The History of Canada to 1867 Review Essay Assignment

[Course Number]

[Name of the Instructor]

The History of Canada to 1867 Review Essay Assignment

Introduction to Assignment

This assignment is based on the review of the article “Hardy Backwoodsmen, Wholesome Women, and Steady Families: Immigration and the Construction of a White Society in Colonial British Columbia, 1849-1871,” by Adele Perry. The article will be analyzed, emphasizing on its thesis statement, resources of information and the methodology employed during the course of the research. The article analysis will provide a thorough understanding about the pre-confederation Canadian history, and would lead to see how the Canadians pursued their development, emerging from the historic incidents of adversity to the present state of progress and success.

Thematic Overview of Article

The history of the mid-nineteenth century of British Columbia reveals the importance of immigration as a way through which the colonies were developed. The discriminations suffered by the colony settlers were the main reason why these people resorted to immigration as their last hope. These people came here to find a stable society, but the conditions here disappointed them. The discussions of “desirable” immigrants revolve around the themes of the “hardy backwoodsman”, the “steady family”, and the “wholesome woman”. These categories represent the overlapping concerns of these colonial people with respect to gender, race, status, class and stratification. These concerns formed the cornerstone of discussions about the role of immigration in creating a society of imperialists' dreams in the British Columbia. This realization also points out that immigration may be responsible for societal exclusion or inclusion; but, this does not always happen in an expected manner. This article reveals important insights about the pros and cons of immigration and its role in the development of colonies sin the British Columbia.

Thesis Statement of Article

Immigration practices were fundamentally responsible for the societal inclusion and exclusion of the nineteenth-century British Columbia; giving rise to the “hardy backwoodsman”, the “steady family”, and the “wholesome woman”.

Discussion and Critique

Main Findings of the Article

According to this article, the main focus of the study was on based on the notion that “Immigration was indeed a tool for negotiating exclusions and inclusions, but not always in predictable ways”. The article talks about the Great Migration Era in which thousands of immigrant families, and single men and women swamped in the colonies to settle as dwellers. The concept of “desirable” immigrants for the British Columbian colony was mainly focused on attracting single, hardworking men; the white-class women who could work with men, and their steady families. In this regard, these three categories or images of immigrants would help in boosting the colonies and taking them to heights of progress. The colony did not want to bear with the dispossessions of the aboriginal people along with the immigration of eth settlers who could form a stable work force for the country.

The article talks about links and connections between the imperialism and immigration, making immigration practices as the driving force behind the development of the colony as a stable ...