William McDougall (January 25, 1822 – May 29, 1905) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

lawyer, politician, and one of the

Fathers of Confederation The Fathers of Confederation are the 36 people who attended at least one of the Charlottetown Conference, Charlottetown Conference of 1864 (23 attendees), the Quebec Conference, 1864, Quebec Conference of 1864 (33 attendees), and the London Conf ...

Biography

William McDougall was born near York, Upper Canada (now

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Ontario) to Daniel McDougall and Hannah Matthews. William was the third generation of

United Empire Loyalists United Empire Loyalist (UEL; or simply Loyalist) is an honorific title which was first given by Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester, the 1st Lord Dorchester, the governor of Province of Quebec (1763–1791), Quebec and Governor General, governor ...

to settle in York. In 1793, his paternal great-great-grandparents were among the first twelve families to move to York along with 450 British troops. Those soldiers then built Fort York to protect against American invasion. McDougall received his education at Victoria College in Cobourg, Upper Canada, and in 1847, began practicing law as an attorney and solicitor in Upper Canada. In 1862, he was called to the Upper Canada Bar. In 1849, William McDougall's office in Toronto was the meeting place for the

Clear Grit Clear Grits were reformers in the Canada West district of the Province of Canada, a British colony that is now the Province of Ontario, Canada. Their name is said to have been given by George Brown, who said that only those were wanted in the par ...

political movement. Other Clear Grit supporters included Peter Perry, David Christie,

Charles Clarke Charles Rodway Clarke (born 21 September 1950) is a British Labour Party politician who held various Cabinet positions under Prime Minister Tony Blair from 2001 to 2006, lastly as Home Secretary from December 2004 to May 2006. Clarke was th ...

, Charles Lindsey, and Malcolm Cameron. From 1850 to 1858, he published ''The North American'', a liberal newspaper. He was elected as a member of the legislative assembly in 1858 and was Commissioner of Crown Lands and Provincial Secretary.

Gettysburg Address

In 1863, along with

Alexander Tilloch Galt Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt, (September 6, 1817 – September 19, 1893) was a politician and Fathers of Confederation, Father of Confederation, the Canadian Confederation, union of British North American colonies into Canada. Early life He w ...

, McDougall went to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, to meet with President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

in order to renegotiate the Reciprocity Treaty. During the visit, Lincoln explained that he had an important event to attend and had to travel to

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. The president had then invited McDougall to accompany him on his trip by train and coach. They stayed the night at the private home of David Wills, a wealthy 32-year-old Gettysburg attorney. On the following day, November 19, an opening ceremony took place at the new Gettysburg cemetery, built for dead soldiers of the American Civil War. While many orators spoke for hours, Lincoln spoke briefly, presenting the

Gettysburg Address The Gettysburg Address is a Public speaking, speech delivered by Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, U.S. president, following the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. The speech has come to be viewed as one ...

. In July 1958, before then–US President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

addressed a joint session of the Parliament of Canada, Prime Minister John G. Diefenbaker recounted the tale of the friendship between McDougall and Lincoln as an example of the long history of friendship between Canada and the United States. A copy of the ''Hansard'' containing Eisenhower's speech was autographed and commented by Diefenbaker, and it can be found in the Baldwin Rooma secured archives areaof the

Toronto Reference Library The Toronto Reference Library is a public reference library in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the corner of Yonge Street and Asquith Avenue, within the Yorkville neighbourhood of downtown Toronto and is the largest and most visited br ...

Confederation Canada

McDougall is considered a father of Canadian confederation as he attended all three Confederation conferences. Once the dominion formed, he was Minister of Public Works in the Macdonald government. As he had begun as Liberal and now served under Macdonald's Conservatives, he earned the nickname 'Wandering Willy'. In the federal election of 1867 he was elected in the district of

Lanark North Lanark North was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1917. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North America Act 1867 which divided the County of Lanark i ...

