| Military — Forces armées The Begbie Contest Society - La Société du Concours Begbie |
  2 June 1866 Battle of Ridgeway LAC C-018737k  See the Riel Rebellion and the Boer War themes  Middleton and officers LAC e010949549  Canadian Militia 1889, LAC006332k              Chorus "Sail Sail oh my ship". [tr.]     RT. Hon. Robert Borden and Hon. Winston Churchill leaving Admiralty, 1912, Library and Archives Canada, C-002082                     1915      Library and Archives Canada, e010697033-v8, 1914-18  Library and Archives Canada, Acc. No. 1983-28-893       Spitfire Canada 1940 LAC PA-037482   LAC e002712861  Metropolitan Toronto Public Library 1939-45 Aircraft Production item 3 1941         1943  Women's collection of Glenbow 1943     McLean's Magazine 1 November 1943   1944   Library and Archives Canada, Acc. No. 1983-30-684, April 1944  LAC c-087430   Nov 1945, Metropolitan Toronto Public Library   1950 LAC Acc. No. R1300-308   1951, LAC Acc. No. R1300-30740        |
http://www.begbiecontestsociety.org/NAVY.htm
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LET’S MAKE SENSE OUT OF CANADIAN HISTORY
© Charles Hou Table of Contents Page Introduction 1 Good versus Evil 2 The Struggle for Survival 5 The Rise and Fall of Civilizations 6 The Growth of Freedom 8 Progress 10 Imperialism 12 Nationhood 14 The Northern Frontier 16 Staples 18 Metropolitanism 20 The Empire of the St. Lawrence 22 The Biographies of Great Persons 24 The Oppressor Versus the Oppressed 26 Struggle for the Border 28 Social History 30 "A Confused Heap of Facts" 32 Using Philosophies of History 33 Bibliography 35 LET'S!MAKE!SENSE!OUT!OF!CANADIAN!HISTORY The!main!goal!of!history!is!to!make!sense!of!the!past.!Historians!gather! and!analyze!evidence!of!past!events,!then!develop!a!thesis!to!illustrate!and! explain!their!significance.!Such!a!thesis!works!for!a!small!body!of! information.!When!interpreting!events!on!a!large!scale!historians!come up! with!a!superthesis!–!what!we!call!a!philosophy!of!history.!Various! philosophies!can!be!used!to!make!sense!of!!historical!events.!None!tell!the! whole!story,!but!each!provides!a!unique!insight!into!the!past.! Textbook!authors!strive!to!assemble!all!the!essential!facts!of!dates,!places,! events!and!people!students!should!know!about!Canadian!history,!but!facts! alone!are!not!enough!to!bring!the!past!to!life.!One!way!to!make!the! information!more!engaging is!to!vary!the!approach!taken!to!individual! units,!applying!different!philosophies!of!history!to!each. Brief!descriptions!of!various!philosophies!are!followed!by!suggestions!on! how!to!apply!them!in!class.!! "History!which!lacks!a!thesis!is!a!body!lacking!a!skeleton!–!it!is! invertebrate.!It!may!contain!exhaustive!research,!may!be!!striking!in! detail,!may!throw!light!into!dark!places,!but!its!total!effect!will!be! limp."! Allan!Nevins "The!writer!of!popular!history!must!discover!a!design,!a!pattern,!into! which!. . .!endlessly!varied!threads!of!research!can!be!woven,!and! which!will!yet!have!meaning,!intelligibility,!significance!for!the! reader." Donald!Creighton "When!you!read!a!work!of!history!always!listen!out!for!the!buzzing!of! bees!in!bonnets.!If!you!can!detect!none,!either!you!are!tone!deaf!or! your!historian!is!a!dull!dog." E.!H.!Carr
http://www.begbiecontestsociety.org/Philosophies%20Active.pdf
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| Colony to Nation — De colonie à pays The Begbie Contest Society - La Société du Concours Begbie |
