Unit Overview: Introductory Unit

This unit will focus on two key societal relationships - the relationship between the peoples and the "land," and the relationship between the members of a society and the decision-making processes that govern their society. The unit will investigate the assumptions and practices held by the major population groups from precolonial times to the beginning of the nineteenth century. Those populations included the First Nations, the European colonizers, and the peoples residing in the colonies. The assumptions and beliefs held by each of the groups influenced how the various peoples interacted, and shaped the history of the Canadian nation.

The encounter and sustained contact between these peoples produced change, conflict and accommodation. A "distinct" Canadian experience was a "product" of that interaction.

Precontact North America was not an empty land. The First Nations had successfully adapted to the continent's varied geography, its resources and climates. They had developed beliefs and practices that defined their relationship with the land, and provided structure to their societies.

The European explorers and colonizers encountered some First Nations societies that possessed societal attributes equal to those present in Europe at that time. One of those societies, the Iroquois Confederacy, possessed a "constitution" that governed decision making, individual rights and the parameters of government.

The Europeans challenged the beliefs, practices and sovereignty of the First Nations.

European military and political supremacy allowed them to impose European paradigms and practices throughout North America. The "agendas" and well-being of the First Nations were not of paramount concern to most Europeans. For generations, the decisions and policies that greatly influenced the lives of the First Nations peoples were aligned with the agendas of the European colonizers.

The First Nations and the Europeans held different paradigms and beliefs concerning the land and its resources. The belief that the land and its resources should be at the disposal of those willing to expend the energy and costs of exploiting those resources, was to define how the Europeans saw North America. North America was viewed as a resource hinterland existing to serve the economic and political agendas of the colonizing power.

The European colonizers replicated the existing European system of governance and decision-making practices in the European colonies. Colonial political and economic decision making were largely the prerogative of the colonial power and its appointed officials. The majority of the European populace in the colonies and the First Nations were excluded from meaningful participation in colonial decision making.

With the end of the Seven Years' War and the fall of New France in 1763, Britain assumed control of virtually all of North America. The former New France was a colony unlike Britain's other North American colonies. This colony was home to a society of 60,000 francophone Catholics. Britain was faced with the issue of how to "deal" with that population. British policies towards that population fluctuated between attempts at assimilation and attempts at accommodation.

Following 1763, colonial politics was dominated by a struggle between Britain and the Thirteen Colonies, for control over colonial decision making. The population of the Thirteen Colonies was mainly of British ancestry, and expected the same rights enjoyed by citizens in the British Isles. As the colonies acquired political sophistication through the operation of elected assemblies, they demanded a greater say in the decisions that affected their lives. They challenged the authority and powers of the British-appointed governors and non-elected Councils. Continued conflict led to the American Revolution.

The creation of the United States had geographic, economic and political consequences for the peoples of British North America, and later, Canada. The Loyalists, who arrived following the American Revolution, were particularly "fearful" of the intentions of the new Republic. They particularly feared the danger of the U.S. annexing British North America. Their fears were not without some basis. Within the U.S., the concept of "manifest destiny" was heralded by American politicians who called for political and military action, to fulfil that "destiny."

In the early 19th century there was a struggle for control over political decision making in British North America between entrenched "oligarchies" and reformers, who advocated "responsible government." A lengthy struggle between the oligarchies and the elected assemblies, in both Upper and Lower Canada, culminated in the Rebellions of 1837. Although not successful, the rebellions led to implementation of responsible government throughout the colonies of British North America.

Economic uncertainties and political instability characterized British North American life during the first half of the 19th century. Those conditions "forced" British North Americans into seeking new political and economic solutions. Confederation and the National Policy were the consequences of seeking those new "solutions."

Core Material for Unit One

Time available to teach optional concepts, to enrich or reinforce, or to modify the pacing and timing factors through the use of the Adaptive Dimension.	3 hours
Total Class Time	15 hours

Core material appears in bold type on the pages that follow. The remainder of the material in this unit is not core material; teachers may choose to work through all, some, or none of this material. This material should be seen as an opportunity to individualize instruction for students with different levels of intellectual ability and motivation. Teachers may also choose to substitute locally-developed material in optional areas where it is appropriate. Such material should reflect community interests and must also meet the skills, values, and concept objectives of the course.

Unit One: Foundational Objectives

Foundational Objective 1

Know that the organization of a society and its behaviour is influenced by a number of assumptions that surround certain relationships.

Core Concepts

Worldview

• Know that a worldview is a comprehensive viewpoint that explains the nature of reality, creates expectations, and provides meaning and purpose for people's lives.
• Know that every society will evolve a worldview that includes assumptions and practices that surround certain key societal relationships, including:
  - the relationship between the members of a society and the societal decision-making processes that impact their lives;
  - the relationship among the members of the society;
  - the relationship of the society with other societies; and,
  - the relationship between the peoples and the land.
• Know that both First Nations and European societies had evolved paradigms and assumptions that surrounded those key relationships which formed their respective societal worldviews.
• Know that members of a society will, to varying degrees, adhere to their societal worldview.
• Know that when two societies come into sustained contact, the differences in the respective societal worldviews can shape the interaction between the two peoples.

