Canadian History Term Paper

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document

Total Length: 941 words ( 3 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 0

Page 1 of 3

Canadian History

Precis: W.J. Eccles, "Society and the Frontier."

While elementary exposure to history cloisters many in an idealistic interpretation of the past, it is the job of the academic historian to push past the nebulous tales of heroes and villains and evince a clearer illumination of actualities. While Canadian history, like many others, is filled with the protagonists and antagonists and stories of great fortune that build a nation, W.J. Eccles has pursued a career in dissuading the myths of historical reticence and injecting the old with true scholarship in pursuit of a greater base of knowledge. In The Canadian Frontier, this has never been truer. In "Society and the Frontier," W.J. Eccles provides a sound disclosure of fact and theory that knit together the nuanced truths and assumptions of Canadian history to create an accurate reflection of the development of northern frontier society.

In the entirety of his works, Eccles seeks to dismantle hackneyed approaches to viewing Canadian history that are frequently based in a Davey Crocker-esque approach to history; far more said than done. In his first book, Frontenac: the Courtier Governor and later Canada Under Louis XIV, he expertly riffles through superficial statements about the Canadian past repeated through both textbooks and lectures at all levels of historical knowledge. It is from this perspective that "Society and the Frontier" was cast; in Frontier, he approaches these facts as "flabby evidence" and even suggests that others are "fantasies or dramatic lies." His approach to Canadian history, particularly that of the Society as embodied in this article and throughout the rest of his works, is one that summarily disregards assumptions for the brass-ring of research: fact.

He begins his work with a description of the Canadian frontier, pastoral land of the idyll that has enraptured the hearts of Canadians for centuries.

Stuck Writing Your "Canadian History" Term Paper?

View All Our Example Canadian History Term Paper

Have A Custom Example Essay Written

He continues his discussion by addressing the problems of New France as being used as a commercial outpost for Europe. This commercial structure was devastating for Canada; cod fishing villages in the East were made solely for export, with very little raw local investment. The fishing villages were inevitably small and lacked the inherent foundational ties integral to the creation of a society; there was no need for a common source of consumer experience, since both boat and sail were imported from Europe. As such, the size and nature of the villages was immediately truncated and monochromatic, and the ability to grow a society from such nascent forms was impossible as allows for by the governing system in early Canada.

While the fur trade pushed out into parts unknown, as the Cod industry did in the seas of the North Atlantic, it did so with family and future in mind, settling the "wilderness" of the Canadian north. The peculiar market, an oddity in the international economy, mirrored….....

Show More ⇣

     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


Related Essays

Conscription During World War Two Canada

described as an accomplished historian and has extensive knowledge of the Canadian history (having headed the Canadian War Museum), Hitsman has authored a number of war pieces focusing on military history. The text, therefore, passes the validity and relevance test. In essence, the compulsory enlistment of civilians into military service has been a thorny issue. I will be using this text to define the conduct of the Canadian Government in the operation of World War 2, while at the same time highlighting some of the issues that arose out of the imposition of conscription. In so doing, the book will come… Continue Reading...

sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Canadian History" (2005, July 09) Retrieved June 18, 2025, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/canadian-history-65754
   

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document
order custom essay example