   "I am one of those who believe that this country should have the right to negotiate its commercial treaties. I go a step further, I believe this country should have the right to negotiate every treaty . . . I see no reason why the people of Canada should not look forward to Canada becoming a sovereign and independent State. The right hon. Gentleman stated he was born a British subject and hoped to die one. Sir, I was born a British colonist, but do not wish to die a tadpole British colonist. I do not wish to die without having all the rights, privileges and immunities of the citizen of a nation." Amor de Cosmos, 2 April 1882          1914-18 LAC Acc. No. 1983-28-829  Imperial War Cabinet, 1917, LAC C-000241 "Before April 1917 we were content to be Colonials with one thought in common –– that of going "home" to fight for the mother country. But Vimy Ridge was the first battle in which Canadian divisions fought as a whole, and it was purely a Canadian effort, planned and fought our own way. The resounding victory, the first in Britain's two and a half years of war, gave every man a feeling of pride, the more so because the long battle line to our right had failed. A national spirit was born, and now to be British was not enough; we were Canadian and would do a good job of paddling our own canoe . . . I never felt like a Canadian until Vimy. After that I was Canadian all the way." Major-General F. F. Worthington "It was Canada from the Atlantic to the Pacific on parade. I thought then, and I think today, that in those few minutes (Battle of Vimy Ridge) I witnessed the birth of a nation." Brigadier-General Alexander Ross    “Canada had led the democracies of both the American continents. Her resolve had given inspiration, her sacrifices had been conspicuous, her effort was unabated to the end. The same indominable spirit which made here capable of that effort and sacrifice made her equally incapable of accepting the Peace Conference, in the League of Nations, or elsewhere, a status inferior to that accorded to nations less advanced in their development, less amply endowed in wealth, resources, and population, no more complete in their sovereignty and far less conspicuous in their sacrifice.” Prime Minister Robert Borden, 1919                LAC Acc. No. 1983-27-280  LAC Acc. No. 1983-27-237                LAC Acc. No. 1983-27-185  LAC Acc. No. 1983-27-186            Rex Woods, Canadian Home Journal, October 1935      "ln the course of the present war we have seen Canada emerge from nationhood into a position generally recognized as that of a world power." William L. M. King, 1 July 1943                                                                           |
HYSTERICAL AND HISTORICAL THINKING -CARTOONS
| Historical Thinking — Pensée historique The Begbie Contest Society - La Société du Concours Begbie |
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LET’S MAKE SENSE OUT OF CANADIAN HISTORY
© Charles Hou Table of Contents Page Introduction 1 Good versus Evil 2 The Struggle for Survival 5 The Rise and Fall of Civilizations 6 The Growth of Freedom 8 Progress 10 Imperialism 12 Nationhood 14 The Northern Frontier 16 Staples 18 Metropolitanism 20 The Empire of the St. Lawrence 22 The Biographies of Great Persons 24 The Oppressor Versus the Oppressed 26 Struggle for the Border 28 Social History 30 "A Confused Heap of Facts" 32 Using Philosophies of History 33 Bibliography 35 LET'S!MAKE!SENSE!OUT!OF!CANADIAN!HISTORY The!main!goal!of!history!is!to!make!sense!of!the!past.!Historians!gather! and!analyze!evidence!of!past!events,!then!develop!a!thesis!to!illustrate!and! explain!their!significance.!Such!a!thesis!works!for!a!small!body!of! information.!When!interpreting!events!on!a!large!scale!historians!come up! with!a!superthesis!–!what!we!call!a!philosophy!of!history.!Various! philosophies!can!be!used!to!make!sense!of!!historical!events.!None!tell!the! whole!story,!but!each!provides!a!unique!insight!into!the!past.! Textbook!authors!strive!to!assemble!all!the!essential!facts!of!dates,!places,! events!and!people!students!should!know!about!Canadian!history,!but!facts! alone!are!not!enough!to!bring!the!past!to!life.!One!way!to!make!the! information!more!engaging is!to!vary!the!approach!taken!to!individual! units,!applying!different!philosophies!of!history!to!each. Brief!descriptions!of!various!philosophies!are!followed!by!suggestions!on! how!to!apply!them!in!class.!! "History!which!lacks!a!thesis!is!a!body!lacking!a!skeleton!–!it!is! invertebrate.!It!may!contain!exhaustive!research,!may!be!!striking!in! detail,!may!throw!light!into!dark!places,!but!its!total!effect!will!be! limp."