The Causes for the Rebellion of 1837-1838
The rebellions of Upper and Lower Canada were in the interests of self-government but were doomed to failure from their beginning. Each of these two colonies encountered a great deal of problems right from the institution of the Constitution Act of 1791 and the problems continually got worse until the only choice to some seem to be rebellion. There were several problems that lead to the rebellions of 1837-38. In Lower Canada there was the agricultural crisis that caused a large number of starvations, to the French and English political and social problems within the colony. There were several different reasons that caused the rebellion in Upper Canada but these caused were mainly rooted in the idea of Anti- Americanism that was held within the Family Compact. Both rebellions had valid causes and noble intentions but they lacked the most necessary part for a rebellion to succeed in its intentions, the support of the people. Without support these two rebellions could never succeed.
There were several reasons for the rebellion in Lower Canada that included the agricultural crisis, immigration and the British America Land Company. The first cause of importance was the agricultural crisis that was "caused by the very low production of wheat due to the cold weather, the wheat fly epidemic and the fact that the land had been harvested from the beginning of the century". " The low amount of wheat caused the cost of living to soar and left many people staving and without their homes because they were unable to pay their creditors or their rent." This infuriated the French assembly because the funds that could be used to improve the conditions of the French people were being divided amo...
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... a drunken brawl in downtown Toronto that was easily squashed by amateur policemen than a rebellion. In fact it is not even called a rebellion in the Canadian Encyclopedia but rather "an uprising with limited support and was largely a historical accident."
In conclusion the rebellions of 1837/38 were defeated due to a lack of public support but it opened the eyes of the British to a problem in the colonies. The British began to realize that the system within the colonies was not working and something needed to be done. If these rebellions had not happened the British would never have taken notice to the problems and who knows we could still be living under the same system. Although these rebellions failed they did succeed in getting the attention of the British and put us on the road towards responsible government in Canada and the system we now have in place.
Slaughter I finally understand the meaning of the rebellion. Even though it was just briefly mention in our history book America, Past and Present Vol 1- by Divine, Robert A. in about half a page about the people from western Pennsylvanians protested the tax on Whiskey in in 1794 basically the end of the rebellion. (170) This revolution is way more than that, it created a precedent for future generations that when the people is not okay with laws created by government they can come together and protest against it. A few years later we see that this was the case on the civil war were the south was not happy with the government abolition of slavery and they came together an acted against the president and the federal government. In my case I am a true believer that we must learn from the past to be able to enjoy a better
The causes of the two rebellions and the threats they pose are a response to the failure of the Lord Protector to rule as an effective leader. However, it is not to be said that is it entirely his fault since many of the problems he or Edward VI had inherited. Though some were simply out of his control like bad harvest other were worsened by his judgements such as the continuation of the war and debasing of the coinage.
After the French and Indian War, the British were unimpressed with the colonial war efforts and generally assumed they were unable to defend the western frontier, whereas the colonists thought they had done well in all of the wars and were confident that they could defend themselves. This led to conflict between the two nations, brought on by the costs of the wars. Landowners in Britain wanted to reduce the taxes placed upon them. King George III and the Whigs supported a colonial policy that would abandon salutary neglect and force the colonies to support the cost of the British empire. In addition to this the British began to be more present in the colonies, beginning with Pontiac’s rebellion where the British sent troops instead of letting the colonial forces respond to the attack, because of their thoughts on the colonists military efforts. The Proclamation o...
The parliamentary taxes were primarily the main reason for colonial rebellion; the colonies if being taxed very simply wanted representation in parliament. The British military measures and restriction of civil liberties are next because they are really tied together. Without one there could not be the other, and then last comes the legacy of colonial religion and political ideas. The sudden end to salutary neglect would impact the colonists in ways that the British could not have imagined, and would eventually be a main cause for the American Revolution, and forming of a new independent nation.
The reason that Shays’ led Shays’ rebellion is because that poor farmers could not pay their debts and the government kept on raising taxes so more people were put into to debtors prison. That caused problems with the farmers causing Shays’ Rebellion. Those are also some reasons that Daniel Shays’ had his rebellion which had been caused to solve those problems but had also shown the weakness of the articles of confederation
In the second half of the eighteenth century, the British were faced with rebelling colonies. Finally realizing that they had to fight to keep their colonial possessions, the British sent troops to America. Once the battles began in America, the British were not impressed with the colonial military, but the weak militias soon proved to be effective. With foreign aid from France, American devotion, and the lack of British vigor, the Americans soon discovered the open doors of independence. In my opinion, the American advantages and the British disadvantages proved to be the downfall of the English in the American Revolution.
Shay's Rebellion was the first armed uprising of the new nation. It was caused by the absence of debt relief legislation in Massachusetts. When the Revolution ended, merchants and creditors lobbied for high taxes and against paper money. They were successful. These procreditor polices underminded farmers' finances. The legislation, including foreclosure laws, were extremely taxing to farmers and caused many to go into great debt. Many farmers were dragged to court where they faced high legal fees and threats of imprisonment because of their debt. In 1786, farmers in Massachusetts attended extralegal meetings where they protested against high taxes and aggressive eastern creditors. Bands of angry farmers joined together to close law courts with force and freed debtors and fellow protesters from jail. Resistance to the legislation climbed to a full-scale revolt. John Adams, president at the time, answered with the Riot Act, which outlawed illegal assemblies. The rebellion was suppressed by military force. The rebellion prompted leaders with national perspective to redouble their efforts and create a stronger central government.
