Political Partisanship, Bureaucratic Pragmatism and Acadian Nationalism: New Brunswick, Canada's 1920 History Textbook Controversy

During a time of post-war sensitivity to Canadian nationalism and patriotism, public feeling was aroused in 1920 New Brunswick regarding a world history textbook with a new chapter about the First World War. The American author made no reference to Canada's war efforts. The subsequent public discussion focused on issues of patriotism, citizenship, history education and schooling, but it eventually dissolved into longstanding conflicts over language and religion. This case study investigates how questions about history education were interpreted through the lens of the political partisanship of the newspaper editor, the bureaucratic rationality of the educational administrator, and the Acadian nationalism of the Roman Catholic Bishop. The controversy depicts a loosening but not breaking of postcolonial ties, and uncovers the political nature of public memory, along with the complex intertwining of religion and language rights within schooling, history education and citizenship in post-war Canada and New Brunswick.