! Allan!Nevins "The!writer!of!popular!history!must!discover!a!design,!a!pattern,!into! which!. . .!endlessly!varied!threads!of!research!can!be!woven,!and! which!will!yet!have!meaning,!intelligibility,!significance!for!the! reader." Donald!Creighton "When!you!read!a!work!of!history!always!listen!out!for!the!buzzing!of! bees!in!bonnets.!If!you!can!detect!none,!either!you!are!tone!deaf!or! your!historian!is!a!dull!dog." E.!H.!Carr 1 GOOD!VERSUS!EVIL The!5th!century!bishop!St.!Augustine!saw!history!as!a!struggle!between! the!forces!of!good!and!evil.!He!would!have!viewed!Canadian!history!with!a! strongly religious!bias,!seeing!the!planting!of!a!Christian!society!in!the!St.! Lawrence!River!basin!as!a!triumph!of!the!forces!of!good,!and!the! destruction!of!the!Jesuits'!missionary!efforts!as!a!temporary!triumph!of! evil.!He!would!have!contrasted!the!influence!of!the!church!with!the!often! negative!aspects!of!life!such!as!war,!alcoholism,!immorality!and!racism.! History,!in!the!view!of!St.!Augustine,!is!directed!by!a!supreme!being,!and!it! is!the!historian's!job!to!try!to!discover!its!meaning.! "That!God!rules!in!the!affairs!of!men!is!as!certain!as!any!truth!of! physical!science!.!.!.!Kings!are!lifted!up!and!thrown!down,!nations! come!and!go!.!.!.!but!nothing!is!by!chance." George!Bancroft "Events!of!all!sorts!creep!or!fly!exactly!as!God!pleases." William!Cowper 2 GOOD!VERSUS!EVIL Founding!of!Montreal!by!Sieur!de!Maisonneuve,!1642,!Don!Anderson,!from! Confederation!Life's!Gallery!of!Canadian!History Death!of!General!Montgomery,!Quebec,!1775,!LAC!e010771309 3 THE!STRUGGLE!FOR!SURVIVAL François\Xavier!Garneau!used!the!theme!of!survival!to!interpret!French\ Canadian!history.!He!saw!the!history!of!his!people!as!a!recurring!struggle! for!survival!–!first!with!the!hostile!climate,!the!aboriginal!peoples,!and! British!and!Dutch!colonists,!then!with!their!English\Canadian!and American!neighbours.!His!interpretation!has!merit!outside!Quebec,!as! well. It!can!be!applied!to!the!struggle!of!the!First!Nations!to!survive!as!a! people,!to!the!struggle!of!the!English\Canadians!to!survive!alongside!their! powerful!and!more!numerous American!neighbours,!and!to!the!struggle! of the!inhabitants!of!Canada's!major!regions!to!maintain!their!political! and!cultural!identities.! "There!is!something!at!once!noble!and!touching!in!the!spectacle!of!a! people!defending!the!nationality!of!their!ancestors,!that!sacred! heritage!which!no!race,!how degraded!soever,!has!yet!repudiated." FrançoisUXavier!Garneau "There!are!two!miracles!of!Canadian!history.!The!first!is!the!survival! of!French!Canada!and!the!second!is!the!survival!of!Canada." F.!C.!Scott 4 THE!STRUGGLE!FOR!SURVIVAL The!Battle!of!Queenston!Heights,!1812,!LAC!Acc.!No.!1954\153\1 The!Skirmish!at!Duck!Lake,!1885,!!LAC 5 THE!RISE!AND!FALL!OF!CIVILIZATIONS Arnold!Toynbee!saw!history!as!the!rise!and!fall!of!numerous!civilizations,! each!of!which!went!through!a!process!of!birth,!growth,!maturation!and! decline.!Applying!this!cyclical!view!of!history!to!Canadian!history,!one! might!consider!the!rise!and!fall!of!three!cultures!or!civilizations,!and!the! rise!of!a!fourth.!The!aboriginal!civilizations!occupying!Canada!before!the! first!permanent!European!settlements!were!followed!by!the!French,! which!was!followed!by!the!British,!which!was!in!turn!followed!by!a! competition!between!Canadian!and!American!civilizations.! "States,!like!men,!have!their!growth,!their!manhood,!their! decreptitude,!their!decay." Walter!Savage!Landor "Canadian!history!is!the!history!of!a!French,!a!British!and!an! American!colony!successively." Tom!Naylor 6 THE!RISE!AND!FALL!OF!CIVILIZATIONS Champlain!and!Allies!versus!the!Iroquois.!1609 Battle!of!Quebec,!1759,!LAC!Acc.!No.!R9266\2102 7 THE!GROWTH!OF!FREEDOM Georg!Hegel,!who!interpreted!history!as!a!struggle!between!the!forces!of! freedom!and!autocracy,!would!have!explained!how!Louis!XIV's!autocratic! government!of!New!France!(thesis)!was!countered!by!the!inhabitants'! concept!of!local!freedom!