The Invasion of San Francisco letter to Henry Sumner Maine

What it is

This is a signed manuscript letter written by John A. Macdonald on 9 April 1867 from London to Henry Sumner Maine, an English legal scholar he had met at Oxford. In the letter Macdonald discusses the Code of Lower Canada, its history compared to the Code Napoléon, and other matters. The original letter survives in private and archival collections, including the Archives of Ontario.

Why it matters

Written in the pivotal year of Canadian Confederation, the letter shows Macdonald's personal voice and intellectual connections abroad, corresponding with a respected legal thinker. It gives historians a direct, unfiltered look at his handwriting, interests and the concerns on his mind just as the new Dominion of Canada was being established.

Look closer

• What does this letter reveal about Macdonald's connections beyond Canadian politics?
• Why might he compare Lower Canada's legal code to the Code Napoléon?
• What clues in the handwriting or paper tell you this is an original, handwritten document rather than a printed one?