Wednesday, September 29, 2021

Towards Responsible Government

It was time to switch out to a fall header. Yesterday I added one taken last year during a walk along the Ottawa River towards Parliament Hill.

This quote from Lord Durham is on a wall in the Museum of History, near where I left off yesterday.


Two figures rose out of the new colonial legislature to lead it together, men who laid the groundwork for Confederation: Robert Baldwin and Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine. Their initiatives towards responsible government and moving forward were fully supported by a successor to Durham as governor-general, Lord Elgin.


This is a bust of Lord Elgin.


In the years that followed, colonial leaders in the various Canadian colonies continued their own efforts. The 1860s would give rise to Confederation. This large area begins to explore the era in detail.


One of the factors driving Confederation was the situation south of the border with the bloodshed of the American Civil War. It emphasized the need for a strong central government. The American Secretary of State, William Seward, mused on more than one occasion about annexing Canada, all while his country was at war with itself. Irish-American veterans of that war would launch what were called the Fenian Raids after the war in an attempt to hold Canada for ransom and force Britain to grant independence to Ireland. The raids were thwarted each time.


This medal was given in honour of service during the Fenian Raids.


A rifle taken from one of the raiders is on display, along with a U.S. service coat and trousers of the Civil War era. Many of the Fenian Raiders simply wore their Union uniforms during the time of the Raids.


I leave off with this for today, giving a sense of politics in the Canadian colonies during this era. I'll be back to this after the start of the month, but interrupting this series for the next couple of days.

26 comments:

  1. Nice fall header. The nation with responsible government is blessed and will prosper.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beautifulfall header ! Now I know a little more about Canada.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I don't use headers, so I never have to change them. At one point, I did colourful templates, but I am happy with the clean look nowadays. Must be an age thing. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. A wonderful choice to use this photo as a header.

    ReplyDelete
  5. ...I hope that the US will work towards responsible government!

    ReplyDelete
  6. The title to this post seems like an oxymoron!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Seems like responsible and government are differing terms in current times, William. Yes, the new header is a nice view.

    ReplyDelete
  8. The new header is a good one, William.

    ReplyDelete
  9. @Nancy: more or less!

    @Gattina: thank you.

    @Anvilcloud: I like using headers.

    @Jan: I thought of several options, but this one stood out.

    @Tom: now that the lunatic is gone, there's a lot of work to do.

    @Francisco: thanks.

    @David: at times!

    @Beatrice: true.

    @RedPat: thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I like your new header! The fall colors are making a showing.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I don't think we've quite made it to responsible government yet. The government seems to have a problem with losing money.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Love the header and another interesting exhibit. Thank you always!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Beautiful new header, I like it.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Gorgeous Autumnal header photo ~ neat post too ~

    Living in the moment,

    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

    ReplyDelete
  15. @happyone: thanks.

    @Sharon: this year, gradually.

    @Red: we have had hiccups along the way.

    @Michelle: thank you.

    @Denise: you're welcome.

    @Bill: thanks.

    @Marie: it is.

    @Carol: thank you.

    @Gemel: me too.

    ReplyDelete
  16. How I wish we had a strong central government...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We learned some lessons looking from the outside in.

      Delete
  17. So many buttons on uniforms always puzzles me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. On the other hand, the Union service coat is pretty distinctive.

      Delete
  18. I think almost all the Canadian history I know I've learned from you!

    ReplyDelete