This book is based on the public career of a highly controversial
Canadian, Sam Hughes 1885-1916. He is one of the most colourful, even
bizarre, figures in Canadian history.
Though he died in 1921, his name can still conjure up controversy and
not a little misunderstanding. His long career-in so many respects the
quintessential story of a poor backwoods Ontario farm boy who made good
by his own efforts-continues to exert a fascination that few other
Canadian political figures could duplicate.
Even though there has never been a major scholarly study of Sam Hughes,
historians and other writers have developed definite opinions about him,
and they are held nearly as vigorously as those of his contemporaries.
These vary from insisting that Hughes was mentally unbalanced to
proclaiming him a genius. Hughes' defenders have rarely been
professional historians. Neither side have not produced an extensive or
definitive literature on Hughes in proportion to other figures of a
similar public stature.
Whatever side the studies have taken, the assessments are still
incomplete because they have not examined the entirety of Sam Hughes'
public life. To a large extent these limitations have allowed the folk
image of him to persist. But Hughes had fibre and substance beyond this.
Since historical figures must be explained in terms of their
environment, this study tries to redress the previous imbalances by
examining Hughes' public career. It is the only way his historical
significance can be explained and reasonable judgments made.