The most important issue prompting Americans to rebel in 1776 is clearly parliamentary taxation. The first time a Parliamentary imposed tax threatened the livelihood of the colonies was in 1733 with the Molasses Act, stemmed from the loss of profit for the British West Indies under the Navigation Act. However, this act was avoidable and rarely paid. Following the long and harrowing French and Indian War, Britain was deep in debt and George Grenville was appointed British Chancellor. He was determined to pay off the debt by brutally taxing the colonies. He not only reinforced the ignored Navigation Acts, but he placed the new Sugar Act which was similar to the Molasses Act which put a tax on rum and molasses imported from West Indies, but this Act would be enforced. Needless to say, the colonists were not used to this intrusion of Parliament and felt that it was wrong because there were no members in Parliament to represent the colonies. They felt it was a direct violation of their civil liberties and the first whiff of resentment was beginning to spawn. Next was the Currency Act which disregarded the colonies paper money, forcing the colonist to pay in only silver and sending their economy into chaos. Perhaps the most important and controversial acts were the Stamps Acts that placed a tax on legal documents, almanacs, newspaper, pamphlets, playing cards and dice.
During the years of 1675 and 1676 the North American colonies experienced conflicts that shaped the dynamics of their colonial life. King Phillip's War would effectively end relations between the New England colonists and the Indians. Also, the rebellion in Virginia led by Nathaniel Bacon stressed the growing discontent of poor frontier farmers for British rule. The consequences of these two events clearly had an impact on different levels that would extend well beyond their time. Therefore, the years 1675 and 1676 played a very significant role in the Northern American colonies.
Although the American Revolution obviously had an impact on the American colonies, it can also be said that due to the war, a nation up north was created; Canada. The settlement of the Loyalist after their exile made a nation who relied on neutrality rather than war. Some can argue that the very neutrality gives Canada its unique attitude. The settlement also brought forth a new culture specific to this new nation. With the help of the British military and Simcoe’s planning, Ontario was developed. The British did loss the colonies of America but gained the nation of Canada.
The colonies did not initially desire to succeed and become independent from the British, at first they were very proud of being British. Throughout the years of being a British Colony, The mother country of Britain committed actions that the colonists could not stand much longer. From taxation without representation to quartering British soldiers unwillingly, the tension built up until the colonists eventually rebelled. Some colonists remained loyal to the crown, while others joined the rebellion. These rebellious forces grew in strength and number, when the rebellion grew too big, the Revolution sparked. No longer would the colonist be forced to the British law, the colonists were willing to fight and die for their freedom. This event was
The root causes of Quebec Separatism go back almost a thousand years! This is because a large cause for Quebec Separatism is the conflict between the French and the English people. These conflicts go back to when France and England first became countries, and ever since then it seems the two countries have been at constant war with one another (Henley, 2011). This constant fighting spawns a built in belief of hatred for one another (Henley, 2011), which would make it hard for the two to live in the same country as they try to do in Canada. But out of all the wars the French and English fought, the most influencing for Quebecois and all of Canada was the sever year war taking place between 1756 and 1763 (Upper Canada History, 2011). The special thing about this war was that part of it was over the influence of the territory to be later Canada (Upper Canada histor...
...in later years. Pontiac’s rebellion also caused Britain to be short of cash after having to pay for two consecutive battles. The British looked to the colonies for money without giving the colonies any say in the matter. This lead to the famous phrase, “no taxation without representation.” Another thing that happened during the French and Indian war was a much underpublicized meeting between the colonists. This was the first meeting the colonists ever had by their own accord. The meeting was called by Benjamin Franklin and was known as The Albany Plan of Union. Although the meeting got very little accomplished it still has to be considered a success because it showed that there were colonists willing to have independence. The over taxation and the fact the colonists got to see someone stand up to the British were the major events that lead to the American Revolution.
The British North America Act went into effect July 1st, 1867 creating a union known as the Dominion of Canada, but this did not complete the debate on the Confederation issue. Many Nova Scotians continued their opposition to the idea and it would take considerable time before all Nova Scotians would accept the fact of Confederation. “These Nova Scotians, disgruntled at their treatment by Great Britain, found that their loyalty had markedly diminished. The more they considered taking over the responsibility for their own affairs from England, however, the greater trust they had to place in Confederation.”25 Confederation struck a balance between the rights of English and French speaking Canadians. Nevertheless, many divisions, conflicts, and debates would occur not only in Quebec but also in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick over this balance. Economic disparities between the Maritimes and the rest of Canada would also create many problems for the years following 1867. As a result, Confederation can be viewed as a beginning and not an end.
An immediate cause of the French Revolution was the rising price of bread. The grain harvest had been low the previous year, so the price of bread rose. Bread was usually the only thing that the poor ate, and raising prices would make them starve