William McDougall and U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.
Fathers of Confederation McDougall and Galt went to Washington D.C., U.S.A. to meet with President Abraham Lincoln to renegotiate the Reciprocity Treaty.
Abraham Lincoln explained that he had an important event to attend and had to travel to Pennsylvania. Since he and McDougall had so much in common, and were friends, he 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.
The next day, November 19, 1863, at the opening ceremonies of the new Gettysburg cemetery for fallen soldiers of the American Civil War, many great orators spoke for hours. Abraham Lincoln's speech was brief. The Canadian and British press wrote positively about Lincoln's speech. Generally, the American press condemned it for its brevity. To this day, most people don't know about the many speeches of that day. They do remember Abraham Lincoln's speech which became known as the Gettysburg Address.
In the 1950s, then United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower, when addressing a joint session of the Parliament of Canada, told this story of McDougall's friendship and travel with Lincoln to open the cemetery in Gettysburg as an example of the long history of friendship between Canada and The United States of America. It can be found in "The Hansard", the official publication containing the transcripts of the Parliament of Canada. A copy of "The Hansard" containing President Eisenhower's speech was autographed and commented by then-Prime Minister of Canada, The Right Honourable John G. Diefenbaker, and can be found in the Baldwin Room (a secured archives area) of the Main Library of The City of Toronto, Ontario.
William McDougall was from the first 12 families to settle in York.
William McDougall was the 3rd generation of United Empire Loyalists to settle in York (now known as Toronto, Ontario, Canada). His great, great paternal grandparents were among the first 12 families that moved to York along with 450 British troops in 1793. The British troops then built Fort York to protect against American invasion.
Read more about this topic: William McDougall (politician)
Famous quotes containing the words abraham lincoln, president and/or lincoln:
“I was losing interest in politics, when the repeal of the Missouri Compromise aroused me again. What I have done since then is pretty well known.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)
“On the whole, yes, I would rather be the Chief Justice of the United States, and a quieter life than that which becomes at the White House is more in keeping with the temperament, but when taken into consideration that I go into history as President, and my children and my children’s children are the better placed on account of that fact, I am inclined to think that to be President well compensates one for all the trials and criticisms he has to bear and undergo.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)
“We want, and must have, a national policy, as to slavery, which deals with it as being wrong.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)