Charles Clarke, pen and ink warrior
By: Kenneth C. Dewar.
Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press
Published: 2002
Place of publication: Montreal; Ithaca
Language: eng
Number of pages: 330
Subjects: Clarke, Charles, 1826-1909.; Clarke, Charles, 1826-1909.; Clarke, Charles.; Ontario. Legislative Assembly -- Biography.; Ontario. Assemblée législative -- Biographies.; Politicians -- Ontario -- Biography.; Hommes politiques -- Ontario -- Biographies.; Ontario -- Politics and government -- 19th century.; Ontario -- History -- 19th century.; Ontario -- Politique et gouvernement -- 19e siècle.; Ontario -- Histoire -- 19e siècle.; Ontario -- Politics and government -- 19th century.; Ontario -- History -- 19th century.
Genres: Biography.; Biographies.
Description: "When Charles Clarke settled in Elora, Ontario, in 1848 he joined the ranks of the province's radical reformers, becoming a vigorous critic of everything in Canada that smacked of the old regime - rank, privilege, and monopoly - and an enthusiastic supporter of everything promised by the new - equity, democracy, and individual opportunity.

He played a prominent role in drafting the "Clear Grit" platform of 1851, supporting such ideas as a householder's suffrage, the secret ballot, and representation by population. He later espoused the two great causes of nineteenth-century Anglo-Canadian liberalism: provincial rights in Canada and Irish Home Rule in Britain.".

"Equally involved in local affairs - from the Natural History Society to the Sons of Temperance - Clarke tirelessly promoted the natural beauties of Elora and tried to protect the environment of the Grand River Gorge from the ravages of industry and human carelessness. Using Clarke's journalistic writings, his private diary, and a memoir he wrote in later life, Kenneth Dewar paints a vivid picture of Clarke's evolving sense of himself and his world in an age of profound transformation."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [277]-320) and index.