To coincide with the bicentennial of Sir John A. Macdonald's birth, this is the first-ever selected collection of his most important and defining speeches. Published in collaboration with The Sir John A. Macdonald Bicentennial Commission, and endorsed by all of our living Prime Ministers, this is a beautifully produced book that deserves to be in all Canadian homes, schools, and libraries.
The Sir John A. Macdonald Bicentennial Commission set out several years ago to collect, annotate, and footnote all of our first Prime Minister's speeches. Rather shockingly, this had not been done before; the speeches of even the most minor of US presidents are available in print and e-book form. Obviously, such a collection is a must for libraries and educational institutions across the country as a matter of historical record, but the speeches also make for great reading. His words have a Churchillian feel to them -- direct, decisive, visionary, and very often funny. Sir John A. is marvellously quotable, and through these speeches you understand how our country was formed, what its challenges were and often continue to be, and why our first PM was perhaps the best we'll ever have.
Author(s): John A. MacDonald, Sarah Gibson, Arthur Milnes
Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
Year: 2014
Language: English
Pages: 544
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
DIRECTORY OF KEY NAMES
PREFACE
INTRODUCTION
EDITOR’S NOTE
PART ONE: BIRTH OF A PARLIAMENTARIAN
Declaring for the Crown and for Britain, 1843
Upholding the Election Law, 1844
Defending Primogeniture, 1845
Challenging the Usury Laws, 1846
Arguing for Import Duties, 1846
Thoughts on the Secret Ballot, 1846
Learning the Lessons on Education: His First Bill, 1847
Winning the Voter with the University Question, 1847
Fighting the Rebellion Losses Bill, 1849
Rejecting the Temperance Bill, 1853
Representation Bill, 1853
Compensation to the Seigneurs, 1853
PART TWO: RISE OF A STATESMAN
“Yielding to the Times”: Secular Clergy Reserves, 1854
Defending Separate Schools, 1855
“Double Majority,” 1858
Finding the Seat of Government, 1858
Defining a Homeland with the Homestead Act, 1860
Talking on Tour, 1860
“Best Speech Mr. Macdonald Ever Delivered,” 1861
PART THREE: NATION MAKER
Toast to Colonial Union, 1864
Debating Confederation, 1865
“Martyr to the Cause,” Eulogizing McGee, 1868
Founding a Library, 1868
Pacification of Nova Scotia, 1869
PART FOUR: STEADFAST VISIONARY
Resistance at Red River, 1870
Manitoba Enters Confederation, 1870
Waiting for News of PEI, 1873
Treaty 1 and the North West Mounted Police, 1873
The Pacific Scandal, 1873
Placing the Tariff Pillar of the National Policy, 1879
Land, Money, and the Canadian Pacific Railway, 1881
Analyzing the North-West Rebellion, 1885
Wading Against the Rivers and Streams Act, 1882
Being an Auxiliary Kingdom, 1886
PART FIVE: MAKING CANADIANS
New Brunswick Schools, 1873
A Sun Run Its Course, 1873
Election Speech to the Workingmen, 1882
Celebrating Forty Years in Politics, 1885
Unveiling George-Étienne Cartier’s Statue, 1885
The Franchise Debates, 1885
The Science of Model Farms, 1885
Disallowance and the Jesuits’ Estates Act, 1889
Portrait-Unveiling Ceremony, 1890
Election Manifesto of 1891
Last Words, 1891
Eulogizing Macdonald, 1891
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
WORKS CITED
NOTES
