Introduction - ‘The Quiet Revolution' is the name given to a period in Quebec's history commencing in 1960 and intersecting with the death of Quebec's Premier, Maurice Duplessis. It was a ‘revolution' because a number of sweeping changes were made in the society, government, and legislation of Quebec, moving from the radically conservative policies of the Union Nationale government under Duplessis to the radically liberal initiatives of the government headed by Paul Lesage. It was considered ‘quiet' because many of these changes were completed without recourse to violence or other traditionally ‘revolutionary' behavior, unlike the rebellions of 1837 and 1838, and later the October Crisis, initiated by the FLQ as a calculated attempt to force and accelerate the changes initiated by the Lesage government. In order to understand the specific nature of this quiet revolution in Quebec's (and by implication, Canada's) history, the historical role of Quebec in the context of the nation of Canada must first be appreciated. Then, some of the events that characterized the revolution become more easily apparent
[...] While the rebellions of 1837 and 1838 had been effectively halted by the dominant British government, going so far as to pave the way for Quebec's joining of the rest of Canada in Confederation in 1867, this did not mean that anti- British sentiment had been extinguished, or that the inhabitants of Quebec felt any better about British colonial rule than they did previously. Added to this already pre-existing tension and resentment, however, were the events of the Great Depression and the Second World War. [...]
[...] This action was undertaken by a fringe of Quebec society who saw the revolutionary changes being enacted by The Quiet Revolution, but who thought that the changes were neither radical enough nor taking place fast enough. Like the rebellions of 1837 and 1838, the crisis involved a concerted response by the Federal government to quell the situation. The political issue of Quebec sovereignty was specifically formulated in two referendums, one in 1980 and one in 1995. The referendum of 1980 asked Quebeckers a mandate to negotiate political sovereignty within an economic association with the rest of Canada.”[17] The 1995 referendum, on the other hand, asked the electorate they wished Quebec to become ‘sovereign,' after having formally offered Canada a new economic and political partnership.”[18] Neither referendum passed, although the first was defeated by a larger margin than the second, indicating a greater degree of discontent among voters in the second referendum. [...]
[...] people that could not have been predicted from either the changes that had come before or from the general current of social rebellion that characterized the 60's. Furthermore, The Quiet Revolution has left its stamp upon life in both Canada and Quebec in at least three ways. First, the quiet revolution involved the passage of language legislation that essentially made Canada the bilingual country it is today. Second, the quiet revolution sewed the seeds of separatist discontent and led to the referendums of 1980 and 1995, not to mention a large political influence by the Parti Quebecois. [...]
[...] Its international reputation for tolerance, diplomatic solutions to political problems and its willingness to negotiate until a settlement is achieved that satisfies everyone have all been built upon the events of The Quiet Revolution in Quebec. Contrary to the thesis that this revolution of 1960 was merely a continuation of previous historical processes, consider the fact that Duplessis's government had, for the most part, extinguished these elements as political factors during his 14 year term as Premier. Similarly, the idea that The Quiet Revolution was merely reflective of the turmoil in the rest of the world does not take into account the unique cultural and political situation of Quebec at the time; that is, an isolated, French speaking minority that wished to assert and maintain its cultural independence from the rest of Canada. [...]
[...] The Patriots and the People: The Rebellion of 1837 in Rural Lower Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press [NOTE: “Chicago Style Citation” guidelines found at http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html] Francis, Jones, and Smith. Journeys: A History of Canada. (Toronto: Thomson-Nelson, 2006) Francis, Jones, and Smith. Journeys: A History of Canada. (Toronto: Thomson-Nelson, 2006) Burt, Alfred Leroy. The Old Province of Quebec, Volume II, 1778-1791. (Toronto: McLelland and Stewart Limited, 1968), 204-5. Bernard, Jean-Paul. The Rebellions of 1837 and 1838 in Lower Canada. (Ottawa: The Canadian Historical Association, 1996) Greer, Allan. [...]
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