The Orange Order in Canada has had a long and complicated history since its origins here in the early nineteen hundreds, with the coming of British troops and the first wave of Irish Immigrants. Prior to its establishment here, Orangeism existed in Ireland and traces back to feuding between landlords and farmers. Orange Order honored both the British Crown and Protestantism, and was entrenched through various rituals and codes of conduct. Both Kealy and See agree on this background information, but what tends to raise some controversy between them is whether or not the Orange Order is primarily a religious institution, or an expression of culture of a people. .
Kealy addresses this difference of opinion in his article The Orange Order in Toronto: Religious Riot and Working Class. Kealy claims that too much emphasis is placed on the violent aspects of the Order (such as in See's article, The Orange Order and Social Violence in Mid Nineteenth Century Saint John), and not enough on the social and cultural background of the Order itself. .
The focus and arguments of each article are driven by the original interest of the authors. Consequently See focuses on a functional analysis and Kealy focuses on a structural analysis of the Orange Order. Although one see related arguments from each article, See emphasizes violence, specifically investigating the riot of 1849 and the course of events that ultimately acted as factors causing it as the end result - these being mainly racism and the Orange rhetorical campaign. Kealy emphasizes fraternity: its social composition and the way in which it acted as a cultural and ritual group. .
Orange membership in the 1940's came from various cultural groups and classes, a point which both authors agree on. However, See looks at the significant native involvement and Kealy focuses more on the social composition in terms of class. .
Something that is very important in See's article is the way the anti-Catholic appeal of the Orange Order capitalized on the depressed economic cycle of New Brunswick at the time of massive Irish Immigration.
