Word: britishism
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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Leading the Way. The Commonwealth idea is a means of letting colonies grow into nations, and among British colonies of the igth century Canada led the way to nationhood. After the American Revolution, an estimated 40,000 Loyalist refugees fled the hated republicanism of the new United States and found refuge in Canada-an influx of British stock to an area until then mostly populated by French habitants. In 1837 a brace of piddling rebellions-one led by French-Canadian Louis Papineau, the other by British-Canadian William Lyon Mackenzie-startled London and led to the establishment of "responsible government...
...time of the confederation of the provinces in 1867, Canada was largely self-governing, though still under London's Colonial Office. With the dawn of the 20th century the larger white British colonies became dominions, and in 1917 an Imperial War Conference passed a resolution calling for "full recognition of the Dominions as autonomous nations." Canada tried its fledgling national wings by joining the League of Nations...
...term British Commonwealth* had been loosely in use for decades, and Britain's Arthur James Balfour, World War I Foreign Secretary, undertook to define it-with help from Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King (William Lyon Mackenzie's grandson). Lord Balfour's report called the Commonwealth "autonomous communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another," and united "by a common allegiance to the Crown," as head of the Commonwealth. The 1931 Statute of Westminster removed from Britain the right to withhold consent to laws passed by Dominion Parliaments...
Much tidying up yet remains. To this day, parts of Canada still fly the British Union Jack, although the government is trying during the pageantry of the Queen's visit to spread the use of the Red Ensign, with its hard-to-discern Canadian shield. Canadians are unable to decide on a national anthem, and sing either God Save the Queen or O Canada...
...changes to keep pace with events. India and Pakistan, both republics, became members of the monarchical Commonwealth on condition that they acknowledge the Crown as "Head of the Commonwealth." At a London Conference in 1949 the assembled Prime Ministers issued a communique that began with a reference to "the British Commonwealth" and ended with a declaration of unity by the "free and equal members of the Commonwealth." It was no accident that the adjective "British" vanished in transit. Lester ("Mike") Pearson, then Canada's External Affairs chief, recalls: "It was the British genius for evasion or compromise or common...