Confederation

1. Confederation

2. Islandness • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUhWD2UswKQ&feature=player_embedded# • 1860s? How is the economy on the Island? • Scared of change – things have barely changed in the past 100 years • Independent – debt • Anything we have fought for we want to keep

3. Historical Context 1860s • US in civil war- industrial north vs slave owning south • National movements in Europe took over the German and Italian states • End of age of imperialism - French Revolution 1789-1799 • Colonial Union was driven by political visions of industrial progress, public works, and material well being • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hph52hbhYZQ&feature=player_embedded

4. Maritime Union 1864 • Charles Tupper was leader of the Maritime Union movement • He approached John Hamilton Grey, the Island Premier to send delegates to a conference to discuss this federal union between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick • Grey agreed on the condition that the conference be held in Ch’town. • In the meantime, Canada East and West were in political deadlock. Needed to add a couple of provinces to shake it up a bit. • Recipe for confederation?

5. Charlottetown Conference 1864 • Circus in town. W.H Pope met them on the ship in a dirty row boat. They had to stay the night on the ship due to lack of hotel space. • Decided right away not to discuss maritime union but discuss the idea of a confederation of all BNA colonies • Dreams of a nation from sea to sea – but not like the U.S • But PEI mostly interested in money to buy out the last of the landlords

6. Quebec Conference Oct 10 • Quebec conference was more formal • Major Points for Maritime Union • Defence against the U.S military • Lower Intercolonial trade barriers • An Intercolonial Railway • A nation stretched from sea to sea • Would these goals interest PEI? • What were their interest?

7. End of the conference • PEI opposed almost every resolution • Ended the conference with tours of the Canadian cities ( Montreal, Toronto and Que city) and a couple of free suppers for the delegates • One last meeting • But.... Edward Palmer skipped the last meeting early to get ahead start of the political rhetoric that soon dominated the politics for the next 9 years

8. And the players are ...

9. Lessons on Hegemony • "I believe that if we had and would keep our dirty, bloody, dollar soaked fingers out of the business of these [Third World] nations so full of depressed, exploited people, they will arrive at a solution of their own. And if unfortunately their revolution must be of the violent type because the "haves" refuse to share with the "have-nots" by any peaceful method, at least what they get will be their own, and not the American style, which they don't want and above all don't want crammed down their throats by Americans." • -General David Sharp [Former United States Marine Commandant 1966] • How can we connect this to confederation?

10. Hegemony of Confederation • Ideas of nationalism and industrialism. This was the driving force between confederation. Other colonies of Britain, India and the United States, are asking, well really fighting for independence. Once these nations are independent, they can grow. They can collect taxes from a larger body, increasing their capital, which allowed them to finance their goals; industrialism. Build infrastructure, create bureaucracy, provide education ..... Why do we provide education? Well according to Pink Floyd, to mass produce a consenting society that will abide by the values put in place by the bourgeois. • What was PEI’s reaction to confederation?

11. Importance of questioning • PEI, by waiting to join confederation were offered better terms in the end. Because they questioned the resolutions at the conference( although the way they approached it made them look foolish) they ended up joining confederation with a better deal. • General lesson: • Don’t assume, it’s in your assumptions where truth hides. • We can only do better if we question, reflect, and are self –critical. If you play sports, how do you perform better? Find your weaknesses. So how do we become smarter? More knowledgeable? More successful? • Question everything. • But don’t be afraid of being “wrong”. We learn from our mistakes.

12. Rejection of hegemony- leads to violence • Tenant League – withhold all rent. Why? • Raise money to buy land from absentee landlords. • Tin horns to warn that a rent collector was coming  People hide or rush over and drive land agent out. • 11 000 member by 1865 on PEI – Widespread movement • Represented the majority of the population • Donald MacDonald had his barns burned • Leaders didn’t tell Islanders to use violence • March 1865 Tenant Rally, sheriff tried to arrest Sam Fletcher because of his overdue rent, RIOT, he escaped • Scared the land agents and the government • So the military was brought in to assist in collecting rents. Why would the government be concerned? • And stayed until 1867 • Land Agents reconsidered their occupation. Some sold out.

