There were many factors that brought all the colonies together into a strong nation. They were problems that with confederation could be easily solved. If the British North American colonies did not bring confederation the Americans would dominate over them. So, what are the factors that brought the colonies together and made our country the strong nation it is today?
One of the factors is threat of American takeover. After the American civil war when the north won the Canadians were afraid that the Americans would then attack Canada. The Americans also believed that one day they would own all of North America including Canada. This scared the British North American colonies. If there were not to come together they would be dominated by the Americans, but if they came together into confederation they would be a strong country with a larger defence system that could protect them against the US.
Trouble with trade was another problem. Britain wanted free trade no taxes. The British North American colonies did not agree. If Britain demanded free trade and no taxes how would the colonies get their money for all the goods that they were producing? The only way to end this is confederation. If they came together as a strong central government they would no longer be controlled by Britain so they wouldn’t be forced into free trade, they could still get profit for their goods. Also the colonies could freely trade with each other because now no longer are they competition they are all part of the same nation working together.
The Fenians were a HUGE problem in the 1860’s. The Fenians were Irish American soldiers that were super aggressive. The colonies on their own didn’t have enough defence to protect themselves over the Fenians; they would end up taking over all of the colonies eventually. So they all came together to create a larger defence so that they are stronger and can take over the Fenians, this also intimidated the Fenians because not now do they only have to deal with a small army they have a whole nation to fight against.
They colonies needed rail links. They needed them to trade back and forth between all the colonies but railways cost money which some colonies didn’t have. If the colonies were united then they wouldn’t need the railways to transport goods between them all and if they still did need railways they country would have a federal government which looks over everyone’s affairs including trade so they could pay for the railways to be put in.
Lastly is changing British attitudes. Britain wanted nothing to do with the British North American colonies anymore. They wanted to cut them loose and let them go because they were mad with them. If Britain was to let them go the British Navy wouldn’t be there to protect them they would have no form of government or trade system, they would be lost. They needed a backup plan; if Britain was to throw them out they could come together and make their own nation, still being successful.
Those 5 factors are the important problems that brought the colonies all together into Canada. Even though they were big problems back in the 1860’s they were important to our country and without them we may not be a strong nation like we are today.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
Another reason as to why Confederation was a good idea was because of cheaper trading within the country. After Britain stopped the Corn laws and the United States made their trading taxes cost more, British North America was in trouble. The United States and Great Britain were British North America’s biggest trading partners, the different colonies did not trade between each other because if the pricey taxes. By Making British North America one country it would make the trading…
- 663 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
On July 1st of 1867, the passing of the British North America Act indicated that Canada had become a nation. Before Confederation, what we know as Canada today was merely a bunch of scattered British colonies. When the colonies united to form the Dominion of Canada, they were able to depend upon themselves for economic and security reasons. Because they traded goods amongst themselves without tariffs and depended on each other for protection, an initial sense of unity was formed within the new Dominion. This also led Canada to reduce its reliance on Britain and thus became more independent. Canada's main affairs may have been controlled by Britain at that time, but this event served as a prelude to Canada's growing nationhood and has spurred this young nation to take its first steps in building its own identity.…
- 674 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Nationalism- although various colonies were unique and had their own special characteristics, they shared many things in common such as:…
- 841 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Confederation The Confederation of 1867 had many influencing factors pushing it and against it. The most influencing factors were based on three main topics which were: economic factors, internal political issues, and pressures from the USA. Some of these factors had a big influence on the outcome, and others not so much. The most influencing factor of the Confederation was the Political Deadlock. This made the government come to a standstill because if the majority was against for what the government wanted, the bill would be not approved. Although, if they had Confederation it would make the government stronger if united as one, and both East Canada and West Canada would not have to agree on the same things but instead just the government officials.…
