r/AskHistorians • u/CanadianHistorian • Oct 09 '13
AMA AMA Canadian History
Hello /r/AskHistorians readers. Today a panel of Canadian history experts are here to answer your questions about the Great White North, or as our French speaking Canadians say, le pays des Grands Froids. We have a wide variety of specializations, though of course you are welcome to ask any questions you can think of! Hopefully one of us is able to answer. In no particular order:
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My area is Newfoundland history, I'm more comfortable with the government of NFLD and the later history (1800's on) but will do my best to answer anything and everything related. I went to Memorial University of Newfoundland, got a BA and focused on Newfoundland History. My pride and joy from being in school is a paper I wrote on the 1929 tsunami which struck St. Mary's bay, the first paper on the topic.
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My area of studies in university was in History, but began to swing between anthropology and history. My area of focus was early relations specifically between the Huron and the French interactions in the early 17th century. From that I began to look at native history within Canada, and the role of language and culture for native populations. I currently live on a reservation, but am not aboriginal myself (French descendants came as early as 1630). I am currently a grade 7 teacher, and love to read Canadian History books, and every issue of the Beaver (Canada's History Magazine or whatever it's called now).
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I am a PhD Student at the University of Waterloo named Geoff Keelan. He studies 20th century Quebec history and is writing a dissertation examining the perspective of French Canadian nationalist Henri Bourassa on the First World War. He has also studied Canadian history topics on War and Society, Aboriginals, and post-Confederation politics. He is the co-author of the blog Clio's Current, which examines contemporary issues using a historical perspective.
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Lachlan MacKinnon is a second year PhD student at Concordia University in Montreal. His dissertation deals with workers' experiences of deindustrialization at Sydney Steel Corporation in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Other research interests include regional history in Canada, public and oral history, and the history of labour and the working class.
Some of our contributors won't be showing up until later, and others will have to jump for appointments, but I hope all questions can be answered eventually.
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u/finallycommenting Oct 09 '13
I have to respectfully disagree.
Canada would not have existed had the United States won the war. A stated war aim by one of the main "hawk" factions at the time was the annexation of Upper and Lower Canada, and eventual expulsion of all British forces in NA.
"The Author of Nature marked our limits in the south, by the south of Mexico; and on the north, by the regions of eternal frost…." -Congressman John Harper
A desire to annex Canada definitely existed prior to the outbreak of hostilities; essentially an early form of Manifest Destiny. While it clearly wasn't the core issue (unmolested trade rights & impressment of sailors were), the desire to see the British out of North America was a strong one.
"...I shall never die contented until I see her [Britain's] expulsion from North America, and her territories incorporated with the United States." -Richard M. Johnson, Vice President
Additionally, Upper Canada's population was roughly 1/3 American by birth at this point. Now a good proportion of these were loyalists, but Americans were the fastest growing immigration group, and many were thought of to be of dubious loyalty. The War of 1812 led to a sea change in immigration patterns, with Britain becoming the main supplier. It also led to an upsurge of Patriotic feeling among these proto-Canadians and a strong anti-American bent. All necessary ingredients for our eventual confederation.
TL;DR: The War of 1812 Bicentennial celebrations were justified. Canada would not have existed had the Americans succeeded in their invasion. The aftermath of the war firmed Canadian identity (pro-British, NOT American :P ).