1. BELLWORK
What was life like in Upper Canada? What did they want politically?
What was life like in Lower Canada? What did they want politically?
How were Upper and Lower Canada different?
THINKER: Why didn’t the government support the Constitution Act of 1791?

2. Causes of Rebellions of 1837
Both advocated responsible government: embodies the principles of a parliamentary democracy.
Similar to U.S. “no taxation without representation!”
Influenced by the republicanism of the United States
Rebels believed the most important right was the ability of citizens to participate in the political process through the election of representatives
Sought to make the legislative/executive council elective rather than appointed
The rebellion in Lower Canada began first, in November 1837, and was led by Joseph Papineau
The Lower Canada rebellion inspired the much shorter rebellion in Upper Canada, which began in December 1837 and was led by William Lyon Mackenzie

3. Life in Lower Canada English criminal law & French civil law were used
French-speaking inhabitants included families who had lived in the rural areas for a long time & group of professionals
English-speaking inhabitants included merchants and businessmen, United Empire Loyalists and English-speaking farmers; all of which, lived in land set aside for English-speaking people
Rural life was difficult: land was scarce as population grew; many forced to move to U.S.

4. Life in Lower Canada Society was gradually becoming divided
Throughout 1820’s & 1830’s, there were crop failures and wheat sold for low prices
More and more English-speaking people were coming to Lower Canada which threatened French culture, Catholicism and privileges
Between , the Legislative Council rejected 234 bills proposed by Papineau and the Assembly.
Discontent was made worse by years of bad crops, little money, a cholera epidemic, and a slowdown in the timber trade.

5. What people in Lower Canada wanted
French-speaking professionals: wanted a separate French-Canadian nation that would keep their traditions, French law, language, Catholicism, and agricultural way of life
Formed a political party called Parti Canadien
English-speaking professionals: wanted Lower Canada more businesslike, English to be the main language, British civil laws, more harbors/canals for trade
English-speaking farmers: Loyalists, unhappy because French language was used in government, Protestant
Chateau Clique: British loyalists, wealthy, British system of government
Elected Assembly: Had to own property to be a member or to vote, governor could overturn laws
Leader of reform movement, Papineau, was an elected member of the Assembly

6. Did you know!?!?
The Constitutional Act of 1791 defined voters as people with property. It did not say that they had to be men.
In the 1820’s, a number of women voted in Lower Canada elections.
Louis-Joseph Papineau’s mother was a widow who owned property, so she was able to vote for her son in 1809.
There were many complaints about women being able to vote, so in 1829, the Assembly passed a law saying that women could not vote.
Women did not vote again until 1917.

7. Rebellion of Lower Canada
Commonly referred to as the Patriots’ War by Quebeckers
Date: 6 November 1837 – 10 November 1838
Location: Lower Canada (Quebec)
Conflict: Divisions between Chateau Clique (English loyalists, fur trade, wealthy, urban, control of gov) vs. French Patriotes (farmers, rural, angry at ↓ ag. prices)
Result: Military suppression of Patriote rebellion and defeat of American interventions.
Effects: Unification of Upper and Lower Canada into The Province of Canada
Great Britain
Lower Canada
Parties Involved
Lower Canadian Loyalists
Patriotes
United States sympathizers
Military Strength
10,000 British soldiers (mid-1838)
23,000 militia
4,100 Patriotes
25,000 Americans
Casualties
32 dead
47 wounded
73 dead, 1600 wounded, 29 executed for treason, 58 deported to Australia

8. Rebellion of Lower Canada
Flag used by the Patriotes:

9. Louis-Joseph Papineau
Born in Montreal, Quebec
Politician, lawyer, landowner, reformist
Elected Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada in 1815
In 1815, he became leader of Parti Canadien (opposed abuses of appointed legislative council)
Published his demands in 1834 – 92 Resolutions
resolutions called for an elected Legislative Council & Executive Council

10. Louis-Joseph Papineau mural by Jean Cartier found in the Papineau Metro station of Montreal.

11. Reasons the rebellion in Lower Canada failed
Patriotes were not very well armed or organized
Patriotes did not agree among themselves. Some thought violence was the only way to bring reform, while others believed violence should not be used
Papineau fled the country, leaving the rebellion with no effective leader
Roman Catholic Church did not support the Rebellion and warned the inhabitants that anyone who fought in it would be excommunicated
The Patriotes expected help from the U.S. but were disappointed b/c the president did not want another war with England

12. Did you know?!?!
Quebec (former Lower Canada) has the most forests in Canada, the largest dairy industry in the country, and is the biggest producer of maple syrup! Yummm!
All of Canada’s maple syrup is produced in a 25-day harvest in March.

