In other words, the British had set up what are now the maritime provinces of Canada by the time of the Declaration of Independence, and the original Articles of Confederation that ran the country for its first decade explicitly invite Canada to join the United States, but why did they need the invite? Why weren’t Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, et al. part of the Revolution to begin with?
I seem to recall reading that the Canadian provinces chose not to send delegates to the Continental Congresses that led to the drafting of the Declararation of Independence. Why they chose not to take part in the Revolutionary War, I’m not sure, but they were apparently happy with the way things were.
Were these Canadian provinces being taxed for the French and Indian War?
Wouldn’t a Revolutionary War be a pretty clear “opt-in” situation? Public opinion was hardly unified for the war even in the American Colonies, if I remember my history right. I remember hearing that during most of the war, the colonial population was split into thirds: one third for the war, one third against, one third in the middle.
Theoretically, until Canadian inedpendence in 1868(? on year) any Canadian province could’ve requested to become a state of the United States using the process laid out in the Constitution. But it clearly would’ve caused yet another war with Britain, if not the rest of Canada.
Most of the population of Canada before the revolutionary war was French. English colonists in Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, etc were mostly new immigrants from England, and were more likely to be loyal to the crown. Add to that loyalists from the 13 colonies that entered the northern colonies as refugees, and you have a solid base of people loyal to the crown.
Google “united empire loyalists” to find more info.
One thing about the French in New France (i.e. Quebec).
The British colonies was mostly populated with people who were a bit odd, by British standards. Not a part of the state religion, ideas that were a few steps short of rebellion.
New France was populated by people loyal to the French crown. There was no religious freedom in New France. French protestants who came to the new world mostly settled in British Colonies.
So perhaps the French in Quebec were more comfortable with life more connected to Europe, and didn’t see a revolutionary war - even though it was against a “foreign” crown - as a good thing.
It’s unlikely that a colony in what is now Canada would make that request, because the population was heavily loyalist.
Canadian confederation came about in 1867. The US had just finished its civil war and still had a large standing army. The colonies didn’t want to become a part of the US, and they figured they would be safer against a possible US invasion if they were united. The threat of invasion wasn’t so far off - the revolution wasn’t all that old, the war of 1812 was still in the memories of a few people, and there was “manifest destiny”, a favorite catch-phrase of US politicians in the 1840s who espoused that view that the US would occupy the entire continent.
The french and the Roman Catholic Church in New France had been granted several rights, allowing them to keep their language, religon, legal system, powers (ie taxation) despite the fact the people were ultimatly subject to the British Crown, after they were conquered by the British. They feared that if they joined the revolution, and it were succesful they would lose these rights and be assimmilated, it should be noted that the act granting these rights was passed in 1774.
The British in the area were recent immigrants and therefore still very loyal to the crown.
Different places had different issues: As far as New Foundland at the time, remember that it was largely a settlement of migratory British fishermen/seamen whose very existence was unsettled by the war. In fact, it was the American Revolution which in part helped it along to becoming the place it is today.
http://www.heritage.nf.ca/exploration/amer_rev.html
I’m sorry I hit that before I was done & on top included wrong wrong link The rest is appropos the OP. Sorry every one
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Unlike the mainland colonies, Newfoundland lacked a permanent local government which might have served as a focus for dissent or provided a forum for debate. It did not have a unified society within which a sophisticated political culture could develop, since the various settlements and communities lacked a network of inter-community commerce or communications through which a common viewpoint or common concerns might have been identified and defined. Moreover, Newfoundland’s commercial leaders were based in England, and did not provide local leadership. These factors combined meant that there was hardly any support for the Revolution, and it is unlikely that the thinking which drove the Americans to revolt was even understood in Newfoundland. If anything, those who styled themselves as community leaders expected distinct advantages from the war.
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http://www.heritage.nf.ca/exploration/rev_rejected.html
That’s a great link, jimmmy. Thanks!
This is a pretty popular question and a few earlier threads have also provided information on it (which is not to denigrate the good responses in this thread).
06-19-2000 07:52 AM Why isn’t Canada part of the U.S.A.?
06-07-2001 10:41 PM Why only 13 colonies in the Continental Congress?
07-04-2001 07:25 AM Thirteen colonies? Weren’t there 16?
10-01-2003 08:38 AM Why didn’t Canada join in the American revolution?