William Lyon Mackenzie :: essays research papers

William Lyon Mackenzie William Lyon Mackenzie's life can best be understood if man and legend are separated. William was born on March 12, 1795 in Scotland. Three weeks after his birth, his father, Daniel, supposedly died, but no record of his death has ever been found. William and his mother were said to gone through great hardship, having to move off of Daniel's land. After moving to Dundee, William, who went by the names Willie or Lyon, entered the Dundee Parish School at the age of five, with the help of a bursary. At fifteen, he was the youngest member of the commercial newsroom of the local newspaper. He also belonged to a scientific society, where he met Edward Lesslie, and his son, James. These two would be William's patrons throughout most of his life. In 1820, William sailed to Canada with John, another son of Edward Lesslie. Mackenzie was immediately impressed with Upper Canada. Before the end of the year, Mackenzie was writing for the York Observer under the name of 'Mercator'; In 1824, Mackenzie started his most famous newspaper, the Colonial Advocate. The first edition appeared on May 18, 1824. The sole purpose of this paper was to sway the opinions of the voters in the next election. On June 8, 1826, a group of fifteen, young, well connected Tories disguised themselves as Indians, and broke into Mackenzie's York office in broad daylight. They smashed his printing press, then threw it into the bay. The Tories did nothing to compensate him, so it was clear that they were involved. Mackenzie ntook them to court, and seeing that their 'disguise'; had been seen through, they offered Mackenzie  £200. He refused, and after a bitter trial, the court awarded him  £625. In March of 1829, Mackenzie went to the United States to buy books for resale, and to study the actions of the newly appointed Andrew Jackson. He compared the simplicity and the cost of American government to Canada's, and saw that their spoils system might be a way of doing away with some Family Compact members. When an assembly met in January of 1831, Mackenzie fully immersed himself into its proceedings. He demanded inquiries into abuse, and insisted on a review of representation in the province. He appointed people on the council to fight for what he, himself wanted, while what he personally did angered and annoyed the Tory members of parliament. On December 12, 1831, Mackenzie was voted out of parliament on a vote of 24 to 15.