(antithesis),!resulting!in!a!new!concept!of! government!in!which!autocracy!was!tempered!with!local!freedom! (synthesis).!Similarly,!the!British!concept!of!oligarchy!(rule!by!the!Family! Compact)!and!the!loyalist!concept!of!democracy!led!to!the!concept!of!self\ government!in!local!affairs, and!eventually!to!Canada's!independent! commonwealth!relationship!with!Britain.! "The!history!of!civilized!man!is!the!history!of!the!incessant!conflict! between!liberty!and!authority." Charles!T.!Sprading "The!progress!of!democracy!seems!irresistible!because!it!is!the!most! uniform,!the!most!ancient,!and!the!most!permanent!tendency!which! is!to!be!found!in!history." Alexis!de!Tocqueville 8 THE!GROWTH!OF!FREEDOM Joseph!Howe!defends!freedom!of!speech,!1835,!LAC!Acc.!No.!1972\26\764 Papineau!addressing!a!crowd,!1837,!LAC!Acc.!No.!1972\26\759 9 PROGRESS Many!historians!have!used!Charles!Darwin's!theory!of!evolution!to! explain!the!development of!their!countries.!Canadian!history!could!be! seen!as!a!series!of!progressive!steps!whereby!the!people!of!the!land! developed!from!the!stone!age!to!a!modern,!technologically!advanced! society.!Advances!in!democracy,!independence,!industrialization,! standard!of!living!and!transportation!would!be!catalogued,!and!wars!and! depressions!would!be!considered!as!temporary!setbacks!in!the!steady! march!of!progress.!The!problems!caused!by!pollution!and!man's!inability! to!control!weapons!which!could!destroy!the!world!are!more!recent!and! potentially!more!serious!setbacks.! "He!who!moves!not!forward!goes!backward." Johann!Wolfgang!von!Goethe "You!can't!say!civilization!don't!advance,!for!in!every!war!they!kill! you!in!a!new!way." Will!Rogers 10 PROGRESS Assiniboine!Hunting!Bufallo,!Paul!Kane,!1846,!National!Gallery!of!Canada "A!busy!threshing!scene!in!Manitoba," CNR,!LAC!C\4673 11 IMPERIALISM In!the!late!19th!and!20th centuries!some!historians!focused!their!attention! on!Canada's!role!in!the!British!Empire.!By!maintaining!their!ties!with! Great!Britain,!Canadians!were!able!to!bask!in!the!glory!of!the!British! Empire!at!the!height!of!its!power!and!prestige.!Instead!of!working!for!the! complete!independence!of!Canada,!they!strove!to!strengthen!the!bonds! which!held!the!Empire!together!and!distinguished Canadians!from! Americans.!Conceivably,!Canada!might!one!day!replace!Britain!at!the! centre!of!the!Empire.!This!version!of!our!history,!sometimes!called!the! Britannic!or!Blood!is!Thicker!than!Water School!was!a!problem!for!French! Canadians. "A!British!subject!I!was!born,!a!British!subject!I!will!die." Sir!John!A.!Macdonald "I!stand!in!the!first!place!for!the!British!Empire!against!the!world,! and!within!the!British!Empire,!I!stand!first!for!Canada." Sir!Robert!Borden 12 IMPERIALISM Conservative!election!poster,!1891,!LAC!c006536 1898,!Canada!Postal!Corporation,!LAC 13 NATIONHOOD While!some!historians!stressed!the!role!of!Canada!in!the!British!Empire,! others!foresaw!her!ultimate!independence.!They!catalogued!and!analyzed! every!step!in!the!long,!gradual!and!peaceful!process!whereby!Canada! weakened!her!ties!with!Britain!and!worked!toward!complete! independence.!Arthur!Lower's!book!Colony&to&Nation&reflects!this! emphasis!on!nation\building.!All!those!who!opposed!the!evolution!of! Canada's!internal!self\government!and!her!external!independence!are! criticized!by!the!nationhood!historians,!and!all!those!who!promoted!her! autonomy!are!praised.!This!approach!emphasized!politics!and! constitutional!change. "English!historians!were!obsessed!with!politics,!with!recording! every!advance!in!the!struggle!upward!and!onward!towards!the! Statute!of!Westminster." Ramsay!Cook "Canadian!history!is!the!record!of!the!struggle!by!which!Canadians! have!ascended!from!the!lowly!status!of!dependent!colonialism!to!the! serene!heights!of!autonomous!nationhood." Donald!Creighton 14 NATIONHOOD Battle!of!Ypres,!1915,!LAC!Acc.!No.!1983\28\471 First!Quebec!conference,!1943,!Ottawa!Paint!Works!calendar 15 THE!NORTHERN!FRONTIER Robert!Grant!Hamilton!was!one!of!many!writers!who!stressed!the! influence!of!Canada's!northern!location!on!her!historical!development.! They!believed!that!Canada's!severe!winter!climate!reinforced!the! characteristics!found!in!all!northern!peoples!