Paradigms

• Know that the Europeans operated with a set of paradigms, concerning sovereignty, property, and equality of peoples and societies, that differed greatly from the paradigms of the First Nations.
• Know that these paradigms influenced the perceptions and actions of both individuals and groups within European and First Nations societies.

Foundational Objective 2

Know that every society will evolve assumptions and practices that surround the key societal relationship between the peoples and the "land".

Core Concepts

Land

• Know that the term "land" as applied to the relationship between societies and the land, is used to describe all aspects of the environment including fauna and flora, land formations/composition, resources, and climatic conditions.
• Know that every society will evolve a relationship with the land that best accommodates the needs of that society.
• Know that First Nations assumptions about ownership of the land did not mirror those held by the colonizing Europeans.
• Know that the Europeans viewed North America as being a vast reservoir of resources to be utilized by those willing to extend the effort and expend the costs of acquiring those resources.

Foundational Objective 3

Know that within every society, there will exist a contest among groups to gain influence over the societal decision-making processes.

Core Concepts

Decision Making

• Know that decision making within the First Nations societies was based on the assumption that the process should involve all the members of the society.
• Know that the colonizing powers were determined to institute their decision-making paradigm on their colonies in North America.
• Know that colonial decision making was the prerogative of the governing European power rather than either the residents of the colonies or the First Nations.
• Know that the contest for control of colonial decision making, in 19th century British America, was dominated by two opposing paradigms advocated by the Reform movement and the Tories .

Sovereignty

• Know that sovereignty asserts that a nation-state is the supreme decision-making power within a delineated territory, and is subject to external authority only through its consent.

Responsible Government

• Know that the process leading to the implementation of responsible government involved an active debate among competing ideological paradigms, each defining the relationship between the individual and the societal decision-making processes and institutions.
• Know that responsible government permits those who govern to administer laws on the basis of the authority they obtain from the elected representatives of the general population.

Representative Government

• Know that representative government is practised when the public elects persons to act on its behalf in deliberations surrounding political decision making.
• Know that those elected representatives are periodically accountable to the public.

Loyalists

• Know that the Loyalists constituted a sizable segment of the population of the Thirteen Colonies and were opposed to the efforts of those promoting American independence, preferring to continue a political connection with the British Crown.
• Know that half of the Loyalists migrated north to British North America and significantly influenced the political evolution of British North America.
• Know that the Loyalists expected to retain their existing political rights, including representative government, upon their migration to British North America.

Oligarchy

• Know that an oligarchy is a political structure in which societal decision making is controlled by a small group of individuals.
• Know that political and economic elites held significant control over the decision-making processes in both Upper Canada and Lower Canada, and were reluctant to entertain meaningful political change.
• Know that members and supporters of the economic and political elites in early nineteenth century British North America were often referred to as "Tories."

Reformers

• Know that between 1820 and 1850, reform movements emerged in all the British North American colonies, and competed for influence over the political decision-making processes and institutions.
• Know that Canadian reformers believed that society needed a government that represented the interests of the general population, not a wealthy elite.
• Know that reformers believed that government should be held accountable to the general populace by means of an elected assembly and periodic elections.

Foundational Objective 4

Know that the well-being of every society will be influenced by sustained contact with other societies.

Core Concepts

Acculturation

• Know that acculturation is the process of two or more cultures adapting to each other, so that people within the respective cultures can interact with each other.
• Know that in acculturation there are four possible approaches to cultural change each with a set of assumptions about power and social change. Those approaches are annihilation, segregation, assimilation and accommodation.
• Know that British colonial policies, directed towards French Canadians and the First Nations, fluctuated between attempts to assimilate those populations and attempts to accommodate them.

Accommodation

• Know that accommodation occurs when two or more cultures come into sustained contact and evolve a relationship that permits each of the cultures to interact while maintaining their distinctive identity.

Assimilation

• Know that assimilation is the belief that when a weaker and supposedly inferior culture comes into contact with a superior culture, people from the inferior culture can be educated to understand and practise the norms of the superior culture.
• Know that British authorities believed that long-term political stability in British North America would require the assimilation of the francophone population of the former New France.

Foundational Objective 5

Know that dialectical thinking is a system of reasoned exchange between points of view in which the merits of each case (thesis) are discussed and evaluated.

Dialectical Evaluation

• Know that dialectical evaluation is the process of:
  • defining relevant viewpoints within the information;
  • testing the viewpoints for factual accuracy;
  • testing the viewpoints for their morality;
  • evaluating the factual and moral testing; and,
  • forming a conclusion about the issues.

Criteria

• Know that criteria are rules or standards which are accepted and used to provide a consistent basis for making judgements.

Evaluation

• Know that in determining whether a viewpoint is based on a legitimate moral principle, a variety of moral tests could be applied, including:
  • role exchange: is the principle still considered valid when it is applied to oneself?
  • universal consequences: would the principle still be considered valid if everyone behaved according to its dictates?
  • new cases: is the principle still valid when it is applied to a different but logically relevant case?

Foundational Objective 6

Know that every society will evolve, through debate and consensus, assumptions and practices concerning key societal relationships.

• Know that within each society, there exists a divergence of views concerning key societal relationships, including:
  • whether relations between peoples within the society should be governed by the principles of accommodation or assimilation;
  • whether all members of the society are entitled to "meaningfully" participate and influence societal decision making processes; and,
  • whether society has established a balance between group rights and the rights of the collective society.