National policy was created by J.A. Macdonald's conservative government

-proprosed a Dominion-wide economic policy of nation building based on a “National Policy” or national tariff to protect Canada’s infant industries.

- Once in place, the Conservatives believed, the tariff would provide the capital to pay the expenses of building the transcontinental railway. The railway, in turn, would link an industrailzed east with the soon-to-be-developed agricultural west.

- the growth of central canadian industry, the settlement of the west, and the building of the trasncontinental railway would create a nation

- the shaping of this nationaly policy, clearly favors the business interests of central Canada, creating social divisions by pitting business interests against farmers and workers, the latter having to pay higher prices for manufactured goods made in canada than if imported duty free from the US;

- the national policy also contributed to central canada being the heartland of industrialism and the west and the maritimes being the hinterlands producing the raw materials for industrial growth and purchasing the manufactured goods
- advocates of the national policy argued that a protective tariff would shift trade from a N-S to an E-W axis. it would provide canadians with their own national market, thus reducing their dependency on the US. futhermore, manufactureres, both canadian and foreigners builidng plants in canada - would ensure more jobs for canadian workers, technicians, and managers
- the liberals argued that the tariff would erect a fiscal barrier around the country

- race, theory, and imperialism
- imperialists distorted charles darwin’s theory of evolution in the animal kingdom by applying it to society, in a concept known as social darwinism. race theorists argued that some groups or races were born “superior” - were better fit to survie - than others, and that, in britain and in colonies settled by whites, the ango-saxon race constituted the elite. imperialists argued that their race’s superior position made it imperative for anglo-saxons to spread their virtues - their british values and christian beliefs

- social darwinism was plain racism!

- an energetic Manitoba politican with a business background

- laurier’s minister of the interior

- he pressured the HBC and the CPR to sell their reserved lands at reasonable rates to prospective settlers.

- he discontinued the practice of using land grants as incentives to railway promoters. he also simplified the procedure for obtaining a homestead and encouraged settlers to buy up an adjacent section, if availbale, by allowing them the right to preempt such alnd by making an interim claim on it and to purcahse it a reduced rate from the government later on
- his department produced numerous pamphlets - such as the wondrous west/canada land of opportunity/prosperity follows settlement/the last best west - that contained glorified descriptions of conditions in the canadian west.  --- to be sent out to prospective immigrants
- he encouraged immigrants from easture europe but disdained southern europeans
- Aggressive Promotion of Western Settlement

- in 1881 the syndicate hired william cornelius van horne, an experienced american engineer, as general manager to oversee construction
- drove his men without mercy
- boasted that his construction gang, whcih at one time had 5000 and 1700 teams of horses, could lay 800 km of prairie track in a year
- estimated that 3 chinese died for every kilometre of track (cheap labor)

- “Rebellion” vs. “Uprising” [or even perhaps a war]
A. Candian Government’s Reaction
 - “Indian Threat”:
Recognized
- metis sought recognition
- treaty indians sougtht redress 
- no differences with CDN government
- A miltary response
- railway’s completion (Macdonald) - easily move things from east - west {protection}
- eager Ontario Militia - men who had largely been shut out of teh land rush in ontario - Divide and conquer strategy (outcomes)
- hangings, deportations, and incarceration 
- First Nations destroyed and amalgamated
- treaty provisions discontinued 
- direct attack on “tribalism” and bands
- freedom to move and associate limited (freedom limited)

- Rebellion in CDN history
- fN well aware that thehy had signed treaties of peace
     - take up arms meant to break treaties
- CDN government appears to have used rebellion as an opportunity to clear the land 
- Canada’s legacy 
 - court challenges with specific claims

- 1867 = impediments in the way of PROGRESS - BNA act!! (no mention of F.N. as partners but rather lands are held in trust for F.N. communities) 
-- agricultural frontier expanding and end of fur trade - opening up of the west


Clearing the Land: -- shaped in which the way the west was open -- opening up the land for settlement  
Compromise and Control in the Canadian West
A Progressive country

PROGRESS - from “barbarism to civilization”

CULUTRE - central CDN hegemony
TECHNOLOGY - forward thinking 
-- railroad the key to settlement/progress

POLITICS - positive government -- power is seen as having a positive function

Removing the “Impediments to Progress”
-- the focus of much of central canadian politics  -- coming out of this is a battle of ideas
A. Aggressive Action 
- Canadian Party
     -- openly racist with Ottawa’s ear
     -- land speculators and moneyed interests (wipe out METIS/FUR TRADE/FN history!)

