The Canadian Act Of Union In 1840
Extended Essay
History
The Canadian Act of Union in 1840
To what extent was the Act of Union a step towards peace for Canada?
Timothy Chua
Pacific Academy
Candidate Number: 001515-0067
Word Count: 3,076
Pages: 13
1 ABSTRACT: TO WHAT EXTENT WAS THE ACT OF UNION A STEP TOWARDS PEACE FOR CANADA? The essay introduces a very fresh British North America outlining some causes of the mass immigrants coming in, mentioning Loyalists, and Pioneers arriving from Europe. The text mentions ethnic conflict and rebellion taking place within Quebec and explains the solution for this brought up by Lord Durham within his famed Durham Report. It then mentions the passing of Lord Durham’s proposal, and questions if its passing was a good thing or not. The …show more content…
essay proceeds to list both the benefits and the problems that followed the initiation of the Earl’s recommendations, each followed by a summary of the findings. The lists include content involving the family compact, economics, ethnic differences, territorial outlooks, the social hierarchy, the peace of the nation and Responsible government. After this, the sources the lists were drawn from are looked at closely for their reliability questioning their origins, values, purposes and limitations. This is done for the sake of thoroughness, as the sources are a very important part of a history extended essay. This is followed up by an overview of the events that took place after putting the act into motion, highlighting its benefits and problems. The essay is concluded with a paragraph stating that the Act of Union was a step towards peace for Canada, claiming that the Act’s benefits outweighed its flaws.
2 CONTENTS
1 Abstract: To what extent was the Act of Union a step towards peace for Canada? 2
2 Contents 3
3 Introduction 4
4 Benefits of the Act of Union 5
5 Problems with the Act of Union 7
6 Examination of Sources 9
7 Analysis 10
8 Conclusion 12
9 Bibliography 13
3 INTRODUCTION In 1763, after the signing of the treaty of Paris, France handed over all her Canadian territories and Provinces to Great Britain. Acquiring such large amounts of land permitted the continued, if not increased, flow of British immigrants moving into the British North America. This taking into account the passage of Royalists who were retreating from south of the border during the American Revolution, placed the French population who occupied Canada prior to British ownership as a minority, with the ever growing number of British peoples. To prevent ethnic clashes, as bloodshed was not a problem colonists should have had to have dealt with, the Parliament of Great Britain set up the Constitutional Act of 1791. This divided the Province of Quebec into an ‘Upper’ and ‘Lower’ Canada. Lower Canada would contain the French peoples, while Upper Canada would house the English folk. Both sides would be able to carry out their ways of living without being suppressed by one another. The English and the French would not have to improvise one another’s laws, institutions, teachings, practices, languages, beliefs, cultures or religions. The system carried out fairly well for a brief period of time. Upper Canada’s major institutions were taken in by the Catholic Church, and English Crime law was practiced in stable conditions, while Lower Canada could perform French Civil Law and keep its own Church’s. Both Upper and Lower Canada even had separate, if not ever mutually exclusive, financial status’. However, both Upper and Lower Canada became the stomping grounds of rebel groups, and the division of the Province of Quebec could not last forever. John George Lambton, the 1st Earl of Durham, better known as the Lord Durham, was tasked to find out why both Upper and Lower Canada had said rebellions as the current Governor General. John Lambton made his trip around British North America, bringing along his wife, inspecting, questioning, and gathering all that he could on both Upper and Lower Canada, making several observations of life in locations suitable for study. He then ventured to the United States, and discovered that the rebellions were not based on Liberalism or economics, but ethnic clashings. After conducting his investigation, John Lambton created his famous, and very detailed ‘Report on the Affairs of British North America’, better known today as ‘The Durham Report’. The report, ironically, recommended that both Upper and Lower Canada rejoin as the one Province of Quebec. The reason for this was that if both Canada’s were to resume its unified form once again, it would result in beneficial financial changes for both sides and to eliminate ethnic conflict. Lord Durham also encouraged further immigrating of British peoples to the New World, so the French would be crushed and overwhelmed by the English. He also pushed for the making of a Responsible Government. The Province of Quebec would be completely dominated by the English. The report was read, and the recommendations were carried out. In 1840, the Act of Union became active. Alongside the well timed establishment of Canada’s Responsible government, the boundary between Upper and Lower Canada was erased. Financial problems were slowly being addressed, and the plan to eliminate the French presence in Canada went underway. But the results afterwards were not all that were to be expected. A fair assortment of both positive and negative products popped up. So much so that it could made it hard to tell if the Unification was working or not. With that in mind, the pros and cons of the Act of Union will be listed using various sources, each followed with a summarization of findings. The sources will be examined for reliability. Then it can be said to what extent was the Act of Union of 1840 a step towards peace for Canada. This topic is relevant to the course of North American, and International history, since it is directly connected to the shaping of Canada as a modern day super power.
