McKim, Denis

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Presented at the <a href="https://cha-shc.ca/about/what-we-do/annual-meeting/">Annual Meeting of the Canadian Historical Association</a>, Toronto, Ontario (June 2-4, 2025)

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Scholars have discussed the role of romanticism in the condescending attitudes of Upper Canadian conservatives toward Indigenous peoples but they have yet to examine its role in the political culture of settler society; specifically, as it applies to the political ideology of Tories, the group that prevailed in bustling towns and embryonic outposts alike. Weaving together intellectual history, the history of emotions, and environmental history, this article explores the romantic tradition’s salience within the mentalité of Upper Canadian conservatism. It contends that influential figures from the worlds of politics and literature repeatedly invoked aspects of romanticism over several decades in denouncing subversive phenomena and in seeking to legitimize their vision of a hierarchical society. In particular, they drew on such compelling romantic tropes as powerful emotions and the magnificence of nature in the hope of bolstering a social order predicated on elite hegemony and rank-and-file deference. This helps to shed light on one of the animating factors within the Tory tradition, a multifaceted force that, for good or ill, has played an important role in shaping Ontario’s history.

Times have changed: Recent writings on the history of Christianity in Canada

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God’s garden: Nature, order, and the Presbyterian conception of the British North American 'wilderness'

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Evocations of the natural world featured prominently within British North American Presbyterianism between the late eighteenth century, which witnessed an influx of Presbyterians into what became the Dominion of Canada, and the mid-nineteenth century, which witnessed patterns of urbanization, industrialization, and technological sophistication through which human beings attained unprecedented control over vast swathes of territory. Influenced by an ancient tradition deeply ingrained in Western culture, Presbyterians saw the undomesticated environment, or wilderness, as a formidable physical reality that needed to be wrestled into submission. They also saw it, however, as a metaphorical wasteland whose abject sinfulness mirrored humanity’s fallen state. For all their concerns about the iniquity that purportedly pervaded untamed nature, Presbyterians felt that the forbidding wilderness could be transformed into a benign garden through the vigorous promotion of Christianity among both settlers and Indigenous peoples alike. Their fondness for natural environments that had supposedly been imbued with holiness demonstrates that the Presbyterians’ hostility toward what they perceived as the wilderness did not render them averse to nature, per se. Members of the denomination used stereotypically feminine language in referring to natural environments that had seemingly been redeemed and were no longer regarded as ominous. Moreover, they interpreted patterns of material improvement—as exhibited, for instance, in the emergence of fruitful farms and bustling towns—as the inevitable corollary to the propagation of unalloyed piety in backwoods settings. Presbyterian efforts to Christianize undomesticated environments found expression in a thoroughgoing Calvinism and an emphasis on distinctive ecclesiastical traditions known as communion festivals, which served to differentiate the denomination from other Protestant groups. Ultimately, an investigation of Presbyterian attitudes toward the wilderness reveals that religious impulses contributed to human efforts to subjugate nature while environmental phenomena galvanized Christian evangelism.

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In the twenty-first century, the word Presbyterian is virtually synonymous with 'austere' and 'parochial.' These associations are by no means historically unfounded, as early Canadian Presbyterians insisted on Sabbath observance and had a penchant for inter- and intra-denominational disagreement. However, many other ideas circulated within this religious community's collective psyche. Boundless Dominion delves into the elaborate worldview that galvanized nineteenth-century Canadian Presbyterianism. Denis McKim uncovers a vibrant print culture and Presbyterian support for such initiatives as Indigenous evangelism, temperance advocacy, and anti-slavery activism and finds that many of the denomination's characteristics contrast sharply with its dour and quarrelsome reputation. Tracing the themes of providence, politics, nature, and history in Presbyterian communities across five provinces, from Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick to Lower and Upper Canada, this book reveals that at the heart of this denomination lay a desire to facilitate God's dominion and to promote Protestant piety across northern North America and beyond. Through an innovative approach to the study of religious ideas, Boundless Dominion highlights the permeability of borders and the myriad ways in which nineteenth-century Canada - including its Presbyterian community - shaped and was shaped by interactions with the wider world. Part of the "McGill-Queen's studies in the history of religion" series. --From publisher description.

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"This edited collection offers a broad reinterpretation of the origins of Canada. Drawing on cutting-edge research in a number of fields, Violence, Order, and Unrest explores the development of British North America from the mid-eighteenth century through the aftermath of Confederation. The chapters cover an ambitious range of topics, from Indigenous culture to municipal politics, public executions to runaway slave advertisements. Cumulatively, this book examines the diversity of Indigenous and colonial experiences across northern North America and provides fresh perspectives on the crucial roles of violence and unrest in attempts to establish British authority in Indigenous territories. Drawing on specific case studies of law and state formation in English and French Canada, Violence, Order, and Unrest brings together innovative research in different fields to reconsider the ideology, governance, and political culture that underpinned British North America. The contributors offer a unique take on Canadian culture and history, demonstrating that we cannot understand Canada today without considering its origins as a colonial project."--From publisher description.

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The chapter, "Of bludgeons and ballots: political violence, municipal enfranchisement, and local governance in mid-nineteenth-century Montreal" was written by Colin Grittner (Douglas College Faculty). "This edited collection offers a broad reinterpretation of the origins of Canada. Drawing on cutting-edge research in a number of fields, Violence, Order, and Unrest explores the development of British North America from the mid-eighteenth century through the aftermath of Confederation. The chapters cover an ambitious range of topics, from Indigenous culture to municipal politics, public executions to runaway slave advertisements. Cumulatively, this book examines the diversity of Indigenous and colonial experiences across northern North America and provides fresh perspectives on the crucial roles of violence and unrest in attempts to establish British authority in Indigenous territories. Drawing on specific case studies of law and state formation in English and French Canada, Violence, Order, and Unrest brings together innovative research in different fields to reconsider the ideology, governance, and political culture that underpinned British North America. The contributors offer a unique take on Canadian culture and history, demonstrating that we cannot understand Canada today without considering its origins as a colonial project." --From publisher description.

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