Where Once They Stood challenges popular notions that those who voted against Confederation in 1869 and for union in 1948 were uninformed and gullible. Raymond Blake and Melvin Baker demonstrate that voters fully understood the issues at stake in both cases, and women became instrumental in determining the final outcome, voting for Canada in 1948, believing it provided the best opportunities for their children. "[Blake and Baker] challenge popular and persistent notions that Newfoundlanders were duped into joining Confederation and instead characterize their decisions as complex, nuanced, and informed." — Canada's History "A lively history of Newfoundland politics from the 1860s to the 1940s, with vigorous and persuasive arguments as to why Newfoundlanders were right to reject Confederation in 1869, and right to embrace it in 1949." — Christopher Moore, author of 1867: How the Fathers Made a Deal "Blake and Baker vigorously bring the exciting fight of ideas in Newfoundland to life. We forget how great the stakes were--nothing less than the survival, security, belonging and recognition of a people. Readers will discover how Newfoundlanders debated for four generations whether Canada was a beau risque." — Patrice Dutil, author of Prime Ministerial Power in Canada

Prizes

Winner of Pierre Savard Award 2020,Winner of Peter Cashin Prize 2019,Commended for Hill Times’ List of 100 Best Non-Fiction Canadian Books 2019,Short-listed for Canada Prize in the Humanities and Social Sciences 2020,Short-listed for Heritage and History Book Award 2019

"A masterful examination of Newfoundland-Canada relations from 1869-1949." -- Corey Slumkowski, author of Inventing Atlantic Canada: Regionalism and the Maritime Reaction to Newfoundland's Entry into Canadian Confederation
"Blake and Baker make a persuasive case, turn[ing] the conspiracy on its head and demonstrat[ing] how Newfoundlanders knew what they were doing and expressly acted in their own self-interest when they chose Canada... It is hard to imagine any two other authors who would know more about the subject." -- David MacKenzie, author of Inside the Atlantic Triangle
"A lively history of Newfoundland politics from the 1860s to the 1940s, with vigorous and persuasive arguments as to why Newfoundlanders were right to reject Confederation in 1869, and right to embrace it in 1949." -- Christopher Moore, author of 1867: How the Fathers Made a Deal
"Blake and Baker vigorously bring the exciting fight of ideas in Newfoundland to life. We forget how great the stakes were -- nothing less than the survival, security, belonging and recognition of a people. Readers will discover how Newfoundlanders debated for four generations whether Canada was a beau risque." -- Patrice Dutil, author of Prime Ministerial Power in Canada
"[Blake and Baker] challenge popular and persistent notions that Newfoundlanders were duped into joining Confederation and instead characterize their decisions as complex, nuanced, and informed." Canada's History

Raymond B. Blake is professor of history at the University of Regina and has published nearly twenty books.  
        
Melvin Baker received a PhD in history from the University of Western Ontario and has published extensively in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Newfoundland history. He is currently Archivist-Historian for Memorial University.