Events before 1815

Socials 10 starts in 1815, and there is some prior context that students should know in order to understand what was going in Canada by 1815. 


My review unit starts with
-European history
-Early contact in North America
-Significant Events before 1815


I then review the following events, because again they give context for the rest of the course. I don't ask the students to memorize dates (other than 1763), but they should be able to match the event to a description. 


1534 - Jacques Cartier - the explorer that named this region "Canada"and claimed it for France and the Catholic Church.
1670 - Rupert's Land - Britain gave the Hudson’s Bay Company “ownership” over all of the land draining into Hudson’s Bay.
1713-1763 - Acadian Expulsion - Britain gained control of Acadia (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and P.E.I.) and deported the French to other areas.
1759 - Plains of Abraham - Britain gained control of Quebec City and France was not able to re-enforce troops in North America.
1763 - Treaty of Paris - France surrendered Canada to Britain in exchange for Guadeloupe, St. Pierre and Miquelon.
1763 - Royal Proclamation - Britain banned all further settlement, or private negotiations of First Nations land, until formal treaties were signed.
1774 - Quebec Act - Britain guaranteed the rights of the French to practice their own religion and enforce their own laws in Quebec.
1783 - American Revolution Ends - Many French and First Nations people fought for Britain, but lost. After the war, many loyalists, slaves, and Natives moved North.
1791 - Constitution Act - This divided Upper Canada (mostly English) from Lower Canada (mostly French).
1803 - Louisiana Purchase - The United States purchased most of the midwest from France (Napoleon had just recently conquered it from Spain).
1812-1815 War of 1812 - Americans tried to invade Canada, but they were unsuccessful. 


Here is a copy of my powerpoint lesson. Feel free to modify and use:
Significant Events in North America before 1815

American Imperialism

L'IMPÉRIALISME AMERICAIN

Encore un pas et...

Americans rebelled against the imperialism of Britain to become their own country: a bulwark of "freedom and democracy" against the old world of empire-building. Ever since that successful revolution, they have been accused of doing the same thing to others. In this cartoon, we see Uncle Sam (a caricature of the stereotypical American) stepping on the Philippines and Cuba on his way to Canada.

This is a great introduction to topics that ought to help tie together historical concepts. It should raise questions such as:
1) What other countries do the US control?
2) Is what America did the same as what Britain did in building the British Empire?
3) Is imperialism (empire-building) a good thing or a bad thing? (think hard before you answer, and consider the consequences)
4) Why didn't the US take over Canada?
etc.etc.

Many of the cartoons that I use in class were taken from this book by Charles Hou (former Socials 10 teacher in BC):

Great Canadian political cartoons, 1820 to 1914

Pocahontas

Pocahontas (Two-Disc 10th Anniversary Edition)

Amazing how much we can learn by studying a kid's cartoon. This movie is based the true story of John Smith's encounter with Pocahontas, but of course the story has been disneyfied to make it appropriate for kids and to convey a certain message. However, what message are kids getting by watching it? What themes does the movie promote? How does it interpret history?

I taught a few semesters of Humanities 9 and this was my favorite assignment that met criteria for English in terms of interpreting media and caricature and met criteria for Social Studies in terms of First Nations history in North America. It doesn't fit directly into the time period for Socials 10, but I like the assignment so much that I still include it at the beginning of the course. I use it as a) review b) examining stereotypes c) context for why North America was like it was by 1815. 

I have to admit that the most common confusion students have by the end of the course in term of Pocahontas is that story happened in Canada. No, it happened in the United States. How does it relate to Canadian history then? Well, it is the story of contact between the English (who later conquered Canada) and the First Nations people. Of course, part of the reason why the people of Virginia later rebelled against Britain to help form the United States was because they didn't agree with Britain's policy towards the First Nations people (the Royal Proclamation of 1763). 

Pocahontas (Two-Disc 10th Anniversary Edition)