4 BENEFITS OF THE ACT OF UNION
A. The Act of Union allowed the termination of some financial problems in Upper Canada, caused by the previous regime of the family compact.
B. The Act of Union put an end to the Rebel’s armed uprisings and other activities, as the eventual establishment of a Responsible Government satisfied their needs.
C. The Act of Union in 1840 allowed the English Population overcome the French Population, swaying the outcomes of public opinion and other social segments.
D. The Act of Union that passed in 1840 was the start of granting peaceful independence to other colonies, such as the Act of Union in 1909 by the British Empire, creating the Union of South Africa.
E. Many of the Canadas’ (Now United) educational and health institutions were now able to become part of the Church’s monopoly, granting a noticeable amount of cash flow.
F. The Act of Union in Canada (1840) allowed the coexistence of both the French Civil Law and the English Crime Law.
G. After the Act of Union in 1840, Canada has not initiated acts of Civil War or other major political conflict upon itself since 1900.
H. Canada, since its unification, is no longer a series of colonies, but a country, as well as a major political power, partaking in important international discussion.
I. With the establishment of Canada’s new order, the colonies were then required to allow foreigners to immigrate to Canada.
J. After the Unification of the Canadas, the current occupying powers at the time had to create Municipalities, bringing further order and peace to the system. Before the Act of Union came into effect, the previous regime known as the family compact dug Upper Canada into a very deep hole.
The Family Compact was a small group of men, rather a brotherhood, who misused their economic and political power for 30 years. The setup made corruption and bad decision making very probable. The Family compact was responsible for the deaths of many, thanks to illegal profiteering on immigration, bad management of funds, and failure to provide the people onboard immigration ships with the supplies that they required. With the family compact gone, the newly unified Canada and her Responsible Government was able to start with the termination of the major financial problem that held down Upper Canada. Unification of the Canadas also granted the Catholic Church ownership of French educational and health institutions. This granted a noticeable increase in cash flow, taking into account Church donations. The Act of Union also put a damper to the Rebel group’s movement. The rebels had no major issues or opposition with the establishment of the Responsible government, and with the French being suppressed by the English population there was no longer a situation with ethnic conflict. The English easily overwhelmed the French in size, and started swaying the outcomes of public opinions, decisions, and other important social segments. It was now a peaceful ethnic domination, with the English placing the French in a position with much less clashing. The …show more content…
Rebel’s stopped with their armed uprisings, packed away their assets and ceased all activity. This made it easier to permit all of the existing colonies of the Province of Quebec further immigration capabilities, and allowed foreigners to immigrate to Canada. This helped to promote further immigration to the British North American settlements, supporting the growth of English residential areas. British North America was given a degree of independence, and has ceased the play of self-conflict. The Act of Union even set a new example for peaceful independence to some other overseas British colonies. Such works included the Act of Union in 1909 creating the Union of South Africa, granting more independence.
5 PROBLEMS WITH THE ACT OF UNION
A. The unification of both Canadas (eliminating the previous Upper and Lower Canadian borders) created a large difference in population between the English and French, setting an English Majority (and sparking racial tensions).
B. Removal of the existing Upper and Lower Canadian legislatures, which were functioning until their dismissals.
C. French peoples (Lower Canadians) had to deal with oppression in Economics by their English counterparts.
D. Any, if not all French Opposition was put down by the English Army, placing the French in a position where they could not oppose the existing system.
E. French peoples were subordinated to the Catholic Church, with ties to the English Powers, as it opposed democratic and liberal ideas, in favor of the British Monarchy.
F. Land ownership laws that existed prior to the Act of Union (1840) were revised, affecting property owners in both Upper Canada and Lower Canada.
G. The existing English presence contributed to the continuation of Elitist and conservative ideals, which place people on an unbalanced hierarchy, bound to spread conflict.
H. The Act of Unification (1840) did not address any (territorial) issues that concerned with the Natives/Aboriginals of Canada at the time, bringing further frustration amongst them.
I. British Parliament tormented those that wanted a Responsible Government by delaying its coming to Canada by several years. When the Act of Union started to take effect, there were those amongst the French people in Lower Canada who opposed it.
