Objective Conditions
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In 1763, following the Seven Year's War, the Treaty of Paris ceded much of French territory to Britain; however, the area which formed present-day Quebec retained the seigneurial system after the conquest. From 1763-1800, relations between the British powers in control of Canada and the seigneurial leaders of French Canada had begun to weaken. The two groups had shared similar ideals and values in the past; however, due to a change in Quebec's economic and social structure at the turn of the century, attempts to enforce these structures were unsuccessfully attempted. Because of this, a new piece of legislature called the Constitutional Act of 1791 divided this colony in two at the Ottawa River; the western part was named Upper Canada, and had a majority of English-speakers, while the eastern part was named Lower Canada, retaining a majority of French-speakers. This act also established three branches of government in each province: the Legislative Assembly, an elected lower house; the Legislative Council, an appointed upper house; and the Executive Council which acted as a cabinet for the Lieutenant Governor, who was appointed by the British Crown.
This system of government drew outrage on the part of the French Canadians, particularly those of the working class, as they had no representation of their wants and needs as a people within their government. After a refusal of requests for responsible government by the English governors, members of the French Canadian working class formed the Parti Patriote, led by Louis-Joseph Papineau, in order to achieve these goals.
However, even with the advent of the Parti Patriote, administrative inefficiency was preventing the province from achieving its full potential. The members of various legislative assemblies elected by the local population had no real power, because although the majority of people in Quebec spoke French, and therefore dominated the elected assembly, the governor selected most of his councilors from among an elite group of Anglican English-speaking merchants and bankers of the colony. This ruling group was known as the Chateau Clique, and had the power to overrule any decisions that French-speaking members of the Assembly wished to pass.
This system of government drew outrage on the part of the French Canadians, particularly those of the working class, as they had no representation of their wants and needs as a people within their government. After a refusal of requests for responsible government by the English governors, members of the French Canadian working class formed the Parti Patriote, led by Louis-Joseph Papineau, in order to achieve these goals.
However, even with the advent of the Parti Patriote, administrative inefficiency was preventing the province from achieving its full potential. The members of various legislative assemblies elected by the local population had no real power, because although the majority of people in Quebec spoke French, and therefore dominated the elected assembly, the governor selected most of his councilors from among an elite group of Anglican English-speaking merchants and bankers of the colony. This ruling group was known as the Chateau Clique, and had the power to overrule any decisions that French-speaking members of the Assembly wished to pass.
Tension between the French Canadians and their unjust government culminated in the Rebellions of 1837 in Lower Canada, as the Parti Patriote attempted to achieve more political representation in the government through an armed rebellion. The rebellion, however, was unsuccessful, and following the military defeat of the Patriotes, Lower Canada was merged with Upper Canada under the Act of Union to form the Province of Canada. This was decision which angered many French Canadians who claimed that the Act favoured the English. As the Act declared that English would be the sole official language of Canada, they feared that the French Canadians would be reduced to a minority and their unique culture would succumb to assimilation due to the large population of English-speakers in Upper Canada. Furthermore, although Lower Canada (now Canada East) had a larger population, both of the provinces would receive equal numbers of elected representatives.
Many French Canadian politicians, such as Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, demanded the abolition of the Act. After Canada achieved responsible government in the year 1848, the French Canadian middle class found itself divided among two new political parties: the Parti bleu, the equivalent of the Conservative Party in Upper Canada, and the Parti rouge, the equivalent of the Reform Party. The Parti Bleu, founded by Lafontaine and Parent, centered around the moderate reform beliefs of Lafontaine, promoted respect for traditional values, religion, and cooperation with the Anglophones. They maintained their priority to preserve French Canadian culture and to resist assimilation. The Parti Rouge, composed of the remaining members of the Parti Patriote, centered around the beliefs of Louis-Joseph Papineau and strongly opposed British political and monarchical forms of government. As well, they supported the annexation of Quebec into the United States where they believed that French Canadian nationality would enjoy greater freedom to govern itself.
Many French Canadian politicians, such as Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, demanded the abolition of the Act. After Canada achieved responsible government in the year 1848, the French Canadian middle class found itself divided among two new political parties: the Parti bleu, the equivalent of the Conservative Party in Upper Canada, and the Parti rouge, the equivalent of the Reform Party. The Parti Bleu, founded by Lafontaine and Parent, centered around the moderate reform beliefs of Lafontaine, promoted respect for traditional values, religion, and cooperation with the Anglophones. They maintained their priority to preserve French Canadian culture and to resist assimilation. The Parti Rouge, composed of the remaining members of the Parti Patriote, centered around the beliefs of Louis-Joseph Papineau and strongly opposed British political and monarchical forms of government. As well, they supported the annexation of Quebec into the United States where they believed that French Canadian nationality would enjoy greater freedom to govern itself.
