Regions Apart: The Four Societies of Canada and the United States

Regions Apart: The Four Societies of Canada and the United States provides a valuable comparison between the two countries. Recognizing the inevitability of the comparison, at least for Canadians, the authors seek to explore the myths about the historical development of the two nations and to provide their own divergent interpretation. Their view of the historical development of the two countries has two key elements: they argue that the original American colonies and English Canada were very similiar societies and they argue that the differences that emerged as the countries developed resulted from internal divisions in each country-between English and French Cqanada and between the American North and South-and not simply in the rupture of the American Revolution.

Table of Contents:
Preface; Introduction; Plan of the Book; Part I: Canada and the United States: Theoretical Perspectives; Introduction; Chapter 2: Previous Perspectives: Founding Fragements and Revolutionary Origins; Hartz's Theory of European Founding Fragements; Lipset's Origins Thesis: The Defining Moment of the American Revolution; Summary; Chapter 3: An Alternative Perspective: Deep Structures and the Four Sub-socieites of Canada and the United States; The Concept of Deep Structures; Deep Structures and the English Heritage; Identifying the Deep Structures of the English Societies; Canada and the United States as Four Sub-societies; Summary and Conclusion to Part I; Part II: Historical Myths and Historical Evidence; Introduction; Chapter 4: Liberty, Liberalism, and the Myth of American Individualism; The Concept of Liberty in Pre-revolutionary America; The Myth of American Individualism; Summary; Chapter 5: English Canada and the Loyalist Myth; The Loyalist Migration and Canadian Toryism; Counting the Loyalists; How Loyal Were the Loyalists?; Were the English-Canadian Colonists 'Americans'?; Tory Values: Comparing the Elite and the Larger Population; Summary; Chapter 6: Canadians and Americans: Historical Comparisons; Class Structure and Economic Background; Ethnic Composition and Sources of Immigration; Religion in Canada and the United States; Patterns of Urbanization; Political Culture and Organization; Summary; Conclusion to Part II; Part III: Enduring Myths and Contemporary Realities; Introduction; Samples and Data Sources; Research Questions; Chapter 7: Moral Issues: Religion, Family Values, and Crime; Religion and Religiosity; Family and Sexual Values; Crime and the Law; Summary; Chapter 8: Individualism, Collectivism, and the State; Collectivism and the Role of the State; Attitudes about Individiualism, Statism, and Collectivism; Summary; Chapter 9: Social Inclusion and Tolerance toward Minorities; Mosaic and Melting Pot; Patterns of Immigration and Racial Composition; Socioeconomic Attainments of Immigrants and Ethnic Minorities; Comparative Research on Attitudes towqard Minorities; Summary; Chapter 10: Political Attitudes and Political Action; Political Interest and Political Behaviour; Political Trust and Confidence in Government; Feelings of Interpersonal Trust and National Pride; Summary; Chapter 11: Voluntary-Association Involvement and Activity; Previous Research; Results from the World Values Surveys; Summary; Conclusion to Part III; Chapter 12: Conclusion; Deep Structures Revisited; How Many 'Nations' Are There?; Elites and Masses; National Differences: Comparing the Extremes; Past, Present, and Future: Convergence, Divergence, or Both?; Appendix I; Appendix II; Appendix III; References; Index