Who won the War of 1812 Many Canadians see the war of 1812 as a source of national pride. But to the British the War of 1812 was just a mild occurrence in controlling the new world and a footnote in their war against Napoleon. Today most Americans have little to no knowledge of the war, as though it was an harassment to the people to have such a blunder on an otherwise strong track record. The Americans were fighting for the end of British interference with American trade, the end of British impressing Americans into the British navy; they also had dreams of territorial expansion. They felt they could gain all of upper Canada and some of lower Canada, and they also wanted to annex Florida.
Hector St. John Crevecoeur strongly argued that the colonists emerged towards creating their identity through the molding together of a melting pot. After the French and Indian War, the colonists realized that they were much different than the British. Written law was preferred by the colonists over “word of law” which the people of Great Britain were fond of. The group of colonists in America who opposed the British referred to themselves as the “Patriots”. The colonists also abolished primogeniture and entail which pulled them further and further away from their mother country’s ways.
Even though the First Nation peoples suffered many setbacks during Queen Victoria’s reign, they continued to show devotion to the Crown. From 1760’s up until just after the War of 1812, First Nations were crucial allies and political partners. After the war Europeans didn’t see First Nations and useful anymore, they were more so just in the way of their wish to expand the agriculture world in Canada and were hoped to see penned up on reserves or to completely assimilate them. For the First Nations, kinship relationships are extremely important and the sense of family was extended to include the Queen, even though the First Nations didn’t appreciate the white people. They felt she would protect them and the “red coats” who were there, were to
Declaratory Act The British colonies and America were bristling under the rule of Britain. They thought the rules and regulations of their government were unfair and left little behind to develop the respective countries. Britain implemented many Acts, including the Declaratory Act, during this time in the 1700s. The colonists eventually boycott them due to their severity. As such, many fought against such Acts, as they did the Stamp Act, which was eventually overturned.
This split Newfoundland in half ideologically, in terms of who wanted to join Canada and who did not. Aside from the content of Newfoundland’s amalgamation into confederation, another aspect that can be analyzed are the attitudes of Newfoundland, Britain, Canada, and even the United States prior to and about Newfoundland’s constitutional future. The once strong relationship between Newfoundland and Britain eventually disintegrated, as Britain wanted no more involvement with Newfoundland’s complications. The Canadian and Newfoundland attitudes shifted from 1939 to before confederation, as the majority of both countries grew to favour Confederation, while the United States did not see Confederation as a loss to them. Why Confederation Happened The attempt to shift Newfoundland’s governance over to Canada began in the early 1940s, and became a strong reality later that decade when they joined Canada through confederation.
The American Revolution did not satisfy the colonial goals for civil, political, social, and economic rights; however the Constitution did. All the American Revolution did was drive the British out of America. With the British gone the Americans had the ability to strive for civil, political, social, and economic rights, but the Articles of Confederation became an obstacle in their path to their rightful goals. During the American Revolution the American people wrote a lot about what they wanted to accomplish and attain. In Document A, the Declaration of the Causes and Necessities of Taking Up Arms, it is written that the American people feel they have been wronged by England because their rights are restricted and wish for these basic rights to happiness and such.
The colonists started to create a paper money system to help the economy, but Britain outlawed this. This hurt the economy in the Colonies and led to many protests. Because of these acts, the colonists started to protest by refusing to import British goods, which hurt the British economy. 1765—The Quartering Act: The Quartering Act required the colonies to provide food, supplies and shelter to British troops. The British thought
Treatment of Aboriginals in Canada People outside of Canada perceive Canada as a very multicultural and accepting country. As we look through Canada’s past history between Aboriginal peoples and the government this statement doesn’t seem so true. “First Nations were often stripped of their rights in the past” (Riles02, Indian Act and Canadian Treaties). They had little say in their own lives due to the creation of the Indian Act, suppressing their traditions and trying to assimilate their culture. To try and control their lifestyles the government created residential schools, and forced the First Nations children to attend.
Conscription is a method used by many nations to ensure that the troops are replenished as needed (Granastein, Jones). In Canada however, there was some debate on whether or not we should even be involved in this war so Conscription was not a first choice by any means. The problem was that Canada was considered an ally to Great Britain and since Great Britain was in the midst of the conflict (Guay), Canada was expected to jump in. Many in Canada however didn’t believe we should even be allies of Great Britain, especially in a war taking place on another continent. These people who were against involvement were mostly Francophone.
Canada struggled to keep US influences from weakening its national identity. Canada developed its independence when they decided to create a flag for Canada. Pearson believed that Canadians should sever their British connections and that Canada needed an identity that would be meaningful to all Canadians. The last step toward making Canada a completely independent nation was to sign the new Constitution Act, giving Canada the ability to make changes to the Constitution. Canada took this opportunity and is now the independent nation that we live in