Dixie & the Dominion is a compelling look at how the U.S. Civil War was a shared experience that shaped the futures of both Canada and the United States. The book focuses on the last year of the war, between April of 1864 and 1865. During that 12-month period, the Confederate States sent spies and saboteurs to Canada on a secret mission. These agents struck fear along the frontier and threatened to draw Canada and Great Britain into the war.
During that same time, Canadians were making their own important decisions. Chief among them was the partnership between Liberal reformer George Brown and Conservative chieftain John A. Macdonald. Their unlikely coalition was the force that would create the Dominion of Canada in 1867, and it was the pressure of the war - with its threat to the colonies' security - that was a driving force behind this extraordinary pact.
close this panelAdam Mayers is a senior editor at thestar.com, the Toronto Star's website, and a frequent contributor to Civil War Times Illustrated, the largest general interest magazine on the Civil War. His articles focus on Canadian connections to the conflict.
Mr. Mayers has a degree in psychology from McMaster, a graduate degree in journalism from the City University of London, and an MBA from McMaster. He lives in Oakville, Ontario with his wife and two children. He has always believed that Canada has more history than geography.
close this panel"An entertaining story, one which given the widespread Canadian lack of understanding of our own history, is a useful addition to our literature." -Claire Hoy, Toronto Star, February 29, 2004
"...Mayers' book is a fascinating one, taking a look at a side of early Canadian history that isn't very well known to all Canadians." -Shelf Life September 2004
"Dixie and the Dominion is a popular but seriously thought-out work that shows once again how the Confederate States, for all the brilliance of so many of their military leaders, were quite hopeless in the subtler forms of warfare."
"Adam Mayers shaltters the too-common perception that the American Civil War occurred in a vacuum. He shows us the neighbor nations of North America affecting one another deeply and enduringly in a turbulent historical moment that was formative not only for the United States, but also for Canada."
