1837: The Birth of Canadian Democracy

This rich account of the 1837-38 rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada serves as a starting point for further investigation into the topic. The struggle, which was spearheaded by the proletariat, was legendary for its steadfastness against the Family Compact, the Anglo-Canadian ruling class, and the British monarchical system as a whole. They challenged the idea that some rule over others through natural, i.e. divine, right and demanded a system accountable to the people. Though many of their demands were bourgeois, they were undoubtedly of a more progressive nature than the Canadian state which exists today -- equality of all nations, including Indigenous nations, and rights by virtue of being human. W.L. Mackenzie, the leader of the Republic of Canada, went even further in expressing a premature yearning for socialism and communism, declaring himself a social-democrat and asserting that the only way value is added to commodities is labour. Suffering under the yoke of the feudo-bourgeois relations, the people said "enough!" and fought until the end. These rebellions are omitted from the textbooks and media because the bourgeoisie knows what they accomplished; the truth is that they were highly successful and the reason we have even the limited rights we have now. Heroic 1837-38 tears to shreds the notion of the "polite and passive Canadian", the Patriots show us the only way today -- revolution!