Pre Confederation Canada History Analysis

The portrayal of women in Canadian histories from two sources
Keough and Morgan’s article both examine the importance of female historical figures during pre-confederation Canada, however, their methods differ in the historical sources they use as well as the overall theme of independence portrayed. This essay will give a brief description of both articles and attempt to compare and contrast the essay while critiquing the different methodologies they used, the socioeconomic situations these women were in, and the outcomes of their movements.
In Morgan’s article, “’Of Slender Frame and Delicate Appearance’: The Placing of Laura Secord in the Narratives of Canadian Loyalist History”, she writes about a war heroine by the name of Laura Secord who walked 20 miles from an American controlled area to warn the British about an imminent attack. Secord’s noble deed allowed her to become a legendary figure in Canadian history, often as the narrative of a dutiful loyalist and a proper lady. Keough’s article, on the other hand, talks about the unruly Irish women that desperately crawled their way into Canada and was able to establish a future for themselves as well as for their family.

In terms of similarity, both authors give the argument that Canadian history would benefit from analyzing the way the female population was treated during the time of pre-confederation.

The articles recognized the importance of studying the literature behind historical women and used the new information to create a more accurate picture of the past. The inspiration that came from the brave tale of Laura and the picture painted by the rough and tough Irish women are both examples of demonstrating the importance of a much-needed perspective of history. However, the resemblance ends at that idea, and the differences

begin.
The first major difference is the methodologies that the authors used to make their case. The story of Laura Secord was mainly told through her piece in the Anglo-American magazine, with the majority of the details coming from unreliable and unverifiable secondary sources, with many of the tales coming from her own recollection of the event. Also, many factors of her popularity came many years later than the actual event, which meant that even her own telling of the event would be difficult to verify. The article states that “she died in 1868, almost twenty years before her popularity began the spread” (Morgan, 1994), which can lead to the suspicion that the account might serve a hidden purpose. On the other hand, Keough’s article uses primary sources from various court cases and official documents, which is objective towards the narrative that the author was trying to provide. Thus, it is not probable that the history of Irish women immigrants was for the purpose of showing a particular image of the people and the events associated with it. Also, the usage of mercantile records allowed for the analysis of data within the community in an economic sense with the accounts and wages giving historians a way to verify the lifestyle of Irish women in those times.
The socioeconomic situations of the women were also vastly different. For one, Secord was described as a Caucasian, middle-class and domesticated woman with a loyalist mindset. Husband, James, had served in the military as a captain in the militia with favorable opinions of his character. These two facts combined together assumed that they were relatively well off in the sense that they did not need to endure hardship to live a good life. Their communities identified with their views, which meant that they were supported by their peers. The Irish immigrants in Avalon had the opposite experience. From the article, they suffered discrimination as the British deemed them as a lazy group of people who were prone to violence and “excessive [drunk] and disorderly behavior.” (Keough, 2002). The oppression that the women felt was twofold, they were scrutinized under the authority of the local clergy as well as their husbands, who were thought to own their bodies and sexuality. Although there was a similarity in that there was an initiative to preserve the chastity of wives, there was a big difference in how the female populations reacted to it. To the Irish, gender constructs were only important in the sense that they legally bound the wife to the husband. To survive through the passing of their husbands to various causes such as disease and famine, the women were resilient and were able to break through gender constructs in order to provide for themselves and potentially their children. Keough mentioned that they were able to participate in various jobs such as selling goods to even producing them. This specific function of females in olden Avalon societies sets them eons apart from the domesticated trophy wives of the loyalist community.
The last difference is the change that the groups of people have brought upon their community. The heroine of the War of 1812 caused a ripple in the importance of early Canadian women and was glorified as a symbol of Canadian nationalism. However, in terms of social movement, Secord’s story has failed to advocate for female independence or for more women to take up the mantle of ‘heroine’ and contribute in ways other than being the perfect wife. Unfortunately, the Irish women also were not very successful in creating any progress towards equality, however, through the accounts of the legal system, it seemed as if the women were unafraid to fight for their rights and equality. Their tenacity allowed them to participate in the traditionally male-dominated court system. Their societal contributions were invaluable to the survival of the Irish immigrant community as the presence of women anchored the men to their new land. While in different ways, Secord’s influence on the political sphere matched the advocacy of the social and economical spheres that the Irish women brought.
In conclusion, while the intent of both articles was similar, the methodology used to analyze the different demographics as well as the result of the two articles could not be more different.
References
Keough, Willeen. “The Riddle of Peggy Mountain: Regulation of Irish Women’s Sexuality on the Southern Avalon, 1750–1860,” Acadiensis 31, no. 2 (Spring 2002): 38–70, http://www.jstor.org/stable/30302887.
Morgan, Cecilia “‘Of Slender Frame and Delicate Appearance’: The Placing of Laura Secord in the Narratives of Canadian Loyalist History,” Journal of the Canadian Historical Association 5, no. 1 (1994): 195–212.