Thompson, John Herd

English

Histoire sociale / Social History (E-Journal, York University)

COMPTES RENDUS -BOOK REVIEWS 527 a wide range of sources. The introduction is clear and straightforward, a valuable addition to the literature on Ontario and the Great War. In addition, the volume is a handsome one, well laid out and illustrated with some first-rate photographs. * * * J. L. GRANATSTEIN, York University. LEWIS H. THOMAS, ed. -William Aberhart and Social Credit in Alberta. Toronto : Copp Clark Publishing, 1977. Pp. 175. William Aberhart and Social Credit in Alberta is one of a number of new additions to the Issues in Canadian History series under the general editorship of J. L. Granatstein. Lewis H. Thomas provides an introductory chapter before pre-senting selections from primary and secondary sources in six chapters , each in turn with its own introduction. The first is a character sketch of Aberhart, the second a description of the depression's impact upon Alberta, and the third an examination of the complex relationship between the United Farmers of Alberta Government and the social credit evangelist. The stunning victory of the young Social Credit Party in the 1935 election is the subject of chapter four, while the final chapters deal with Aberhart's years as premier, concluding with his death in 1943. Professor Thomas has made full use of sources untapped by earlier writers on social credit in Alberta, in particular the premier's files at the Provincial Archives of Alberta and the W. N. Smith papers at the Glenbow-Alberta Institute, and he has done much more than assemble a collection of documents. In the hands of academic authors, William Aberhart has been at best a demagogue and at worst a quasi-Fascist, while in the reminiscences of friends and supporters readers have been assured of his sainthood. Thomas proposes instead "to evaluate social credit in the light of Aberhart's accomplishments in office, rather than in the shadow of the rhetoric of defenders and critics" (p. 9}. The result is a rather different inter-pretation of Aberhart than that to which we have become accustomed. Although Thomas makes no attempt to conceal Aberhart's "warts"- his flair for demagogy, his political showmanship or his authoritarianism - he goes further to point out the legislative achievements of Aberhart's eight years in office. Thomas makes clear that the UFA government which Aberhart crushed, far from being an embryonic C.C.F. regime, was "no more radical or innovative than the neighbouring Liberal government of Saskatchewan" (p. 11) and that Aberhart was responsible for more significant progressive legislation. Thomas' conclusion that "under Aberhart a social welfare state was established" (p. 91) in Alberta seems to overstate the case, however. Aberhart's Alberta did not have a government program of medical care, for example, despite the Premier's expressed support for one. Still, this well-written and carefully presented rehabilitation of our image of Aberhart, which emphasizes the reform roots of social credit, deserves serious consideration. The book does have some problems. A few errors, some typographical, have crept into the text. The Regina Manifesto does not date from 1938, nor was Aberhart the first or the only Canadian politician to make effective use of the radio. Although the selections from primary material are judiciously chosen, those from published sources have been chosen to illustrate Professor Thomas' inter-pretation. Thus C. B. Macpherson's Democracy in Alberta is excerpted only once while the memoirs of A.J. Hooke, a Social Credit M.L. A., appear four times. Authors of various selections are not always clearly identified for the reader who may be 528 HISTOIRE SOCIALE- SOCIAL HISTORY unfamiliar with them. An attempt to make Aberhart seem "relevant" to today's issues by describing his attitude to establishing a Social Credit Party in Quebec seems out of place. The usefulness of the book is also limited by its lack of an index. These are minor complaints. William Aberhart and Social Credit in Alberta was designed for use by university undergraduates and is well adapted to this role. It is much more complete than Joseph Boudreau's Aberhart, Alberta and Social Credit, which is drawn from newspaper sources, and will be a useful supplement to Walter Young's general survey in Democracy and Discontent. It will be wel-comed by those who teach undergraduate courses about Western Canada or move-ments of political protest, and will prove worthwhile reading for the instructors as well as for their students. * * * John Herd THoMPSON, McGill University. JEAN-LOUIS RoY. -La Marche des Quebecois: le temps des ruptures (1945-1960). Montreal, Editions Lemeac, 1976. Pp. 378. . The title of this book seems to suggest that it is an account of the trans-formation of Quebec society in the post-war era. The author certainly argues that the sources of the Quiet Revolution can be found in the period of transition, le temps des ruptures, but the text is something a good deal less than an analysis of social change in Quebec. Professor Roy's introduction clearly spells out the limitations of his work. The book, he tells us, is not a history of ideas, nor of politics or culture. It also avoids discussion of the role of the state and the church because this is to be the topic of a forthcoming study. Instead the author indicates that this work is an attempt "de rassembler des materiaux pour une histoire sociale" (p. 11). In fact what is offered is a commentary on the formal actions of certain intermediary groups in Quebec society. The first fifty pages are devoted to an inventory of identified social needs. Brief reference is made to a number of government inquiries and reports as well as studies on social problems written by social work students at Laval and Montreal during the period. The real value of this section of the book lies in the footnotes where a number of interesting thesis titles apperu:. It is regrettable that there is no critical bibliography to provide an initial assessment of the theses cited. Part Two is devoted to examining the changes in the policies of Quebec unions, business organizations and the Co-operative movement. The chapters on trade unions are largely based on the Convention Proceedings and Annual Reports of the C.T.C.C. Professor Roy is able to demonstrate that the C.T.C.C. leadership had practical, concrete ideas about the kind of legislative and social change that Quebec required. He does not address the question of how effective the C.T.C.C. was at 'influencing the society' nor does he deal with the union federa-tion's primary role of organizing workers. The international unions receive only token attention. The chapter on le Patronat informs us that eighteen employer associations were formed between 1940 and 1960. L'Association professionnelle des industrie/s is singled out for study. The objectives of this Association were to . promote 

LEWIS H. THOMAS, ed. -William Aberhart and Social Credit in Alberta.

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LEWIS H. THOMAS, ed. -William Aberhart and Social Credit in Alberta.

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Histoire sociale / Social History (E-Journal, York University)