Were The Upper And Lower Canada Rebellions in 1837 a Success?

Essay by muizzwahidHigh School, 10th gradeA+, April 2008

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The Rebellions of 1837/1838 in both Upper Canada and Lower Canada were attempts and attacks at their current government for various reasons. The rebellions in Upper Canada were to bring about an American style democracy, while the rebellions in Lower Canada were largely due to discrimination against the French, unequal taxation, and lack of power within the government to bring about any reformation. In the end, the rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada had a profound impact on the future of the British coloniesTo an extent, the rebellions in both Upper and Lower Canada did not have much of profound impact on any British colonies immediately, especially as hoped. To begin with, the rebellion in Upper Canada failed miserably because of the lack of military experience from the rebels, and, as a result, it wasn’t very threathening. The Upper Canada Rebellion was a lost attempt for change, which, at first, just resulted in severe punishment, such as death, flogging, hanging, and “transportation”, for the rebels.

Aside from providing “entertainment” from watching the public hangings, the government became more strict and severe, an unplanned result, although the government did begin to investigate the problems. In addition, the rebellion in Lower Canada also failed miserably and was short-lasted, thus it didn’t have much of an impact immediately, as the government just arrested the leaders and supporters. By angering the government, the rebellions also caused the government to concentrate more on punishments for the rebels, such as transportation to Australia, instead of working on fixing the colony- an unplanned short-term result. Aside from these failed rebellions, as severe punishments were the last thing on the rebels’ minds, their was no immediate impact on the colonies and the rebellions could very well have been done in vain.

However, even though the rebellions in...