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Birth of John A.
He was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His actual birth date may either be January 10th or 11th. In his father's journal it said the 11th, but the government had him registered as being born on the 10th. -
Immigrated to Upper Canada with Family
Settled in a place nearby to Kingston, ON at age 5 -
Macdonald is licenced to be a lawyer
after many years of training, and lots of hard work, John is licenced to become a lawyer. -
The Province of Canada is formed!
What had previously been known as Upper and Lower Canada united. They were than called Canada East and Canada West, and were run under one gowvernment. -
Macdonald marries his first wife!
Macdonald married Isabella Clark after courting her for a year before. -
John A. Joins the Conservative party of the Joint Canadian Parliament
--Date Unknown-- -
Elected to Represent Kingston in the Legislative Assembly of Canada
He sat in this position more or less unceasingly until his death in 1891. -
Period: to
The Great Coalition
Since neither party rules for a very long time, John A. and George brown agree to join forces and unite Canada under a Liberal-Conservative joint rule. In 1864-1867, John A, George Brown and Sir George Etienne Cartier formed a coalition administration that achieved Confederation. -
Period: to
John A as Attorney General of Upper Canada
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Macdonald becomes premier of Canada West
John A. Became Premeir of Canada in 1856. At this time, the politice were very unsure, and he had to try to straighten it out. At this time, he named the first cabinet. -
Macdonald's first wife Isabella dies
Macdonald's wife, Isabella clark dies from a terrible sickness which she had suffered from for about ten years previous to her death. Nowadays, she probably would not have died due to better and more advanced medicine. -
Queen Victoria chooses Ottawa as Capital of Province of Canada
In 1857, Queen Victoria decided on Ottawa as the Capital of the Province of Canada, after a suggestion from John A. Macdonald. -
The Chalottetown Conference
On Sept. 1, 1864, the Charlottetown Conference was held, and it lasted from September 2-8, which is 6 whole days. The main purpose of this conferencewas to discuss a Maritime Union amongst the maritime provinces, and to consider uniting the government economy. Governor General Monck asked that Canada be invited to the dicussion " "to ascertain whether the proposed Union might not be made to embrace the whole of British North American Provinces." Canada's most important politicians traveled down -
The Charlottetown Conference Contd.
the St. Lawrence River to attend the conference in P.E.I. Those on the ship included John A. and George Brown from Upper Canada and George-Étienne Cartier, Thomas D'Arcy McGee and Alexander Galt from Lower Canada. All of them had a different reason for attending the conference. George Brown wanted an end to what he considered French domination of English affairs. John A. worried about aggression from their American neighbors, and thought the united British colonies could resist them. Cartier -
The Charlottetown Conference Part 3
wanted the maritimes to join him because he felt " together their population would balance that of Upper Canada." On the first day of the conference John A. spoke about the benefits of a united Canada, the next day Galt spoke about the financial workings of this kind of union, the day after that George Brown dicussed he legal structures of the union, and on the fourth day McGee talked about the nationalist identity. The actual talk of the joining of the maritime provinces was overtaken by the -
The Charlottetown Conference Part 4
topic of a larger union. Within a few days, the Canadians and Maritimers persuaded each other to create a new federation! But, the terms of the union were still to be worked out. The people agreed to meet again in Quebec city for their next conference. -
The Quebec Conference
---Specific Date Unknown---
After the Charlottetown Conference, the politicians decided to meet up in Quebec again to decide the terms of the union. The people at the conferencewere mostly lawyers, but some were doctors, jounalists and busines men. Out of the 33 men, only 4 were French. The most powerful politician in Lower Canada, George-Étienne Cartier, preferred to have little help speaking for his fellow French Canadians. "I never let public prejudice be my guide. I only consult, and will -
The Quebec Conference Contd.
only ever consult my own conscience," Cartier once said. Many people came from all over Canada to protect his own regions interests. Upper Canada's delegates were John A. and George Brown. If the Confederation went through, the English government promised to provide a big, low-cost loan, allowing the new nation to link up the separate lines in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Canada. The main concept was that the government would hold certain priviliges and the provinces the others. Another main -
The Quebec Conference Part 3
concept of the conference was to develop the 72 resolutions, which are like a carefully written contract promising the French and English peace, order and good government. Even though many claimed John A. was drunk for most of the conference, he actually did most of the work, writing 50 of the 72 resolutions! Alot of his opinion about strong central government was reflected in the resolutions he drafted. By the end of the conference, a basic constitution had been drafted, but many dissaproved. -
The London Conference
---Specific Date Unknown---
In the the winter of 1866-67, the London Conference took place. The only thing left to do now was to present the 72 reolutions and the basic constitution to British officials. The politicians George Brown, John A., George-Étienne Cartier, and Alexander Galt all went to London to present their opinions on the constitution and resolutions. In London, Macdonald, Brown, Cartier and a few others changed their bill a little bit. In the changed bill they had made a little -
The London Conference Contd.
tweak to the Quebec deal. A small new article was put in that stated that English Protestants in Lower Canada had special rights. John A. was very excited to wrap things up before people demanded more "tweaks." By Christmas 1866, a draft was sent to Sir Frederic Rogers, the permanent undersecretary of the Colonial Office. The bill was finally signed by Queen Victoria on March 29, 1867, and Macdonald and his colleagues left for home. On July 1, 1867, the United Province of Canada was anounced the -
The London Conference Part 3
---Specific Date Unknown---
the Dominion of Canada, and John A. Macdonald was it's first prime minsiter. -
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John A.'s Prime First Term (being Prime Minister)
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Birth of a United Canada!!
Canada is made into a united nation!! -
John A. Elected Prime Minister
John A. became the first Prime Minister of Canada in 1867. -
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Civil War in America
-America asks Canada to join sides with them
-Canada refueses and remains neutral, as per the wishes of Britain
-Macdonald wants to raise an army of 50,000 soldiers and 10 million dollars to defend the border
-George Brown goes to Ireland, and declares himself out of politics; gets married to Anne
-Macdonald's wife dies; becomes drunk
-Brown starts Globe newspaper
-Brown goes back to politics and wants to dissolve the union, and go back to Upper and Lower Canada
