User:Miguelmabilangan/sandbox

Proposed Annexation of Red River
US expansionists became heavily interested in the economic potential Red River land possessed. The ideal soil, climate and socio-economic potential of the area convinced Americans that they needed to make this land American territory.[12] The result ended up being an annexation proposal of Red River in order to convert it into land that Americans could use for economic purposes. Due to Louis Riel's Red River rebellion, the American annexationists hoped to take advantage of the disruption caused by these political conflicts and present themselves in the forefront as the ideal leaders of the Red River land. The annexation was led by Minnesota senator Alexander Ramsay, and was backed by Zachariah Chandler and Jacob M. Howard- who were both senators of Michigan and represented Detroit merchants. They all shared the same economic vision for the annexation: Ramsay believed Red River served as an important commercial adjunct for his state while Chandler and Howard believed that annexing Red River would benefit their Great Lakes Trade.[13] Americans hoped to completely colonize the land as their own, and tried to assert their dominance by removing other Colonizer influence from Red River. A notable example would be James W. Taylor: he was an American special agent and Winnipeg consul who used his political power to shape the destiny of the valley, as well as attempting to remove the British influence on the valley.[14] The Canadian government, however, did not allow these expansionists to succeed.

The proposal was met with a lot of resistance from the Red River people as they were given the chance to address their grievances about the potential loss of land by a proclamation by the Governor General of the dominion. American annexationists tried to depict themselves as favorable figures in the eyes of the Canadians by associating themselves with the political schemes of Louis Riel. However, their main intentions of doing so was to misguide him in favor of the annexation. . Their greatest propaganda tool was the New Nation newspaper which elicited rhetoric that advocated for the annexation because it embodied the popular Manifest Destiny ideology. They also wrote anonymous letters that supported Louis Riel, but at the same time, denounced Canadians. This was meant to help the annexation cause because their support of Louis Riel's rebellion would encourage resistance the power of the political government, and be in favor of independence- then ultimately America would assert themselves as the new leaders and Red River would become American land. . They ultimately wanted to create an allegiance between the Canadians and the United States because they hoped that this alliance would ease the transformation of Red River into American territory.

However, this aggressive propaganda ultimately backfired upon the annexation proposal. It created even more hostility towards the annexation party, and the United States.