, for the

Liberal-Conservative Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by libe ...

party. McDougall was appointed

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

Rupert's Land Rupert's Land (), or Prince Rupert's Land (), was a territory in British North America which comprised the Hudson Bay drainage basin. The right to "sole trade and commerce" over Rupert's Land was granted to Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), based a ...

and the

North-Western Territory The North-Western Territory was a region of British North America extant until 1870 and named for where it lay in relation to Rupert's Land. Because of the lack of development, exploration, and cartographic limits of the time, the exact boun ...

in 1869. The only practicable travel route at the time was through the United States with the permission of U.S. President Grant. However, when McDougall tried to enter Rupert's Land from the

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of ...

down the Red River, he was turned back near the border by

Louis Riel Louis Riel (; ; 22 October 1844 – 16 November 1885) was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political leader of the Métis in Canada, Métis people. He led two resistance movements against the Government of ...

's troops before he could establish his authority at

Fort Garry Fort Garry, also known as Upper Fort Garry, was a Hudson's Bay Company trading post located at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers in or near the area now known as The Forks in what is now central Winnipeg, Manitoba. Fort Garr ...

(now Winnipeg, Manitoba). Dispatches on microfiche at the Main Library of the City of Toronto include his request for 1,000 British troops to be sent on the authority of Queen Victoria. She responded that she would prefer a more amicable settlement of the jurisdiction issue. He returned to Ottawa, and campaigned against Manitoba becoming a province because of its very few inhabitants at that time. The area of Fort Garry was about . He also continued to be an interim leader of the North-West provisional government from Ottawa until

Adams George Archibald Sir Adams George Archibald (May 3, 1814 – December 14, 1892) was a Canadian lawyer and politician, and a Father of Confederation. He was based in Nova Scotia for most of his career, though he also served as first Lieutenant Governor of Man ...

took over on May 10, 1870. In the federal election of 1872, he ran again for the

party in

but was defeated. In 1875, he was elected to the Parliament of the Province of Ontario. He was an Independent-Liberal from June 1, 1875, until September 9, 1878, for the electoral district of Simcoe South.

Second marriage and family

In November 1872, McDougall married his second wife, Mary Adelaide Beatty. She was the daughter of Eleanor and Dr. John Beatty, a professor in Victoria University. She was born and educated at

Cobourg, Ontario Cobourg ( ) is a town in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario, located in Southern Ontario east of Toronto and east of Oshawa. It is the largest town in and seat of Northumberland County, Ontario, Northumberla ...

. Mary was involved in various philanthropic organizations including the Ottawa Humane Society. The couple lived at 407 Wilbrod Street, Ottawa. The couple had three sons, two of whom served with the Canadian contingent during the Boer War in South Africa. His sister Emily married Liberal Senator

David Reesor David Reesor (January 18, 1823 – April 28, 1902) was an Ontario businessman and political figure. He was a Liberal Party of Canada, Liberal member of the Senate of Canada for King's division from 1867 to 1901. He was born in Reesorville (l ...

in 1847.

Later life and death

In the federal election of 1878, he ran in Halton and was re-elected in the election of 1882 in Algoma and Grenville South in the election of 1887 he was defeated. In 1890, he was promised a Senate seat, but did not pursue an appointment because his health was failing. During the conferences preceding Confederation, McDougall was personally in favour of electing members to the Senate of Canada. He was also offered a federal judgeship in British Columbia, which he turned down. He died on May 29, 1905, due to a spine injury caused by walking off a moving train.

Political views

McDougall was a Canada First nationalist. He espoused deep anti-Catholic and anti-Aboriginal views. He has also been called "vain, erratic and irredeemably pigheaded".

Electoral history

Federal

Provincial

References

External links

*
William McDougall ''Library and Archives Canada''William McDougall fonds
Archives of Ontario {{DEFAULTSORT:McDougall, William 1822 births 1905 deaths Canadian people of Scottish descent Canadian Companions of the Order of the Bath Fathers of Confederation Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada People from Old Toronto People of the Red River Rebellion Lieutenant governors of the Northwest Territories Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Canadian nationalists Burials at Beechwood Cemetery (Ottawa) Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada West 19th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs