Editing Angus Lewis Macdonald (section)

==Early political career==

===Federal campaign, 1930===
The federal election in the summer of 1930 gave the 40-year-old Macdonald a chance to run for office. He decided to contest the riding of [[Inverness (federal electoral district)|Inverness]] in his native [[Cape Breton Island|Cape Breton]]. There he faced a Conservative opponent whose style contrasted sharply with his own cool and reserved manner. According to biographer John Hawkins, [[Isaac Duncan MacDougall|I. D. "Ike" MacDougall]] "was a gifted performer who before an audience could cut an opponent's well-marshalled arguments until they fell amid roars of laughter. He was the master of hyperbole, pun and high spirits. He could win a rural audience, not by his logic, but by his performance on the platform".<ref>Hawkins, p.96.</ref> Macdonald campaigned hard, but the trend was against him. The Conservatives led by [[R. B. Bennett]] defeated [[William Lyon Mackenzie King|Mackenzie King's]] unpopular Liberals. And in Inverness, Ike MacDougall was re-elected by the narrow margin of 165 votes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Sites/LOP/HFER/hfer.asp?Language=E&Search=Det&Include=Y&rid=311|title=History of Federal Ridings Since 1867. Inverness County, Nova Scotia (1867–1933).|publisher=[[Parliament of Canada]]|access-date=June 15, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090609211221/http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Sites/LOP/HFER/hfer.asp?Language=E|archive-date=June 9, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> It was to be Macdonald's only election defeat. Afterwards, Macdonald retreated to [[Halifax (former city)|Halifax]] where he opened his own private law office in August 1930.<ref>Henderson, p.40.</ref>

===Provincial convention, 1930===
Macdonald was active in provincial Liberal Party organizational work during the latter part of the 1920s. In 1925, the party had suffered a crushing defeat after 43&nbsp;years in power. On election day, the Liberals were reduced to three seats in the Nova Scotia legislature.<ref>Beck, p.111.</ref> Many believed that the time had come to return the party to its reformist roots. Macdonald worked with other reform-minded members to establish a network of younger Liberals intent on reviving their party.<ref>Henderson, pp.33–34.</ref>

In the 1928 provincial election, the Liberals regained some of their lost popularity in one of the closest votes in Nova Scotia history. The Conservatives remained in power with 23 seats to the Liberals' 20.<ref>Beck, p.129.</ref> Economic conditions worsened after the [[Wall Street Crash of 1929|stock market crash]] of 1929 making it seem increasingly likely that the Liberals would return to power in the next election. Macdonald helped draft a 15-point party platform for approval at a Liberal convention in the fall of 1930. It promised an eight-hour working day and free elementary school textbooks. It also pledged to establish a formal inquiry into Nova Scotia's economic prospects and the province's place within [[Canadian Confederation|Confederation]].<ref>Henderson, pp.40–41.</ref>

The convention, held on October 1, 1930, proved to be a turning point both for the party and for Macdonald. In a departure from tradition, the party's new leader was chosen by convention delegates instead of Liberal [[caucus]] members at the legislature.<ref>Hawkins, p.109.</ref> Two veterans of Liberal politics, both wealthy businessmen, were contesting the leadership.<ref>Hawkins, p.117.</ref> There was little enthusiasm, however, for either. Just as nominations were about to close, a delegate from [[Truro, Nova Scotia|Truro]] rose unexpectedly to nominate Macdonald. Surprised, Macdonald at first declined the nomination, then agreed to accept it when he sensed strong support on the convention floor.<ref>Henderson, p.43.</ref> A few hours later, the 40-year-old Macdonald had won a resounding first-ballot victory to become the new Liberal leader.<ref>Beck, pp.138–140.</ref>

===Liberal party leader===
[[File:JosephHoweStatue.jpg|thumb|[[Joseph Howe]] statue at the [[Nova Scotia]] legislature. The Franchise Scandal enabled Macdonald to campaign as a latter-day Howe, champion of responsible government.]]

After winning the Liberal leadership, Macdonald travelled the province on speaking tours helping organize party support in every constituency.<ref>Hawkins, p.149.</ref> As Liberal leader, he proved to be an effective platform speaker. According to biographer John Hawkins, Macdonald's "plain talk and simplicity" persuaded audiences of his honesty.<ref>Hawkins, p.125.</ref> He developed the ability to explain political issues with a "clarity that every voter could understand".<ref>Hawkins, pp.169–170.</ref> When the [[legislature]] was in session, he led the Liberals from the public galleries because he had no seat in the House. There were six vacancies, but the Conservatives refused to call [[by-election]]s fearing they would lose their five-seat majority. Macdonald publicly criticized [[Gordon Sidney Harrington|Premier Gordon Harrington]] for depriving so many Nova Scotians of representation. He deplored what he called "the loss of responsible government."<ref name="multiref4">Henderson, p.46.</ref> It was a message that struck a chord in the province that had been the first in Canada to achieve [[responsible government]] in 1848 thanks to the efforts of the great liberal Reformer [[Joseph Howe]].<ref>Careless, J. M. S. (1963) ''Canada: A Story of Challenge''. Toronto: Macmillan of Canada, pp.205–206.</ref> Privately however, Macdonald rejoiced that the government couldn't risk calling a by-election telling one supporter years later, "If the truth must be told, I was sometimes afraid that they would open up a seat and deprive me of this sort of ammunition".<ref name="multiref4" />

Macdonald was able to use the theme of responsible government even more effectively during the provincial election campaign of 1933. The governing [[Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia|Conservatives]], desperate to avoid electoral defeat,<ref>Simpson, Jeffrey. (1988) ''Spoils of Power: The Politics of Patronage''. Toronto: Collins Publishers, p.178.</ref> had enacted changes requiring that new voters' lists be drawn up by government-appointed registrars immediately before each election.<ref>Beck, p.142.</ref> Predictably, thousands of Liberal voters were left off the lists and the new law allowed only three days for corrections. The Liberals secured a court order requiring the appointment of additional registrars and some of the disenfranchised voters were finally added to the lists.<ref>Henderson, pp.53–54.</ref> The so-called Franchise Scandal enabled the Liberal press to cast Macdonald as a latter-day Joe Howe, crusading for the rights of the people. "No newcomer to the political scene", writes historian Murray Beck, "has ever become so quickly, widely, and favourably known in such a dramatic fashion".<ref>Beck, p.148.</ref> The scandal, compounded by suffering in the province due to the [[Great Depression]], resulted in Macdonald's Liberals winning 22 of the 30 seats on August 22, 1933.<ref>Henderson, pp.51–56.</ref> The Conservatives were now associated in the public mind with corruption and hard times.<ref>March, William. (1986) ''Red Line: The Chronicle-Herald and the Mail-Star 1875–1954''. Halifax: Chebucto Agencies Limited, p.245.</ref> They did not regain power for 23 years.<ref>Hawkins, p.165.</ref>