–!hardiness,!individualism,! and!love!of!liberty!–!and!greatly!affected!her!society,!economy!and! politics.!The!frontier!spirit!influenced!the!explorers,!missionaries,!fur! traders,!lumbermen,!farmers,!miners,!and!petroleum!workers!as!they! moved!westward!and!northward!across!Canada,!and!the!nationalistic!and! romantic!image!of!the!northern!frontier!continues!to!grip!the!Canadian! imagination!today.! "We!are!the!Northmen!of!the!New!World." Robert!Haliburton "The!North!means!an!emptiness!to!be!filled,!a!potential!to!be! realized,!a!wealth!to!be!discovered!and!unlocked,!a!future!to!be! staked!and!deeds!to!be!done!that!are!uniquely!Canada's!chance!and! challenge." J.!Wreford!Watson 16 THE!NORTHERN!FRONTIER Yale!and!the!Gold!Hunter's!camp,!1860,!LAC!R9266\1550 Chilkoot!Pass,!1898\1899,!LAC!C004490 17 STAPLES Harold!Innis!stressed!the!importance!of!staples!or!commodities!in!the! development!of!Canada.!He!pointed!out!how!the!production!and!export!of! a!few!key!raw!materials!such!as!cod,!furs,!timber,!wheat,!minerals,!wood! products!and!energy!played!a!crucial!role!in!the!economic,!political!and! social!development!of!Canada.!As!Canada!produced!staples!for!markets!in! France,!Great!Britain!and!the!United!States!(and!for!many!other!world! markets!today)!she!imported!both!goods!and!ideas!from!these!countries.! The!production!of!staples!also!determined!the!growth!of!Canada's!canals! and!railroads!and!the!location!of!her!cities.! "Canada!emerged!as!a!political!entity!with!boundaries!largely! determined!by!the!fur!trade." Harold!Innis "For!the!most!part!Canadians!.!.!.!still!live!off!the!riches!we!were! fortunate!enough!to!stumble!on!here!in!the!first!place.!Our! prosperity!.!.!.!is!based!on!what!we!can!dig!or!pump!out!of!the!ground! or!harvest!from!its!surface!or!surrounding!area." Mordecai!Richler 18 STAPLES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Sampson,!Maclean's&Magazine,!15!August!1943 !!!!!!Sampson,!Maclean's&Magazine,!15!October!1943 19 METROPOLITANISM Some!historians,!among!them!D.!C.!Masters,!have!stressed!the!importance! of!large!metropolitan!centres!such!as!Paris,!London!and!New!York!in! shaping!the!direction!of!Canadian!history.!Major!commercial,!political!and! cultural!decisions!were!made!in!such!cities!and!communicated!to!smaller! centres!and!to!rural!areas!(hinterlands).!Toronto!and!Montreal!were!the! main!metropolitan!centres!in!Canada!that!dominated!and!exploited!their! hinterland!areas.!Although!numerous!regional!movements!have!arisen!to! protest!the!decisions!made!by!the!major!centres,!the!latter!still!prevail. "It![Montreal]!is!the!heart!of!the!country!and!from!it!circulates!the! life!blood!of!Canada." George!Ramsay!Dalhousie "Timber!has!ranked!with!sugar!and!tobacco,!and!possibly!ahead!of! cotton,!as!a!hinterland!product!called!into!existence!by!metropolitan! demand." A.!R.!M.!Lower 20 METROPOLITANISM The&Vancouver&Daily&Province,!2!May!1910 The&Sudbury&Daily&Star,!23!January!1958 21 THE!EMPIRE!OF!THE!ST.!LAWRENCE Historian!Donald!Creighton!stressed!the!influence!of!geographic!and! economic!factors!in!Canadian!history.!He!pictured!Canadian!history!as!the product!of!a!steady!east–west!movement!of!trade,!settlement,!and!ideas! along!major!waterways,!with!particular!emphasis!on!the!St.!Lawrence! River!system.!He!maintained!that!the!main!outline!of!Canada!was!traced! by!the!early!fur!traders,!and!that!the!rest!of!the!map!was!filled!in!by! settlers!and!exploiters!of!natural!resources.!Confederation!was!brought! about!to!realize!the!commercial!possibilities!of!the!St.!Lawrence.! "The!St.!Lawrence!system!was!a!capacious!funnel!into!which!the! natural!produce!of!midUWestern!North!America!would!inevitably!be! poured." Donald!Creighton "Our!river!system!dictates!our!union;!railroads!and!canals!will! strengthen!these!natural!bonds." Thomas!D'Arcy!McGee 22 THE!EMPIRE!OF!THE!ST.!LAWRENCE Canoe!Manned!by!Voyageurs!Passing!a!Waterfall, Francis!Hopkins,!LAC!Acc.!No.! 1989\401\1 