The removal of the boundary between Upper and Lower Canada would set both the French and English populations to merge together, placing the French as a minority to the ever growing English numbers. With the swaying of social opinions and overall public decisions, it would be better to describe the merge as a British take over, and not the start of co-existence. For the French, this was the sparking of new distaste against the English. Fortunately, it did not lead to a full scale rebellion. This being what the British wanted, and what the French would find at the short end of the stick. The French peoples would continue to deal with this suppression, as it would also come into play for economics, thanks to their English counterparts. The French peoples were also subordinated to the Catholic Church, who were now able to cross to the other half of the Province, as it opposed democratic and liberal ideas, in favor of the existing British Monarchy. The existing English presence even contributed to the spread of Elitist and conservative ideals, which placed all peoples on an unbalanced hierarchy, setting a high risk for a new conflict. The Land ownership laws of both Upper and Lower Canada that existed prior to the Act of Union were also revised, displacing a significant amount of property owners, butchering the ownership system at that time. The act of Union
did not only sweep the French people’s concerns under the rug for a long while, but it failed to address territorial issues that concerned the Natives/Aboriginals, Considering natives had little to no say on the development of Canada, it was even more unfair for them. The French people had to wait and endure political deficiencies until the Baldwin-Lafontaine government made up for French-Canadian political participation disabilities in 1848. It took 8 years for someone to finally give the French fair chances in politics. The spawning of ethnic and racist bitterness would not count as a beneficial result of the Act.
6 EXAMINATION OF SOURCES
Grey, Louise. "Lady Durham's Journal." In Ninth Series of Historical Documents. Quebec: Literary and Historical Society of Quebec, 1915. 7-64. This source’s origin is valuable, since it is the written (and edited) journal of Earl John Lambton’s wife Lady Durham, which got published by the Literal and Historical Society of Quebec in 1915. Lady Durham married to the Earl on December the 9th, 1816, and journeyed alongside the Earl as he began his inspection of both Upper and Lower Canada regarding the recent rebellions. Since Lady Durham recorded her experiences of the inspection (and other events) in said journal, it is a valuable source of knowledge for historians covering a number of the days on tour. The purpose of Lady Durham’s personal journal was to summarize the everyday events involving herself and those around her, covering incidents noteworthy to her around the mid 1800’s. The journal itself goes into detail about who she and her husband meet, and what they do during their travels. However, the journal of Lady Durham’s only covers events that she had witnessed herself. This suggests that there would be journal entries missing segments of Lord Durham’s work, as Lady Durham may have not been around to listen into all of his meetings and investigations. The fact that this journal takes the point of view from an individual who was not directly associated with the investigation limits the source. Finally, the journal’s purpose was not to specifically record Lord Durham’s activities during the investigation. It is a simple narrative of the daily occurrences, travel, and impressions of the people she met, more than a narrative of her husband’s work. With these limitations, we cannot completely align the results of the investigation to the report’s proposed solutions, less than defining if the steps taken were towards or away from peace.
Pilon, Lise. "French Canadians." Encyclopedia of World Cultures. Vol. 1: North America. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 1996. 130-133. This article was written by Lise Pilon, and published by Macmillan Reference USA in 1996 for the ‘Encyclopedia of World Cultures’. The purpose of this article is to briefly inform the reader of Encyclopedia about ‘French Canadians’, their practices, beliefs, hardships, organization of society, and other segments of their culture. The document was assembled using data collected and referenced from the detailed list at the bottom of page 133. The writer of this article lacks a suitable experience of the French culture, specifically in the 1800s, otherwise she would have an exceptionally long life span. With that being said, the article lacks value if the writer merely assembles facts drawn from other papers and summarizes them in 2-3 pages. It serves more as a research paper.
