Chapter 4: Nationalism and Collective Consciousness

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Christopher Thomas
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1 Chapter 4: Nationalism and Collective Consciousness Collective consciousness may be shared by a group of people of nation when its members collectively share similar values, beliefs, and internalized feelings based on their shared experience * Canada s national holiday (Dominion Day) was established in 1879 and in 1958 the federal gov t began to have official celebrations. In 1982, the holiday was officially renamed Canada Day Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982) * guarantees freedoms such as: Freedom of conscience and religion Freedom of thought, belief, opinion, and expression (freedom of the press) Freedom of peaceful assembly Freedom of association * guarantees legal rights such as: The presumption of innocence The right to life, liberty, and security Security against unreasonable search and seizure * guarantees democratic rights such as: The right to vote Mobility rights Equal protection under the law for all Canadians

2 * the Charter also includes language rights in that English and French are established as official languages, and certain minority language education rights are guaranteed Quebec Nationalism * historically, people in Canada who spoke French called themselves Canadien or Canadien-francais to distinguish the people of New France from those of France * Francophone identity as Quebecois emerged in the 20 th century as both a political and linguistic distinction from the Anglophone population in Canada from Francophones elsewhere in Canada * until the last several decades of the 20 th century much of Quebec s economy was largely in the hands of the province s English-speaking population The Quiet Revolution * period during the 1960 s when Quebec was led by the liberal gov t of Jean Lesage * reforms introduced during this time were instrumental in reversing the economic and political leadership of Quebec and in turning control of the economy over to Frenchspeaking citizens of Quebec

3 * among the reforms introduced were: The modernization of Quebec s industries The naturalization of the hydroelectric industry Reforms to the education system The establishment of social programs and public institutions to offer services in French * premier Lesage s reforms not only shaped Quebecois identity, they also reduced the influence on Anglophone identity in Quebec * during the Quiet Revolution, the term Quebecois became popular for distinguishing the Francophones of Quebec from Francophones elsewhere * Lesage s political, social, and economic reforms helped create a generation of young and educated Francophones who strongly identified themselves as Quebecois * during this time, many ideas regarding the necessity for constitutional change and regarding Quebec s status in Canada were discussed * this included co-operative federalism, special status, sovereignty-association, and complete separation * for some the idea and reforms of the Quiet Revolution were too moderate and they pushed for more dramatic changes

4 * the creation of political movements and parties (Parti Quebecois) grew in response to the demands for change * in 1980, Rene Levesque presented a referendum question asking the people of Quebec whether his gov t should pursue sovereignty-association * about 60% of the voters voted against this move leaving many Quebecois disappointed about the future of a separate nation-state Meech Lake Accord * in 1987, Brian Mulroney began talks to amend the Constitution to include the issues and concerns of Quebec * all provincial premiers met at Meech Lake, Quebec to draft the details. A tentative agreement on the amendment would allow Quebec to be recognized in the constitution as a distinct society within Canada * each province had 3 years to ratify the Accord in its legislative assembly, but Newfoundland and Manitoba failed to meet the June 1990 deadline * the defeat on the Accord further shaped the sense of isolation of the Quebecois and increased their desire to seek their own separate nation

5 Charlottetown Accord * in 1992, Mulroney once again attempted to affirm Quebec s status as a distinct society * the Charlottetown Accord also failed to pass but this time in a national referendum put to the voters of Canada * in 1995, under the relationship of the Parti Quebecois, Quebec had another referendum on sovereigntyassociation. In this vote 50.58% of Quebeckers voted against sovereignty and 49.42% voted in favor. As a result, the support for sovereign Quebec has declined over the years October Crisis of 1970 * the Front de Liberation du Quebec (FLQ) which was a radical group, was formed to spark change through protest and violence * the kidnappings and murder by one radical faction of the FLQ led the gov t of Canada to invoke the War Measures Act which resulted in the suspension of citizen s legal rights, and the arrest and detention of over 400 Quebecois without any charges being laid against them * this event created a division between some Quebecois and the rest of Canada about the future of Quebec and the Francophone Quebecois in Canada

6 Official Languages Act * French and English were declared the official languages of the Parliament of Canada, of the federal courts, and of the federal gov t * Pierre Elliot Trudeau repatriated the Canadian Constitution enshrining the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which in his point of view, would guarantee a future for Francophone Quebecois in a Canadian federation where their language and culture would be protected by law * for many Quebecois, the linguistic and education rights did not go far enough to realize their ideas of Quebec as a nation for the Quebecois Exploring American Identity * the USA was founded through the immigration of people from around the world of different cultures, ethnicities and religion * American feelings of belonging and identity were strengthened and solidified by their fight for independence from the British Empire during the Revolutionary War ( ) * in 1862, Abraham Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation, which proclaimed the freedom of all slaves and made ending slavery in the south a focus of war

7 * it did however create a strong political unity between the states. Unresolved social, political, economic, and racial tensions between the North and South still divide American people today

Before the Constitution

Before the Constitution A Referendum 0 1980: The Parti Quebecois gov t of Quebec called a referendum on whether Quebec sovereignty. 0 He wanted to negotiate a new agreement with Canada based on sovereignty-association. 0 Under