It was on this date in 1808 that American Andrew Johnson was born. Mr. Johnson went on to serve as U.S. President (1965-69) and was thus in office on the day the Dominion of Canada was proclaimed in 1867. Johnson is worth noting because it appears he made no official comment when our new nation was established on his northern border.
By contrast, Jefferson Davis, who had served as President of the Confederate States from 1861-65) briefly spoke to Canadians while in Quebec on the day Canada came into being. Here is his statement:
"Gentlemen: I thank you most kindly for this hearty British reception, which I take as a manifestation of your sympathy and good-will for one in misfortune. It bespeaks the true instincts of your race. I trust you may ever remain as free a people as you now are, and that under the union of your provinces you will grow great and prosperous as you are free. I hope that you will hold fast to your British principles, and that you may ever strive to cultivate a close and affectionate connection with the mother country. Gentlemen, again I thank you."
This should be a reminder to us of Canadians' often collective admiration for the U.S. Confederacy back then, something we are not proud of today. (After losing the Civil Wr, Jefferson Davis had spent two years in prison; following his release, Davis joined his family in Montreal -- they had fled there earlier -- and lived in the province until 1868. His sons Jefferson Jr. and William attended Bishop's College School.)
And, today is the day in 1921 that William Lyon Mackenzie King, grandson of the rebel William Lyon Mackenzie who took up arms against the Crown in 1837, first became the King’s loyal Canadian Prime Minister. I note that this means that late next year, one year from today, in 2021, we’ll be marking the 100
th anniversary of Mr. King’s arrival in the Prime Minister’s Office. So, expect more on him in the months ahead. Happy anniversary Mackenzie King!
Arthur Milnes is an accomplished public historian and award-winning journalist. He was research assistant on The Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney’s best-selling Memoirs and also proudly served as a speechwriter to then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper and as a Fellow of the Queen’s Centre for the Study of Democracy under the leadership of Tom Axworthy. A resident of Kingston, Ontario, Milnes serves as the in-house historian at the 175 year-old Frontenac Club Hotel.
Arthur Milnes is an accomplished public historian and award-winning journalist. He was research assistant on The Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney’s best-selling Memoirs and also served as a speechwriter to then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper and as a Fellow of the Queen’s Centre for the Study of Democracy under the leadership of Tom Axworthy. A resident of Kingston, Ontario, Milnes serves as the in-house historian at the 175 year-old Frontenac Club Hotel.
