HIST-1400-A01 – Midterm Study Guide

1. Challenges facing Canada after Confederation

1) Threat of American expansion to the north, during and post-Manifest Destiny
2) Strained French-English relations between the two key settler populations of
Upper (Ontario) and Lower (Québec) Canada
3) Maritime provinces did not immediately join Canada until 1867
i. Their provincial governments wished to secede from Canada but
remained under threat of invasion by Canadian forces
ii. MacDonald had sweetened the deal by providing financial grants to Nova
Scotia
iii. Large Francophonic populations in New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island,
and Nova Scotia
4) Straining relationship between the federal government and its aboriginal and
Métis peoples
i. Métis are mixed blood between settler peoples and aboriginals
ii. The Métis were not consulted about Manitoba’s induction into Canada,
often being ignored by the federal government
iii. The British had fostered the creation of the Treaties by signing the British
North America Act and Proclamation of 1763 were pertained to all
aboriginals and sought to preserve their lands, ignored by both American
and Canadian governments
5) Creation of a national Canadian identity
i. Anglophonic settlers believed Canada was an extension of Britain, to be
for the English
ii. Francophones, particularly from Québec, wished to prevent being
dominated by Anglophones
6) Creation of a strong Canadian economy
i. Under Prime Minister John A. MacDonald, Canada was pushed towards
self-sufficiency to gain financial independence from Britain
ii. Canada in the early Confederation years was dependent on its grain and
timber exports for manufactured goods with American trade
1. Many Canadians emigrated to the United States for better
opportunities from agrarian society
2. Canada still had a steady population growth rate because of
farmer families’ numbers of children
7) Strained relationships between the federal government and the provincial
governments
i. Constitutionally, both levels of government have concurrent powers
within particular issues for differing precedents
 ii. However, the federal powers can overrule the provincial decisions and
even disallow any provincial legislation deemed unconstitutional, a
controversial ruling not invoked since the 1940s and now handled by the
Supreme Court
2. Louis Riel and his actions to help the Manitoba Métis
1) Louis Riel was Catholic born, studied for priesthood and then worked within a
law firm in Québec before returning to Manitoba
2) Deemed a natural leader by the Métis for the issue with surveyors from Ottawa,
threatening them at gunpoint on horseback in October 1869
3) Helped established the Manitoba provisional government to get recognition by
the federal government and maintain law and order, containing aboriginals and
settler populations both French and English
4) Demanded that Manitoba join Canada not as a territory under the Northwest
Territory purchase of Rupert’s Land but as a province
3. Federal government responses to Louis Riel (i.e., William MacDougall, Donald Smith)
1) Canada would appoint William MacDougall to establish himself in Manitoba by
taking Upper Fort Garry, the Hudson’s Bay Company headquarters, arriving from
the United States settlement of Pembina and heading north
2) MacDougall would be stopped by Riel’s forces to prevent him from establishing a
recognized occupational government in Manitoba
3) He would proclaim on December 1, 1869 as Manitoba’s new leader while
crossing the Canadian-American border, forcing the HBC to delay the land
transference to 1870
4) MacDonald is infuriated and requests MacDougall’s return to Ottawa, instead
sending Donald Smith instead, who was from the Red River region and had
experience with the Métis as a delegate, discussing the future of Manitoba with
Riel’s provisional government
5) Together, Riel and Smith draft a speech, translated into French by Riel, that would
unite the communities of the Red River area into a committee of 20, setting the
precedence for demands for the Manitoba Act
i. Sent to Ottawa by 3 delegates including Father Richot, a Catholic
advocate and priest and communicated with federal appointee Cartier
6) Donald Smith would later become the Vice President for the Canada Pacific
Railway company
4. Whiter settler opposition to Riel (i.e., Thomas Scott)
1) Thomas Scott was part of the Order of the Orange, a nationalistic English migrant
who sought to dominate the French and Métis presence in Manitoba and
establish a loyal state to Ottawa as well as begin the path of Anglo western
Canada
 2) Alongside John Schultz, they armed resistance cells against Riel’s provisional
government and attempted to capture him several time to drag him back to
Canada to charge him of treason
3) Scott was arrested by the Métis, charged with sedition under Riel’s
understanding of law, and was known for verbal assaults on his imprisoners, later
to be tried and executed and only flaring tensions with Scott’s fellow Orangemen
5. Manitoba Act of 1870
1) Terms
i. Manitoba joins Canada as a province, with all the benefits of a province
without turning Manitoba into a territory
ii. Manitoba could elect its own Premier and its own legislature
iii. Manitoba has two official languages, French and English
iv. Manitoba would use a dual school system which would equally fund both
English and French instruction and schools to satisfy its Anglophonic and
Francophonic communities
v. The Métis would be given their land titles along the Red and Assiniboine
Rivers, and their children would be given lines of credit to redeem 160
acres of land called scrips when they turn 21
vi. The federal government retained control of Manitoba’s resources and
land
2) Problems with implementing the scrip
i. The federal government and its bureaucratic means, as well as bias
against the Métis, did not roll out the scrips as planned for their children
in a timely manner
ii. Oftentimes, the federal conditions and requirements for scrips were