Hon.!Donald!A.!Smith!driving!the!last!spike!to!complete!the!Canadian!Pacific! Railway, 1885,!LAC!c003693 23 THE!BIOGRAPHIES!OF!GREAT!PERSONS Francis!Parkman!felt!that!a!nation's!history!could!be!best!understood!by! studying!the!dramatic!incidents!in!the!lives!of!heroic!figures.!Hence! Canadian!history!would!be!studied!by!reading!about!the!lives!of!men!and! women!such!as!Champlain,!Madeleine!de!Verchères,!Montcalm,!Laura! Secord,!William!Lyon!Mackenzie,!Sir!John!A.!Macdonald, Louis!Riel,!Sir! Wilfrid!Laurier,!Nellie!McClung, William!Lyon!Mackenzie!King,!Lester! Pearson!and!Pierre!Trudeau.!All!aspects!of!our!history!would!be!seen!as! they!affected!or!were!affected!by!these!major!personalities.! "History!is!the!essence!of!innumerable!biographies." Thomas!Carlyle "History!is!made!by!living!men!and!women,!impelled!by!an!endless! variety!of!ideas!and!emotions." Donald!Creighton 24 THE!BIOGRAPHIES!OF!GREAT!PERSONS Trial!of!Louis!Riel,!1885,!Rare!Books!and!Special!Collections!UBC Agnes!Campbell!MacPhail,!1921,!LAC!C\O06908 25 THE!OPPRESSOR!VERSUS!THE!OPPRESSED Stanley!Ryerson!interpreted!Canadian!history!from!a!Marxist!point!of! view,!as!an!economic!struggle!between!the!oppressor!and!the!oppressed! for!the!benefits!of!production.!In!his!interpretation,!the!governors,! intendant!and!bishops!sent!from!France!to!Canada!ruled!over!and! exploited!the!First!Nations!and!the!French!peasants.!After!the!defeat!of the!French!in!1759, the!British!elite continued!the!exploitation.!Colonial! wars!can!be!considered!as!part!of!a!world\wide!competition!between!the! aristocracies!of!European!countries!for!resources!and!markets,!and! conflicts!within!Canada!seen!as!class!struggles!between!owners!and! workers. "The!farmer!toils,!the!merchant!toils,!the!laborer!toils,!and!the! Family!Compact!reap!the!fruit!of!their!exertions." William!Lyon!Mackenzie "The!root!conflict!of!interests!within!our!society!is!.!.!.!a!class!conflict! between!the!small!class!which!controls!the!sources!of!wealth!and! power,!and!the!other!classes!which!are!exploited!by!them." F.!H.!Underhill 26 THE!OPPRESSOR!VERSUS!THE!OPPRESSED St.!Eustache,!1837,!LAC!Acc.!No.!R9266\3310! Ernie!Walker, The&Federationist,!Vancouver,!22!December!1938 27 STRUGGLE!FOR!THE!BORDER In!his!book!Struggle&for&the&Border!Bruce!Hutchison!focuses!his!attention! on!the!development!of!Canada's!almost!6400\km!border!with!the!United! States.!By!studying!the!major!personalities!and!events!of!Canadian! history,!he!builds!up!the!background!information!needed!to!understand! the!political!treaties!that!formalized!the!border.!He!shows!how!a! seemingly!illogical!and!invisible!line!separating!the!two!countries!was! actually!a!logical!expression!of!the!major!forces!that!have!divided!them! throughout!their!history,!and!how!these!forces!are!enough!to!maintain! what!is!obviously!an!indefensible!line. "The!border!between!Canada!and!the!United!States!was!forged!in! geography,!trade!routes,!blood,!war,!threats!and!ultimatums." Will!Ferguson "The!boundary!between!Canada!and!the!U.S.!is!a!typical!human! creation:!it!is!physically!invisible,!geographically!illogical,!militarily! indefensible,!and!emotionally!inescapable." Hugh!Keenleyside 28 STRUGGLE!FOR!THE!BORDER Studio!portrait!taken!in!1882!of!the!surviving!Six!Nations!warriors!who!fought! with!the!British!in!the!War!of!1812,!!C085127 Canadian&Illustrated&News,!Montreal,!June!1870!!! 29 SOCIAL!HISTORY Until!the!1970s!Canadian!history!was!dominated!by!political!and! constitutional!historians!who!focused!on!Canada's!evolution!from!a! colony!to!a!nation. Starting!in!the!1960s!historians!became!more! interested!in!topics!traditionally!left!out!of!the!national!narrative.!They! began!to!include regional!histories!and!to!tell!the!stories!of!previously! marginalized!groups!such!as!workers,!women,!First!Nations,! environmentalists,!and!racial!and!ethnic!minorities.!Social!historians! believe!that!the!lives!of!ordinary!people!must!be!included!in!the!master! narrative!of!Canada. "History!is!an!adult!entertainment,!complex,!with!many!sides!.!.!.!The! history!of!Canada!is!multicentric.!This!country!is!too!vast!to!be!seen! clearly!from!one!perspective." Desmond!Morton "It!has!been!the!competition!and!clash!of!those!identities,!regional,! ethnic,!class!and!sexual,!which!have!given!history!its!dynamic." Ramsay!Cook 30 SOCIAL!HISTORY Aboriginal!women!mending!a!birchbark!canoe,!1872,!LAC!!PA\074670 British!Columbia!Electric!Co.,!The&Vancouver&Sun,!30!May!1927 31 "A!CONFUSED!HEAP!OF!FACTS" By!combining!the!graphs!illustrating!the!various!historical!philosophies! one!can!visualize!the!confusion!and!frustration!students!experience!in! studying!a!bland!consensus!version!of!our!past.!One!can!also!understand! the!advantages!of!dealing!with!one!clearly!defined!theory!at!a!time.! "History!is!a!confused!heap!of!facts." Lord!Chesterfield "The!difficulty!in!writing!Canadian!history!has!been!to!discover!in! the!multiplicity!of!incidents!and!in!the!complex!tangle!of!happenings! a!single!organizing!principle!which!gives!unity!and!coherence!to!the! whole." Edmund!H.!Oliver 32 USING!PHILOSOPHIES!OF!HISTORY The!philosophies!of!history!outlined!here!may!be!applied!in!the!classroom in!a!variety!of!ways.!One!way!would!be!to!introduce!a!new!philosophy! with!each!unit.!The!philosophy!of!good!versus!evil,!for!example,!could!be! used!with one!unit!and!the!struggle!for!survival with!another.!Students! could!then!be!asked!to!re\interpret!each!unit!using!the!other!philosophy.! By!the!end!of!the!year!students!should!be!able!to!interpret!each!unit!in!a! variety!of!ways.!The!facts!do!not!change!but!the!interpretation!does. !!!!!Consider!the!first!illustration!in!the!section!on Good!versus!Evil,!which! shows!Sieur!de!Maisonneuve!founding!a!French!settlement!at!Montreal!in! 1642.!All!historians!could!agree!on!the!facts!of!the!case!but!not!on!how!to interpret!it.!Studying!the!illustration,!St.!Augustine!would!stress!the! importance!of!founding!a!Christian!settlement!among!the!heathen!natives.! Garneau!would!focus!on!the!difficulty!the!French!would!have!to! overcoming!the!climate,!hostile!natives!and!the!competition!from!the! English!settlers!to!the!south.!Toynbee!would!look!at!the!fall!of!the!First! Nations!civilization!and!the!rise!of!the!French!civilization!in!North! America.!Hegel!would!record!the!failure!of!the!French!government's! attempt!to!establish!an!autocratic!government!due!to!the!influence!of!the! frontier!on!the!settlers.!Innis!would!make!clear!the!importance!of!the!fur! trade!in!the!establishment!of!the!settlement.!And!so!on.!Students!are!quite! capable!of!coming!up!with!different!interpretations!of!events.!This is!also! a!great!way!to!review!history.!History!becomes!an!engaging!and! intellectual!exercise!as!students!learn!to!juggle!facts. !!!!!Another!approach!would!be!to!explain!the!different!philosophies!at!the! beginning!of!the!year!and!have!the!students!apply!the!different! interpretations!to!several!historical!events!or!periods!during!the!year.!For! example,!after!studying!the!rebellions!of!1837!using!one!interpretation,! students!could!be!asked!to!write!a!short!essay!explaining!!how!St.! Augustine,!Toynbee,!Creighton,!Garneau,!Marx,!Parkman,!Hegel,!Darwin etc.!would!have!interpreted!the!same!information. !!!!!An!interesting!examination!or!class!discussion!might!be!undertaken!at! the!end!of!the!year,!in!which!students!would!be!presented!with!an! historical!photograph,!painting!or!cartoon!and!asked!to!give!different! interpretations!of!the!event!portrayed.!Alternatively,!the!students!could! be!given!several!well\illustrated!textbooks!and!asked!to!find!illustrations! fitting!the!different!interpretations.! 