Confederation: Shaping Modern Canada

916 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: 123helpme Manifest Destiny and American Territorial Expansion

In the mid-1860’s, many British North American colonies considered the idea of confederation. The joining of the colonies did have a huge impact on British North America, resulting in Canada becoming the country it is today. Colonies were first reluctant on joining Confederation, however many decided to go forth with this idea. Canada East, Canada West, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick agreed upon joining as one colony, under one government. Many civilians considered confederation due to the military attacks, trade and transportation, and changing of the British attitudes.




Initially, the fear of war and expansionism in the United States had many people terrified of attack. U.S.A had a strong belief towards the Manifest Destiny. During the 1860's, Americans were expanding across the continent, and had acquired over 15 million dollars. They believed they were destined by God to take over all of North America. Following this belief, the Americans colonized over Texas, which left more of B.N.A in fear of invasion. Mexico considered Texas part of its territory and were upset at the annexation of Texas. This resulted in the Mexican–American War, in which the Americans came out victorious. The Americans …show more content…

B.N.A already had quite a deficient amount of railways to begin with. Building a railway between the colonies was a major reason to join Confederation. The inter-colonial railway would connect the colonies together. This would not only join colonies together in the means of transportation, but also communication. Colonies could share resources, by having goods travel through the railways. Troops and people could visit other colonies much more faster.New shops, industries, and train stations would come about with this new railway. Not only politically, but economically B.N.A would become one of the strongest countries. This would be a major leap towards a great

Show More
Related

  • Pros And Cons Of Joining Confederation

    454 Words  | 1 Pages

    Today I am here to discuss the perks and the benefits of British Columbia joining Confederation. Joining Confederation means that British Columbia will receive things that the province is in desperate need of, such as a rail link to the East, and help with debt and government. If British Columbia were to choose differently from Confederation, economic isolation, no support from Great Britain or becoming enemies with Great Britain, and American invasion would be the case. British Columbia is falling apart, and so are the people and the economy. Who will help us as we continue to fall?

    Read More

  • Canada's Autonomy: The Chanak Affair Of 1922

    921 Words  | 2 Pages

    A century ago, Canada was under control by the British Empire. The battles we fought the treaties we signed and the disputes we solved all helped us gain independence from our mother country “Britain”. Canadians fought a long battle protecting others, and from these battles we gained our peaceful reputation and our independence from Britain. Canada became a nation on July, 1st 1867. Although we were an independent country, our affairs and treaties were all still signed by Britain. In the next years Canada would establish its own government, and lead its own affairs. Many important events led to Canada’s independence, one of the earliest signals that Canada wanted to establish autonomy was the Chanak affair of 1921. In addition the battle of Normandy, which occurred on June 6 1944, contributed to the autonomy of Canada. The Suez Canal Crisis, which took place in the year 1956, earned Canada a place in the media spotlight, displaying Canada as a peaceful country that deserves the right to be independent. One of the final steps that aided with Canada’s independence from Britain was the Canada Act of 1982. Independence from Britain steadily increased throughout the 20th century because of political decisions made in Canada.

    Read More

  • Explain How Successful Was Confederation At Unifying Canada

    819 Words  | 2 Pages

    Confederation was a huge change for Canada in 1867. It made a huge influence on the world we live in. Our country faced many ups and downs along the way, while trying to create the best life for its citizens. For this, the country would have come together and accept each other. Today I’ll be telling you about how I believe Confederation was not successful at unifying Canada.

    Read More

  • Articles Of Confederation Dbq

    567 Words  | 2 Pages

    The thirteen American colonies were under the British control until they declared their independence from British in 1776. A year after the declaration of independence, the continental congress established the Article Of Confederation, which was the first constitution in the United States. According to manythings.org, “During that war, the colonies were united by an agreement called the Articles of Confederation”. It was later ratified in 1781, but it had many negatives because it was very weak. According to manythings.org, the Articles Of Confederation did not: organize a central government, create courts or decide laws, nor provide an executive to carry out the laws, and all it did was just create a Congress. This congress was very useless

    Read More

  • Self-government in the Early Colonies

    454 Words  | 1 Pages

    How were the seeds for self-government sown in the early colonies? Why was this important when England started to enforce rules (such as the Intolerable Acts)?  Please give specific examples.

    Read More

  • Reasons For the Annexation of Texas

    2496 Words  | 5 Pages

    was the big problem with the American Settlers, which with in a few years out numbered the Mexican population twice if not more in Texas. The United States had been trying to purchase Texas and other territories unsuccessfully. A movement began to stir in Texas

    Read More

  • Canada: A Result of the Revolutionary War

    2195 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Canada During the Post-War Period

    1197 Words  | 3 Pages

    The post-war time was a period where major changes were occurring. After being involved in two international conflicts, Canada was ready to reestablish their economy. During this time, Canada had started working on ways to become stronger and reputable. It is evident that Canada had matured through the post-war era. Canada’s economic progress left a positive impact on the growth of the country as consumerism became popular, and economic ties with America became stronger. Moreover, the removal of racial and ethical barriers contributed to Canadian social affairs such as the huge wave of immigration and the baby boom. The Canadian government also had become more aware and involved in issues impacting Canadian citizens. Canada as a whole started identifying itself as an independent nation and participating in events that brought a positive reputation amongst them. These economical, social, and legal changes helped Canada mature into the country it is today.

