Camelot and Canada
Canadian-American Relations in the Kennedy Era
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Oxford University Press Inc
Published:11th Aug '16
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
Camelot and Canada explores Canada-U.S. relations in the early 1960s--the Kennedy era--a period marked not only by some of the tensest moments of the Cold War but also by the most contentious moments in the relationship between these neighboring nations. Exploring key political, economic, and military features of the Canada-U.S. relationship during this period, Asa McKercher challenges the prevailing view that U.S. foreign policymakers, including President John F. Kennedy, were imperious in their conduct toward Canada. Rather, he shows that the Kennedy administration continued to uphold the special diplomatic relationship that characterized the early postwar years. Even as John Diefenbaker's government pursued distinct foreign and economic policies, American officials acknowledged that Canadian objectives legitimately differed from their own and adjusted their policies accordingly. Moreover, for all its bluster, Ottawa rarely made a move without weighing the impact that its initiatives might have on Washington. At the same time, Camelot and Canada acknowledges the significant strain placed on the bilateral relationship in the early sixties, due to mounting Canadian doubts about U.S. leadership in the Cold War and a growing sense of nationalism in Canada. Rooted in Canadian concern at their country's close ties with the United States, this nationalism came to be personified by Diefenbaker, whose personal clashes with Kennedy have become mythologized by historians and the public alike. McKercher highlights how the Kennedy era saw an increasing breakdown of the postwar consensus between Canadians and Americans, even as the special relationship between their governments continued to function.
This is a very good book, thoroughly researched and well written ... In short, it does not only obsess about Canadians' attitudes toward the United States but also offers the corrective of how the latter saw the former ... Asa McKercher has provided a compelling account of the evolution of the Canadian-American relationship over the period from roughly 1960 until 1963 through his examination of a number of themes that animated the era. His is one that will surely appeal to both professional historians and to a more general readership. His conclusions will also appeal to Canadians of all stripes. * Bruce Muirhead, Canadian Historical Review *
[E]xemplary....McKercher's important study reframes our understanding of the most contentious moments in the Canadian-American relationship, moving away from simple personal clashes to consider genuine policy differences with domestic political implications. Judiciously argued, thoroughly researched, and skillfully written, ICamelot and Canada is indispensable to historians of Canadian-American relations during the Cold War. * Benjamin P. Greene, The Journal of American History *
While not overlooking Kennedy's and Diefenbaker's personality flaws and specific disagreements, McKercher paints a more balanced and authoritative portrait of the two leaders and their relationship than any historian to date * The Northern Mariner *
McKercher makes an important, and refreshing, contribution to the scholarship on the Canadian-American relationship by challenging the long-held assertion by Canadian historians that the relatively poor state of relations between the two countries was the fault of the Kennedy administration ... Camelot and Canada is a meticulously researched and well-written interpretation of an important episode in Canadian-American relations. It should be required reading for any scholar of Canadian and American political history and foreign policy. * Michael Chiarella, H-FedHist *
Recommended. * CHOICE *
ISBN: 9780190605056
Dimensions: 157mm x 236mm x 25mm
Weight: 567g
312 pages