About the Canada of 150 years ago: "In parts of 19th century rural Canada, unmarried mothers were often regarded far less as sinners than as "a species of heiress" as one observer noted: their condition confirmed their fecundity and, as dowry, they brought children who soon would be able to work on the farm."

About the national dream: "The single most-important decision Canadians made in the 19th century was not to become a confederation, but, rather, not to become American."

About the man who made us:“This frail-looking man with the immense and rueful patience of a Celt…This utterly masculine man with so much woman in him…this statesman who understood that without chicanery statesmanship is powerless.” - Hugh MacLennan

This book is about Macdonald the person, about Macdonald the politician-"the irreplaceable man" in Gwyn's phrase-and about 19th century Canada, a younger, rawer version of the Canada of today.

List of Chapters

Introduction 1 *
1. Lairds Ourselves 7
2. A Boy’s Town 17
3. The Right Time to be a Scot 34
4. Horse-dealing, Tavern-keeping and the Law 45
5. A Conservative in a Conservative Country 59
6. Going Headlong 74
7. New Guys with New Ideas 87
8. A Short Time before the Long Game 103
9. Enlarging the Bounds 120
10. Forms are Things 145
11. The Double Shuffle 161
12. Isabella, Hugh John and Daisy 183
13. Double Majority 190
14. The Shield of Achilles 214
15. Canada’s First Anti-American 241
16. The Will to Survive 270
17. The Irreplaceable Man 287
18. A Pact of Trust 309
19. Parliament vs the People 337
20. The Administration of Strangers 357
21. The Turn of the Screw 370
22. The Man of the Conference 390
23. Two Unions 406
24. Idea in the Wilderness 420
Acknowledgments 441
A Note on Sources 446*
Bibliography 452
All illustrations may be found in the text.
* - Indicates a download is available.

The full, Source Notes, citing references for all quotations and facts in the text are available on this website and on that of Random House Canada .