Confederation was the hopes and dreams of a few politicians who worked hard to make it a reality. (Cranny, 1999, p.73) After years of existing as small, separate colonies relying on Britain to support them, it was time for the colonies to unite and become a Confederation. Confederation was the union of the colonies of British North America. (Cranny, 1999, p.73) Confederation was achieved on July 1st, 1867. Confederation was advantageous for the provinces as it prevented possible threats of annexation and attacks form the US, it created a stable economy, and it helped to improve the system of government.
Confederation helped stop the Americans from possibly attacking or annexing parts of British North America. Fears of possible American annexation were each passing day especially after American politicians, began making speeches about the idea of “manifest destiny” which was the destiny of the US incorporating all of the British North America. Canada quickly realized that something needed to be done to fend off American interests. All this time, the colonies had weak defences and to further exacerbate the problem, the US had more soldiers than the combined population of all the colonies. Also, the American Civil War had recently come to an end. (Cranny, 1999, p.76) As Cranny states, “Moreover, Britain had angered the Northern States by supporting the South during the war. Many wondered if the North would retaliate by invading Canada.” (1999, p.77) After the American Civil War, a group of Irish American soldiers known as the Fenians planned to invade and attack Canada to get back at Britain for both supporting the South, and according to them causing the potato famine. They “launched an unsuccessful raid against the New Brunswick border.” (Cranny, 1999, p.83) “The Fenian attacks convinced many people including the Maritimers that the US threat to Canada was real.” (Cranny, 1999, p.83) John A. Macdonald then used these raids to gather support for Confederation. He believed that if all the provinces joined together, they would be seen as independent of Britain and therefore the US would not be interested in attacking an independent nation.
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Confederation helped create a stable economy. Taxes, trade barriers and tariffs were eliminated between all of the colonies. This meant that all of the colonies could trade freely with each other and goods could be traded easier between them. A railway would also be built to help transport these goods to different parts of Canada and simultaneously throughout the world. This would increase Canada’s economics profits. Furthermore if any particular province faced a downturn, the problems could be shared amongst the rest of the provinces. (Cranny, 1999, p.76) Sharing profits and resources like this was believed, would bring back economic stability. Confederation could help improve the economy and it could help Canada become more independent and less reliant on Britain. Sharing and trading between colonies would eliminate the need for Britain to buy their goods and the railroad could help ship the goods more effectively.
Confederation improved the system of government and made it more efficient. A barrier to good government was the double majority principle which stated that a “majority vote in both Canada East and Canada West sections of the assembly, rather than just a simple majority.” (Cranny, 1999, p.79) This system meant that there was a lot of disagreement between Canada East and Canada West. Confederation solved this by introducing representation by population. The new government would have both a federal government in control of taxes, laws, defence and national problems while the provincial governments would be in charge of their own province and control matters particular to their provinces. Confederation helped resolve many issues with the government, and essentially made it more efficient.
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Articles Of Confederation Analyze Articles Of Confederation Essay, Research Paper Analyze the degree to which the Articles of Confederation provided an effective form of government with respect to foreign relations, economic conditions, and western lands. The Articles of Confederation were a primitive version of the current Constitution of the United States. Back in the 1700's all 13 states ...
Confederation was the missing puzzle piece of the puzzle that linked all of the colonies together and helped them gain independence from Britain. It would unite all of the colonies into one new country, Canada. It would help to create stronger defences against attacks and possible threats of annexation by the US. It would create free trade between the colonies and would help boost and support the economy. It would also create a government that could both look out for the individual provinces and Canada as a whole. Through there was many who disagreed with it in the beginning, in the end it proved beneficial to everyone. Confederation was the birth of Canada. If Confederation did not happen, the individual colonies ran the risk of being taken over by the US. They also would have continued to deal with an economy that was in ruins. Confederation was the glue that created Canada.
