Cultural Selection and National Identity: Establishing Historic Sites in a National Framework, 1920-1939

Abstract

Since 1919 and the first meeting of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), the federal government of Canada has been involved in the marking and preservation of places which represent important aspects of Canadian history. The years between the two world wars were crucial in defining both the federal commemorative program and the public's image of the Canadian past. This period marked an increase in commemorative activity as well as the beginnings of divergence in preservation philosophies. Increased specialization and professionalization were changing a movement which had previously reflected the consensus of the educated elite. Differing academic approaches began to appear: while historians were relying with increasing exclusivity on textual proof, the developing discipline of architectural history was encouraging the examina-