7 ANALYSIS In both Upper and Lower Canada, by the year 1840, the people of the North American colonies wished for the establishment of a Responsible Government. This desire sparked armed rebellion throughout all the Canadas. With that, the 1st Earl of Durham, John Lambton, was sent to investigate the source of the rebellions on behalf of the British. After John Lambton constructed and submitted his Report on ‘Affairs of British North America’, British Parliament passed the Act of Union. This act did not establish Responsible Government, but unified both Upper and Lower Canada. With a united Canada, better decisions could be made, and the eventual appearance of Responsible Government stopped rebel activity. However, with the removal of Upper and Lower Canadian borders, racial tensions began to stir. ‘Annexed’ French colonies already had to deal with the pressure from the English in social and religious order, now they had to share the political platter alongside them. With said turn of events, the British North American Act of Union’s fulfillment of its peace making role could come into question, and whether it was a step towards inter-Canadian peace, or further conflict with itself. After the passing of The Act of Union, the Rebel’s armed uprisings and other activities stopped, as the eventual establishment of a Responsible Government satisfied their needs. Eventually, it was necessary to create smaller Municipalities, bringing further order and peace to the system. With a united Canada, a surplus educational and health institutions were now able to become part of the Church’s monopoly, granting a noticeable amount of cash flow. Alongside that, the Act of Union allowed the English Population overcome the French Population, as British Parliament viewed a more orderly people to be mostly British. This brought success in swaying the outcomes of public opinion and other social segments, minimizing the French’s worth. The unification also permitted the coexistence of both the French Civil Law and the English Crime Law, which could have had conflicting results, but nevertheless worked out peacefully. The Act of Union also marked the start of granting peaceful independence to other colonies, despite not being the first, much like the Act of Union passed in 1909 by the British Parliament, creating the Union of South Africa. These positive results that emerged from the passed Act could deem it a success, working towards peace. However, the unification of both Canadas sparked further racial tensions between the French and the English. Additionally, French peoples continued to deal with suppression in Economics by their English counterparts , and any, if not all French opposition was put down by the English Army, placing the French in a position where they could not oppose the existing system. French peoples also continued to be subordinated in the Catholic Church, tied to the English Powers. Its opposition towards democratic and liberal ideas favored the British Monarchy. The French aside, land ownership laws that existed prior to the Act of Union were revised, affecting property owners in both Upper Canada and Lower Canada, disrupting the lifestyle of various persons. The Act of Union also did not address any (territorial) issues that concerned with the Natives/Aboriginals of Canada at the time, bringing further frustration amongst them due to the exclusion. Furthermore, Responsible Government should have been formed several years earlier to fix the wrongs of the previous regime. Finally, removal of the existing Upper and Lower Canadian legislatures, which were functioning until their dismissals did not sit well with some, as the action felt unnecessary with both Upper and Lower Canada still being distinctly different after the unification.
8 CONCLUSION With the inspected resources and an overview of the known facts, it is safe to declare that the Act of Union in 1840 was a step towards peace in Canada. Not only did this act permit the work of the new Responsible Government, fix financial mistakes, bring peace amongst the people and maintain this posture, it set an example for the world. While it is true that the Francophones were placed (and still remain) in the minority seat, it cannot be denied that Canada had successfully acquired a status with no internal conflict. Otherwise, the country would have had a much longer history of Rebellions and violent ethnic conflicts. John Lambton did not construct his “Durham Report” in such a way to destroy the French, and focused more on the improvement of the economic situation in British North America. The priority issues were addressed, and helped shape the country to its independent form today. One could simply look at modern day Canada and confirm that it is at peace with itself. After weighing all of the presented evidence, and acknowledging the great benefits of the Act of Union, it was definitely a step towards peace in Canada.
9 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Websites
Canadian Journal of Political Science / Volume 26 / Issue 04 / December 1993, pp 809-809 Copyright © Canadian Political Science and/et la Société québécoise de science politique 1993 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0008423900000597 (About DOI), Published online: 10 November 2009.
LAPIERRE-ADAMCYK, EVELYNE, CÉLINE LE BOURDAIS, and NICOLE MARCIL-GRATTON. "French Canadian Families." International Encyclopedia of Marriage and Family. Ed. James J. Ponzetti. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2003. 697-702. Gale Virtual Reference Library.
Books
"1st Earl of Durham." In Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2nd ed. Vol. 5. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 161-163
Grey, Louise. "Lady Durham's Journal." In Ninth Series of Historical Documents. Quebec: Literary and Historical Society of Quebec, 1915. 7-64.
James Ciment; Thaddeus Russell (2007). The home front encyclopedia: United States, Britain, and Canada in World Wars I and II.
Joseph Kinsey Howard (1994). Strange empire: a narrative of the Northwest. Minnesota Historical Society Press. p. 500.
Norman Hillmer, Statute of Westminster: Canada's Declaration of Independence, Canadian Encyclopedia
Pilon, Lise. "French Canadians." Encyclopedia of World Cultures. Vol. 1: North America. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 1996. 130-133.
Will Kaufman, Heidi Slettedahl Macpherson, ed. Britain and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and History, Pages 819-820.