13. Were you paying attention?
What was life like in Lower Canada before the rebellion?
Describe the divisions between the French and English Canadians.
What role did Papineau play in the rebellion?
What was the outcome of the rebellion?
Why did the rebellion fail?

14. Life in Upper Canada Rural life was tough Poor roads & education
Several poor harvests
Farmers upset over lack of government response
Farmers couldn’t take more land b/c it had been given to the Church of England
Long hours; children did not go to school
Poor roads & education
Religion: many different churches (Methodist, Quaker, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, Church of England) but the Church of England was the only one that received government money and land

15. Did you know?!?!?
Next time you bite into a MacIntosh apple, remember that it was developed in Upper Canada by John MacIntosh, an immigrant who found 20 apple tress in the forest while he was clearing land for his farm.
He transplanted them, and his son Allan began experimenting so that by 1835, the family had one of the first commercial orchards in Canada.

16. Life in Upper Canada
Everything in the colony was decided by the “Family Compact”
There was an elected assembly, but a person had to own property to be a member or to vote for a member
Role of the Governor:
If Assembly voted for law, he had the right to overturn it
Appointed the Executive Council so his members would always agree with him
Appointed members of the Legislative Council for life
High taxes
Ordinary people demanded more rights; especially the right to be involved in politics
Complaints and the desire for reform spread fast when William Lyon Mackenzie used his newspaper, The Constitution, to try to persuade people to bring responsible government.

17. Did you know?!?!? Printing a newspaper in the 1800’s was hard work!
Metal type, representing letters, had to be formed into words, words into paragraphs, then placed on the press to be printed
To put a whole newspaper together took weeks, even months.
Newspaper publishers, like Mackenzie, did a lot more than set type. He wrote, edited, sold, and delivered the papers as well!

18. What people wanted in Upper Canada
Average Colonist: suffering; crops failed, economy in downfall, colony in debt
Even though they were angry, most did not believe in acting violently to bring change
Moderate Reformers: Reform could take place without violence
Radical Reformers: Mackenzie believed the only way to true freedom was to do away with the British system of government entirely; ally with the U.S.
Family Compact: Members belonged to the Executive and Legislative Councils, powerful businessmen, most were related, lived in Toronto, fought in War of 1812, and felt British ways were superior to all others

19. Rebellion of Upper Canada
Date: 7 December 1837 – 4 December 1838
Location: Upper Canada (Ontario)
Conflict: Divisions between Family Compact (English loyalists, business oligarchy, wealthy, urban, control of gov) vs. Reformers (Members of elected assembly, farmers, wanted public education, angered over no rep in gov, wanted responsible gov & elections, and ↓ role of church)
Result: Rebellion was defeated shortly after it began; government victory.
Effects: Unification of Upper and Lower Canada into The Province of Canada; Resistance lingered until 1838 (became more violent) – mainly through the support of the Hunters’ Lodges, a secret anti-British American militia
Great Britain
Upper Canada
Parties Involved
Upper Canadian Loyalists
Members of Reform Party
Hunters’ Lodges
Military Strength
1,500 men
800 Reformers
Casualties
12 dead/wounded
400 arrested = 200 fled to U.S., 2 executed, 150 deported to Australia

20. Rebellion of Upper Canada

21. William Lyon MacKenzie
Born in Scotland; migrated to Canada in 1820
Journalist, politician, rebel
Colonial Advocate – 1824
Tory-dominated assembly expelled him in 1831
1st Mayor of Toronto – 1834
The Constitution – 1836
In 1837, decided violent rebellion was necessary
On December 12, 1837 he declared himself leader of the provisional government of the “Republic of Canada”
His planned invasion of Navy Island failed and he escaped to US
American citizen in May 1843
Granted amnesty in 1849; returned to Toronto & advocated annexation
Elected back to the assembly

22. Emanuel Hahn’s "Mackenzie Panels" (1938) in the garden of the Mackenzie House; Toronto. It shows Mackenzie presenting his historic Seventh Report of Grievances to the House of Assembly of Upper Canada. Names of those executed during the rebellion appear on one of the panels.

