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Sir John A. Macdonald essay
Sir John A. Macdonald essay
Sir John A. Macdonald essay
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Sir John A. Macdonald is known as the father of the confederation throughout Canada. Due to his many achievements to unite the first provinces of the country, he is admired by many Canadians of all ethnicities. Although, his contributions to the country may have been great, there are some events that he had a part in that have recently been very controversial. Due to the controversy, Ontario schools are debating whether or not to change their names. As Macdonald was a part of some offensive events in his lifetime (towards Indigenous groups), there is some controversy that has started. These events had to do with the discrimination that was shown against indigenous people. However, even though he had offensive ideologies, there were many positive …show more content…
He may have truly believed that indigenous people were savages at the time. Other than the belligerent view of Macdonald, he had also contributed a great amount to the country of Canada. “He played a key role in the confederation”,which created the independent country of Canada. Due to the confederation, he was also named Prime Minister which resulted in many positive things for Canadian society. One of the things that he accomplished was the Canadian Pacific Railway. Macdonald was a key part of the creation of the long and expensive project as “he agreed to introduce legislation for the further financial support of the railway”. Due to his dedication, he united different parts of Canada and also allowed people to begin living on the west coast of Canada. Other than providing Canadians with nationwide transportation, Macdonald was also able to offer the country national protection by creating the North-West Mounted Police, later renamed Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Also, while Indigenous people were originally given the ability to vote in 1960, Macdonald proposed this nearly 60 years earlier. Along with pushing for Indigenous voting rights, “In the 1880s, Macdonald became ‘the first national leader in the world to attempt to grant women the vote,’ wrote biographer Richard
Edmonton Public School Board. [5]Canadians and Conflicts. Edmonton Public School Board. 6 Miller. Carman.
William Lyon Mackenzie King, Canada’s longest serving prime minister, is known for both the great contributions he brought to Canada and for the scandals he was involved in. The one event that makes him most famous to Canadians is the King-Byng Affair of 1926. During this event, Mackenzie King asked Lord Byng to dissolve parliament in order to force a new election as he had lost with a minority. Because King’s intentions were to regain a majority government, Byng refused out of distrust for King’s plans and King was replaced in power by the Conservatives. While William Lyon Mackenzie King’s actions were in accordance with all the laws regarding his power as Prime Minister, he acted for selfish reasons thus putting him in the wrong. Mackenzie King’s and Lord Byng’s histories will be quickly analyzed to understand their actions in the affair. Right after, King’s options and reasons for dissolving parliament will be analyzed. Thirdly, Byng’s options and reasons for refusing King’s request will be researched. Once enough evidence has been collected, the end results of this affair will be discussed and the conclusion as to whether or not King was right to go against responsible government will be made.
Canada became increasingly autonomous throughout the 1920's and 1930's. Being established officially as a nation apart from Britain certainly helped, but there were more than just official pieces of paper at play. The negotiation of the Halibut treaty was a large push towards become an autonomous nation from Britain. The final push were the seats Canada was given at various significant events.
The discrimination suffered by the “ethnic Canadians” increased during the war was inflicted by both society and the government. An example of the discrimination suffered by “ethnic Canadians” is Sarah Mann, a Canadian-German living though World War 1. Before the people of the town knew she was of German descent, she lived a normal life. But, that all changed when they found out; they vandalized her house by breaking the windows, painting harsh words in red paint or blood, which is overall person to person discrimination. However, throughout the war, it was not just the Canadian-Germans who suffered from discrimination, all ethnicities either than English-Canadian or French-Canadian. Also, they did not only receive discrimination through vandalism, and other person to person discrimination, “ethnic Canadians” faced discrimination by the Canadian government. The governments’ discrimination was caused by the pressure of frightened public experiencing panic because of the Great War. Therefore, the government took action by passing the Wartime Elections Act and the Wartime Measures Act. The Wartime Elections act meant the “ethnic Canadians” would lose their right to vote. The “ethnic Canadians” would also be put into concentration camps or have to register to the police on a regular basis. The historical significance...
To start off, I’ll be writing about the life of people in British North America and its significance towards unifying Canada, as well as background knowledge of conflicts that existed. Life in British North America was changing at an alarming rate. New technology and services were being introduced such as railways and steamships. Industries such as building, producing and farming were being introduced. This was in part due to the many immigrants from Britain and France who’d settled. This was dreadful for the First Nations as their land had been taken away even more so than before. More resources were needed for the growing crowd so trade agreements were made. As more people came, the First Nations were even more distanced from the Europeans. Meanwhile, the French and the British wanted the other’s culture to be erased from the
Any person, place or event that has held the honour of being commemorated in Canada has been recognized of an extreme importance to the country. It is impossible to research commemoration in Canada without reading about world war one and two; The great wars are arguably the most commemorated events in History let alone Canada. Understanding this they are not the only events that receive attention from Canada, the government recognizes many other occurrences as, well, anything from Sir John A. Macdonald day on the 11th of January to the anniversary of the statute of Westminster on the 11th of December. I do not believe that any one event can be placed above or below another, and that they all hold a value in whatever way that may be. This Essay
Sir John A. Macdonald was one of Canada's founding fathers. He is most remembered as being Canada's first Prime Minister, running the government from July 1, 1867 until November 5, 1873. Macdonald would become Prime Minister once again on October 17, 1878 and would stay in this position until June 6,1891. While he was leader of the country he faced his own share of political obstacles, including Confederation, the Metis rebellion and threats of an American he is among the greatest leaders Canada has ever seen and played a significant part in the forming of Canada as a country.