- 558 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
During the years before Confederation, there was much happening in the colonies that would eventually unite to become the Dominion of Canada in 1867. The Fathers of Confederation were the architects of the plan that resulted in the proposal that would bring the individual British American colonies together under a Federalist system. There were three main conferences which were held and to be included as a Father of Confederation. These conferences were The Charlottetown Conference - 1864, The Quebec Conference - 1864, and The London Conference - 1866.…
- 963 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Union is power. Work in unity is better than working individually. That is why the British North Americans thought of confederation. An individual or single power will most likely have a hard time fighting against a group of people with lots of power. The colonies wanted to join together so that they could fight against the United States. If the groups of colonies didn’t join together, they wouldn’t have the power to prevent the United States from controlling all of North America. There is also other reasons for why the Confederation of 1867 happened, like the ending of BNA’s trade relations with Britian and the U.S., the Fenian Raids, Political deadlock, and the impact of “Manufast Destiny” as the main cause of Confederation.…
- 770 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
After the events of 1867, a newly-established country named Canada had recently purchased its West portion of land. Canada required a rapid development of its west in order to prevent the United States from taking over the new land. With a prime minister who had great visions for his country and a world with people in need of a new place to live, the only thing standing between the success of the development of the west was a group of people in hopes of defending their rights and freedom.…
- 539 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
A way Canada has earned respect from the international community is by having a role in the solution of the Suez Crisis. In the 1950's,President Nasser of Egypt claimed ownership of the Suez Canal,thus causing an International crisis by denying access to shipping from other nations.It brought Egypt to the verge of war with the U.K and that is when Canada’s to-be Prime Minister Lester B Pearson stepped in proposed a peacekeeping plan, which would be the first for the UN. Canada gained respect by this since they not only found a solution for a crisis but also started something new. A way Canada gained Independence as a nation was through the British North America Act on July 1, 1867. This divided Canada so it was no longer subject to British rule and Canada became self-governing.…
- 2354 Words
- 10 Pages
Good Essays -
The fact that we are a large nation with abounding benefits not only that it helped the economy, the confederation has a positive effect politically as well. By colonies joining together we could trade amongst ourselves. And if colonies grew it would mean building railroads and roads which would be costly by joining colonies, it would also imply having more taxes and more money to pay for debt. Also a new system of decision making was made with one central and provincial government to deal with local issues and by doing so it would make colonies unwavering and a lot more…
- 711 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Changes In Canada 1867 – 1905 Canada, it’s a young country with a lot of history behind it. Canada’s history is most important during 1867 to 1905. Many changes happened to Canada during this time, here are some of them. Firstly, John A. Macdonald started the confederation. The Dominion of Canada first became introduced four provinces on July 1st 1867 (H60). These four provinces were Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Secondly, a small piece of Manitoba today had formed in 1870. Manitoba becomes Canada’s 5th province. During 1871 Canada had grown. It had obtained The North West Territories which took a large portion of Manitoba today; Nunavut. British Colombia joined the confederation making it Canada’s 1st territory. All of these are indicated as yellow on the map. They also had gotten Newfound Land but was later removed and re-added (According to textbook map. Other sources say Newfound Land was only added during this time and never removed (Website 1 and 2)). Thirdly, two years later during 1873, new land had been obtained and lost. Prince Edward Island or P.E.I had joined Canada, making it Canada’s 7th province. Although we had gotten P.E.I we lost Newfound Land. Newfound Land would be the 8th province added. This is indicated green on the map. 1873 wasn’t too exciting as you can see. Fourthly, during 1898 1 territory was made and existing lands became bigger. The Yukon Territory was made, this was the 2nd territory. Yukon was the only land that was made however 3 provinces grew larger in size, Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba. The added territory and growths are coloured orange. Lastly, in 1905 the 9th and 10th provinces were added in which were Alberta and Saskatchewan (All Website 1 and 2) which are coloured red. As you can see a lot of changes had happened during these 38 years but we have yet to discuss Nunavut which was created in 1999. Canada now has 10 provinces and 3 territories. Canada has been through many changes for it to become the…
