As he held his mother’s hand and waved goodbye to Scotland, five-year-old John A. Macdonald could not have known how much weight would come to rest on his slim shoulders. He could not have known that he was sailing across the Atlantic Ocean to a colony that not only would depend upon him for its very creation, but also its very survival. John A. Macdonald would serve Canada for a staggering 48 years in public office, 19 of them as prime minister. He is the only Canadian prime minister to win six majority governments. One of the greatest leaders of the 20 century, Macdonald created and defined Canada and then protected her with consummate political skills, just when the U.S. was in the mood to expand. His sense of timing, his intelligence and wit, and his infinite patience and work ethic made him a formidable foe. His egalitarian beliefs, devotion to family, and love of life made him a formidable man. Journey to a New Land Macdonald’s family left for British North America in 1820. His father and mother – Hugh and Helen Macdonald – had four children. They were Margaret, John, James, and Louisa. Hugh Macdonald was a rather unsuccessful merchant from Glasgow, who thought he could turn around his fortunes in British North America. As was often the case with ship travel in steerage class at this time, the conditions aboard the Earl of Buckinghamshire were squalid. Disease and sickness prevailed but the Macdonald’s managed to make it across the Atlantic and down the mighty St. Lawrence River to Kingston to begin their new life. At the time, Kingston was one of the most important settlements in Upper Canada. Helen Macdonald’s sister and brother-in-law lived in Kingston – notably the retired army officer, Lieutenant Colonel Donald McPherson. They were well established in the bustling, hardscrabble town of 3,000 and Hugh hoped his life – and luck – would be different there. In the short term, the Macdonald’s lived with Donald Macpherson and Helen’s sister, Anna, in their home at the corner of Montreal and Bay Streets. For several years, Macdonald's father operated a number of stores in Kingston, but none of them led to real success. Tragedy On a cool spring night in 1822, a seven-year-old John A. Macdonald watched his four-year-old younger brother, James, die helplessly at the hands of a drunken man who was an acquaintance and employee of his father’s. The man named Kennedy – in his role as ‘caregiver’ -- dragged John and James into a bar and forced them to drink alcohol. John grabbed James by the hand and ran for home. James tripped and fell, though, and when the man caught up he struck the young boy violently with his cane. James went into convulsions and died a few hours later. (Very little was publicly said about this incident, but Macdonald himself talked of it sorrowfully to his secretary, Joseph Pope, in his later years.) Early Years When young Macdonald was nine years old his father led the family out of Kingston and west to Hay Bay, south of Napanee. He ran a store there for two years until he gave up the dream of owning a merchant business altogether for a completely new direction -- running a flour mill.  This took young John A to Glenora, in Prince Edward County, just a hop and a skip from Hay Bay but near an even more dramatic setting – right at the foot of the mysterious Lake on the Mountain. Known at the time as Stone Mills, this was by far Hugh Macdonald’s most successful foray into enterprise. The family stayed for a decade. At the age of 10, John A. Macdonald was sent to school in Kingston, and this began a pattern of life he remembered well, even in his later years. Macdonald would attend school in Kingston throughout the fall and long winter months leading into spring. Then each summer, when school was out, he would head for Stone Mills in Prince Edward County and explore the countryside of Lake on the Mountain with his sisters or friends. In Kingston Macdonald boarded on Rideau Street and likely met up regularly with the McPherson’s. His parents would have had to pay tuition for him to attend school, as there was no free public education at this time. With Macdonald as their only surviving boy, they wanted to invest in his future to meet the needs of the entire family. First Job John A. Macdonald’s career began at the age of 15. He took a junior position with a lawyer in Kingston named George Mackenzie and began his on-the-job training. It was clear the work suited the young man, as he quickly demonstrated a high degree of competence. Only two years later Mackenzie entrusted him to manage his Napanee branch of the law office. Then, following the Napanee assignment, he spent two years operating his cousin’s law firm in Picton, Ontario (then Hallowell). John A. Macdonald opened his own law firm on August, 1835, on Wellington Street in Kingston, a half year before being called to the bar in 1836. For a definitive and highly readable look at Macdonald’s life, I strongly recommend Richard Gwyn’s award-winning two-part biography. John A: The Man Who Made Us and Nation Maker -- Sir John A. Macdonald: His Life, Our Times. A must read for all Canadians interested in how we came to be. For kids age 11 and up, try my award-winning novel The Legends of Lake on the Mountain: An Early Adventure of John A. Macdonald, about Macdonald as a 13-year-old teen involved with uncovering the secret of a lake monster and buried treasure. Sure to increase their interest in Canadian history! |
 |
|||||||
 
CategoriesFirst NationsGovernment Prime Ministers Teaching History The Settlement of the West This and That |
|
 |
|||||
    |
|||||||