B. Metis national Committee
- Louis Riel 
- protest racism and discrimination 
- land issues
C. William McDougal
-  Lt-gOV. of NWT
- “Take possession of territory”

D. Metis Provisional Government 
- no clearly defined lines of allegiance 
      -- English vs. French speakers
- macdonald’s divide and conquer strategy
- CDN party and orangemen
     - execution of Thomas Scott

- all lands within the area drained by the rivers flowing into hudson and james bay (nearly half the area of canada today)
   
Clearing the land: Compromise and Control in the Canadian West
Threat to way of life (1860s)
- decline of buffalo
- fur trade closing
- land crunch in ontario 
      -- rupert’s land as outlet

. the “indian problem”
- CDNs asking for “open” west
- 1000s pushing to migrate west
- 1869 deal
       

-- HBC “sells” rupert’s land --  monopoly rights
.

Negotation and comprimise:
A. Issues:
- religion (the protestant west)
- sovereignty (rupert’s land)
- annexation (us civil war)
B. Solution:
- Manitoba Act of 1870
    -- created provincial status 
    -- protection of land, language, & religion of metis people
    -- clemency for “Rebellion:
      

Laurier boom of turn of the century (Rupert’s land becomes - Manitoba/Saskatechewan/Alberta)
New political divisions and “categorisation”-- new form of nationalism

- On August 16, 1896, four people—an American miner, a First Nations man from the Yukon, his sister, who was married to the American, and his nephew, were looking for gold on a creek that flowed into the Klondike River, a few kilometers east of the present town of Dawson. -- No one know exactly who found the gold
- the goldrush came in a bad economic time -- the “idea” of riches/prosperity/a better-easy life brought in people from all around the world to experience the "klondike life" and the hype of the goldrush!

Class and History - issues of power and society
- “bottom-up history” -- change over time
- Middle-class reform in mid-19th century (industrialisation) -- by mid-20th century the middle class are conservatives and working class is liberal (radical)

- history not from the white/anglo-saxon/male point of view but from the other points of view (First Nations/Females/African Americans/etc)

So representations of history (how we represent history) is about how the past functions -- it is about how many pasts function in Canadian society today
History is thought of a way of knowing the world - now a multiple represetnation of the past
- our ability to navigate these representations is crucial and important


What is History?
Metanarrative - “his” story - interrelation with history and Christianity/God -- theological metanarrative for all earthly events
    --- many different stories, NOT a single story

westernmetanarrative - huge impact on history today

Progress - the inevitable movment of events/change over time - time viewed as facts
Reason: history is a particular way of knowing - something we base our lives off of! Epistomology: how we know the world around us. [In the WESTERN M. N.] this was through (scientific) reason
Culture  - freedom/democracy/equality

-> interpretation
-> prespective
-> bias

Clearing the Land: -- shaped in which the way the west was open -- opening up the land for settlement
Clearing the land: Compromise and Control in the Canadian West
-- recognition!

-- seeking regress

1. European influences:

- catholic church and school

- farmed river lots

- custom, style, and dress

2. Aboriginal

- buffalo

- trappers

- kinship ties to FN

3. Changing Realities for Metis

- not accepted by either community
.

- Threat to way of life (1860s)

- decline of buffalo

- fur trade closing

- land crunch in ontario 
    

  a. rupert’s land as outlet

  b. the “indian problem”
- CDNs asking for “open” west
- 1000s pushing to migrate west
- 1869 deal
       

-- HBC “sells” rupert’s land --  monopoly rights
c. Fear of Losing land
- Metis and FN left out of negotiation
- surveyors
- settlers (thought of a land rush but.. )
- conflict and anger!

First Nations & Treaties:
B. The “Numbered Treaties” (1871-1921)
- Treaties 1-7 (1871-1877)
- land exchanged for rights and privileges
- did not relinquish self-government
- treaties designated to ensure Nationhood
 
1. Conditions of Treaties
- economic base
            - land (reserves)
            - technology (implements)
            - materials (seed)
            - training
 
2. Context of the Treaties
- “Chiefs” to negotiate
- First Nations women
            - “keepers of the land”
- political relationship
            - direct contact with Crown
                        - Canadian government
- social system
- Military alliance (diplomacy)
“peace treaties”

- aimed at applying christianity to solving society’s ills so as to create a perfect kingdom of god on earth.
- the movement devloped partially in response to a challenge to religous belifs from the darwinian concept of evolution

 “The Social gospel"
        1.  19th century evangelical concern

2.  New Liberal Theology
            - less emphasis on individual salvation
            - more focus on “God’s kingdom on earth” (improving society)
            - questioning of biblical beliefs therefore action more important than
beliefs

B.  Social Gospel’s Effectiveness? 
            - prohibition of alcohol (WWI)
            - votes for women
            - downtown “settlement work”
          
            - deaconess “social work”
            - most influential long term
                - lobbying gov’t to become involved in social problems

C.  Too successful?
            - secularization of society by 1920
            - gov’t replaces social role of church

the black experience:
F.  Canada’s Response
        - Federal recognition of colour line in West   
1911 Immigration Act

???

New society & new nation:

 the “indian problem”

- CDNs asking for “open” west

- 1000s pushing to migrate west

- 1869 deal
      

  -- HBC “sells” rupert’s land

  --  monopoly rights
.

Fear of Losing land

- Metis and FN left out of negotiation

- surveyors

- settlers (thought of a land rush but.. )

- conflict and anger!

- captured by the metis
- a virulent 28 year old protestan irishman and member of the orange lodge
difficult prisoner - insulted and provoked the metis guards
- was executed (riels agreement towards this)

- caused a metis resistance from a distant western struggle into a national crisis. -- is riel a bad guy or a protector?

Removing the “Impediments to Progress”

-- the focus of much of central canadian politics 

-- coming out of this is a battle of ideas

A. Aggressive Action

- Canadian Party
   

  -- openly racist with Ottawa’s ear

     -- land speculators and moneyed interests (wipe out METIS/FUR TRADE/FN history!)

B. Metis national Committee

- Louis Riel

- protest racism and discrimination

- land issues

C. William McDougal

-  Lt-gOV. of NWT
 - “Take possession of territory”

D. Metis Provisional Government

- no clearly defined lines of allegiance 
  

    -- English vs. French speakers

- macdonald’s divide and conquer strategy

- CDN party and orangemen
 

    - execution of Thomas Scott

- Artists connected to Tom Thomson

- The comradeship between some of Thomson’s artistic friends led to a noteworthy union after his death.

- In 1920, a group of his artistic peers banded together to exhibit their works and pursue common interests. Known as the ‘Group of Seven’, they had clear ideas about what goals Canadian artists should be pursuing, and the style of art they should try to make, and very quickly attained critical and popular success.

- The members of this group often cited Tom Thomson as an important inspiration. - These artists popularized a way of painting that has come to be widely regarded as Canada’s ‘national style’.

- The Group of Seven were a group of Canadian landscape painters in the 1920s, originally consisting of Franklin Carmichael, Lawren Harris, A. Y. Jackson, Franz Johnston, Arthur Lismer, J. E. H. MacDonald, and Frederick Varley. Tom Thomson (who died in 1917) and Emily Carr were also closely associated with the Group of Seven, though neither were ever official members.

- The Group of Seven is most famous for its paintings of the Canadian landscape. It was succeeded by the Canadian Group of Painters in the 1930s.
- The Group of Seven was strongly influenced by European Impressionism of the late nineteenth century in the Montmartre district of Paris