U1L3 Reconciling Nationalist Loyalties

Introduction

Reconciling Nationalist Loyalties

Key Issue
To what extent should people reconcile their contending nationalist loyalties?

France needed a hero, but did they get one? The Enlightenment and French Revolution led to the eventual reign of Napoleon, followed by his downfall.  We study this to learn about the evolution of modern nationalist ideas.  The enlightenment brought up the ideas, the French Revolution put them into action and nationalist groups wanted to rule themselves in order to create a better society for the people within their nation.

Now we will look at loyalty and the history of other nationalist movements and how they have developed over time.

Loyalty may be the firm belief in or the show of support for an idea, a person, a group, or a nation. Individuals may hold many loyalties. You may even hold loyalties that do not exist together in harmony. These loyalties may contend, or compete, with each other. For some individuals, it may enrich their lives to hold diverse, even contending loyalties. Contending loyalties for some individuals may create conflict and demand reconciliation to end the competition or issue. In the case of Canada, contending loyalties may require attention in order to secure unity and peace in the nation.

In this section you will explore the diverse loyalties that individuals hold in response to this question: What are your loyalties in relation to nation, nationalism, and identity, and do nationalist loyalties shape your choices? Each of the following lesson inquiries will develop understandings to help you respond to the section question:

• What are your loyalties?
• Do you have to reconcile your diverse/contending loyalties?

Lesson - Nationalist Loyalties

RESOURCES

Read and refer to Chapter Three as your resource for completing this lesson's assignment.

Chapter Study Notes
Who was Napoleon Bonaparte?
American Nationalism
Quebec Nationalism
Metis Nationalism

LESSON

One synonym for loyalty is "commitment" - the act of staying true to an idea, a cause, a nation, a person, or even yourself. People sometimes demonstrate their loyalty publicly. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill did this during World War II, when he vowed in a famous speech that Britain would "never surrender" to Hitler and fascism. But loyalty does not need to be displayed publicly. It can be low-key and long term, as in the quiet commitment of two people who are united in a lifelong relationship.

Non Nationalist Loyalties are loyalties that are not embedded in the idea of nation. (ex - Loyalties to family, friends, school, etc)

Listen to the following explanation for Reconciling Contending Loyalties

Names can be useful tools for affirming nationalist loyalties. The Inuit of South Baffin Island, for example, have started the South Baffin Place Names Project to record traditional Inuktitut place names. Inuktitut is the language of the Inuit. Inuktitut names were often ignored by Europeans, who gave their own names to places in the North.  Watch the following video, Kiviaq versus Canada.

TERMS to review

Lesson - Conflicting Nationalist Loyalties

LESSON

Students will explore how contending nationalist loyalties can create conflict by examining how Newfoundland mourns on Canada Day, the ongoing debate over Quebec nationalism, and Aboriginal reconciliation. 

Israel

Contending nationalist loyalties can create conflict between peoples for many reasons. When two people, for example, want to live in the same territory can cannot reconcile - settle or resolve - their conflicting loyalties by diplomatic means, the result may be violence. This is the case in Israel, where both Jewish Israelis and Palestinians wish to control the same territory, to which both have historical, religious, spiritual, cultural, and geographic ties (P76, Exploring Nationalism)

Quebecois have a long history of grappling with contending nationalist loyalties. In 1995, a referendum on separating from Canada forced them to choose between their loyalty to Quebec and their loyalty to Canada. An extraordinary 93.5% of Quebecois voted in this referendum. The results, in which the no side eked out a narrow victory, revealed that voters were nearly equally divided over how to reconcile these contending loyalties. pg. 77, Exploring Nationalism

Reconciliation can mean coming to terms with the past or mending a broken relationship. When two friends have a serious disagreement, an act of reconciliation can help resolve their differences and bring them together again. Similarly, when peoples or nations disagree, or when their nationalist loyalties lead them to pursue contending goals, an attitude of reconciliation can bring them together and enable them to coexist in peace. But when two contending nations cannot achieve reconciliation, the outcome can be serious. The inability to resolve differences may lead to damaging political struggles and even outright war. For decades, Canadian governments tried to force First Nations, Inuit, and Metis to abandon their culture and traditions and to assimilate into mainstream society. Over the past decades, this policy has changed, as governments have recognized Aboriginal and treaty rights. These rights are now enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, yet many First Nations, Inuit, and Metis continue to face an uphill struggle in their quest to control their own destiny.

The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples A Royal Commission is an independent public inquiry established to examine an issue, hear testimony from people involved, and recommend ways of coming to a resolution The commission visited many communities and talked to many people The written report condemned the treatment of Aboriginal peoples, and urged Canadians to view First Nations, Inuit, and Metis as nations with a right to govern themselves

Watch the statement of apology to former students of Indian Residential Schools

Assignment

Assignment Preparation
Now that we know the historical development of nationalism, we need to ask does nationalism still have relevance today? We will begin to look at the history of some important nationalist movements in order to assess their causes and impact on society. Begin by clicking on the three types of nationalism below and reading through the material. Be sure to highlight the most important information in each one.

Then, complete the following by entering your answers directly into the following document (some additional research may  be necessary) - RETRIEVAL CHART

American Nationalism

• History of American Nationalism

Quebec Nationalism

• Quebec Nationalism Timeline

Metis Nationalism

• Forgotten Metis -Timeline
  

Label your completed chart - SS20U1L3.surname and
submit using the Assignment Folder for U1L3 Foundations of Nationalism.
Complete the practice exam that follows.

Using all the text and resource links within this lesson write the Unit 1 Lesson 3 Quiz open book quiz. (answers are located in lessons 2 and 3)

Evaluation and Conclusion

Evaluation - 

Knowledge and Understanding (understanding of content) - /20
Application (making connections)  - /20

Total - /40

Conclusion

We are now getting a clear picture of how nationalism developed, and how it spread to other dissatisfied or alienated groups in society. We will look at other nationalist groups to determine their goals and actions historically and currently in future lessons.