January 29, 1808
Ezekiel Hart Takes the Oath in Lower Canada
Historical context
On January 29, 1808, Ezekiel Hart took the oath for a seat in the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada. The House refused him the seat.
Archive record
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- Date
- January 29, 1808
- Verified sources
- 2
- Archive threads
- 3
On this day, Ezekiel Hart took the oath for a seat in the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada. The assembly journal records that he had been returned for Trois-Rivières and that he took the oath on the Bible with his head covered. On 1 February the House resolved that he had not taken the oath in the customary manner.
He had won a by-election in April 1807, after the session in Quebec was already ending, so the oath waited until January. The Canadian Encyclopedia records that he was elected again in 1808, took the oath in the usual form, and was still kept out. London then held that a Jew could not sit in the assembly.
Research trail
Sources and further reading
- Proceedings Relating to the Expulsion of Ezekiel Hart, 29 January 1808 · House of Assembly of Lower Canada · Journals of the House of Assembly of Lower Canada View source
- Ezekiel Hart · The Canadian Encyclopedia · The Canadian Encyclopedia View source
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