History
The Canadian Act of Union in 1840
To what extent was the Act of Union a step towards peace for Canada?
Timothy Chua
Pacific Academy
Candidate Number: 001515-0067
Word Count: 3,076
Pages: 13
1 ABSTRACT: TO WHAT EXTENT WAS THE ACT OF UNION A STEP TOWARDS PEACE FOR CANADA? The essay introduces a very fresh British North America outlining some causes of the mass immigrants coming in, mentioning Loyalists, and Pioneers arriving from Europe. The text mentions ethnic conflict and rebellion taking place within Quebec and explains the solution for this brought up by Lord Durham within his famed Durham Report. It then mentions the passing of Lord Durham’s proposal, and questions if its passing was a good thing or not. The …show more content…
essay proceeds to list both the benefits and the problems that followed the initiation of the Earl’s recommendations, each followed by a summary of the findings. The lists include content involving the family compact, economics, ethnic differences, territorial outlooks, the social hierarchy, the peace of the nation and Responsible government. After this, the sources the lists were drawn from are looked at closely for their reliability questioning their origins, values, purposes and limitations. This is done for the sake of thoroughness, as the sources are a very important part of a history extended essay. This is followed up by an overview of the events that took place after putting the act into motion, highlighting its benefits and problems. The essay is concluded with a paragraph stating that the Act of Union was a step towards peace for Canada, claiming that the Act’s benefits outweighed its flaws.
2 CONTENTS
1 Abstract: To what extent was the Act of Union a step towards peace for Canada? 2
2 Contents 3
3 Introduction 4
4 Benefits of the Act of Union 5
5 Problems with the Act of Union 7
6 Examination of Sources 9
7 Analysis 10
8 Conclusion 12
9 Bibliography 13
3 INTRODUCTION In 1763, after the signing of the treaty of Paris, France handed over all her Canadian territories and Provinces to Great Britain. Acquiring such large amounts of land permitted the continued, if not increased, flow of British immigrants moving into the British North America. This taking into account the passage of Royalists who were retreating from south of the border during the American Revolution, placed the French population who occupied Canada prior to British ownership as a minority, with the ever growing number of British peoples. To prevent ethnic clashes, as bloodshed was not a problem colonists should have had to have dealt with, the Parliament of Great Britain set up the Constitutional Act of 1791. This divided the Province of Quebec into an ‘Upper’ and ‘Lower’ Canada. Lower Canada would contain the French peoples, while Upper Canada would house the English folk. Both sides would be able to carry out their ways of living without being suppressed by one another. The English and the French would not have to improvise one another’s laws, institutions, teachings, practices, languages, beliefs, cultures or religions. The system carried out fairly well for a brief period of time. Upper Canada’s major institutions were taken in by the Catholic Church, and English Crime law was practiced in stable conditions, while Lower Canada could perform French Civil Law and keep its own Church’s. Both Upper and Lower Canada even had separate, if not ever mutually exclusive, financial status’. However, both Upper and Lower Canada became the stomping grounds of rebel groups, and the division of the Province of Quebec could not last forever. John George Lambton, the 1st Earl of Durham, better known as the Lord Durham, was tasked to find out why both Upper and Lower Canada had said rebellions as the current Governor General. John Lambton made his trip around British North America, bringing along his wife, inspecting, questioning, and gathering all that he could on both Upper and Lower Canada, making several observations of life in locations suitable for study. He then ventured to the United States, and discovered that the rebellions were not based on Liberalism or economics, but ethnic clashings. After conducting his investigation, John Lambton created his famous, and very detailed ‘Report on the Affairs of British North America’, better known today as ‘The Durham Report’. The report, ironically, recommended that both Upper and Lower Canada rejoin as the one Province of Quebec. The reason for this was that if both Canada’s were to resume its unified form once again, it would result in beneficial financial changes for both sides and to eliminate ethnic conflict. Lord Durham also encouraged further immigrating of British peoples to the New World, so the French would be crushed and overwhelmed by the English. He also pushed for the making of a Responsible Government. The Province of Quebec would be completely dominated by the English. The report was read, and the recommendations were carried out. In 1840, the Act of Union became active. Alongside the well timed establishment of Canada’s Responsible government, the boundary between Upper and Lower Canada was erased. Financial problems were slowly being addressed, and the plan to eliminate the French presence in Canada went underway. But the results afterwards were not all that were to be expected. A fair assortment of both positive and negative products popped up. So much so that it could made it hard to tell if the Unification was working or not. With that in mind, the pros and cons of the Act of Union will be listed using various sources, each followed with a summarization of findings. The sources will be examined for reliability. Then it can be said to what extent was the Act of Union of 1840 a step towards peace for Canada. This topic is relevant to the course of North American, and International history, since it is directly connected to the shaping of Canada as a modern day super power.
