In the year 1837, a radical movement in the British colony of Lower Canada participated in an armed rebellion to seek by force what they had failed to secure by legal political action. The principle objective towards which the uprising was directed had been given various names by historians such as political freedom, democracy and representative government. The rebels took arms in an effort to end the appointed minority's domination of the colony's governing institutions and to establish a responsible government. The Lower Canadian Rebellion was prosecuted on the advancement of liberty and republicanism. Within the North American context, these broad tenets articulated the importance of a sovereign, educated and virtuous citizenry as well as the standards of an effective government constitutionally constrained in its authority. The political discord in society was reinforced through deep ethnic conflicts and cultural differences in Lower Canada.
The political success of the American Revolution was viewed with empowerment by the colonial dominions of the Western Hemisphere. In this context, Canada was no exception to the wave of republican experiments that occurred within the Atlantic World. By the 1830s, the domestic political situation, which had evolved dramatically since the end of the American Revolution and the War of 1812, became increasingly strained with Great Britain. In using the American
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In seeking reforms within the constitutional framework of the British imperial system, both movements followed a similar preliminary trajectory. When the demands were not realized, violence ensued. Although leaders from both movements understood the fundamental link between liberty and republicanism, the conditions surrounding their application differed. However, both movements demonstrated a strong adherence to a similar vein of ideological