33 "Philosophy!asks!the!simple!question:!what!is!it!all!about?" Alfred!North!Whitehead "Having!accumulated!his!facts,!the!historian!must!discover!their! logical!connection!with!each!other,!the!laws!which!rule!them,!and! their!significance!for!the!period!studied!and!for!our!time." Allan!Nevins "An!age!is!a!chaos!while!one!is!living!in!it,!and!the!past!would!be!a! chaos!also!if!it!were!not!interpreted!for!us." Van!Wyck!Brooks "The!mental!highways!are!far!more!important!than!those!built!of! asphalt!and!cement." W.!Gunther!Plaut "History!is!about!the!debate!between!competing!interpretations!of! events,!individuals,!and!ideas!of!the!past!based!on!the!utilization!of! historical!evidence." Bruce!A.!Lesh "History!is!not!the!past,!but!a!map!of!the!past!drawn!from!a! particular!point!of!view!to!be!useful!to!the!modern!traveler." Henry!Glassic "The!"facts"!may!not!change,!but!often!the!importance!accorded!to! them!and!the!historian's!interpretation!of!them!will." Ruth!Pierson!and!Alison!Prentice "There!are!many!histories!of!Canada!depending!on!who!is!telling!the! story!and!from!what!perspective." Daniel!Francis "What! matters! in! history! is! the! great! outline! and! the! significant! detail;! what! must! be! avoided! in! the! deadly! morass! of! irrelevant! narrative." Sir!Lewis!!Namier "The!nation's!understanding!of!its!past!and!the!writing!of!its!history! involves!matters!of!mind!as!well!as!fact,!of!intellectual!substance!as! well!as!empirical!data." A.!B.!McKillop 34 Bibliography An!Ursuline!of!Quebec.!Mary&of&the&Incarnation:&Foundress&of&the&Ursuline& Monastery&Quebec,!Quebec,!n.p.,!1939. Atwood,!Margaret.!Survival:&A&Thematic&Guide&to&Canadian&Literature. Toronto,!McClelland!and!Stewart,!1972.! Bennett,!Paul!W.!Rediscovering&Canadian&History.!Toronto,!OISE!Press,! 1980. Berger,!Carl.!The&Writing&of&Canadian&History:&Aspects&of&EnglishOCanadian& Historical&Writing&Since&1900. University!of!Toronto!Press,!second!edition,! 1986.! Berger,!Carl,!ed.!Contemporary&Approaches&to&Canadian&History.!Toronto,! Copp!Clark!Pitman,!1987.! Bergeron,!Léandre.!The&History&of&Quebec:&A&Patriote's&Handbook.!Toronto,! NC!Press,!1971. Bergeron,!Léandre!and!Robert!Lavaill. The&History&of&Québec: A&Patriote's& Handbook.!Toronto,!New!Canada!Publications,!1972? Billington,!Ray!Allen.!The&Frontier&Thesis:&Valid&Interpretation&of&American& History?&Toronto,!Holt,!Rinehart!and!Winston,!1966. Bliss,!Michael,!"Privatizing!the!Mind:!the!Sundering!of!Canadian!History,! the!Sundering!of!Canada."!Journal&of&Canadian&Studies!26,!4!(winter!1991\ 92),!5\17. Bogue,!Alan.!G.!"Frederick!Jackson!Turner!Reconsidered."!The&History& Teacher,!February!1994 Careless,!J.!M.!S.&Frontier&and&Metropolis,!Toronto,!University!of!Toronto! Press,!1989. Clark,!Penney,!ed.!New&Possibilities&for&the&Past.!Vancouver,!UBC!Press,! 2011. Classen,!H.!George.!Thrust&and&Counterthrust.!Don!Mills,!Longmans,!1965.! Cook,!Ramsay,!Craig!Brown!and!Carl!Berger,!eds.!Approaches&to&Canadian& History:&Essays&by&W.&A.&Macintosh,&A.&R.&M.&Lower,&F.&H.&Underhill,&W.&L. 35 Morton,&D.&G.&Creighton,&J.&M&.S.&Careless,&M.&Brunet.!University!of!Toronto Press,!1967. Creighton,!Donald.!The&Empire&of&the&St.&Lawrence. Toronto,!Macmillan,! 1956. Creighton,!Donald.!Harold&Adams&Innis:&Portrait&of&a&Scholar.!University!of! Toronto!Press,!1957.! Cross,!Michael!S.. The&Frontier&Thesis&and&the&Canadas:&The&Debate&on&the& Impact&of&the&Canadian&Environment.&Toronto, Copp!Clark,!1970. Dimmitt,!Christopher!and!Michael!Dawson,!eds.!Contesting&Clio's&Craft: New&Directions&and&Debates&in&Canadian&History.!Institute!for!the!Study!of! the!Americas,!London,!2009. Gagnon,!Serge.!Quebec&and&its&Historians&1840&to&1920.!Montreal,!Harvest! House,!1982.! Granatstein,!J.!L.!Who&Killed&Canadian&History?!Toronto,!Harper!Collins,! 1998.! Hutchison,!Bruce.!The&Struggle&for&the&Border.!Toronto,!Longman!Brown! and!Co.,!1955. Keilty,!Greg.!1837:&Revolution&in&the&Canadas.!Toronto,!NC!Press,!1974.! Saul,!John!Ralston.!A&Fair&Country:&Telling&Truths&About&Canada.!Toronto,! Viking!Canada,!2008. She&Named&it&Canada:&because&that's&what&it&was&called.!North!Vancouver,! The!Corrective!Collective,!1971. Strong\Boag,!Veronica!and!Anita!Clair!Tellman.!Rethinking&Canada:&The& Promise&of&Women's&History. Toronto,!Copp!Clark!Pitman,!1986. Winks,!Robin!W.!The&Relevance&of&Canadian&History:&U.S.&and&Imperial&&&& Perspectives. Toronto,!Macmillan,!1979. Wrong,!George!M.!The&Rise&and&Fall&of&New&France.!New!York,!The! Macmillan!Company,!1928.! 36
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