary people
• Anglican (church) should have ‘position’
Land Issues
• Best land given to Family Compact/friends
• Exec & Leg Councilors controlled 90% of
land, not farmed, would sell for a profit
• 1/7 of land went to Anglican Church, not
other religions though (clergy reserves)
• New settlers received only poor,
uncleared farmland
Transportation Issues
• Farmers needed roads to get to/from markets
• Most were impassable
• Govt. collected taxes to build canals,
mainly used to benefit merchants &
Family Compact/friends
• Farmers felt govt. did not grant land/$ to
them for land/tools
• Bankers & merchants grew rich…
Special Privileges for a Few
• Governor appointed all officials
– Councils, judges, sheriffs, justice of peace
– Coroners, customs officers, postal officials,
immigration officers & Indian Affairs
officials
• As head of military he appointed 1500 officers
• Made land grants & spent crown $ for pensions
to friends
• Good jobs to Family Compact & friends
Lower Canada (Quebec)
• Louis-Joseph Papineau led the Patriots
against the governor & the Chateau
Clique, & loss of land to growing
Anglophone population
• Cultural conflict between French &
English Cdns.
• Fr. dominated the Assembly, was
controlled by the Br. Councils
• Created the 92 Resolutions
• Some wanted USA Republic system
• Fall, 1837, armed revolt failed, vs. govt.
& RC church, again in 1838
• Papineau fled to USA, then France,
returned & Pardoned in 1845
Upper Canada (Ontario)
• William Lyon Mackenzie led the
Reformers against the Family Compact
• Did not support the Constitution Act of 1791
• Believed in responsible govt.
• Demanded 2 constitutional reforms
– Elected Legislative Council
– Executive council responsible to Assembly
• Reformers were against
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Clergy Reserves,
Land grants to the oligarchies,
Influence of the Church of England
Power of the Banks
Rebellions
Lower Canada
Upper Canada of
William Lyon Mackenzie
The Reformers
Vs. Family Compact
Louis Joseph Papineau
The Patriots
Vs. Chateau Clique
۞Protesting against the Oligarchies control
۞Desired a Responsible Government
۞Wanted less Church control
۞Assembly had to approve taxes or no
collection would occur
Consequences of Rebellion
۞Rebellion Losses Bill
۞Led to the Durham Report of the 1840’s
۞French Assimilation into English Canada
۞Act of Union unites the ‘two’ Canadas
۞Achievement of Responsible Government
۞Led to Confederation in the 1860’s
Lord Durham’s Report
Durham's Recommendations
• to unite Upper and Lower Canada
to make the French a minority
• to assimilate or anglicize the French
majority in Lower Canada
• to grant responsible government
Consequences of Durham's Recommendations
• Upper and Lower Canada were united in 1840
• Responsible government was granted in 1848 leading
to Confederation in 1867
• Created the roots of today’s French ‘separatism’
Rebellions Losses Bill 1849
• Reformers controlled the Assembly,
their bill;
• sought to compensate those in what had been
Lower Canada for damages that resulted from
the rebellions.
• was controversial because the Tories objected
that many of the claimants were former rebels
who were against the Crown.
• was well received by French Canadians, but
British elements opposed it so strongly
that they attacked Elgin and burned the
parliament building down in Montreal.
Confederation 1867
• The Province of Canada, (Ontario &
Quebec) New Brunswick, Nova Scotia,
and Prince Edward Island.
• A system based on British Parliament
• Proposed limited central government
balanced by provincial power.
• Rejected the strict application of "rep by
pop.“ the senate represented regions
• Called for a two-chamber (bicameral)
parliament, including a (appointed)
senate and a (elected) house of
commons.
Our Thesis
• If in the position of the Reformers or Patriots, a
reasonable citizen would support ‘no representation = no
taxes’ since a true democracy must have the citizen’s
power move up to the ‘elected’ govt. officials, not from
appointed officials ‘down’ to the citizens.
• If every ‘democracy’ ignored their citizens and gave
special privileges to a few, rebellion and civil war would
surely follow.
• Given that the rebellions led to Confederation 1867,
which spawned the nation we have today, the rebels did
the right thing and definitely helped to create the model
of democracy that Canada represents today.