Loyalist City: the Imposition of the Loyalist Image in Saint John
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LOYALIST CITY: THE IMPOSITION OF THE LOYALIST IMAGE IN SAINT JOHN, NEW BRUNSWICK, 1883-1983 by William S. Jones BA, University of New Brunswick, Saint John, 2007 A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Graduate Academic Unit of History Supervisor: Greg Marquis, Ph.D., History Examining Board: Sean Kennedy, Ph.D., History Bonnie Huskins, Ph.D., History David Creelman, Ph.D., English This thesis is accepted by the Dean of Graduate Studies THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW BRUNSWICK May, 2011 ©William S. 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Canada Abstract This thesis draws on recent studies of commemoration and tourism history to examine how Saint John civic and business leaders utilized the Loyalist image to promote a city in which the majority of the population had no connection to the Loyalists. Although Loyalists founded Saint John in the 1780s, a growing immigrant population by the 1830s eclipsed the Loyalist demographic in the city. Through commemorative and promotional activities, the city’s Loyalist heritage was used as a tool to legitimize the position of the city’s elite and attract tourists, while suppressing the public history of other groups in the community. Promotional efforts were based on commemoration and tourism, but the larger goal of civic boosterism was always present, and by the 1980s became the driving force. The Loyalist tradition surfaced between 1883 and 1983, especially in official promotional rhetoric. Celebrations of Loyalist Day (May 18th) during this period were similar in form and content, while adapting to the circumstances of their age. The bicentennial in 1983, while continuing with many of the same commemorative activities of previous celebrations, was exemplary of a changing cultural landscape in Canada, as the nation embraced multiculturalism, and narrow heritage claims promoted by civic leaders were rejected for a more inclusive public history. Acknowledgements I owe sincere thanks to Dr. Greg Marquis for his helpful supervision, patience and invaluable commentary throughout the past two years. Thanks also to all those who provided additional helpful criticism and encouragement along the way. And many thanks to all the wonderful people I interviewed for this project. I met some really interesting and passionate members of the Saint John community who were able to provide a deeper understanding of the city’s past. This study would not have been possible without the funding and support provided by the University of New Brunswick. Thank you. And finally, a big thank you to my friends and family, who were always nearby with an encouraging word. Table of Contents ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................................................II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.................................................................................................................... Ill INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................................ 1 CHAPTER 1: THE LOYALIST CENTENNIAL CELEBRATIONS AND THE LOYALIST TRADITION...............................................................................................................................................11 CHAPTER 2: THE 150™ ANNIVERSARY OF THE LOYALISTS AND SAINT JOHN’S SHIFTING DEMOGRAPHICS.............................................................................................................42 CHAPTER 3: SAINT JOHN’S SUMMER FESTIVAL: THE DEVELOPMENT OF LOYALIST DAYS.................................................................................................................................... 71 CHAPTER 4: THE DECLINE OF THE LOYALIST IMAGE AND THE GROWTH OF MULTICULTURALISM..................................................................................................................... 109 CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................................136 BIBLIOGRAPHY...................................................................................................................................142 CURRICULUM VITAE Introduction The people of Saint John have a long history of using the city’s Loyalist heritage as a tool in tourist promotion and civic boosterism. In recent years, however, this approach to civic branding has been abandoned in favour of an inclusive and less history- driven style of promotion. Civic boosters are pushing the city as a modem cultural and business centre and tourist destination, limiting heritage claims to the uptown’s rich architecture.1 Epithets like “The Loyalist City” are almost anathema in promotional rhetoric, having been succeeded by less controversial slogans. The most recent, “The Original City,” has been used to celebrate the city’s 225th anniversary. Images of the “Loyalist Man,” an integral part of the Saint John landscape from the 1950s to the 1990s have all but disappeared with less contentious symbols taking their place. In an age of significant change for Saint John, civic promoters are creating a new and inclusive identity that they hope will appeal to tourists as well as locals. This change in promotional rhetoric and imagery is a deliberate shift from the Loyalist-based promotional efforts that distinguished Saint John until the 1980s, especially the period from 1883-1983, during which the Loyalist image and Saint John became inextricably linked. This is not to say, however, that this image was a natural or appropriate representation of the Saint John community. Emphasis on the city’s Loyalist heritage began with the growth of public history in the second half of the 19th century, and was cultivated by the city’s elite. This turn to Loyalist heritage was also a response 1 Robert MacKinnon, “The Industrial City in Transition: A Cultural and Environmental Inventory of Greater Saint John,” Acadiensis, 37.1 (Winter/Spring 2008); and “The City of Saint John,” <http://www.saintjohn.ca/en/home/default.aspx> 1 to economic disappointments, as the city failed to regain the economic prosperity it had experienced before mid-century. This trend would punctuate Saint John throughout the 20th century as economic prospects looked promising, civic boosterism focused on the city’s progression and industrial prowess, but when prospects turned sour, promoters turned to the city’s heritage to bolster civic pride and attract tourists. As David Lowenthal contends: “As hopes of progress fade, heritage consoles us with tradition.”2 Before the 1880s civic promotion was based largely on economic and industrial boosterism. The city was labeled “The Liverpool of North America,” and industrial ingenuity was boasted over historical claims. But as civic leaders came to accept Saint John’s new position in the Canadian economy, promoters focused less on promises of prosperity and instead looked to the city’s Loyalist heritage as the authentic character of the city.3 The move away from urban boosterism and towards heritage promotion was not, however, finite. During the turn of the century, the two were often linked, one taking prominence over the other depending on economic and political contexts.4 This balance between forward-looking boosterism and heritage-oriented tourist promotion would continue into the 1980s. Saint John would never abandon its dreams of renewed prosperity, and this was echoed in the boosterism that surfaced throughout the 20th century. Beginning in the late 19th century, civic leaders, whether of Loyalist descent or not,