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Another major issue of contention between the Francophones and Anglophones emerged with Canada's participation in British war efforts: both in the Boer War in 1900 and World War I in 1914. Although Canada's legal status proclaimed Canada, as a Dominion, to be subservient to Britain, therefore automatically entering the country in any of Britain's military conflicts, the Canadian government had the freedom to determine the country's level of involvement.
The first real test of Canada's position in world affairs, however, came with the Boer War. The British government pressured Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier to send an official contingent to serve Britain in the Boer War, a military conflict that Britain had incited against the Dutch population of Boers in South Africa. This demand split Canadians along imperialist and nationalist lines; a division which occurred largely between French and English Canadians. The English-speaking Canadians and most of the English-language press felt a stronger emotional tie to Britain and claimed that the war efforts "pitted British freedom, justice and civilization against Boer backwardness". The French Canadians, in contrast, opposed any Canadian military involvement in the war, as they felt they had no particular loyalty to Britain; they believed that sending troops overseas would send a precedent for the future, as Canada would be obliged to take part in every British military conflict as well as encourage stronger relations with Britain. Henri Bourassa, the creator of the newly-formed pro-Quebec group, La Ligue Nationaliste Canadienne, as well as the founding editor of the French newspaper Le Devoir, which promoted French nationalist ideals, was a particularly outspoken advocate of this French Canadian view. However, against the wishes of the French Canadians, the Laurier government decided on a compromise and dispatched a volunteer force that Canada would send overseas, after which Britain would pay for their keep, a decision which satisfied few Canadians and eventually led to a three-day riot on the part of the French Canadians in various areas of Quebec. The French Canadians felt that Laurier refused to take a clear stand on Canada's position in the British empire, while the English Canadians felt outraged that Laurier refused to provide more than token support to Britain.
The military history of Canada during World War I began in 1914 when Britain entered the First World War by declaring war on Germany. The position of the Francophones and Anglophones upon the war was extremely similar to their standing on the Boer War. Canadians of British descent - the majority - gave widespread support arguing that Canadians had the duty to fight on behalf of their Motherland. Indeed, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, although French Canadian, spoke for the majority of English Canadians when he proclaimed that "it is our duty to let Great Britain know and to let the friends and foes of Great Britain know that there is in Canada but one mind and one heart and that all Canadians are behind the Mother Country.". However, relatively few Francophones volunteered to join the English-speaking battalions. Of the 432,000 Canadian volunteers fewer than 5% came from French Canada, which made up 28% of the Canadian population at the time. At this time, Borden had promised Britain a contingent of half a million soldiers; yet recruitment efforts had failed and the number of willing volunteers was depleting. The Canadian government turned to conscription, or mandatory service in the army, triggering large outcry and eventually the Conscription Crisis of 1917. Borden introduced the Military Service Act, allowing the government to conscript men across the the country if the Prime Minister felt it was necessary. Enormous amounts of public outrage accompanied this decision, particularly from French Canadians. More than 35,000 French Canadians served overseas throughout the war, many against their will. The conscription question resulted in French Canadians feeling more isolated than ever from the rest of Canada as a people who did not support the war effort. The French Canadian nationalists who opposed conscription viewed it as neither necessary nor successful, arguing that it caused an avoidable rift between English and French Canada.
In 1936, the Union Nationale, under Maurice Duplessis, was able to defeat the Liberal party, but was defeated in the 1939 election due in part to his outspoken and unbashful views against mandatory conscription in the army. French Canadians did however participate in World War II under the condition that overseas conscription by the government would cease. However, as the need for troops increased, the Canadian government asked citizens to reflect upon this judgment and whether or not it should be dismissed. 80% of Francophones voted to maintain the current laws, while the same percentage of Anglophones voted to abolish them. Mackenzie King therefore declared that there would only be conscription if absolutely necessary, and his government was able to prevent conscription until 1944, when 16 000 men were conscripted. In response to this, the French Canadians felt infuriated and helped to re-elect the Liberal government.