4 BENEFITS OF THE ACT OF UNION
A. The Act of Union allowed the termination of some financial problems in Upper Canada, caused by the previous regime of the family compact.
B. The Act of Union put an end to the Rebel’s armed uprisings and other activities, as the eventual establishment of a Responsible Government satisfied their needs.
C. The Act of Union in 1840 allowed the English Population overcome the French Population, swaying the outcomes of public opinion and other social segments.
D. The Act of Union that passed in 1840 was the start of granting peaceful independence to other colonies, such as the Act of Union in 1909 by the British Empire, creating the Union of South Africa.
E. Many of the Canadas’ (Now United) educational and health institutions were now able to become part of the Church’s monopoly, granting a noticeable amount of cash flow.
F. The Act of Union in Canada (1840) allowed the coexistence of both the French Civil Law and the English Crime Law.
G. After the Act of Union in 1840, Canada has not initiated acts of Civil War or other major political conflict upon itself since 1900.
H. Canada, since its unification, is no longer a series of colonies, but a country, as well as a major political power, partaking in important international discussion.
I. With the establishment of Canada’s new order, the colonies were then required to allow foreigners to immigrate to Canada.
J. After the Unification of the Canadas, the current occupying powers at the time had to create Municipalities, bringing further order and peace to the system. Before the Act of Union came into effect, the previous regime known as the family compact dug Upper Canada into a very deep hole.
The Family Compact was a small group of men, rather a brotherhood, who misused their economic and political power for 30 years. The setup made corruption and bad decision making very probable. The Family compact was responsible for the deaths of many, thanks to illegal profiteering on immigration, bad management of funds, and failure to provide the people onboard immigration ships with the supplies that they required. With the family compact gone, the newly unified Canada and her Responsible Government was able to start with the termination of the major financial problem that held down Upper Canada. Unification of the Canadas also granted the Catholic Church ownership of French educational and health institutions. This granted a noticeable increase in cash flow, taking into account Church donations. The Act of Union also put a damper to the Rebel group’s movement. The rebels had no major issues or opposition with the establishment of the Responsible government, and with the French being suppressed by the English population there was no longer a situation with ethnic conflict. The English easily overwhelmed the French in size, and started swaying the outcomes of public opinions, decisions, and other important social segments. It was now a peaceful ethnic domination, with the English placing the French in a position with much less clashing. The …show more content…
Rebel’s stopped with their armed uprisings, packed away their assets and ceased all activity. This made it easier to permit all of the existing colonies of the Province of Quebec further immigration capabilities, and allowed foreigners to immigrate to Canada. This helped to promote further immigration to the British North American settlements, supporting the growth of English residential areas. British North America was given a degree of independence, and has ceased the play of self-conflict. The Act of Union even set a new example for peaceful independence to some other overseas British colonies. Such works included the Act of Union in 1909 creating the Union of South Africa, granting more independence.
5 PROBLEMS WITH THE ACT OF UNION
A. The unification of both Canadas (eliminating the previous Upper and Lower Canadian borders) created a large difference in population between the English and French, setting an English Majority (and sparking racial tensions).
B. Removal of the existing Upper and Lower Canadian legislatures, which were functioning until their dismissals.
C. French peoples (Lower Canadians) had to deal with oppression in Economics by their English counterparts.
D. Any, if not all French Opposition was put down by the English Army, placing the French in a position where they could not oppose the existing system.
E. French peoples were subordinated to the Catholic Church, with ties to the English Powers, as it opposed democratic and liberal ideas, in favor of the British Monarchy.
F. Land ownership laws that existed prior to the Act of Union (1840) were revised, affecting property owners in both Upper Canada and Lower Canada.
G. The existing English presence contributed to the continuation of Elitist and conservative ideals, which place people on an unbalanced hierarchy, bound to spread conflict.
H. The Act of Unification (1840) did not address any (territorial) issues that concerned with the Natives/Aboriginals of Canada at the time, bringing further frustration amongst them.
I. British Parliament tormented those that wanted a Responsible Government by delaying its coming to Canada by several years. When the Act of Union started to take effect, there were those amongst the French people in Lower Canada who opposed it.
