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United States attacked British North America (included colonies that later became Canada). Colonies had to defend themselves. This event showed that the colonies were weak on their own. That made people think that the colonies needed to work together for protection.
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In both Upper and Lower Canada, the people were frustrated because of the unfair rule of the government. The protest became violent, and people now wanted a real democracy.
These rebellions shows that the system of government needed modifications. This made the British think about new political ideologies, eventually leading to the formation of a Confederation. -
After the rebellions, the British government sent Lord Durham to investigate the problems in the colonies. Lord Durham made a report that said colonies needed responsible government and should be united. This is important because it was the initial main step towards fixing colonial politics. His idea led to the Act of union and later to Confederation. -
Britain combined Upper and lower Canada into a single colony called the Province of Canada. Bouth of them had one government. But two sides often disagreed, which caused political fighting. This showed that the system didn’t work well, and a better structure was needed. This led to Confederation. -
In 1848, the Colonies gained Responsible Government, which meant that elected leaders were able to get decisions made. This made the Colonies more independent and confident. Even when this change had occurred, the Province of Canada had large political deadlock. This made leaders think of another system such as building a nation out of provinces.
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Britain slowly stoped giving colonies special trade deals for the colonies and didn’t want to spend money on protecting them. Britain thought that the colonies were able to look after themselves. Britain’s decision made the colonists nervous about their future. Joining together as one nation looked like a bright idea in order to share money, resources, and responsibilities.
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This treaty gave the right to colonies to trade freely with United States. It helped the economy for some time. However, in 1866, the United States canceled this treaty, and for the colonies losing such an important trade partner made them think about coming together in order to trade with each other and develop their economy.
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Canada East and Canada West had an equal number of representation in government, so they argued endlessly and were unable to pass important laws. Government kept failing. It became difficult to govern the colony. Confederation was seen as a way to fix these problems and ensure that every province had powers of its own and a stronger central government.
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The United States grew stronger after its Civil War. Many people were afraid that the United States might attack or try to take control over British North America. Colonies realised that they were too weak to defend themselves on their own. That made it necessary for them to combine in order to defend themselves better.
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Confederate soldiers attacked a Vermont town and escaped to Canada. Then, the United States became angry and suspicious. Because of this, the colonists were very nervous about relationships with the United States. It encouraged them to work together instead of apart
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Leaders from the Maritime colonies met to talk about joining together. Leaders from the Province of Canada came too and suggested a bigger union of all the colonies. The meting went well, and people were interested in forming one country. This was a big step toward Confederation. -
Representatives of the colonies met again and wrote "72 Resolutions" that explained how the new country would work. These ideas included dividing powers between provinces and the federal government. This is important because it led to Confederation. Finally, the colonies had a real design of their new country. -
Delegates traveled to England, to finish the final details of new country. The British government accepted this agreement and passed the British North America Act. This helped establish the Dominion of Canada on July 1, 1867. This is the final event that made Confederation happen.