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Joseph Howe Facts & Worksheets

Joseph Howe was a Canadian politician, journalist, and reformer who led the fight for responsible government in Nova Scotia.

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Joseph Howe was a Canadian politician, journalist, and reformer who led the fight for responsible government in Nova Scotia. He also opposed the confederation with Canada and came to terms with the federal union of British North America.

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Key Facts & Information

BIOGRAPHY

  • Joseph Howe was born on December 13, 1804 in Halifax Regional Municipality in Canada. He was the son of Mary Edes and John Howe. Howe inherited an undying love for Great Britain and the empire from his loyalist father.
  • Howe’s family was connected with the printing business. At an early age, he became interested and deeply engaged in journalism. At the age of 23, Howe purchased and became the editor of the Novascotian in 1828.
  • Howe had extensive knowledge about his native province from his continuous traveling, argumentative powers, an engaging personality, and clear and lively prose, all of which helped him became a great political commentator.

LIBERAL TRIAL AND RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT

  • Later on, Howe immediately took up the reform cause against the group of merchants and officials dominating the governing circle of the colony. A celebrated liberal trial led him to intervene directly in politics in which he organized his defense and won an acquittal.
  • In 1836, Howe was elected to the House of Assembly and quickly started his determined campaign for “responsible government” in the legislature and through his newspaper.
  • “Responsible government” is defined as a government that is very much responsible to the people. In Canada, it is an executive or Cabinet that is dependent on the support of an elected assembly.
  • In a responsible government, laws are made and taxes are imposed by a body that answers its citizens.
  • In 1843, Howe’s campaign reached the climax of its intensity when he decided to resign from a coalition ministry by carrying out a savage attack on the current lieutenant governor of that time, Lord Falkland.
  • During the 1847 elections, the liberal forces won the majority in the legislature, and the new governor, Sir John Harvey, installed a ministry committed to responsible government on February 2, 1848.
  • However, even though Howe did not head the ministry of the responsible government, he filled the position of provincial secretary from 1848 to 1854. In any colony of the British Empire, the ministry became the first to operate under the principle of cabinet government, preceding the Baldwin-Lafontaine government in Canada by five weeks.
  • The Baldwin-Lafontaine Government was known as the “great ministry” that helped establish the responsible government and establish a public school system.
  • Howe’s term in office was considered an active one of railroad building in Nova Scotia, which he aided when he became chairman of the government railway board in 1854. His term was also considered one of denominational bitterness in Nova Scotia politics.
  • However, from having massive support, Howe lost some support when he criticized the loyalty of Irish Roman Catholics in the province. Nevertheless, he was re-elected after a short time out of the Assembly in 1856 and served in opposition from 1857 to 1860.
  • Howe again became the provincial secretary in 1860. After August 1861, he became the premier and remained in office until 1863, when his government was defeated.

CONFEDERATION

  • During negotiations with Canada regarding the confederation, Howe was on imperial service as a commissioner, ensuring that the fisheries clauses of the Reciprocity Treaty of 1854 were being observed.
  • The Canadian-American Reciprocity Treaty of 1854 was a treaty between the United States and the United Kingdom about mutually reducing import duties, and protective tariffs on certain goods exchanged between the two countries.
  • In 1865, Howe entered the lists against the confederation project that criticized the terms, but not the principle, of federation with Canada. Howe led the anti-confederate forces in an unsuccessful mission to Great Britain in 1867 to prevent the project.
  • During the 1867 elections, they won a sweeping victory when 32 anti-confederates were returned in the allotted 38 seats to Nova Scotia in the Dominion Parliament.
  • Later, after realizing that further opposition was useless, Howe exerted his efforts in securing “better terms” in the federation agreement for Nova Scotia. During the 1869 negotiations with the Ottawa Government, a higher annual subsidy was produced for Nova Scotia.

LATER IN HIS LIFE

  • Later, Howe entered the Cabinet of John Alexander Macdonald as a president of the council and later became the state’s secretary. Howe’s term and service in Ottawa did not satisfy him.
  • As a result, he decided to return to his native province as a lieutenant governor in 1873. Three weeks after Howe took office, he died on June 1, 1873.
  • Howe was considered the best-loved Nova Scotian of his day and still a legend in the Atlantic Provinces. He was famous for being a great writer and speaker. Also, his advocacy of popular rights won him the affectionate title of “Tribune of the People” among his fellow countrymen.

Joseph Howe Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about Joseph Howe across 23 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Joseph Howe worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Joseph Howe who was a Canadian politician, journalist, and reformer who led the fight for responsible government in Nova Scotia. He also opposed the confederation with Canada and came to terms with the federal union of British North America.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Joseph Howe Facts
  • Howe’s Profile
  • Politician’s Timeline
  • Filling the Treaty
  • Negotiations
  • Responsible Government
  • Howe’s Questions
  • Fight for the Country
  • Fact or Bluff?
  • Howe’s Advocacy

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Use With Any Curriculum

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