13. British Involvement • The colonial office wanted confederation. Why? • C.O sent out an ultimatum – If they didn’t join Canada they would have to pay for their Governor’s salary themselves. And pay for the cost of the troops that were sent out during the tenant league riot. • PEI stood up to London. Not paying for their Gov’s salary and it was the C.O’s fault for dragging its heels on the Land Question. It’s been almost 100 years.

14. A new offer • 1867 Confederation happened without us. • J.C Pope happened to be in Londonwhen it happened. They offered £800 000 loan to buy out landlords. • 1867 only 5 confederates elected • Whelan and Gray defeated and Pope did not run. • Coles dementia worsened. Admitted to Insane Asylum at Falconwood. Resigned and was succeeded by Robert Haythorne. • Public still majorly against confederation.

15. The Second Charlottetown Conference1868 • American presence • Congress was looking at restoring free trade with British colonies. General Benjamin “Beast” Butler was sent. Arrived with a warm welcome. • Why would PEI be interested? • Reaction in Ottawa much different. Why? • PEI might be absorbed by the U.S. The last thing they needed is an American foothold in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. • The U.S bought Alaska from Russia in 1867, signifying American’s northern interests.

16. Better Terms 1869 • John A spent whole summer on Island trying to persuade. Why are we so important? • Higher subsidy, money to resolve land question, and a new offer of “continuous and efficient steam service” • 1870 Liberal Cabinet discussed terms and rejected them. • John A shocked. An unexpected result • Even the confederates thought the terms should of included a railway. Might get a better offer if we wait. • Issue completely dead on the Island....

17. Railway Fever • J.C Pope introduced a bill to build a railway from Alberton to Georgetownon March of 1871 • Pope predicted huge prosperity to all but it was only the city folk who were genuinely excited for the coming of the train; the country folk were worrisome of the change that it would bring • Problems : • Wasn’t the most functional – used narrow gauge on the Island compared to standard gauge on the mainland • Only increased trade within the province • Large debt incurred – the cost of the railway was planned to paid off within 30 years at 40 % interest, paid by the railroad’s earnings • Budget was set at a limit of 13 000 per mile, but not limit on the number of miles built – led to a snake like path across the island

18. The Railway What do both artifacts have in common? What can the symbols tell us?

19. If you had a name ... You had a train • Everyone wanted a part of the action • Patronage and corruption were rampant. People were bribing politicians to put the railway here or a station there. • The railway ended up winding back and forth and all over the place because there was no mileage gap; essentially it did everything but cross itself

21. Should we pay or should we join • The financial burden of the railway put significant pressure on the government to join Confederation, especially after the recession of 1872. A financial crisis was feared. The resources of the colony could not bear the strain imposed upon them and the colonial treasury was empty. • The Legislative Council had two options for Islanders • A) be heavily taxed to pay off huge railway debt • B) PEI become an province of Canada • They obviously chose the later.

23. The track to confederation • By 1873 there wasn’t much hope. The railway was deep in debt, incomplete, and no-one in London would buy any railway bonds or finance any new loans • Haythorne and David Laird asked the Canadians for the 1869 terms plus a few extras. The Canadians agreed and now it was up to convincing the wider public. • Public was shocked. Even the anti-confederate Liberals were encouraging Confederation. “Let’s just make the best of a bad situation”, was the Liberals attitude. But Pope hadn’t given up the fight yet. He boasted that he could still get even better terms because he was a good friend of John A. And the Conservatives would finally fund those Catholic schools.

24. Confederate Conspiracy • Can you see a conspiracy ??? • Who was involved? And what was his weapon....and intention? • But where is the evidence?

25. Election of 1873Pope vs. Haythorne • Protestants weren’t very happy with Pope’s campaign. Their religious leaders forced all Protestant candidates to sign a pledge to not give any money to Catholic schools. Even Pope himself signed the petition. This kept the Protestants happy, and the Catholics just thought of it as a trick and voted for Pope anyways in hope of receiving the funds for Catholic schools anyways. So everyone voted Tory, and Pope won the election 18 (Conservatives)- 10 (Liberals) – 2 ( independent anti -railway, anti-confederate from Bedeque) • J.C Pope headed to Ottawa for a good deal; luckily he was given a few extra dollars in subsidy - just enough to allow him to save face.

