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John George Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham ( 12 April 1792 - 28 July 1840), was a British Whig statesman and colonial administrator, Governor-General and high commissioner of British North America. As Lord Privy Seal in the administration of Lord Grey he helped draft the reform bill of 1832.
He was sent to Quebec in 1838 to investigate the circumstances surrounding the Patriotes Rebellion of Louis-Joseph PapineauLouis-Joseph Papineau ( October 7, 1786- September 23, 1871), born in Montreal, Quebec, was politician, lawyer, and the landlord of the seigneurie de la Petite-Nation''. His father was Joseph Papineau, also a famous politician in Quebec. Early Involvement and the Upper Canada RebellionThe Upper Canada Rebellion was, along with the Patriotes Rebellion in Lower Canada, a rebellion against the colonial government in 1837 and 1838. Collectively they are also known as the Rebellions of 1837 while the Patriotes Rebellion is also called the L of 1837Events January 10 DePauw University founded in Greencastle, Indiana January 26 Michigan is admitted as the 26th U. State February 8 Richard Johnson becomes the first Vice President of the United States chosen by the United States Senate February 11 Americ, and his detailed and famous Report on the Affairs of British North AmericaThe Report on the Affairs of British North America commonly known as Lord Durham's Report is an important document in the history of Canada and the British Empire. The notable Whig politician John George Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, was sent to the Canada ( 1839Events January 9 The French Academy of Sciences announces the Daguerreotype photography process. January 19 British East India Company captures Aden January 20 In the Battle of Yungay, Chile defeats a Peruvian and Bolivian alliance. February 24 William Ot) recommended a modified form of responsible governmentResponsible government was a term used to refer to one major plank of the program used by the United Kingdom to grant independence to the so-called "white" dominions (notably Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and in contrast to its colonial possessions and a legislative unionThe Act of Union passed in July 1840 and proclaimed February 10, 1841, abolished the legislatures of Lower Canada and Upper Canada and established a new Parliament of Canada to replace them. This act effecting the political union of the Canadas was simila of Upper Canada, Lower CanadaThe Canadas were two British colonies, Upper Canada and Lower Canada, part of modern-day Canada. The region (formerly known as the Province of Quebec) was first divided into these colonies at the Ottawa River by the Constitutional Act of 1791, in response and the Maritime Provinces.
He has been lauded in Canadian history for his recommendation of introducing responsible government. This was implemented and by 1847 Canada was a functioning democracy, as it has been ever since. He is less well considered for his idea of merging Upper and Lower Canada into one colony, since this was proposed with the express end of trying encourage the extinction of the French language and culture through intermingling with the more numerous English. Indeed the Act of Union based on the report explicitly banned French in the parliament and in the courts.
In the end, though, his recommendations discouraged assimilation. Once responsible government was achieved, French Canadians in Canada East succeeded by voting as a bloc in ensuring that they were powerfully represented in any cabinet, especially as the politics of Canada West was highly factional. The resulting deadlock between Canada East and West led to a movement for federal rather than unitary government, which resulted in the creation of a federal state of Canada, incorporating New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, in 1867.