The Constitutions That Shaped Us : A Historical Anthology of Pre-1867 Canadian Constitutions

The Constitutions that Shaped Us re-examines from a comparative and critical standpoint the events, key players, and texts which, taken together, help to interpret all Canadian constitutions prior to Confederation. The key constitutional documents that are studied in this book are the Royal Proclamation of 1763, the Quebec Act of 1774, the Constitutional Act of 1791, and the 1840 Act of Union. Great Canadian historians of the past take turns in providing unforgettable sketches and understandings of the actions of monumental figures such as Governors Murray, Carleton, and Elgin, British politicians from Pitt to Burke, Grey, and Durham, without forgetting the leading political and intellectual colonial figures such as Bédard, Papineau, La Fontaine, Mackenzie, and Baldwin. Gathering together the most renowned and representative works of constitutional scholarship, this anthology provides readers with an in-depth account of the events that would ultimately lead to the union of British colonies, the birth of the Dominion of Canada, and the rebirth of political autonomy in a colony known successively as Quebec, Lower Canada, Canada East, and once again Quebec in 1867. Following a general survey of the various constitutions enacted under British rule, this collection includes an equal number of commentaries by French- and English-speaking historians concerning each of the four constitutions to offer the most nuanced view of Canada’s origins to date. Cover Copyright Contents Acknowledgments Introduction Part One Canada under British Rules 1760–1900 - Sir John George Bourinot Canada’s History Class - Thomas Chapais The History of Canada from Discovery to the Present Day - François-Xavier Garneau The History of French Canada since Discovery - Chanoine Lionel Groulx The Constitution of Canada - W.P.M. Kennedy Canada and Its Provinces - Adam Shortt and Arthur G. Doughty Part two The Old Province of Quebec - Alfred Leroy Burt French Canada and the Early Decades of British Rule, 1760–1791 - Michel Brunet The Quebec Act: A Magnanimous Concession, or a Self-Interested Gesture? - Séraphin Mario n Canadian Historical Controversies - Hilda Neatby The French Canadians, 1760–1791 - Mason Wade Background for a New Approach to the 1791 Constitution - Pierre Tousignant A History of Canada - Arthur R.M. Lower The Union of the Canadas: A New Conquest? - Denis Vaugeois The Pattern of Union, 1840–1841 - J.M.S. Careless Second Capitulation of the French Canadians, 1839–1842 - Maurice Séguin Bibliography Biographical Notes Index "The Constitutions that Shaped Us is part of a broader project to re-examine, from a comparative and critical standpoint, the events (Charlottetown Conference of 1864, Quebec Conference of 1864, and a formal meeting in London in 1866 which led to the passage of the British North America Act in 1867, key players (John A. MacDonald, George-Etienne Cartier, D'Arcy McGee, and Alexander Galt to name but a few), and texts (the Royal Proclamation of 1763, the Quebec Act of 1774, the Constitutional Act of 1791, and the Act of Union of 1840) that led to the union of several British colonies in North America between 1864-1867. The anthology was first published in French by Presses de l'Université Laval and endeavours to give readers a critical and pluralist collection by providing a serious and in-depth telling of the events leading to the union of British colonies, the birth of the Dominion of Canada, and the re-birth of political autonomy in a colony known successively as Quebec, Lower Canada, Canada East and once again Quebec in 1867."-- Provided by publisher