UPPER CANADA What was life and society like in Upper Canada in the 19 th century?

The Beginnings of Upper Canada ■Upper Canada was the newest of the British North American colonies ■Obviously, there weren’t many roads and the forests were still dense from lack of building ■Clearing the land was a settler’s first duty, after receiving his property lot ticket ■Farming was the number 1 way to make a living, but most people did go into debt while growing their farm because there was a wait time for crops to develop and sell ■Communities were close; people went to church together and built schools as a group ■People also depended on a barter economy (trading with goods instead of money) to live through hard times ■Starting life all over in a new country was difficult, and some settlers befriended First Nations peoples to learn more about the land and how to benefit from it

We, the People… ■The bulk of the population were strengthened by their common purpose to fight against the Americans during the 1812 invasion attempts ■Upper Canada colonists’ ties to Britain were reinforced through this loyalty ■Community leaders were often Loyalist family members: Americans who did not support the American Revolution, and moved to the British colonies ■Leaders were also pensioned British army officers or British gentry (upper class) ■These leaders, being “cut of the same cloth” and having the same views towards American invasion and social class, brought a strong unification to Upper Canada, keeping it very “British”

Social Class ■Family background was a big deal in Upper Canada ■Upper class people wanted to keep the same privileges they had in Britain, but life in this new settlement was different from old British ways (which is why many people chose to move here to start over in the first place!) ■Many upperclassmen came to the colonies not realizing that they would have to take part in clearing the land and preparing the farms; they had servants to do that in Britain, but Upper Canada was the start of a new nation, and cheap labour wasn’t an option for aristocrats who didn’t want to get their hands dirty ■British people who had trouble letting go of the old country didn’t adapt easily to chores, co-operation with neighbours, and even sent their children back to Britain to be educated; they did not see themselves as “Canadians”, but as transplanted Brits

Clash of Class ■The ruling class of Upper Canada, wanting to become richer and more powerful, caused conflict with the poorer colonists who wanted an American style of democracy ■The upper-class was afraid of this, so Britain tried to make Upper Canada follow a British society, with gentry, large estates (land owned by one person), and tenant farmers (like a renter; someone who farms land for another person, but keeps some produce as payment) ■This made colonists who left Britain for a different life very angry; they left to escape the class system and now Britain was trying to implement it all over again ■This became the beginning of some violent clashes between the classes

The Family Compact ■A small group of powerful people in Upper Canada ■Along with their friends and supporters were also known as Tories ■Did not want people from the USA to be part of the government of Upper Canada ■Defended tradition and opposed change ■Believed power should be in the hands of a few capable people (themselves) ■Believed the Church of England should be powerful in the colony ■Were loyal to GB and to the British system of government ■Controlled who got government jobs and how to spend tax money; could veto laws they didn’t like ■Took for themselves and gave to their friends (land, money, jobs) ■Most arrived from Britain before 1800 and claimed people who hadn’t shown loyalty by fighting in the War of 1812 weren’t “true Upper Canadians” ■They were “snobby”; even aristocrats from Britain who came to Upper Canada were not welcome into their “clique” ■All members of the Family Compact knew each other and/or were related

Women #NotReallyPeople ■Social class defined most women in this era ■They were mainly an extension of the males in their families (father, husband, brother,…). If the familial male was successful, the woman would consider herself successful ■Almost all women were married; divorce did not exist ■Women did not own property or work outside the home, so widows and unmarried women had to depend on relatives for financial support and shelter ■The time was very different: marriage gave a women status in ways that we wouldn’t think about today; even a resourceful, educated woman preoccupied herself with her husband’s activities ■Most social events involved “matchmaking” ■Men could “marry down”, but women could not because the wife took the status of her husband; marriage was more about duty than love, although love was always hoped for ■Everyone worked in Colonial Upper Canada; upper-class women would tend to the farm, for example

Teamwork, kind of… ■Land had to cleared in order for settlement to occur ■People worked together; co-operatively working helped cut social class barriers (except within the Family Compact) because everyone depended on each other for settlement and their communities to be successful and to thrive ■Division of labour between men and women was one-sided: men were never expected to look after the house or children, but women did all that AND farming, land, and labour such as making soap or candles ■Large families were the norm, especially when children were considered to be “more hands for labour purposes”: think 6-10 children in one family ■Childbirth was a health risk; medical care was pricey and sanitation was poor

I Got 99 Problems…and Land is one… ■Almost everyone who came to Upper Canada wanted land; the advertisements that drew people over to Upper Canada claimed that land was abundant, good, cheap, and close enough to town to buy supplies and sell crops ■However, when many people arrived, they found out that most of the good land was already owned by absentee landlords (a person who owns the land but does not live near it) and land speculators (people who buy land cheaply, and sell it for much more to someone else)  both of these practices are common today, as well ■The Family Compact owned the best lands, of course ■When faced with the choices, most colonists (who could not afford to pay high prices but wanted their own land plots) moved inland for inferior property, suffering hardship trying to farm on poor land…and resenting the Family Compact and their money and practices the whole time ■Even the gentry were “used” by land speculators ■This land problem was a leading cause of The Rebellions of 1837, which we will talk about later

Student Questions 1.Why do you think the Family Compact operated as a “clique”? What advantage does that have over the alternative (a power person or two, only)? 2.Research one of the following colonial women: Susanna Moodie, Catherine Parr Traill, Anna Jameson, Mary O’Brien. Write a paragraph (8-10 sentences) that describes who they (and their husbands) were, and why they are considered “famous colonial women”.