Free «Canadian History: Was The Hanging Of Louis Riel Justified» Essay Paper

Louis Riel played a vital role in addressing the needs of the Metis in Canada, but his execution was not justified. Riel emerged as one of the most influential leaders who were ready to champion for the rights of minorities. Because of his leadership skills, Riel took part in several petitions that aimed at convincing the federal government to meet Metis’ grievances (Reid, 2008). Riel helped the Metis fight for their rights by leading a resistance against the government of Canada. Whereas Riel was responsible for leading the Metis in a resistance, his hanging was unjustified because the Federal government had refused to address the petition he had raised and instead sent the police and the army to attack them.

The court charged Riel and found him guilty of being a dangerous man in the society, but this was not true. During his lifetime, Riel had demonstrated that he was a skilled negotiator who helped create the Bill of rights and at the same time create other institutions as the president of the Provincial government (Reid, 2008). Because of his role in fighting for the rights of the people, Riel wrote a petition on behalf of the Metis who had several grievances. However, the government did not respond to this petition. It is the government, which provoked Riel to seek an alternative approach to convince the government—resistance.

 

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In addition, Riel’s hanging was unjustified because the government’s police and army attacked his resistance group and their reaction was for self-defense reasons (Reid, 2008). While Riel had helped create a resistance group, he advocated for unnecessary fights within the group. For instance, he instructed the group not to pursue fleeing police or volunteers. However, the reaction of his group towards the attack by the police was based on self-defense, and not an act of creating violence. Because of these reasons, Riels hanging remain unjustified despite the court's ruling.