    Read More

  • Texas Involvment In Slavery

    2384 Words  | 5 Pages

    As more Americans moved west and into Texas it became evident. that there was going to be a continued clash between Mexico and the white frontiersmen who quickly flooded. certain areas of the world. The American government wanted to purchase this valuable land but eventually it was taken by Americans. frontiersmen where it was declared its own realm.

    Read More

  • Assembly Of First Nations Essay

    1374 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout the history of Canada the indigenous population of the country have been voiceless. They have been both suppressed and oppressed by the Federal and various Provincial governments within Canada. Many organizations tried to provide a voice for the native population but failed in their attempt. These organizations eventually merged together to become what is now known as The Assembly of First Nations. The Assembly of First Nations gives voice to the issues and problems facing the different components of the aboriginal community in Canada.

    Read More

  • The Mexican War

    2001 Words  | 5 Pages

    In 1845 the U.S attempted to Annex Texas. Basically America wanted Texas to become one of the states rather then and independent nation by itself. At this time Texas was an independent nation that was not a part of America or Mexico. Mexico wanted to keep Texas neutral if not a part of its own country. When the U.S attempted to annex Texas Mexico became outraged, " In November 1843 Mexico had warned that if the United States should commit the 'unheard-of aggression' of seizing an integral part of 'Mexican territory' Mexico would declare war " (Bound for the Rio Grande, 62). Despite the warning the U.S attempted to annex Texas. In doing so Mexico retaliated by breaking off all diplomatic relations with the U.S. Mexico felt that the U.S was insulting them by not taking them seriously when they threatened with war. So at this point America showed a very large interest in possessing Texas. America was very close to actually acquiring Texas when they made their first mistake in the war.

    Read More

  • Canadian Confederation

    3837 Words  | 8 Pages

    In the year of 1867 the nation we know as Canada came into being. The Confederation in this year only came about after things had been overcome. Many political and economic pressures were exerted on the colonies and a federal union of the colonies seemed to be the most practical method of dealing with these pressures and conflicts. While Confederation was a solution to many of the problems, it was not a popular one for all the colonies involved. In the Maritime colonies views differed widely on the topic. Some were doubtful, some were pleased, others were annoyed and many were hopeful for a prosperous future.1

    Read More

  • Canada And Canada's Identity

    744 Words  | 2 Pages

    The culture of Canada refers to the shared values, attitudes, standards, and beliefs that are a representative of Canada and Canadians throughout Canada's history, its culture has been influenced by American culture because of a shared language, proximity, television and migration between the two countries. Overtime, Canadian-American relations have helped develop Canada’s identity during the years 1945-1982; thus introducing changing social norms , media and entertainment. In support of this, due to the United States being approximately 9.25 times larger in population and having the dominant cultural and economic influence it played a vital role in establishing Canada’s identity. With Canada being its neighbour, naturally, the United States would influence their way of life upon Canada. In other words,

    Read More

  • The Romantic Era's New American Identity Analysis

    942 Words  | 2 Pages

    Manifest destiny, the idea that America had a divine right to expand her territory from coast to coast, fueled and justified expansionism in America during the 18th century. One of the events during the Romantic era that was the product of manifest destiny was the Mexican-American War (1846-48) under the Polk administration. President James K. Polk invoked the ideology of manifest destiny in order to justify sending General Zachary Taylor to tempt Mexico into a war after they refused to sell Mexican territory to the United States, which presently includes California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. Obviously, there were many drawbacks to the entitlement American’s felt to the Western frontier and inevitably cause much harm to “the Other” that got in the way of American expansionism, namely

    Read More

  • Federalism in Canada

    991 Words  | 2 Pages

    Since federalism was introduced as an aspect of Canadian political identity, the country has undergone multiple changes as to how federalism works; in other words, over the decades the federal and provincial governments have not always acted in the same way as they do now. Canada, for example, once experienced quasi-federalism, where the provinces are made subordinate to Ottawa. Currently we are in an era of what has been coined “collaborative federalism”. Essentially, as the title would suggest, it implies that the federal and provincial levels of government work together more closely to enact and make policy changes. Unfortunately, this era of collaborative federalism may be ending sooner rather than later – in the past couple decades, the federal and provincial governments have been known to squabble over any and all policy changes in sectors such as health, the environment and fiscal issues. Generally, one would assume that in a regime employing collaborative federalism there would be a certain amount of collaboration. Lately, it seems as though the only time policy changes can take place the federal government is needed to work unilaterally. One area in which collaborative federalism has been nonexistent and unilateral federalism has prevailed and positively affected policy changes is in the Post-Secondary Education (PSE) sector.

    Read More

More about Confederation: Shaping Modern Canada

Open Document