The West’s Influence on the Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway was first foremost a business, and like all businesses the main goal is economic success. In its rival and creation, the marvel of the steel rail was a lucrative plan by the East where politicians and investors got together to establish the first ever Canadian Railway. At the same time, America was a giant, and its commercial influence only grew with its transcontinental railroad that already started to get closer in control of the Western and Eastern provinces of Canada allowing Britain to slowly lose power unless it created a change. This idea of building a unified purpose was the reason that the Canadian Pacific Railway was created and lied solely on the …show more content…
After this, America’s interest were provoked when Alexander Mackenzie reached the beyond the Rockies all the way till the Pacific (Innis 5). This led to the appreciation of the value of the western area by the United States and with their influence it lead it to the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804 (Innis 5). When territory along this area started to be acquired in bringing in more interests than it allowed for establishments of posts and the beginnings of settlement near the lakes and streams where furs could be collected; food and fish could be acquired; agriculture produce could be obtained more efficiently (Innis …show more content…
Firstly, Westerners of the early 1900’s would prestigiously claim that they were a big factor in bringing Canada together. Some would claim that Canada would not maintain its unity and would break off in the middle if there was no steel trail to link the East to the West (Macbeth 20). This is demonstrated because the truth of the matter is that many cannot fathom how the continuance of inter travel and trade over the pioneer railway across Canada brought the East and West together (Macbeth 21). All of these were sought out by politicians that realized the potential of brining in the West into Canada’s unity. Furthermore, in the early 60’s all politicians took steps towards joining confederation of provinces from the east all the way to the Pacific Coast (Macbeth 21). Newspapers of this time like the Toronto Globe would have reporters like Mr. George Brown who would vote in favor of confederation (Macbeth 21). From this, the early remarks of the Canadian Pacific Railway started, with big political moves in creating a unity amongst provinces occurred at the Charlottetown Conference (Macbeth 22). This highlights the devotion of the west being manifested in politics when provinces such as, Manitoba and British Columbia joined confederation in 1870 and 1871. However, British Columbia had one special request that first established the Pacific Railway
In the short years leading to World War one, the country was deeply in debt which in turn was devastating to the Canadian economy. There was a wide spread drought causing great hardship onto Canadian wheat production and farmers, with such low production the expanding railway system of the time could no longer find it feasible to run much of Canada’s large railway network, causing the job loss of 50,000 workers in 1914 alone. When Canada was forced to contribute to the war in the coming months of 1914 the Canadian government had crushing public debt, resulting not only in mass munitions and equipment shortages for the soldiers being sent overseas but, contract cancellations, severe cutbacks, and mass layoffs. The
The cries of the voices of many Canadians following British Columbia joining Confederation on July 1st, 1871 made Prime Minister Macdonald’s promise come true in building the Canadian Pacific Railway. This railway would link Eastern Canada with Western Canada, thus, so connecting this nation together, finally creating a nation that was strong and united. The biggest problem the Canadian government would have to face was the many financial issues following the plan to build a railway. The years after British Columbia joined Confederation, Canada will struggle with a financial situation due to the poor planning and building of the railway that will set the government back financially, and the construction will harm Canada as a nation.
Did the confederation become a compromise among the colonies? All the colonies faced challenges before joining the confederation. This essay will be explaining the compromises made among the colonies after joining confederation in the 1860s. It will prove that colonies gained and loosed a lot by considering the social, political and economic challenges that existed before the joining the confederation, and compromise that colonies reached to join the confederation to form a new country called Canada.
The Transcontinental Railroad transformed the United States socially by allowing people to travel across the country, bringing people together, and beginning discrimination against the Chinese. The first way that the Transcontinental Railroad transformed the United States is by allowing people to travel across the country. Many ads invited “tourists and pleasure seekers” to use the Transcontinental Railroad to see mountains, valley, lakes, and more attractions (Doc G). Before the Transcontinental Railroad, it was difficult and dangerous to travel away from home, but the railroads made it easy, safe, and convenient to explore the country.
Another thing the railway does is connect Canada coast to coast and makes it easier to transport goods across the
Sir John A. Macdonald was a saviour he controlled motivation. He declined to be paid off by the Brits or harassed by the Americans. He exited with liberal concessions and the swap cleared from the table. Macdonald knew Canada must develop or be gone and the main way was west on rails. Without the railroad, British Columbia could join the United States and the United States could, as its Manifest Destiny announced, take the prairies.
The railroad was vital in the setting of the west for the American people. The Pacific Railway Act gave the American people a much easier way of travel to the east. This made it more likely for large families to participate in the expansion due to the lack of hardship that many encountered during the Oregon Trail. The Act gave the Union Pacific Railroad the expansion from Nebraska west, while the Central Pacific Railroad moved from California east. Thus, the first railroad was completed when the two companies finally connected in Promontory Point, Utah in spring 1869.
Railroad Systems 1860-1890 The railroad system between 1860-1890 expanded greatly and transported people and goods to many places in the United States. According to Transcontinental Railroad "They also brought rapid economic growth as mining, farming, and cattle-raising developed along the main lines and their branches" (Transcontinental Railroad, 2016). The Pacific Railroad act of 1863 authorized the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad (Haycox, 2001). The main idea in building was to link the United States from east to west.
Newfoundland & Labrador Canada was well shaped after WWII as well as the great depression affected the economy and life was back on track. However, Newfoundland and Labrador’s struggled with much more during those times. On April 1949, Newfoundland and Labrador joined Canada’s confederation as it was the final remnant of the British empire on western shores. This event became an important part of our history since Newfoundland had close ties to trades within the rest of the country. This impacted my family heavily since my father was originally a potato farmer in Ireland.
The Transcontinental Railroad The completion of the first Transcontinental Railroad was an important event in the United States history. There were many challenges in building it, but after it was finished, it connected the East Coast of the United States to the West Coast. The railroad took three whole years to build, with the help of two railroad companies and thousands of other hired workers.
Living in Canada at the time of Confederation meant that there were many grievances that were being ignored and it came to a point where they needed to be properly addressed. There were many reasons for why Confederation occurred, but only a few of them were extremely significant. First and foremost, the economy was poor and desperately needed to do better. If small colonies combined, “they would have more taxes and more money to pay their debts as they grew” (Province of Manitoba, 2008).
With talks of annexation and loss of Canadians Identity to Americans helped to spur the common anti-American Nationalism seen throughout Canadian
Because of the rapid settlement of the western land in the 1850s, Congress wanted to enforce a transcontinental railroad to replace America’s current weak transportation system—horse-drawn carriages were still used and soldiers often had to walk. But due to the constant competition between the Northern members and the Southern
William Lyon Mackenzie King, a man of glory, forever changed Canada’s constitution during the tumultuous nineteenth century and resolved all difficulties Canada faced on its way to becoming a strong, independent, and autonomous nation. His contributions and sanctions targeted all factors at the time and had interrelated effects on the construction of Canada. Unlike other Canadian politicians, King handled every crisis with thorough planning and achieved promising outcomes from unsolvable problems. It is without a doubt that King was the most influential figure in Canada’s development. His role in the autonomy, economic development, and social stability stands as solid evidence of the pioneering impacts he had on Canada’s advancement.
Macdonald dream was creating the National Railway which would also unify the country, and the railway was built through hard work, sweat and blood in ten years. National Railway was very significant to expansion and growing of Canada. Historian George Stanley wrote in The Canadians, "Bonds of steel as well as of sentiment were needed to hold the new Confederation together. Without railways there would be and could be no Canada." While Macdonald was country leader he tried to allow women and Aboriginal people to vote in 1880’s.