27. Passing the Confederation Bill • Speakers on both sides of the house now said that Confederation was inevitable • Everyone gave themselves a pat on the back for waiting for the between terms; a much better deal than in 1864. • The only opposition against the bill was the pair from Bedeque: Cornelius Howatt and A.E.C Holland. They argued “Sure taxes would be higher for a while, but we must not give up our cherished independence”. • The bill passed with a vote of 24 -2. • On July 1, 1873 the Island gave up its 104 –year independence and joined Canada. The public still had mixed feelings. The official proclamation was read at noon from the balcony of the Colonial buildings and no one cheered.

28. Group Work Do you know your stuff? • So if no one cheered did we WANT to join confederation or did we HAVE to? • Each group will be given a sections out of the text to work on. From each section you will gather a list of reasons to join confederation and reasons not to join confederation that are discussed within that section. • At the end we will gather and compile the list on the board while doing small presentations. Each person will be responsible for explaining at least one of the reasons. • This list will be really handy when studying.

29. Review

30. What do we know so far.... • PEI is in an Golden Age • Shipbuilding industry ; Agriculture industry; 1855 Reciprocity Treaty • 1865 the United States received 42.2% of its exports • Stable economy, most progress made recently • Expected economy to get even better • Self confident – shipbuilding reputation • Population rising • Wilderness tamed • We just earned responsible Government and we fought harder than most colonies to get it. • London didn’t interfere much unless it had to deal with the land question • Land Question still a political headline • Isolated in the winter • Frozen 5 or 6 months out of the year • Most Islanders hadn’t travelled

31. Quebec Conference • See handout for summary • Rep by population in the House of Commons • Equal regional representation in the senate to counterbalance the control held by Ont. and Quebec in the House. • Federal government control over all major sources of taxation; foreign policy; criminal law; currency and banking; and Indian Affairs • These resolutions formed the basis of the British North America Act 1867.

32. WHY JOIN? • So if the economy is progressing on its own.... • And we just won responsible government...that we fought hard for.... We just earned some independence from Britain • And we are isolated from the rest of the British colonies for almost half a year..... We don’t even know who they are.... • What is the benefit of joining confederation? Why take the chance is everything seems to be doing good....better than ever? • Yet large tracts of land still remained in the hands of absentee landlords and the leasehold tenure system remained the biggest block to progress.

33. Why did others want to join? • Other colonies have interests in a larger union • Quebec and Ontario are in political deadlock; the parties were about the same size and had similar strengths • Nova Scotia and New Brunswick both wanted a railway but Que. And Ont. Couldn’t agree on a route to connect Halifax to Montreal. • Nova Scotia and New Brunswick could be the gateway of the continent • Civil war was ending and their were rumours of an American army heading North to further territory. Need defence for a possible American invasion.

34. Railway fever....industrialism • Merchant bourgeoisie of Canada were ushering in the railway age of steel and steam. The merchants, who of course dominated the Canadian provincial legislature, were voting themselves huge sums of public money to finance their ventures and granting to the chartered railway company, of which they were the principal shareholders, vast blocks of crown land. [Sharpe] • Charles Tupper (N.S), Leonard Tilley (NB) John A. (Uppper Canada) Georges Cartier ( Lower Canada) discussed that “such a union, they calculated, would be to their economic advantage. ...what was good for their business was good for their countries.”

35. Charlottetown Conference • PEI initially not interested but there was prodding from Tilley and Tupper, so agreed to send delegates to discuss Maritime Union if the conference was held in Charlottetown • The Canada’s heard of conference and asked the Lt. Governor of PEI for permission “to observe” the conference. • Canada made a proposal to make a £200 000 loan available to help buy out landlords, which made some Island delegates interested. This allowed PEI to end the 100 year old Land question as well as be a part of a larger union and yet retain their own government and control over merchant interests. • In the 9 days that the delegates were in Charlottetown, formal meetings took only 22 hours. The rest of the time was spent at a series of parties and dinners. Agreed to meet again.