Riddle of America, The - Waldorf Research Institute

in particular those settlers from the south that the pattern of lawlessnesswith law and order dogging its heels was not going to be repeated northof the border.In the colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia, also onceowned by the Hudson Bay Company, the task of ordering settlement wasundertaken by the governor, James Douglas, and Judge Matthew BaillieBegbie. When eight thousand (or so) American miners streamed north in1858 to the gold fields along the Fraser and Caribou Rivers, Begbie, whocame to be known as “the hanging judge,” 16 made sure that the gold fieldsof the north would not fall victim to the lawlessness that had plagued thoseto the south. In brief, the pattern in the Canadian West was one of law andorder that arrived during the first stages of settlement, or even preceded it,in contrast to the pattern that seems to have been typical in many parts ofthe American West.A third historical glimpse: throughout its history, Canada has clearlyand consciously rejected not only union with the United States but also someof its key institutions and emphases. Not all Canadians along the way haveagreed with that decision, but Canada as a whole has consistently stood by it.Prior to and during the American Revolution, the Continental Congresssent envoys to Quebec to persuade that colony to join forces withit. Quebec refused. In both 1775–76 and 1812–14, attempts by Americansto invade Canada and bring it into the Union failed (although neither attempthad the wholehearted support of the American people, especially in1812). The peoples of Canada—French, English, and even some immigratedAmericans—stayed loyal to British North America, whatever differencesthey had with one another.The Americans fought their Civil War while Canada was laying thegroundwork for confederation, which became a reality two years after thewar ended. During that time, the men who were shaping confederationlooked southward and noted that the American constitution left to the individualstates those powers not specifically given to the federal government,and that this provision was being used by Jefferson Davis, among others, tojustify the right of individual states to secede from the Union. So the foundersof Canada decided that Canada should work the other way around, thatthose powers not specifically delegated to the provinces would be reservedby the federal government, in an effort to make impossible north of theborder the kind of civil war that was rending the United States asunder.Other examples could be given to show how consistent this Canadianrefusal of American identity has been, at least politically. The questionis, to what end has Canada made that refusal? To what have Canada, and63