FREE ESSAY ON THE HONOURABLE SIR CHARLES TUPPER

THE HONOURABLE SIR CHARLES TUPPER

Sir Charles Tupper 
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Sir Charles Tupper The human mind naturally adapts itself to the position it
occupies. The most gigantic intellect may be dwarfed by being cabin'd, cribbed and
confined. It requires a great country and great circumstances to develop great men.
Charles Tupper, 1865. 
By reason of his personal skills and experience, no one had greater qualification to
be prime minister than Charles Tupper. It is one of the strange quirks of fate and
Canadian
history that he served the shortest term of office of any prime minister. 
Charles Tupper was born in Amherst, Nova Scotia in 1821, the son of a Baptist
minister. He was educated at Horton Academy in Wolfville and trained as a doctor in
Edinburgh, Scotland. After returning to Canada in 1843, Tupper established a practice in
Amherst. 
He entered politics in 1855 when he ran for the Conservatives party in Cumberland
riding. To the astonishment of all, the young Tupper defeated the renowned Reform
canidate, Joseph Howe. By 1864, he was Premier of Nova Scotia. Tupper supported
Confederation movement and participate as a delegate at the Charlottetown, Quebec and
London Conferences. It was primarily through his efforts as a Father of Confederation
that
Nova Scotia joined the union in 1867, despite the strong anti-Confederation movement in
the province. The same year, Tupper ran for the federal Parliament and was the only Nova
Scotia member supporting Confederation to be elected. 
He turned down a position in Cabinet, knowing that political expediency required
Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald to offer ministries to others. In fact, Tupper went
so far as to persuade the anti-Confederation supporter Joseph Howe to accept the union
and join Macdonald's Cabinet in 1869. Such loyalty and self-sacrifice earned Tupper an
unofficial position as Macdonald's right-hand man. In 1870, Tupper became President of
the Privy Council, Minister of Inland Revenue in 1872 and by the next year, he was
Minister of Customs. 
When the Conservatives returned to power in 1878, Tupper became Minister of
Public Works and the following year, Minister of the newly-created portfolio of Railways
and Canals. During this period, he oversaw the completion of the Canadian Pacific
Railway. In 1884, Tupper resigned from Cabinet, having been appointed Canadian High
Commissioner to Great Britain the previous year. He returned for sixteen months in 1887
to serve as Minister of Finance and then resumed his post in London. 
To some members of the Conservative party, Tupper was the natural successor to
Macdonald when the old chieftain died in 1891. However, he was passed over in favour of
John Abbott and then John Thompson in 1892. Upon Thompson's death in 1894, Tupper
was once more put forward. The choice resided with the Governor General, Lord
Aberdeen, who had the power to appoint a successor if a prime minister resigned or died
while still in office. Lord Aberdeen was a man of decided Liberal leanings and found
Tupper too Conservative for his liking. Tupper's reputation as a philanderer shocked
Lady Aberdeen, whose opinions had considerable influence on her husband. Mackenzie
Bowell became prime minister in 1894. The Aberdeens held out against Tupper even
during the Cabinet Revolt of January 1896 which attempted to oust Bowell. Lady
Aberdeen suggested to her husband that he call upon the Opposition, rather than Tupper,
to form a new government. Bowell remained prime minister, but the Conservatives offered
Tupper a Cabinet post. A by-election gave him a House of Commons seat, which Bowell
did not have, from which Tupper effectively led the party. When Bowell resigned in April
1896, Aberdeen appointed Tupper prime minister. 
While in Cabinet, Tupper attempted to settle the Manitoba Schools Question, but
the Opposition blocked passage of the bill. Time ran out for the Conservatives; their
five
years in office were up. As soon as Bowell had stepped down, they were forced to call an
election. In spite of Tupper's aggressive campaign, the Tories could not win. There had
been too many scandals, too many contentious issues and too many prime ministers. The
Liberals won a resounding victory. Tupper remained leader of the Conservatives until
1901, having lost his seat in the election the year before. 
Tupper's duration as prime minister may have been the shortest, but his marriage
lasted longer than any other leader. He married Frances Morse, from a well-connected
Amherst family in 1846, and they had six children. When she died in 1912, they had been
married sixty-five years. One of their sons, Charles Hibbert Tupper, also had a
distinguished career in politics and served as a Cabinet minister under Macdonald,
Abbott,
Thompson and Bowell. 
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The Right Honourable Sir Charles Tupper 
Born
The 2 of July 1821, Amherst, Nova Scotia 
Education
The University of Edinburgh, (Medicine),
Scotland, 1843 
Personal Status
Married in 1846 to France's Morse (1826-1912) 
He had three sons and three daughters 
Professional Life
He was a physician 
In 1867-1870 he became the President of the Canadian Medical Assocation 
Author
Party
Conservative 
From 1896-1901 he was a Party Leader 
Represented
1867-1884, 1887-1888 Cumberland, Nova Scotia 
1896-1900 Cape Breton, Nova Scotia 
Other Ministries
1857-1860, 1863-1867 Provincial Secretary (Province of Nova Scotia) 
1870-1872 President of the Privy Council 
1872-1873 Inland Revenue 
1873 Customs 
1878-1879 Public Works 
1879-1884 Railways and Canals 
1887-1888 Finance 
1896 Secretary of State 
Political Record
He was the Premier of Nova Scotia in 1864-1867 
He Participated in the Confederation Conferences of Charlottetown 1864,
Quebec 1864, and London 1866 
He was the Father of Confederation 1867 
Construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway 1879-1884 
High Commissioner to the United Kingdom 1884-1887, 1888-1896 
Leader of the Opposition 1896-1901 
Died
30th of October 1915, England 
Buried
St. John's Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia 
Kevin DeClark
Bibliography
1)Kevin d.
2)Yahoo.com searches