shifted around to actively lower the wait list and disqualify many Métis
from their grants, causing many to question MacDonald and his intent
iii. Many recipients of the scrips would sell their grants to Ontario
speculators who would later sell them to Canadian settlers at higher
rates, usually tricking them with legal lingo and misunderstandings, and
waiving their scrips whilst drunk, for unequal deals
3) Impact on Métis and Riel
i. Riel would be hunted by 2,000 Orangemen in July 1870, seeking the
avenge Thomas Scott, and forcing him to flee to St. Boniface and
eventually to Montana in the United States
ii. After the Orangemen razed the Red River communities, many Métis fled
further west into Saskatchewan country, further disqualifying them from
receiving their federal scrips as they became unverifiable
6. British Columbia joins as a province of Canada, 1871
1) Background
 i. Since the 1780s, fur traders came to the west coast of North America
seeking better furs, trading in materials and sometimes violence
ii. By the 1860s, many white settlers moved to British Columbia territory in
search of gold, particularly American gold miners, concerning the local
government of potential American assimilation in the 1850s-1860s
2) Significance
i. 1867: Confederation Debate in British Columbia determined where they
would remain a separate British colony or join Canada
1. Helped by MacDonald’s promises to construct a transcontinental
railway within a 10-year plan alongside $100,000 annual grants for
urban development and loan repayments in exchange for British
Columbia becoming a Canadian province, with control of its own
resources
7. Prince Edward Island joins as a province of Canada, 1873
1) Background
i. 1864: Prince Edward Island attended conference revising the British North
America Act, discussing Canada’s nature and its federal powers and
provincial responsibilities held in Québec City
2) Significance
i. 1873: Prince Edward Island and Prime Minister MacDonald negotiated
terms, offering a ferry-link between all Maritime provinces, aid to railroad
project debts, and nationalizing land from British landlord absentees by
reselling it to PEI farmers
8. Federal government and indigenous objectives in the creation of the Treaties
9. Treaty 1, 1871
1) Terms
i. The Proclamation of 1763 allowed for federal-indigenous relations
concerning land disputes as traditional meetings
ii. The federal governments’ terms
1. Extinguishing Indian land titles, implying indigenous peoples
understood land entitlement before settlers
2. Deadline prior to settlers heading west for newer pastures and
occupy the territory as new arable white lands, poor perception of
indigenous and Métis farmers
3. MacDonald attempted to seem more benevolent and negotiable
compared to his American contemporaries, who were keen on
violence against the Indians
4. To allow some cultural and traditional preservation with some
changes to allow for economic self-sufficiency, primarily of their
hunter-gatherer culture for profit
5.
 2) Evaluation
i.
10. Northwest Mounted Police, reasons for creation and activities
11. Indian Act of 1876, purpose and effects on aboriginal peoples
12. Homestead Act of 1874
1) Terms
i.
2) Impact
i.
13. Pacific Scandal of 1873, reasons and results
14. Alexander MacKenzie
1) Philosophy
i.
2) Policies
i.
3) Results
i.
15. Arrival of Icelandic and Mennonite immigrants
1) Reasons
i.
2) Special privileges
i.
16. MacDonald’s victory in the election of 1878
1) Political skills
i.
2) National Policy
i.
3) Evaluation
i.
17. Construction of the Canada Pacific Railway transcontinental railway (1881-1885)
1) Terms of the Act
i.
2) Challenges
i.
3) Impact
i.
18. Northwest Rebellion/Resistance of 1885
19. Riel’s objectives
20. Violence at Duck Lake and Frog Lake
21. Louis Riel’s trial
1) Verdict
 i.
2) Execution
i.
3) Impact
i.
22. Repression of aboriginals after the Northwest Rebellion
23. Manitoba Schools question
24. Short and long term effects of the Manitoba Schools question
25. Wilfred Laurier
1) Background
i.
2) 1896 election
i.
26. Changing global conditions and Canadian immigration
27. Clifford Sifton and his immigration policies
28. Laurier’s railway policy
29. Election of 1911
1) Trade proposal with the United States
i.
2) Naval controversy
i.
3) Laurier’s defeat
i.
30. Economic boom period of 1896-1902
1) Reasons
i.
2) Results
i.
31. Canadian contributions to the Boer War (1899-1902)
32. Yukon Gold Rush (1897-1900)
33. Canadian-American Alaska Boundary Dispute (1899-1902)
1) Issue
i.
2) Canadian foreign and defence policies and their effects
i.
3) Creation of a Canadian national standing army and navy
i.
4) Creation of the Canadian Department of External Affairs and International Joint
Commission in 1909
i.
34. Naval Issue
 1) Laurier’s compromise
i.
2) Impact
i.
35. Canadian involvement in the First World War
36. War Measures Act of 1914
37. Canadian contributions during the First World War
1) Economic
i.
2) Human resources
i.
3) Military (naval, army, key battles)
i.
38. Effects on Canada post-war
1) Casualties
i.
2) Enhanced British prestige and global recognition
i.
3) Conscription crisis
i.
4) Impact on Canadian values and cultural identity
i.
39. Victorian view of women
40. Maternal feminism
1) Goals
i.
2) Methods
i.
3) Nellie McClung
i.
4) Achievements
i.
5) Weaknesses
i.
41. Post-WW1 labor grievances
42. Winnipeg General Strike of 1919
43. MacKenzie King
44. Election of 1921
45. Rise and fall of the Progressive Party
46. Election of 1925
47. Maritime Rights Association formed in the 1920s
 1) 1925 election
i.
2) 1926 Royal Commission under MacKenzie King’s administration
i.
48. King-Byng Affair of 1926
49. Economic growth of Canada during 1924-1929
50. Railway Agreement of 1925
51. Ku Klux Klan and Canadian activities
52. Duncan Campbell Scott and his impact on the aboriginals
53. Canadian Authors’ Association and Group of 7 painters
54. Canadian autonomy and greater independence
55. Black Thursday of October 24, 1929, Stock Market Crash
56. The Great Depression
57. MacKenzie King’s defeat in the election of 1930