Beheading Canada’s History: The Desecration of Sir John A. Macdonald’s image in the Canadian National Memory

Walker, Kelsie Lynn

Beheading Canada’s History: The Desecration of Sir John A. Macdonald’s image in the Canadian National Memory

dc.contributor.advisor	Marshall, David Brian
dc.contributor.author	Walker, Kelsie Lynn
dc.contributor.committeemember	Marshall, David Brian
dc.contributor.committeemember	Bercuson, David Jay
dc.contributor.committeemember	Brodie, Ian Ross
dc.date	2023-11
dc.date.accessioned	2023-07-12T20:21:03Z
dc.date.available	2023-07-12T20:21:03Z
dc.date.issued	2023-06
dc.description.abstract	The image of Canada’s first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, has rapidly deteriorated. In the 1950s, Macdonald was regarded as one of Canada’s greatest statesmen, where both historiographical and public esteem for him was at its peak. However, in the 1970s the desecration of his image began both in the public square and in contemporary debates about his stature in historiography. No figure in Canadian history has seen as drastic and unforgiving of a decline as Macdonald. Fuelled by growing trends of revisionism, presentism, and “wokeism,” Macdonald’s legacy is being destroyed as Canadian history is increasingly studied through the lens of morality, condemning imperfections and ignoring historical context. As a result, the grievances of contemporary Canada are placed on Macdonald as a way to help Canadians come to terms with the elements of Canada’s foundation that do not fit into the narratives of “progressivism,” “tolerance,” and “multiculturalism.” Macdonald’s image has been inaccurately distorted, questioned, and actively diminished, rendering him guilty of committing many of the injustices in Canada’s history. Today’s Macdonald is often viewed as a racist, genocidal tyrant, reduced to a caricature of his shortcomings and diminished as a drunk. However, movements to reclaim the accurate image of Macdonald are being undertaken. This thesis explores the current debate surrounding Macdonald’s legacy and examines how his image has changed throughout Canada’s history. I ultimately argue that to properly understand Macdonald, the two images that dominate contemporary historiography, one of him as a heroic nation builder and the other of him as a genocidal tyrant, must be examined in historical context and in tandem with one another. While the new, distorted image of Macdonald is loudly and viciously proclaimed, it is not welcomed by many.
dc.identifier.citation	Walker, K. L. (2023). Beheading Canada’s history: the desecration of Sir John A. Macdonald’s image in the Canadian national memory (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/1880/116719
dc.identifier.uri	https://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/41561
dc.language.iso	en
dc.publisher.faculty	Graduate Studies
dc.publisher.institution	University of Calgary
dc.rights	University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
dc.subject	Canada
dc.subject	Canadian History
dc.subject	Political Science
dc.subject	Sir John A. Macdonald
dc.subject	Confederation
dc.subject	National Memory
dc.subject.classification	History--Modern
dc.subject.classification	History--Canadian
dc.subject.classification	Political Science
dc.subject.classification	History
dc.title	Beheading Canada’s History: The Desecration of Sir John A. Macdonald’s image in the Canadian National Memory
dc.type	master thesis
thesis.degree.discipline	History
thesis.degree.grantor	University of Calgary
thesis.degree.name	Master of Arts (MA)
ucalgary.thesis.accesssetbystudent	I do not require a thesis withhold – my thesis will have open access and can be viewed and downloaded publicly as soon as possible.