The first governing document of the United States of America offered Canada a deal we thought they couldn’t refuse.
The Articles of Confederation were nadopted by the Continental Congress in 1777, and stated that Canada “shall be admitted into, and entitled to all the advantages of this union,” at any time, no questions asked.
Any other colonies that wished to join the United States would have to get approval from at least nine of the newly independent 13 states.
Canada was special.
I ran across an historical map recently — shown above — that showed the Province of Quebec extending southward all the way to the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, where Cairo, Illinois, is located. That’s the lavender-colored region, where many of the colonists spoke French, while also learning the Native American languages.
For whatever reason, the British Crown claimed authority over the French-speaking Canadians. And if things had gone differently in the 1770s, the present-day residents of Cairo, Illinois, might be speaking French. Or even, Native American languages.
Now that Canada might soon become the 51st state, I figured it could be useful to learn more about Canadians, and their history. So I spent a few minutes on the Smithsonian website last weekend, catching up on some stories I vaguely remember being vaguely mentioned in my American History class.
Like the story of Fort Ticonderoga. That name sounded familiar, but I didn’t recall what happened there. It’s been a few years since I studied American history.
Actually, not much did happen. The Continental Army took the fort from the British defenders without firing a single musket. Which is the way you ideally want to fight a war. Nobody gets hurt. Just their pride gets wounded.
I also recognized the names ‘Ethan Allen’ and ‘Benedict Arnold’… but not the ‘Battle of Quebec’. I halfway suspect my high school history teacher never told us about the Battle of Quebec, because it was too embarrassing. He wanted us to perceive the American patriots as courageous champions who kicked King George’s ass.
Apparently, that wasn’t the whole story.
The Thirteen Colonies were settled mainly by English colonists, and that’s the part of the story we ‘Americans’ generally hear about. The original inhabitants — the Moheghan, Iroquois, Creek, Cherokee, Algonquin, Seneca, Powhattan, etc. — were a minor annoyance.
During my high school experience, the history text books tended to minimize the interesting fact that a huge portion of North America was colonized by two other European countries: Spain and France.
If you look at the map of North America in the year 1774, the Thirteen Colonies are located along the coast, colored the darker shade of pink. Pink being a popular color for colonies in 1774.
I took the liberty of coloring the Province of Quebec in an attractive lavender color, to better show that Quebec, in 1774, was larger than all the Thirteen Colonies put together. To the west of Quebec, shown in orange, we find a portion of Louisiana. Also French-speaking. (But presumably learning the Native American languages.)
In between Quebec and the Thirteen Colonies, the map shows a gray area.
This gray area is sort of a gray area. No one could successfully claim it (except the Native tribes who had been living there for millennia) so it’s referred to, in this map, as “Vandalia” and “Transylvania”. Vandalia was a proposed English colony, but they couldn’t quite get their act together. Transylvania was another short-lived, extra-legal colony, founded in early 1775 by North Carolina land speculator Richard Henderson, who formed and controlled the Transylvania Company.
But let’s get back to the Battle of Quebec. Although people spoke French in Quebec, the province was “claimed” by the British, and the forts were manned by British soldiers. So the American patriots living in the Thirteen Colonies — who were already planning to declare their independence — were urging Quebec to become the 14th Colony.
Quebec was not really interested. Too much effort, is probably what they were thinking. Or maybe they thought the Americans were a bunch of hot-headed troublemakers. (The same thing Canadians are thinking today?)
So when the American patriots couldn’t talk Quebec Province into joining the Revolution, they did what any hot-headed troublemakers would do. They attacked.
George Washington sent his buddy Benedict Arnold into the muddy forests of Maine, to attack Quebec from the east, and he sent Brigadier General Richard Montgomery to invade from the south. Montgomery’s army easily captured Montreal, when the British forces abandoned the city, and then marched proudly on to Quebec City in the winter of 1775, expecting another easy victory.
Instead, the attack on Quebec City was an utter failure. General Montgomery was killed instantly as the American attack began, and the offensive quickly fell apart. Benedict Arnold was wounded and most of his company was captured or killed.
The U.S. Congress tried their best to hide the news of the defeat at Quebec City, because they knew the story would be bad for morale. Also, it wouldn’t have looked good on George Washington’s résumé.
Unfortunately, American painter John Trumbull heard about the failure and made a famous painting, now displayed at the Yale University Art Gallery. That’s what happens when you allow freedom of the press.
As far as I know, the offer to Canada — to join the United States — still stands, even though it didn’t get documented in the 1787 version of the Constitution.
We can certainly hope the U.S. has learned its lesson about attacking Canadians. Especially, the ones who speak French.
If the lesson were included in the history books, that might be helpful.
Underrated writer Louis Cannon grew up in the vast American West, although his ex-wife, given the slightest opportunity, will deny that he ever grew up at all. You can read more stories on his Substack account.