French Canadians join the American Revolution

Midas, what kind of Autonomy are you talking about? States were pretty much free to do what they wanted back then, so long as they followed the relevant portions of the Constitution. Keeping their own language and church won't be any problem what so ever so long as they don't ban other languages or religions.
 

Eurofed

Banned
Midas, what kind of Autonomy are you talking about? States were pretty much free to do what they wanted back then, so long as they followed the relevant portions of the Constitution. Keeping their own language and church won't be any problem what so ever so long as they don't ban other languages or religions.

I concur. Back then at the beginning of the USA, the states had an overwhelming amount of autonomy in managing their internal matters. Canada would be left free by the early US Constitution to do what it wants to preserve their language and religion, and the rest of America would not have a problem with this, provided they do not discriminate Protestants or English-speakers.

Canadian Framers may want to add to the Constitution some provision such as "The states shall be secure in their domestic institutions" or "Congress shall make no law concerning the establishment of a national language" (the 1st Amendment already covers religion adequately). Nothing more is going to be wanted or needed.

As it concerns the slavery issue, it is not going to be affected directly by a "domestic institutions" clausle, since even OTL the controversy was not about slavery in the states, all but the most extremist abolitionists and slaveholders recognized that it was wholly within the autonomy of each state to allow or ban slavery. The burning divide was about slavery in the territories.

About the effect of US Canada and Nova Scotia on the sectional issues, what we can expect is that their presence in the Union and, in due time, the existence of a whole extra row of free states above the Great Lakes, is going to tilt the balance in favor of the free states. Hence, the South shall be even more eager than IOTL to establish new slaveholding states with agrarian imperialism. Expect additional efforts to conquer or purchase territory in Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean. Probably the Civil War may start slightly earlier than OTL. Canada is going to start with an agrarian mindset sympathetic to the South, but, due to industrialization, over time become more and more like a Catholic-Romance, slightly more conservative copy of New England/New York, while the new "Canadian" states above the Great Lakes shall be culturally hybrid copies of the Mid West.
 
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Unless they were willing to put language and religious guarantees into the constitution I doubt that Quebec would stick around.

Some sort of Clause saying Congress shall make no laws respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof?
 

Eurofed

Banned
Some sort of Clause saying Congress shall make no laws respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof?

Incorporation of the 1 st Amendment in the original text of the Constitution would work fine in this regard. In all likelihood, this starts a chain reaction that leads to the incorporation of the whole Bill of Rights in the original text of the Constitution.

Note that the BoR originally only bound the Federal government, not the states, so it shall prevent the creation of a National Church, but not Canada from establishing a state one. So it shall suit the needs of Canadiens fine. When the BoR shall be extended to states through the 14th Amendment or ATL equivalent after the ACW, the social and cutural framework of Canda shall be changed enough that establishment of the Catholic Church shall be much less of a dearly felt issue.
 
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