Defending the established order and the welfare of French Canadians from two different perspectives: The Quebec Gazette and the Gazette de Québec, 1836-1840.

In the late 1830s, colonial newspapers such as the Quebec Gazette and the Gazette de Québec, assiduously reported on the tumultuous events that shook the political foundations of Lower Canada. Contrary to what historians have assumed, however, the Gazette de Québec was not a translation of the Quebec Gazette. If both defended the established order and promoted the welfare of French Canadians from 1836 to 1840, they did so from different perspectives. At the Quebec Gazette, John Neilson articulated a political rhetoric based on individual rights of liberty, property, and security, influenced by the ideas of British constitutionalism. Conversely, Ronald Macdonald of the Gazette de Québec used the religious rhetoric of French traditionalism, which defended the rights of social and political groups. By comparing their distinct ideological positioning this thesis highlights the diversity of arguments used to argue for greater political stability in a time of rebellion and uncertainty.