Louis Joseph Papineau essays

Louis Joseph Papineau essays Papineau was born October 7, 1786. He was an Aristocratic Seignior of the old school who inherited from his father the seigneury of La Petite Nation (The Small Nation) on the Ottawa River. He was Speaker of the House of Assembly from 1815 to 1823 and from 1825 to 1832. With his forceful interventions in the House and his popularity as a powerful speaker, Louis-Joseph Papineau became the champion of the nationalist movement. In his youth he had great faith in British Institutions and believed that the Quebec Act was all that French Canada needed to ensure a successful development. He believed in British parliamentary democracy for the sake of what I could bring to French Canada. His goal was self-government of Quebec un the British Crown. When he reached his middle age his view points changed. He was disillusioned with the British Constitutional way. The British-based government would evade the assembly in every way possible and he saw it as a poor base and example for the French Canadian to follow. He then turned to the American way. He admired the American way to insist on independence and the fundamental rights of each individual. Papineau ambitioned a democratic republic. As leader of the Canadian Party, which later became the Patriot Party, he made an important speech in the House of Assembly on February 28, 1834, on the Ninety-two Resolutions which criticized the oligarchic system of the government. He demanded that the elected assembly could have more control over colonial revenues, and more political control as well. London responded to these requests rejecting all the demands made, causing an economic crises (especially for the Farmers which couldnt afford new products to re-farm) to flourish in Lower Canada. Their terms only swelled the discontent, and rebellion took shape. In 1836, warrants were issued for the arrest of Louis-Joseph Papineau and the other main leade ...