Socials 10: Chapter 2

Building a Nation: 1840-1867

In the 1800’s, there was a huge difference in living standards between the upperand lower classes. The wealthier, upper classes had comfortable houses, fancy clothes, material belongings, and servants to tend to their needs. The working class toiled long hours for minimal wages, and generally had to struggle just toprovide the basic necessities of life for their families.

Most of the new immigrants to British North America at this time came fromScotland or Ireland. Many immigrated to Canada in hopes of finding a betterlife.

The Anglican Church was the official church in British North America, but manyof the new immigrants practiced different religions, which created some tensions.

The Algonkians were a First Nations tribe that lived in northern Ontario.They traditionally relied on hunting and fishing to support themselves,but switched to some small-scale farming after the arrival of the Europeans.

The Mohawks, members of the Iroquois nation, were farmers alongthe Grand River in Upper Canada. This group tended to live in large villages for at least ten years at a time and planted numerous crops such as corn, beans,and squash.

The Ojibwas were primarily hunters and gatherers, who resisted European attempts to assimilate them. They had serious conflicts over mining rights on theirland after the federal government granted permission for miners to explore and remove minerals from their property.

The Victorians were people who lived during the rule of Queen Victoria of England (1837-1901).

Victorian upper class society tended to be very formal and dignified. The womenwore fancy dresses that covered most of their bodies, hats, and long gloves. Themen wore suits and top hats.

Victorian architecture was detailed and ornate. People spent a lot of money andeffort to ensure that important buildings or houses were very impressive-lookingfrom the outside.

Victorian houses were not particularly comfortable on the inside. The rooms tended to be quite small and poorly insulated. Furniture was attractive but not terribly practical, and people loved to clutter any extra space with paintings,china, and knick-knacks.

Victorian furniture

Victorian upper class women valued a pale complexion and white, unmarkedskin. For this reason, they often carried parasols whenever they went outside in the sun.

There were many important discoveries during the Victorian age, including germs,aspirin, antibiotics, vitamins, x rays, and hormones.

A Victorian operating room was a good place to avoid if you wanted to stay healthy. Sanitation was very poor and people didn’t yet understand the valueof sterilization of instruments. Surgeons would operate on several patients with the same tools, attendants didn’t always wash their hands, and people wereallowed to smoke in the operating room. Many patients who survived the actualsurgery had serious infections soon afterwards from the unclean conditions.

Victorians had lots of time for leisure activities and enjoyed a variety of entertainment.violent blood sports such as boxing (with bare knuckles), bear baiting, and dog fighting were popular with the males. Females preferred more ladylike activities suchas reading, going to plays, or needlepoint.

Both genders enjoyed parlour games such as cards, checkers, and chess. croquet, billiards, and tennis were also considered suitable sports for mixedcompany.

Victorians used horse-drawn carriages to get around town. Railways andsteamships became available for longer trips.

Travelling medicine shows were popular, although the amazing cures promisedfor various ailments usually turned out to be useless. Circuses that displayedanimal acts, magic shows, acrobatic displays and sideshows (also known as “freak shows”) were also well attended.

Circusparade

Emily Stowe was a Canadian women who attacked gender inequalities. She was one of the early suffragists who fought for women’s right to vote. She alsowas the first female principal, and later practiced medicine, even though it was illegal at the time for women to be doctors.

For years, Britain and Canada relied on the old system of mercantalism,whereby the colony supplies natural resources to the mother country and buys manufactured goods back. Canada shipped grain, minerals, timber, and fish to Britain in return for a variety of manufactured products.

In 1846, Britain cancelled the Corn Laws, which had given preferential treatmentto Canadian farmers. Britain now wanted to buy grain at the cheapest possibleprice, from whatever country offered the best deal. This hurt Canadian farmers andled to a minor depression in Canada.

In 1847, Lord Elgin was appointed the new governor of the Canadian coloniesand was instructed to bring in responsible government.

In 1849, the newly elected government passed the unpopular Rebellion LossesBill, which offered compensation to anyone whose property had been damagedduring the 1837 rebellions. Although Elgin did not agree with the bill, he signed itanyway, because he no longer had the power to veto a bill. Enraged citizens rioted and the parliament buildings in Montreal were burned to the ground.

John A. Macdonald led a group of people who thought the Canadian colonies should join to form one country (Confederation). Advantages of Confederation included a stronger military, more efficient government (end of double majority),the ability to finance a transcontinental railway, better trade opportunities, the end of intercolonial tariffs, and a reduced threat of American invasion.

Disadvantages of Confederation included possible loss of the French languageand culture, the loss of the British navy as protection, less political voice for the smaller Maritime colonies, more competition for smaller businesses, and highertaxes.

Britishwarships

The parti rouge was a political party in Canada East led by Louis-JosephPapineau. This party consisted mainly of French farmers and anti-Englishcitizens and fought for the preservation of French culture and the instigationof American-style democracy.

The parti bleu, also from Canada East, was led by Georges-Etienne Cartier. Theyhad strong support from the Roman Catholic Church and had traditional Frenchvalues. They were more supported of business and industry than the parti rougeand were willing to cooperate with Canada West politicians as long as they weresure that French rights would be protected.

The Clear Grits from Canada West were led by George Brown, a newspapereditor. They were opposed to both French Canadians and Catholics and longedto see an English / Protestant country. They strongly supported the concept of representation by population, as Canada West now had more people than Canada East.

John A. Macdonald led the Conservatives (Tories) in Canada West. He dreamedof a country that stretched from sea to sea, linked by a transcontinental railway.the Conservatives worked closely with the parti bleu and shared some similarvalues.

The Fenians were Irish immigrants to the United States who hated the Britishfor taking over their country and for supposedly causing the Potato Famine inIreland. The Fenians attacked some of the Canadian colonies in order to get back at Britain. This convinced some people that Confederation would bea desirable event to create better security and lessen the threat from the south.

Worried about dysfunctional government and poor economy, Macdonald, Cartier, and Brown decided to bury their political differences and work together in order to bring about Confederation. They joined with Alexander Galt, an independent elected member, and tried to convince others of their viewpoint.

In 1864, the four Maritime colonies met in Charlottetown to discuss forming their own nation. They decided this would not be a practical option as theywere too small in population and did not have a diverse enough economy.Brown, Macdonald, Cartier, and Galt came to the conference to try to persuadethe other four colonies to unite with Canada West and Canada East as well. TheMaritime colonies agreed to come to another conference in Quebec to discuss details.

The legislative building in Charlottetown 1864, designed by Isaac Smith

Legislative buildingtoday

At the Quebec Conference, the main goal was to decide responsibilities would besplit between the provincial and federal governments. John A. Macdonald hopedto see a very powerful central government, but others decided upon a federal unionwhereby the provinces would have considerable power and responsibilities.

Canada West (Ontario), Canada East (Quebec), Nova Scotia, and New Brunswickvoted yes to Confederation, while Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland decidedto remain British colonies. The four consenting colonies sent delegates to Britain forthe London Conference in 1866. Britain agreed to grant independence, and on July 1, 1867, the BNA Act was signed, creating the Dominion of Canada.

Under the BNA Act, the federal government assumed control over defence,currency (money), the postal system, navigation and shipping, the census,fisheries, marriage and divorce criteria, and a variety of other areas.

Provincial responsibilities included hospitals, schools, timber, and municipalinstitutions.

Both the federal and provincial governments were given the right to tax theircitizens.