- 739 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Political After the first world war Canada started to become more independent from the British empire. At the imperial conference in 1921, prime minister Arthur Meighen opposed a British plan for renewing the alliance with Japan. This decision was based strongly on the American opposition. In 1922, a diplomatic crisis occurred in Turkey, the Canadians did not help, this showed their growing independence. The prime minister let the parliament decide, but by the time they had made a decision the problem was over. By the next time there was a conference, it was clear that the British empire needed a new view.…
- 1927 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays -
In the process of writing the Articles of Confederation so that it would not resemble a parliamentary government like Great Britains, the authors unintentionally created many problems pertaining to centralized power. The states kept their sovereignty which made it seem like there were thirteen separate countries rather than thirteen states unified together to create a country. There was no executive branch which translated into no follow through on decisions and there was a lack of leadership of the armed forces. No standing army meant that there was constant internal strife and state conflict, as well as making the threat of external invasion very real. There was also no trade regulation, which resulted in numerous trade disputes and also resulted in states taxing one another. State conflict was not only limited to trade disputes; laws in one state werent always…
- 1234 Words
- 4 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Newfoundland was exceptionally poor before confederation and Newfoundlanders had it spectacularly hard. By 1934, the First World War and the worldwide depression had bankrupt the dominion. When the economy collapsed Newfoundland went bankrupt and many people faced starvation. The Newfoundland government approached Britain for aid and Newfoundlanders voluntarily sacrificed their independence and once again became a colony of Great Britain. As a result, their elected government was replaced by an appointed commission. Britain was now running Newfoundland and its self-government had been suspended. During the Second World War, prosperity and self-confidence returned to Newfoundland but after the war, the governor had proposed confederation. Many Newfoundlanders thought joining the US was a better option and others wanted to regain the independence they had lost when Newfoundland went bankrupt in the 1930’s. Only a handful wanted to become apart of Canada.…
- 1021 Words
- 5 Pages
Powerful Essays -
In 1867 the confederation took place. This was a result of a coalition between John A. MacDonald and George Étienne Cartier, to gain independence from the British and preserve Canada, including the French language and culture. The country Canada consisted of four provinces; Canada East (Francophones), Canada West (Anglophones), Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, with the addition of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick the population of the Anglophones increased, the Francophones became a minority…
- 945 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
It all began with the rebellions of 1837-1838, when discontent citizens of Canada were tired of the oppression brought upon by the ruling classes, Family Compact and Château Clique. After trying to change their “irresponsible government” and failing to do so, frustration turned to fury, their patience waning thin, and reformers took arms against the government. These rebellions were drastic actions taken because reformers wanted political reform in the Colonies, limiting the power of the oligarchies by making them responsible to elected representatives. The rebellions were, sadly, a failure and many reformers died. They failed to last long because the rebels were ill-prepared, lacked popular support and were badly led. However, the citizens of Canada now rejected the idea of using violence and sought to seek reforms by taking part in the government. They were content to use peaceful, constitutional means to achieve political ends. The rebellions had made the British government more aware of the situations in Canada, thus asking Lord Durham to head a commission of inquiry into the rebellions while also making recommendations for the future of the Canadas. This was eventually accomplished with a report regarding the union of the Canadas. Although responsible government was still not a possibility, the Act of Union that Durham proposed was accepted. This would combine the two colonies, Upper and Lower Canada into Canada West and East. The British minority in Lower Canada were in favor of the Act and the Tory-dominated Assembly also gave their approval. However, the Canadiens were not so pleased and opposed the Act of Union. Although their disapproval was evident, in February 1841, the Act of Union proceeded as planned. Now, only one government would govern over the Canadas. This created an opportunity for the reformers in Canada West and East to work together to achieve responsible government. Learning from their predecessors, the reformers strived for political…
- 2175 Words
- 9 Pages
Better Essays