John A. Macdonald and Residential Schools - history and perspective

John A. Macdonald is a fine example of just how complex and nuanced history can be. Trying to understand decisions made long ago through a present-day lens is inescapably challenging work. If you are curious about the kind of thinking that influenced Macdonald's perceptions of Residential Schools in 1868, or, for that matter, what First Peoples of the time thought about them, I highly recommend Robert Carney's study "Aboriginal Residential Schools Before Confederation: The Early Experience" (click here for hyperlink), especially pages 36-39, Carney (CCHA, Historical Studies, 61, (1995), 13-40)).