People, Politics, and Purpose

Biography is “not on the periphery of history but in the middle of it,” historian Peter Waite astutely remarked. And individual lives can be observed not only as they were actually lived but also as they were self-constructed or constructed by contemporaries and later historians. People, Politics, and Purpose brings the historian’s myriad tools to bear on Canadians, from prime ministers to lumberjacks to Indigenous political leaders. Drawing on the rich details of biography – the what – the contributors also address the larger questions of motivation – the so what – that drive academic history. In the process, they prove the value of analyzing both macro- and micro-dynamics within Canadian politics and society to illuminate the roles and reputations of political actors and draw conclusions about Canada’s place in the world. These perceptive new contributions to Canadian political historiography demonstrate the ongoing relevance of discerning individual character traits, impulses, and justifications for action, along with a careful respect for robust historical context. As such, the biographies in People, Politics, and Purpose are not simply stories about the lives of individuals but critical reflections on subjects who are directly involved in, and affected by, politics in Canada. This book makes for lively reading that stimulates fresh thinking about political biography and the direction of political history more generally.