The first real test of Canada's position in world affairs, however, came with the Boer War. The British government pressured Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier to send an official contingent to serve Britain in the Boer War, a military conflict that Britain had incited against the Dutch population of Boers in South Africa. This demand split Canadians along imperialist and nationalist lines; a division which occurred largely between French and English Canadians. The English-speaking Canadians and most of the English-language press felt a stronger emotional tie to Britain and claimed that the war efforts "pitted British freedom, justice and civilization against Boer backwardness". The French Canadians, in contrast, opposed any Canadian military involvement in the war, as they felt they had no particular loyalty to Britain; they believed that sending troops overseas would send a precedent for the future, as Canada would be obliged to take part in every British military conflict as well as encourage stronger relations with Britain. Henri Bourassa, the creator of the newly-formed pro-Quebec group, La Ligue Nationaliste Canadienne, as well as the founding editor of the French newspaper Le Devoir, which promoted French nationalist ideals, was a particularly outspoken advocate of this French Canadian view. However, against the wishes of the French Canadians, the Laurier government decided on a compromise and dispatched a volunteer force that Canada would send overseas, after which Britain would pay for their keep, a decision which satisfied few Canadians and eventually led to a three-day riot on the part of the French Canadians in various areas of Quebec. The French Canadians felt that Laurier refused to take a clear stand on Canada's position in the British empire, while the English Canadians felt outraged that Laurier refused to provide more than token support to Britain.
The military history of Canada during World War I began in 1914 when Britain entered the First World War by declaring war on Germany. The position of the Francophones and Anglophones upon the war was extremely similar to their standing on the Boer War. Canadians of British descent - the majority - gave widespread support arguing that Canadians had the duty to fight on behalf of their Motherland. Indeed, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, although French Canadian, spoke for the majority of English Canadians when he proclaimed that "it is our duty to let Great Britain know and to let the friends and foes of Great Britain know that there is in Canada but one mind and one heart and that all Canadians are behind the Mother Country.". However, relatively few Francophones volunteered to join the English-speaking battalions. Of the 432,000 Canadian volunteers fewer than 5% came from French Canada, which made up 28% of the Canadian population at the time. At this time, Borden had promised Britain a contingent of half a million soldiers; yet recruitment efforts had failed and the number of willing volunteers was depleting. The Canadian government turned to conscription, or mandatory service in the army, triggering large outcry and eventually the Conscription Crisis of 1917. Borden introduced the Military Service Act, allowing the government to conscript men across the the country if the Prime Minister felt it was necessary. Enormous amounts of public outrage accompanied this decision, particularly from French Canadians. More than 35,000 French Canadians served overseas throughout the war, many against their will. The conscription question resulted in French Canadians feeling more isolated than ever from the rest of Canada as a people who did not support the war effort. The French Canadian nationalists who opposed conscription viewed it as neither necessary nor successful, arguing that it caused an avoidable rift between English and French Canada.
In 1936, the Union Nationale, under Maurice Duplessis, was able to defeat the Liberal party, but was defeated in the 1939 election due in part to his outspoken and unbashful views against mandatory conscription in the army. French Canadians did however participate in World War II under the condition that overseas conscription by the government would cease. However, as the need for troops increased, the Canadian government asked citizens to reflect upon this judgment and whether or not it should be dismissed. 80% of Francophones voted to maintain the current laws, while the same percentage of Anglophones voted to abolish them. Mackenzie King therefore declared that there would only be conscription if absolutely necessary, and his government was able to prevent conscription until 1944, when 16 000 men were conscripted. In response to this, the French Canadians felt infuriated and helped to re-elect the Liberal government.
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Historical Photograph
The photograph was taken in Victoria Square, Montreal, Quebec, on May 24th, 1917. It depicts an anti-conscription parade that took place to publicly show dissupport towards new conscription laws, specifically the War Measures Act that Prime Minister Robert Borden had introduced only 7 days earlier, on May 17th. As the photo was taken in Montreal, we can assume that the people in the photo were mainly of French Canadian heritage, most of whom strongly opposed conscription.
The style of architecture in the brick buildings, particularly the windows, as well as the unabashful cigarette advertisement in the left corner are distinctive indicators of the time period that this photo is displaying. As well, many horse-drawn carriages are visible in the photograph. It is also interesting to note that at the upper right-hand corner, the British flag can be seen hanging from a window. This is representative of the population of Quebec at the time: although the majority of citizens were French Canadian, many British immigrants had settled in the towns, to the discomfort of the French Canadians. In the photograph, the parade can be seen occurring on the road, where it seems to be blocking traffic. On the left are many protestors holding signs, which are illegible from this angle but are undoubtedly opposing conscription. Many of the people are interacting, however not necessarily on a personal basis; the conversations between people seem to be centered around the events in the photo.
