State and Society in Transition: The Politics of Institutional Reform in the Eastern Townships, 1838-1852

R. Douglas Francis is a professor of history at the University of
Calgary and the co-author of Destinies: Canadian History Since
Confederation.

State and Society in Transition is a good example of “New Political
History,” which has the following characteristics: it focuses on
lesser-known (but equally important) political developments rather than
on mainstream ones; it deals with grassroots political groups and
organizations rather than with the political elite; and it is concerned
with defining the political culture of the day rather than with
political leaders, party happenings, and electoral results.

J.I. Little’s study of institutional reform in the Eastern Townships
of Quebec between 1838 and 1852 focuses on the formation and activities
of local institutions and the popular culture they expressed and shaped.
There are chapters on “The Politics of Patronage and Economic
Development,” “The Legal System,” “The Origins of Local
Government,” “Municipal Reform,” and “School Reform.”

According to Little, the local community and local public institutions
had as much of a role to play in the formation of institutional reform
and the establishment of new public institutions as did the central
government. He challenges the conventional belief that political power
has always been wielded from the top down, and that political
developments are shaped by the interaction of the margin with the centre
of political power, to show the force of the local people them-selves in
dictating and directing their political future. To support his thesis,
Little draws upon hundreds of petitions, letters, and reports sent by
the people in the Eastern Townships to the central government of Quebec.
His book also sheds light on the ethnic dynamics of this important but
little-studied region.