Moving Towards Confederation

Coalition

• George Brown’s idea in 1864• The only way for the government to move

forward was to create a coalition where “all of British North America would unite”.

• Introduce a measure for the federal union of Upper and Lower Canada with provisions for the ultimate admission of the colonies.

• Negotiations to include other colonies in BNA also began at this time.

Charlottetown Conference I

• September 1864• Maritime colonies initiated this discussion and

it was meant to discuss a ‘Maritime Union’• Canada’s were invited (eight members showed

up)• British Columbia and Newfoundland were not

invited• First time ‘larger union’ idea was addressed.

Charlottetown Conference II

• Discussions included: – Uniting under one central government • The nation would focus on defense and trade as a

whole– Think: why would this be important?

– Each colony would have it’s own government• Local matters would be dealt with by provincial

governments to preserve own identity and culture– Who would this interest the most?

– Railway would be built to connect the colonies

Not like the U.S.!

• The American Constitution allowed individual states to decide anything that was not specifically under federal government’s jurisdiction. This was the flaw that started the civil war.

• Canada wanted the opposite of this, anything that was not specifically under provincial jurisdiction, became a federal issue.

Québec Conference

• October 1864• Same attendees as last conference• This time: Newfoundland attended! (observers

only) • British Columbia was too far to attend• Working out details discussed at previous

conference• Québec 72 Resolutions were formed and

approved

Québec Resolutions

• Federal constitution: a government over the whole country

• Each level of government would have responsibility over specific areas (eg. Education-provincial, Indian Affairs-federal)

• Balance of representation by population and equal representation

• Balance between elected and appointed officials

Rep by pop vs. Equal rep

• Representation by population– Population would decide how much say

• Equal Representation– Each province would have equal say

Examining the Quebec Resolutions

• How do you think your province felt about these resolutions?

• Which did they favour, which did they not?• Which resolutions outlined do we still see in

our government today?

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT- peace, order, good governmentPublic property- Defense- Regulation of trade- Post office- Aboriginal people- Criminal law- Fisheries- Navigation- banks

PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT- Local affairs- Civil law- Health and welfare- Education- Natural resources

London Conference

• Held in London, England• Purpose: to gain British approval for the

Confederation of Canada• Delegates from the Canadas, N.B. and N.S.

attended• Britain was in favour of Confederation because

they no longer wanted to be responsible for the upkeep of the colonies

London Conference II

• “The Kingdom of Canada” vs “The Dominion of Canada”

• John A MacDonald was named Prime Minister.

What do you notice about this picture?

Missing Voices

• Why is it important to consider these missing voices?

Primary Sources

What are primary sources?

• Primary sources provide first-hand testimony or direct evidence concerning a topic under investigation. They are created by witnesses or recorders who experienced the events or conditions being documented.

Examples of Primary Sources

• Diaries• Letters• Photographs• Art• Maps• Video and film• Sound recordings• Interviews• Newspapers• Magazines• Published first-hand accounts, or stories

Checklist

• Primary sources:• created at the time of an event, or very soon

after• created by someone who saw or heard an

event themselves• often one-of-a-kind, or rare• letters, diaries, photos and newspapers (can

all be primary sources)

Why are they good to use?

• Direct insight into the time• Avoids ‘telephone’ problem

Why are they bad to use?

• Can be biased• Give only one side of the story• Hard to read

Nova Scotia

Newfoundland

How to find primary sources