1. Life in Upper Canada:

2. Life in Upper Canada A New Home Government in Canada
Family Compact
The Reformers
Sir Francis Bond Head
Armed Rebellion in Upper Canada
Aftermath of the Rebellions

3. 1) A New Home Upon arrival land was in its natural state
First Nations were forced inland
Establishing oneself was difficult work

4. A New Home The first house Log cabin One room Dirt floor
Wooden chimney

5. A New Home A family would eventually build a more comfortable house
Field stone
Sawn lumber
Upwards of 30 years till a pioneer homestead is comfortable

6. Most Inhabitants: Lived on the forest frontier
Were subsistence farmers
Were isolated from neighbors
Received little education
Parents
Neighbors
Attended “bees” to get big projects accomplished and to have some social activity
Rd pg 152

7. 2.)Government in Canada Family Compact The Reformers
Sir Francis Bond Head

8. Family Compact Was a small powerful group in Upper Canada
Opposed people from the U.S. to be a part of government
Defended tradition—Wanted to keep things the way they had always been
Thought they should hold all the power
Believed the Church of England should be powerful in the colony
Were loyal to Great Britain & to the British system of government

9. The Reformers Opposed the power of the Family Compact
Wanted changes in the government and society of Upper Canada
Did not want to treat the Americans within the colony badly
Mackenzie Description

10. Sir Francis Bond Head 1835 became lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada
Initially was welcomed by Reformers, but this later changed when he ignored the advice from his advisors (Reformers)
The legislative assembly did not cooperate with him
No incoming money
This halted bridges, roads, and docks
Sir Francis called an election to try and reform a new legislative assembly

11. Election Results
Friends of the Family Compact (Tories) took over the legislative assembly
They won because many voters were worried about the development of roads and bridges as well as the Pro-Americanism of the Reformers

12. 3) Armed Rebellion in Upper Canada
Mackenzie and his radicals gathered
They wanted Upper Canada to have a government like the U.S.
October 9, 1837, news came that Papineau’s Patriotes were going to take up arms
Mackenzie suggests its time
for armed rebellion

13. Armed Rebellions in Upper Canada
Yet his followers were not ready
They wanted to petition against the government to change the legislative assembly
Mackenzie went north and collected 4000 names and during the
process was not to speak of
rebellion

14. December 5, 1837
Mackenzie led a group of 800 men down Yonge Street into Toronto
The men brought guns, pitchforks, clubs, and carving knives strapped to poles
Immediately they were fired upon and those that fired fled

15. December 6, 1837 600 of the colony’s militia marched up (Yonge Street)
Rebels were now running away
Mackenzie stood fast till the end and then escaped to the U.S.
While in the U.S. he tried to gather an army to liberate Canada
That led to his arrest for breaking the legal neutrality between the province of Canada and the U.S

16. Aftermath of the Rebellions
Temporarily things became worse in Lower Canada
The Legislative Assembly was suspended until 1841
People were afraid to speak out because they didn’t want to be branded as rebels
The British response—John George Lambton (Lord Durham) was to become Governor General
Lord Durham was to investigate the causes of the rebellions and suggest solutions

17. Was there any point to these rebellions?
Some historians say it is a legitimate struggle for democracy
Others say the rebellions were nothing more than a series of armed riots, unplanned, purposeless, and hopeless

18. Overall the rebellions did have a huge impact
They set in motion a chain of events that would eventually lead to responsible government not just in the Canadas, but throughout the colonies of the British Empire

19. “The Rebellions were American Revolutions in
miniature, and though at the time they seemed
to have failed, they cleared the way for
self-government; and just beyond self-government
stood national life.”
-Historians J.W. Chafe & Arthur Lower