The people in the photograph mostly seem to be young men. Many of them are wearing clothes that are typically representative of the upper-middle class, such as bowler hats, dress coats, suits and flat shoes. There are no distinctive figures in the photograph that can be recognized.The purpose of this photo would have been to record the parade, perhaps for publication in a local Quebec newspaper that supported the French Canadian anti-conscription view, such as Henri Bourassa's Le Devoir. The photo may have been used as persuasion or propaganda to further convince people that conscription should be opposed. Otherwise, it may just have been used to inform citizens of current events as a neutral news report.
Canadian involvement in World War I began as Britain declared war on Germany in 1914. The Francophones strongly opposed the dispatch of troops overseas to aid Britain in the war effort. However, their wishes were overlooked as the Laurier government decided to send a voluntary force to participate. At this time, Borden had promised Britain a contingent of half a million soldiers; yet recruitment efforts had failed and the number of willing volunteers was depleting. After the Battle of the Sommes, Canada was in desperate need of soldiers to send. The Canadian government turned to conscription, triggering enormous outcry from the French Canadians. This photo was taken 8 days after Borden introduced the Military Service Act, allowing the government to conscript men across the country if the Prime Minister felt it was necessary. Enormous amounts of public outrage accompanied this decision, particularly from French Canadians. More than 35,000 French Canadians would continue to overseas throughout the war, many against their will. The conscription question resulted in French Canadians feeling more isolated than ever from the rest of Canada as a people who did not support the war effort. The photograph demonstrates a momentous event that would fuel the nationalist passions of the French Canadians and created a permanent wedge in Canada's linguistic divide.
The photograph was taken in Victoria Square, Montreal, Quebec, on May 24th, 1917. It depicts an anti-conscription parade that took place to publicly show dissupport towards new conscription laws, specifically the War Measures Act that Prime Minister Robert Borden had introduced only 7 days earlier, on May 17th. As the photo was taken in Montreal, we can assume that the people in the photo were mainly of French Canadian heritage, most of whom strongly opposed conscription.
The style of architecture in the brick buildings, particularly the windows, as well as the unabashful cigarette advertisement in the left corner are distinctive indicators of the time period that this photo is displaying. As well, many horse-drawn carriages are visible in the photograph. It is also interesting to note that at the upper right-hand corner, the British flag can be seen hanging from a window. This is representative of the population of Quebec at the time: although the majority of citizens were French Canadian, many British immigrants had settled in the towns, to the discomfort of the French Canadians. In the photograph, the parade can be seen occurring on the road, where it seems to be blocking traffic. On the left are many protestors holding signs, which are illegible from this angle but are undoubtedly opposing conscription. Many of the people are interacting, however not necessarily on a personal basis; the conversations between people seem to be centered around the events in the photo.
The people in the photograph mostly seem to be young men. Many of them are wearing clothes that are typically representative of the upper-middle class, such as bowler hats, dress coats, suits and flat shoes. There are no distinctive figures in the photograph that can be recognized.The purpose of this photo would have been to record the parade, perhaps for publication in a local Quebec newspaper that supported the French Canadian anti-conscription view, such as Henri Bourassa's Le Devoir. The photo may have been used as persuasion or propaganda to further convince people that conscription should be opposed. Otherwise, it may just have been used to inform citizens of current events as a neutral news report.
Canadian involvement in World War I began as Britain declared war on Germany in 1914. The Francophones strongly opposed the dispatch of troops overseas to aid Britain in the war effort. However, their wishes were overlooked as the Laurier government decided to send a voluntary force to participate. At this time, Borden had promised Britain a contingent of half a million soldiers; yet recruitment efforts had failed and the number of willing volunteers was depleting. After the Battle of the Sommes, Canada was in desperate need of soldiers to send. The Canadian government turned to conscription, triggering enormous outcry from the French Canadians. This photo was taken 8 days after Borden introduced the Military Service Act, allowing the government to conscript men across the country if the Prime Minister felt it was necessary. Enormous amounts of public outrage accompanied this decision, particularly from French Canadians. More than 35,000 French Canadians would continue to overseas throughout the war, many against their will. The conscription question resulted in French Canadians feeling more isolated than ever from the rest of Canada as a people who did not support the war effort. The photograph demonstrates a momentous event that would fuel the nationalist passions of the French Canadians and created a permanent wedge in Canada's linguistic divide.