Country

 The cabinets here are full of curiosities of the Victorian era.

This painting is by Annabella McLeod, titled View Of The Ottawa River Looking Southeast Towards Parliament Hill and the Entrance of the Rideau Canal, painted in the 1880s.

Surgical methods of the era could be strange.

The 1860s saw the Confederation movement and the union of the Canadian colonies into one country as part of the British empire. While the Bytown Museum is by nature a local history museum, because this is the capital, part of its story is national in scope.

One of the most famous photographs of Canadian history- the Fathers of Confederation at the Charlottetown Conference of 1864.

Busts of two of the Fathers, and particularly driving forces of Confederation. John A. Macdonald and George-Etienne Cartier were co-premiers of the Canadas

Fathers Of Confederation

 The Fenian Raids rose up following the American Civil War, with Union veterans of Irish descent trying to take Canada by force and hold it for ransom to make the British give Ireland independence. Each raid failed, with militia and regular troops driving them out. This is the rifle of a Raider; it was typical of them to wear their Union uniforms as well.

Things were chaotic in the Canadian legislature during this period, with a stable majority out of the question.

Three leaders banded together to forge the way for Confederation. John A. Macdonald, George Brown, and George-Etienne Cartier were known in the Canadas, and the other parts of British North America. Macdonald and Cartier were co-premiers of the legislature. Macdonald and Brown despised each other. But they went to work together, recognizing the need for a strong federal union.

The most eloquent voice of the Fathers of Confederation was Thomas D'Arcy McGee, a close friend of Macdonald. A lawyer and journalist, he had been a radical years before in his native Ireland before immigrating. His world view changed entirely upon seeing the workings of Parliamentary democracy in Canada, and saw that as the way to go. That change in view enraged his old comrades among the Fenians, who never forgave him.

He was assassinated one night in 1868, coming home from a session at Parliament, shot in the back of the head. This is the revolver said to be used in the assassination. A Fenian, Patrick James Whalen, was convicted and executed for the murder, though he claimed innocence.

One of the defining photographs of Canadian history- the Fathers of Confederation at the Charlottetown Conference in 1864.

Queen Victoria would would sign Confederation into law. The Canadian colonies became provinces under a federal government, and the country became a reality.

This large photograph shows the first Confederation in Kingston, Ontario, in 1867.

First Nations peoples in the west had long standing relationships with traders, taking the European goods they bartered for and trading them even more in their own long established trade routes of the west.

The Fathers Of Confederation

One of the contributing factors into Canadian Confederation was south of the border. North and South fought the bloody Civil War between 1861-65. Leaders in Canadian colonies looked south, seeing an example not to follow, and understood the need for a strong federal union. This display case includes a rifle and a Union army coat.

Irish-American veterans of the Union Army wore their army jackets in another endeavour in the wake of that war, launching several raids into Canada, pushed back each time. The period was called the Fenian Raids, and the objective was to hold Canada for ransom and force Britain to make Ireland independent. The Raids contributed in their own way to the unification of Canada.

In 1864, leaders of the Canadian colonies began to meet with the goal of uniting under one banner. Three of them were referred to as the Great Coalition- John A. Macdonald, George-Etienne Cartier, and George Brown. Macdonald and Cartier were co-premiers of the Canadas. Macdonald and Brown despised each other. And yet they worked together for a common cause.

Another of the Fathers of Confederation was its most eloquent speaker and writer, very much a driving force in his own right. Thomas D'Arcy McGee had been an Irish radical in his youth, but had come to Canada and saw for himself how British parliamentary style government could work. He changed his world view, went into law and journalism, and ended up a member of Parliament, close friend of Macdonald, and staunch supporter of Confederation.

His change of perspective led to his assassination in 1868. Irish revolutionaries had long considered him a traitor to the cause. He was shot in the back of the head coming home from a debate on Parliament Hill.

This is the gun taken from the assassin, an Irish-Canadian named Patrick James Whalen, who was tried for the crime and hung- though there are doubts to this day that he was the actual killer.

This remarkable painting of McGee hangs overhead.

One of the most famous photographs in the country's history- the Fathers of Confederation meeting at the Charlottetown Convention. Their discussions and work would lead to the creation of the country.

Out west, native peoples were already dealing with contact- both good and bad- with white people. These artifacts are displayed here.

One of the prize artifacts of the museum is this. The Blackfoot tribe had a tradition of a winter count- the most important event of a year depicted on an elkskin, starting at centre and spiralling out. This is one of them.

 

Fathers Of Confederation

We begin today with three photographs of key Fathers of Confederation. John A. Macdonald, a co-premier of the United Canadas who would be the first prime minister of the country, is at top. His rival George Brown is at lower left. Macdonalds' co-premier George-Etienne Cartier is at lower right. Macdonald and Brown despised each other, but recognized the need to work as a team in uniting the colonies into one country.

Delegates would meet to discuss the concept of uniting as one country as the Civil War raged south of the border. 

This is one of the most famous photographs in the country's history- the Fathers of Confederation at the Charlottetown Conference.

The first to join the new country would be Ontario and Quebec (separated from their joint status as the United Canadas and back into two legislatures), Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. Leaders would go to London to see their efforts approved by the British parliament. In the years that followed, more provinces would be formed, and the country as a whole would be established from sea to sea.

This is the dress coat and travel trunk of Cartier, who was one of the leaders who went to London.

The British North America Act was passed by the British Parliament, and Confederation gave rise to the new country.

One of its strongest leaders would only see a short period of it. This painting of Thomas D'Arcy McGee hangs here. McGee was a personal friend of Macdonald, as well as a member of the government, lawyer, and journalist. As a young man he had been an Irish radical, but after he came to North America, his world view changed.

He saw the value of British style Parliamentary democracy, and became one of its strongest advocates. His former comrades in the Fenian radical movement never forgave him for it, and he was assassinated in 1868.

This is the gun used in the crime.

The first Dominion Day- July 1st, 1867. 

Copies of the proclamation, in English and French, are seen here.