Attack on St-Charies, an 1837 engraving by Charles Beaucierk Making Connections ‘Write or discuss with a partner: "What isan issue in your life ‘that you fee! woud be worth fighting for?” Fighting does not have to be physicalt could mean making a speech to convince someone of something H146 Unit 3: Conflict and Change istory is filled with examples of rebellions against Herren You have already learned about the American Revolution (1776-1783), when the colonists led a revolt against the British, In high school history courses, you may learn about the French Revolution (1789-1799) or the Russian Revolution (1917). In both of these revolutions, the people threw out their rulers. But what justifies rebellion? When do the people have a sound reason to rise up against their government, and try to throw it out of power? In this chapter, you will consider whether the people have a right to use force against a government that they consider unjust and oppressive,What You Will Learn in This Chapter * What were the long-term causes of the Rebellions of 1837-1838? * How did key personalities play a role in the rebellions? How did they work for change? * What were the major events of the Rebellions of 1837-18387 * How did views about the future of reform vary after the rebellions? The Storming ofthe £ ae Tee Peer Bre) Inquiry questions are open-ended. They require you to synthesize, or put together, information from a variety of sources. Look at the points in What you Will Learn in This Chapter, then think about what you would like to know about Canada today. Now create ‘some additional open-ended questions to answer at the end of the chapter (example: How did the events of the 1830s affect Canada today?). Create a chart like the one below. In the first column, write your questions. In the second column, fill in answers as you find them. You will use the third column at the end of the chapter. Wy thse nore not My eatione fore he bas gestions Lt Chapter 8: The Rebellions of 1837-1838 M147rm Causes of the Rebellions W148 Unit 3: Conflict and Change In 1837, there were armed rebellions against the governments of Lower and Upper Canada (often referred to as the Canadas). Later in this chapter, you will read about some of the major events. But first, itis important to understand the rebellions’ causes. As with all major events in history, there were long-term and short-term causes. In this section, you are going to look at long-term causes. The Undemocratic Governments A democratic government is one in which the people choose their representatives through elections, and these representatives have the power to make laws. But the system of government in the Canadas was undemocratic, Voters did elect representatives, but those representatives had little power in the system. Look at the illustration below. Lower Canada Upper Canada contrls controls Barrier ° Voters Political ket (Canadas in the 1830s, The political systern in 1Note the following points about the political system shown in the illustration. * Voters elected representatives only to the legislative assembly. * The governor appointed the licutenant-governor, The lieutenant-governor appointed the members of the executive council. * The lientenant-governor appointed the representatives to the legislative council. * If the legislative assembly passed a ill that the governor did not like, he would tell the legislative council to vote against it. The bill could not become a law. ‘* If the legislative assembly did not like a bill that the legislative council passed, it could vote against the bill. But the governor could ask the legislative council to pass an Order in Council. This made the bill into a law. In the end, the people’s representatives in the legislative assembly had little power because the governor, the executive council, and legislative council could veto their bills. The Government Elites In both Canadas, political élites had all the power. In Lower Canada, they were called the Chiitean Clique. In Upper Canada, they were known as the Family Compact. They were mainly lawyers, landowners, clergy, and a few rich merchants. They did not want to give power to the elected representatives. They worked to keep all power for themselves, The Economic Decline Britain and France were at war from 1794 to 1815. When they signed a peace treaty, the economies of both countries slowed down, Prives for agricultural products, including lumber, fell steadily. Because British North America supplied lots of agricultural products to Europe, incomes in British North America ‘began to fall as well. By the mid-1830s, many farmers were almost bankrupt. But the government could not—or did not want to—do much about the problem. Dissatisfaction grew. Checkpoint Look up the word élite in a dictionary, How does its meaning today relate to its meaning in the 1800s. What does that tell you about how language changes? Chapter 8: The Rebellions of 1897-1838 H 148