The Relationship between Nova Scotia and the American Revolution

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A very popular topic of debate among historians is the anti-confederates in Nova Scotia’s and their relationship with the American Revolution. The debate condenses down into a single basic question; why did Nova Scotia join confederation instead of joining the American Revolution? In the 1860’s Nova Scotia had two choices, they could either join Canada with confederation or become part of the thirteen colonies, now the United States. To answer that questions historians need to look at what this situation was in North America at the time. It is important to take into perspective the loyalist view of anti-confederates and their opinion against confederation and support the American Revolution. There are many reasons that have to be carefully examined to understand why they did not join. Firstly, did the geographical location and surrounding colonies/ provinces have an effect on Nova Scotia’s decisions? What was the economic situation in their colony, and how did that attribute to which country they joined? Also, how did the terms of confederacy push and pull the colony’s want to join? Lastly, what role the loyalists played in this decision. When we research these questions we find that these three reasons were the cause of Nova Scotia joining confederation opposed to the American Revolution. One of the major deciding factors was location of Nova Scotia. Despite the fact that Nova Scotia showed great support to revolt, the factor of geographical location diminished their ability to get troops into the settlement. For the troops that would get there it would be very dangerous, because they were surrounded by water. This meant that ships could easily gain access to the province, and defending it would take a lot of troops to cov... ... middle of paper ... ... The loyalty that we had to the British crown has in some senses faded, and become more of a celebrity fad that people follow for entertainment. Works Cited Emily P.Weaver. “Nova Scotia and New England During the Revolution.” The American Historical Review Vol. 10, No. 1 (Oct., 1904), pp. 52-71. Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Historical Association. McKay, Ian G. "The Canadian Passive Revolution, 1840-1950." Capital & Class 34, no. 3 (10, 2010): 361-381, Queen’s University, Ontario, Canada. Reid, John G. "Pax Britannica or Pax Indigena? Planter Nova Scotia (1760--1782) and Competing Strategies of Pacification." Canadian Historical Review 85, no. 4 (December 2004): 669-692. America: History and Life with Full Text. Wallace, W. “The Growth of Canadian National Feeling.” The Canadian Historical Review Vol. 1, No. 1 (March, 1920), pp 136-165.

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