ABSTRACT
In his Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville posits what can neatly be called the “origins and identity thesis.” The thesis implies that people have memories of their origins, but these memories are inert. People participate in political communities and cultural traditions, the origin of which they have never consciously considered. The refugees who arrived in Canada were loyal to King George, named their new towns after him and endured great hardships to hold on to their freedom to be part of the empire. In short, the Upper Canadian experience is borne of American principles, but with these principles turned against America. In the Canadian cradle, one sees an anti-American, religiously fervent, pro-British child. Positive freedom is the sort of freedom that necessarily emerges from a beleaguered garrison. It characterizes the garrison mentality and, as Berlin describes it in its pathological form, is conterminous with the Orangeman Consciousness.
