In the early years of the program, National Historic Sites were chosen to commemorate battles, important men, the fur trade and political events; the focus was on the "great men and events" credited with establishing the nation. Of the 285 National Historic Sites designated by 1943, 105 represented military history, 52 represented the fur trade and exploration, and 43 represented famous individuals (almost entirely men). There was also a strong bias in favour of commemorating sites in Ontario over other parts of the country. At one point, some members of the HSMBC concluded that there were no sites at all in Prince Edward Island worthy of designation. The then prominence of sites in Ontario related to the War of 1812 and the United Empire Loyalists has been attributed to the influence of Cruikshank, resulting in a "veritable palisade of historical markers along the St. Lawrence", and in Niagara, promoting a loyalist doctrine of imperial unity with Britain, while commemorating resistance to "Americanism". Proposals to designate sites related to the immigration of Jews, Blacks and Ukrainians to Canada were rejected, as were attempts to recognize patriots of the Rebellions of 1837. Such was the view of Canadian history by the Board in the first half of the 20th century. The HSMBC at the time has been described by historian Yves Yvon Pelletier as a "Victorian gentlemen's club", made up of self-taught historical scholars, whose decisions were made without public consultation and without the benefit of a secretariat to further investigate the recommendations of Board members.