The removal of the boundary between Upper and Lower Canada would set both the French and English populations to merge together, placing the French as a minority to the ever growing English numbers. With the swaying of social opinions and overall public decisions, it would be better to describe the merge as a British take over, and not the start of co-existence. For the French, this was the sparking of new distaste against the English. Fortunately, it did not lead to a full scale rebellion. This being what the British wanted, and what the French would find at the short end of the stick. The French peoples would continue to deal with this suppression, as it would also come into play for economics, thanks to their English counterparts. The French peoples were also subordinated to the Catholic Church, who were now able to cross to the other half of the Province, as it opposed democratic and liberal ideas, in favor of the existing British Monarchy. The existing English presence even contributed to the spread of Elitist and conservative ideals, which placed all peoples on an unbalanced hierarchy, setting a high risk for a new conflict. The Land ownership laws of both Upper and Lower Canada that existed prior to the Act of Union were also revised, displacing a significant amount of property owners, butchering the ownership system at that time. The act of Union
did not only sweep the French people’s concerns under the rug for a long while, but it failed to address territorial issues that concerned the Natives/Aboriginals, Considering natives had little to no say on the development of Canada, it was even more unfair for them. The French people had to wait and endure political deficiencies until the Baldwin-Lafontaine government made up for French-Canadian political participation disabilities in 1848. It took 8 years for someone to finally give the French fair chances in politics. The spawning of ethnic and racist bitterness would not count as a beneficial result of the Act.
6 EXAMINATION OF SOURCES
Grey, Louise. "Lady Durham's Journal." In Ninth Series of Historical Documents. Quebec: Literary and Historical Society of Quebec, 1915. 7-64. This source’s origin is valuable, since it is the written (and edited) journal of Earl John Lambton’s wife Lady Durham, which got published by the Literal and Historical Society of Quebec in 1915. Lady Durham married to the Earl on December the 9th, 1816, and journeyed alongside the Earl as he began his inspection of both Upper and Lower Canada regarding the recent rebellions. Since Lady Durham recorded her experiences of the inspection (and other events) in said journal, it is a valuable source of knowledge for historians covering a number of the days on tour. The purpose of Lady Durham’s personal journal was to summarize the everyday events involving herself and those around her, covering incidents noteworthy to her around the mid 1800’s. The journal itself goes into detail about who she and her husband meet, and what they do during their travels. However, the journal of Lady Durham’s only covers events that she had witnessed herself. This suggests that there would be journal entries missing segments of Lord Durham’s work, as Lady Durham may have not been around to listen into all of his meetings and investigations. The fact that this journal takes the point of view from an individual who was not directly associated with the investigation limits the source. Finally, the journal’s purpose was not to specifically record Lord Durham’s activities during the investigation. It is a simple narrative of the daily occurrences, travel, and impressions of the people she met, more than a narrative of her husband’s work. With these limitations, we cannot completely align the results of the investigation to the report’s proposed solutions, less than defining if the steps taken were towards or away from peace.
Pilon, Lise. "French Canadians." Encyclopedia of World Cultures. Vol. 1: North America. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 1996. 130-133. This article was written by Lise Pilon, and published by Macmillan Reference USA in 1996 for the ‘Encyclopedia of World Cultures’. The purpose of this article is to briefly inform the reader of Encyclopedia about ‘French Canadians’, their practices, beliefs, hardships, organization of society, and other segments of their culture. The document was assembled using data collected and referenced from the detailed list at the bottom of page 133. The writer of this article lacks a suitable experience of the French culture, specifically in the 1800s, otherwise she would have an exceptionally long life span. With that being said, the article lacks value if the writer merely assembles facts drawn from other papers and summarizes them in 2-3 pages. It serves more as a research paper.
