Howard Palmer, editor

About the Book

The settlement of the Canadian West is one of the most exciting and important periods in Canadian history - exciting because it was a time of rapid change, new beginnings and conflict; important because it saw the emergence of a new region in Confederation - a region with new needs and new perspectives. Some of the key national political questions in the late 19th and early 20th century - the Riel Rebellions, the Manitoba Schools Question, the Winnipeg General Strike, and the rise of the farmers' Progressive Party - emerged out of western Canada. These issues naturally arose in a new society with large numbers of new immigrants where new social relationships and institutions had to be formed. Immigration patterns during this period were also important since the ethnic composition of the groups who settled the West determined to a considerable extent the social issues which later emerged, as well as later immigration patterns.

The articles in this volume do not attempt to cover all facets of the settlement of the West, but many key questions are discussed.

Table of Contents

• Thomas Flanagan: Louis Riel: Insanity and Prophecy
  
• Lewis H. Thomas: A Judicial Murder - The Trial of Louis Riel
  
• D.J. Hall: Clifford Sifton: Immigration and Settlement Policy, 1896-1905
  
• H. Troper: Public Versus Private Land Promotion: The Western Canadian Immigration Association
  
• Jorgen Dahlie: Scandinavian Experiences on the Prairies, 1890-1920: The Frederiksens of Nokomis
  
• Wilfrid Eggleston: The Old Homestead: Romance and Reality
  
• Donald Kerr: Wholesale Trade on the Canadian Plains in the Late Nineteenth Century: Winnipeg and its Competition
  
• David C. Carpenter: Patrified Mummies and Mummified Daddies: A Study of Matriarchs and Patriarchs in Canadian Prairie Fiction
  
• D. McGinnis: Farm Labour in Transition: Occupational Structure and Economic Dependency in Alberta, 1921-1951
  
• Alan B. Anderson: Ethnic Identity in Saskatchewan Bloc Settlements: A Sociological Appraisal
  
• R.W. Wright and R.L. Mansell: The Role of Migration in Alberta's Economic Development, 1976-1985

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