What Prevented the US From Trampling Canada in 1871?

A statue of Canada’s first prime minister Sir John A. Macdonald on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on June 3, 2021. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

Commentary

In March 1871, Sir John A. Macdonald was visiting Washington, D.C., with his wife Agnes and four distinguished Englishmen. One of them, Lord de Grey and Ripon, a British cabinet minister, brought his cook on the trip to ensure they all ate properly.