Sir John Alexander Macdonald Essay

Sir John Alexander Macdonald was a Canadian politician and Father of Confederation. However, he was most widely known for his position as the first Prime Minister of Canada (1867-1873, 1878-1891). As the dominant figure of the Canadian Confederation, he preceded to have a political career that spanned for almost half a century.

Macdonald was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on January 11, 1815. His father, Hugh Macdonald, was a merchant, who had married his mother Helen Shaw, on 21 October 1811. After Hugh Macdonald's business ventures left him in debt, the family immigrated to Kingston, in Upper Canada (today the southern and eastern portions of Ontario), in 1820.

Macdonald is considered to be one of the chief architects of Confederation, having

drafted 50 of the 72 resolutions that established the framework for a united Canada.

As leader of the Conservatives of Canada West he agreed to join the Great Coalition of 1864, whose aim was to achieve Confederation. He was also one of the leading speakers in favour of the union at all three Confederation conferences (Charlottetown, Québec and London). He used persuasion and compromise to get the delegates to agree on the terms of Confederation and hence his role in the several conferences prior to Confederation was vital. Together, Sir John–who was knighted for his role-and Sir George-Étienne Cartier made the case for Confederation that resulted in the birth of the great nation of Canada. He emerged easily as the political leader of the scattered colonies of British North America.

As for Sir John A. Macdonald’s contribution to the subject of Confederation, he is remembered for his role in: the expansion of Canada’s boundaries from sea to sea (Atlantic to Pacific), the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway, the creation of the North-West Mounted Police, and the development of the National Policy. Macdonald led Canada to achieve the

National Dream, a railway the entire way from eastern Canada to the West Coast. The railway, together with Macdonald’s policy of high tariffs to protect Canadian companies from their far more efficient American rivals, made it possible for Canadians to do business with and get to know each other despite all their differences (French vs. English, Catholic vs. Protestant, Aboriginal vs. European) and the immense distances between them. The importance of the NWMP, later renamed the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police), distinguished itself during the Klondike Gold Rush, which started in 1896, making it one of the most peaceful and orderly such affairs in history. The NWMP not only enforced criminal law, but also collected customs duties, established a number of rules such as the "ton of goods" requirement for prospectors to enter the Yukon to avoid another famine, mandatory boat inspections for those wanting to travel the Yukon River, and created the Blue Ticket used to expel undesirables from the Klondike. Over the past 143 years, the NWMP/RCMP have accomplished significant achievements, from helping to quell the North-West Rebellion led by Louis Riel, to helping to enforce the rules when it really counted. Another thing Macdonald is remembered for, was his development of The National Policy. The National Policy was a Canadian economic program introduced by John A. Macdonald's Conservative Party in 1876 and put into action in 1879. It called for high tariffs on imported manufactured items to protect the manufacturing industry.

These undertakings involved unprecedented expenditures of public funds and did not proceed without incident. Manitoba entered the union following an insurrection led by Louis Riel against the takeover of the area by the Dominion government, thereby forcing Macdonald's government to grant provincial status much sooner than had been intended and to accept a system of separate schools and the equality of the French and English languages. His career also included the Pacific Scandal, which led to the downfall of his government, and his handling of the North-West Resistance in 1885, which cost his government substantial support in Quebec.

Overall, Sir John A.

Macdonald evidently had a positive impact on Canada. Macdonald's contribution to the development of the Canadian nation far exceeded that of any of his contemporaries, yet he was not by nature an innovator. Confederation, the Canadian Pacific Railway, and the protective tariff were not his ideas, but he was brilliant and tenacious in achieving his goals once convinced of their necessity. As a politician he early developed shrewdness and ingenuity. He kept a remarkable degree of personal control over the functioning of the Conservative party and was proficient in using patronage for political advantage. He was a highly partisan politician, partly because he genuinely believed it was essential to maintain certain political courses. He was particularly concerned with maintaining the British connection to Canada —including the tradition of parliamentary supremacy — against the threat of American economic and political influences, such as the doctrine of constitutional

supremacy.

My personal opinion of John A. Macdonald rests on two main factors: his impact on our everyday life and him as a person. He devoted his life to making the world a better place. Without him, we certainly wouldn’t be able to call ourselves a citizen of Canada, because without him, there wouldn’t even be a Canada to be a citizen of. There would be no telling what would’ve happened if he said or did, or didn’t say something; even the smallest change could affect us greatly. His accomplishments as prime minister were summarized by another great politician, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, in these words: "As to his statesmanship, it is written in the history of Canada. It may be said without any exaggeration whatever, that the life of Sir John A. Macdonald ... is the history of Canada." Most of the historical politicians have written Macdonald off as someone who was just about to do anything for fame and power. That conclusion is false, and most definitely bias. Macdonald was the first national democratic leader in the world to try to extend the vote to women, introducing such legislation in the Commons in 1885. He got nowhere, but he described the future exactly, warning MPs it was “certain” that the female would “completely establish her equality as a human being and as a member of society with man.” That’s a description of the gender equality we’ve at last achieved, more or less. This tells me all I need to know to conclude that John Alexander Macdonald was unmistakably, a good person, for he believed in the strength and goodness of our nation, whilst it was at its lowest point.