23. Reasons the rebellion in Upper Canada failed
Rebels were poorly armed and poorly trained
Many of the ordinary people were angry at the government, but not angry enough to fight them
Mackenzie fled the country and never had the same influence again
Mackenzie and others expected at least some support from the U.S., but did not get it

24. Did you know?!?!
Ontario (former Upper Canada) is currently home to the longest street in the world!
Yonge Street starts at Lake Ontario, and runs north through central and northern Ontario to the Ontario – Minnesota border, a distance of over 1178 miles / 1896 kilometres.   
The Guinness Book of World Records recognized this claim as late as 1998.

25. Were you listening?
What was life like in Upper Canada before the rebellion?
Describe the divisions between the two sides leading to the rebellion.
What role did Mackenzie play in the rebellion?
What was the outcome of the rebellion?
Why did the rebellion fail?

26. Describe the similarities/differences between the Rebellions of 1837.
Discussion
Describe the similarities/differences between the Rebellions of 1837.

27. Similarities
Shared a common constitution based on the principle of a “mixed monarchy” (combination of monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy)
Angered at non-elected Legislative Councils who were dominated by local oligarchies that controlled local trade and the institutions of state and religion
Chateau Clique (Lower) & Family Compact (Upper)
The Atlantic economy was thrown into recession and farmers barely survived debt & crop failures
Both provinces organized radical, democratic, political unions (Papineau & MacKenzie)
Formulated boycotts, protests, and eventually, revolt!

28. Differences
Rebellion in Lower Canada revolved around tensions between English and French; conflict considered "'racial”
In Lower Canada the wealthy and ultra-conservative Catholic clergy supported the continuation of a feudalistic, agrarian society
discouraged economic and political liberalization, which upset the rising French-Canadian middle-class who were fighting for reform.
Lower Canada rebellion was widely supported by the population, resulting in mass actions over an extended period of time, such as boycotts, strikes and sabotage.
Drew harsh response from government troops and militias (concentrated in Lower Canada to deal with the crisis); burned entire villages
In contrast, the Upper Canada Rebellion was not as broadly supported by local populations to begin with, was quickly quelled by relatively small numbers of pro-government militias and volunteers, and so was consequently less widespread and brutal in comparison.

29. Post-Rebellions ( )
Two major events happen following the rebellions:
Lord Durham’s Report (1838)
Act of Union (1840)
These are influential in Canada’s path to Confederation.
½ the class will read Lord Durham’s report: pgs and take notes
The other ½ of the class will read The Act of Union handout and take notes
You will then teach the class about your event, so make sure you understand it!

30. Lord Durham Rebellions were a huge nuisance to Britain
In 1838, Queen Victoria came to power and in February she ordered the governor to rule without any elected representatives
Even though she took power away from the people, she wanted to stabilize Canada
Lord Durham’s job was to go to Canada and listen to all those involved in the rebellion, discover the causes and make a recommendation to Britain about what could be done.

31. Lord Durham
John George Lambton, Lord Durham, was from the upper class, but believed in radical ideas
Common man should have the vote
Education should be available to everyone
Middle class was important
Catholics should have the same rights and privileges of Protestants.

32. Lord Durham
British government promised he could make any changes he wanted
Upon his arrival to Canada in May 1838, he found himself in a bad situation.
People had already been executed so he knew he had to act quick!
Arrested top 8 ringleaders
Told leaders who escaped to U.S. not to come back! Or else…… DEATH!
Criticized members of Chateau Clique and Family Compact
People in Canada were happy, but his own party in England was not.
Upon his return to England, he resigned from politics, but still wrote his report.

33. Durham’s Report, 1838 Unite Upper and Lower Canada into one province
If they were combined, the French-Canadian people would have to adopt British ways
Separate British affairs from local Canadian affairs
Allow Canadians to run local affairs, and Britain would continue to control colony’s constitution
Grant Responsible Government
Executive Council members should be chosen from the party that had the most seats in the Assembly. Gave the assembly more power than before and limited the power of the governor and Executive council.

34. Post-Rebellions ( )
After the rebellions, the business/government elite advocated a union of Upper and Lower Canada.
The Union Act combined Quebec & Ontario to create one new colony: The Province of Canada
There were four reasons for this:
The Province of Canada changed governments often; difficult to make decisions
Would help make the economy stronger
Prevent possible threat of the United States
Create a railroad across the country
Political instability and underrepresented majority will create the push for confederation………