Generations of native people in Canada have faced suffering and cultural loss as a result of European colonization of their land. Government legislation has impacted the lives of five generations of First Nations people and as a result the fifth generation (from 1980 to present) is working to recover from their crippled cultural identity (Deiter-McArthur 379-380). This current generation is living with the fallout of previous government policies and societal prejudices that linger from four generations previous. Unrepentant, Canada’s ‘Genocide’, and Saskatchewan’s Indian People – Five Generations highlight issues that negatively influence First Nations people. The fifth generation of native people struggle against tremendous adversity in regard to assimilation, integration, separation, and recovering their cultural identity with inadequate assistance from our great nation.
Andrew Jackson was the seventh president of the United States of America. His terms were served from March 4, 1829 to March 4, 1837. He was a very religious person. Jackson attended church regularly. The president opened his cabinet meetings with a prayer. When he was general, he would say a prayer before battle to his men. Jackson was the first President elected hailing west of the Appalachians. At the time he was the oldest President to be elected into office. Jackson's presidency defined itself in two central points: the “nullification crisis” and the "Bank War." Jackson took office, The "American System" program helped economic development through utilizing transportation subsidies, and through protective tariffs on imports to aid American manufacturers. A lot of Southerners believed these policies promoted Northern growth and that this was at their expense. Jackson slowed down the American System by vetoing road, and canal bills starting with the Maysville Road in 1830. In1832 South Carolina declared the tariff unconstitutional which made it null and void. The state took steps to block tariff collections within its radius. Even though Jackson favored lower tariffs, Jackson acted swiftly to uphold federal supremacy by force, or any means necessary. He declared the Union indivisible. He then branded nullification as treason. Congress reduced the tariff in 1833, defusing the crisis.
The Calder Case was the spark that led to the Canadian government recognizing Aboriginals and their rights. Firstly, the aboriginals used the Calder Case to inform the government that they were taking away their rights. The Calder Case was launched after the Attorney General of British Columbia declared “that the Aboriginal Title, other wise known as the Indian Title, of the Plaintiffs to their ancient tribal territory...has never been lawfully extinguished.”1 The statement made by the government claimed that the Aboriginal Title did not exist in the eyes of the law and before the Calder Case, it allowed them to ignore Aboriginal land rights all over the country. In addition, The Calder brought the issues the Aboriginals were facing with land claims to the attention of the Canadian government. “According to Kainai Board of Education The case made it all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada where the court ended up rejecting the native's claims after being split on it's validity. However, the Supreme Court of Canada's recognition required new respect for Aboriginal land claims.”2 The Supreme Court of Canada's recognition of the Calder Case benefited the Aboriginals as the government was...
Conflict between Canada and the First Nations has been going on since the Europeans first arrived. After their arrival the First Nations way of life was hindered severely; The Europeans brought many diseases that the Aboriginal people were unfamiliar with and had no resistance to, or cure for. “By the 16th century about 80% of Canada's Native population had died from the various diseases (Renneboog, 5).” The Europeans also came to Canada with the intentions of taking all of the land for themselves, disregarding the people who occupied the land before them. Over time the Europeans had manipulated the First Nations to their will and the Aboriginals were discriminated for their different complexion, culture, customs, and way of life. But between the years 1945 and 2010 there have been many changes involving interactions with the First Nations people. Some changes were good, but most of them were bad. Canada does not deserve to be known as a nation that demonstrates equality because it has not given the First Nations people equal rights to their land, it was discriminatory to their culture and way of life, and it has denied them of a safe and legitimate education.
Harold Cardinal made a bold statement in his book, The Unjust Society, in 1969 about the history of Canada’s relationship with Aboriginal peoples. His entire book is, in fact, a jab at Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s idea of ‘the just society’. Pierre Elliott Trudeau made great assumptions about First Nations people by declaring that Aboriginal people should be happy about no longer being described as Indian. His goal was to rid Canada of Indians by assimilating them into the Canadian framework. Considered by many as a progressive policy, Trudeau’s white paper demonstrates just how accurate the following statement made by Harold Cardinal at the beginning of his book is : “The history of Canada’s Indians is a shameful chronicle of the white man’s disinterest,
Both Hart and Anaquod were subjected to the cultural assimilation and social isolation that was part of the Canadian government’s policy to “kill the Indian in the child.” Where the goal to transform Indigenous children into productive members of society shifted to abuse and the church and government covering up the secrets of abuse is sitting on a blurred line. On June 11, 2008, the current Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, made a statement of apology to former students of Indian Residential Schools, on behalf of the Government of Canada for the previous government’s actions. “The government of Canada now recognizes that it was wrong to forcibly remove children from their homes and we apologize for having done this,” Harper said. “We now recognize that it was wrong to separate children from rich and vibrant cultures and traditions, that it created a void in many lives and communities and we apologize for having done this.” Harper noted that many former students have died and are unable to hear the government’s
Thompson, John Herd, and Mark Paul Richard. "Canadian History in North American Context." In Canadian studies in the new millennium. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2008. 37-64.
Have you ever wondered which events in Canadian history have been the most significant in shaping Canadian identity? Many significant events in the twentieth century left a lasting legacy for Canada. Canada would not be the culturally rich, prosperous and progressive nation that it is today, without its immigration patterns in the past. World War I (WWI) was also a significant event as it united Canada and left behind a legacy of sacrifice and national pride. Economic development during the post war period contributed to Canadian success nationally and globally. Immigration, WWI and economic development were significant events in Canadian twentieth century history. Each event brought new and powerful