7 ANALYSIS In both Upper and Lower Canada, by the year 1840, the people of the North American colonies wished for the establishment of a Responsible Government. This desire sparked armed rebellion throughout all the Canadas. With that, the 1st Earl of Durham, John Lambton, was sent to investigate the source of the rebellions on behalf of the British. After John Lambton constructed and submitted his Report on ‘Affairs of British North America’, British Parliament passed the Act of Union. This act did not establish Responsible Government, but unified both Upper and Lower Canada. With a united Canada, better decisions could be made, and the eventual appearance of Responsible Government stopped rebel activity. However, with the removal of Upper and Lower Canadian borders, racial tensions began to stir. ‘Annexed’ French colonies already had to deal with the pressure from the English in social and religious order, now they had to share the political platter alongside them. With said turn of events, the British North American Act of Union’s fulfillment of its peace making role could come into question, and whether it was a step towards inter-Canadian peace, or further conflict with itself. After the passing of The Act of Union, the Rebel’s armed uprisings and other activities stopped, as the eventual establishment of a Responsible Government satisfied their needs. Eventually, it was necessary to create smaller Municipalities, bringing further order and peace to the system. With a united Canada, a surplus educational and health institutions were now able to become part of the Church’s monopoly, granting a noticeable amount of cash flow. Alongside that, the Act of Union allowed the English Population overcome the French Population, as British Parliament viewed a more orderly people to be mostly British. This brought success in swaying the outcomes of public opinion and other social segments, minimizing the French’s worth. The unification also permitted the coexistence of both the French Civil Law and the English Crime Law, which could have had conflicting results, but nevertheless worked out peacefully. The Act of Union also marked the start of granting peaceful independence to other colonies, despite not being the first, much like the Act of Union passed in 1909 by the British Parliament, creating the Union of South Africa. These positive results that emerged from the passed Act could deem it a success, working towards peace. However, the unification of both Canadas sparked further racial tensions between the French and the English. Additionally, French peoples continued to deal with suppression in Economics by their English counterparts , and any, if not all French opposition was put down by the English Army, placing the French in a position where they could not oppose the existing system. French peoples also continued to be subordinated in the Catholic Church, tied to the English Powers. Its opposition towards democratic and liberal ideas favored the British Monarchy. The French aside, land ownership laws that existed prior to the Act of Union were revised, affecting property owners in both Upper Canada and Lower Canada, disrupting the lifestyle of various persons. The Act of Union also did not address any (territorial) issues that concerned with the Natives/Aboriginals of Canada at the time, bringing further frustration amongst them due to the exclusion. Furthermore, Responsible Government should have been formed several years earlier to fix the wrongs of the previous regime. Finally, removal of the existing Upper and Lower Canadian legislatures, which were functioning until their dismissals did not sit well with some, as the action felt unnecessary with both Upper and Lower Canada still being distinctly different after the unification.
8 CONCLUSION With the inspected resources and an overview of the known facts, it is safe to declare that the Act of Union in 1840 was a step towards peace in Canada. Not only did this act permit the work of the new Responsible Government, fix financial mistakes, bring peace amongst the people and maintain this posture, it set an example for the world. While it is true that the Francophones were placed (and still remain) in the minority seat, it cannot be denied that Canada had successfully acquired a status with no internal conflict. Otherwise, the country would have had a much longer history of Rebellions and violent ethnic conflicts. John Lambton did not construct his “Durham Report” in such a way to destroy the French, and focused more on the improvement of the economic situation in British North America. The priority issues were addressed, and helped shape the country to its independent form today. One could simply look at modern day Canada and confirm that it is at peace with itself. After weighing all of the presented evidence, and acknowledging the great benefits of the Act of Union, it was definitely a step towards peace in Canada.
9 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Websites
Canadian Journal of Political Science / Volume 26 / Issue 04 / December 1993, pp 809-809 Copyright © Canadian Political Science and/et la Société québécoise de science politique 1993 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0008423900000597 (About DOI), Published online: 10 November 2009.
LAPIERRE-ADAMCYK, EVELYNE, CÉLINE LE BOURDAIS, and NICOLE MARCIL-GRATTON. "French Canadian Families." International Encyclopedia of Marriage and Family. Ed. James J. Ponzetti. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2003. 697-702. Gale Virtual Reference Library.
Books
"1st Earl of Durham." In Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2nd ed. Vol. 5. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 161-163
Grey, Louise. "Lady Durham's Journal." In Ninth Series of Historical Documents. Quebec: Literary and Historical Society of Quebec, 1915. 7-64.
James Ciment; Thaddeus Russell (2007). The home front encyclopedia: United States, Britain, and Canada in World Wars I and II.
Joseph Kinsey Howard (1994). Strange empire: a narrative of the Northwest. Minnesota Historical Society Press. p. 500.
Norman Hillmer, Statute of Westminster: Canada's Declaration of Independence, Canadian Encyclopedia
Pilon, Lise. "French Canadians." Encyclopedia of World Cultures. Vol. 1: North America. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 1996. 130-133.
Will Kaufman, Heidi Slettedahl Macpherson, ed. Britain and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and History, Pages 819-820.