Thomas Phillips Thompson
Thomas Phillips Thompson was an influential figure born in England in 1843, who immigrated to Canada with his Quaker family at the age of fourteen. Settling in St. Catharines, Ontario, Thompson studied law and published "The Future Government of Canada" in 1864, where he argued for a republican form of government and initially expressed controversial views regarding the French language's legal status in Canada. Over time, he evolved in his understanding of French Canadians, moving to Toronto in 1876, where he became a prominent journalist, writing for various newspapers and championing progressive causes such as women's suffrage and labor rights.
Thompson was deeply involved in the Knights of Labor and published "The Politics of Labor" in 1887, advocating for unions and criticizing monopolistic practices. His later years saw him embrace Theosophy, which resonated with his vision of a non-discriminatory society. Despite facing electoral setbacks and opposition to significant military conflicts like the Boer War and World War I, Thompson remained an ardent proponent of socialist ideals until his blindness in the last decade of his life, culminating in his death in 1933. His legacy reflects a commitment to social justice and progressive reform in early Canadian society.
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Thomas Phillips Thompson
Writer
- Born: November 25, 1843
- Birthplace: Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England
- Died: May 20, 1933
- Place of death: Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Biography
Born in England in 1843, Thomas Phillips Thompson moved to Canada with his parents when he was fourteen. His parents were Quakers and their social outlook was a formative aspect of Thompson’s worldview. Thompson’s family ultimately settled in St. Catherines, in what later became Ontario and where he later studied law.
Thompson published The Future Government of Canada in 1864, advancing his two chief arguments about the Canadian Confederation. A staunch opponent of monarchy, Thompson advocated a republican form of government. He considered a royalist approach to governing an impediment to the progressive ideals that were important to a nascent Canadian national self-image. Somewhat surprising was Thompson’s accompanying argument that the French language had no legal standing in a Canadian constitution. He later rejected his prejudices about French as he developed a more mature understanding of the anti-imperial common ground he shared with French Canadians.
Thompson moved to Toronto in 1876 and wrote for several newspapers and journals. He took up progressive causes, including women’s suffrage and farmers’ protests. Thompson used satirical writing to lampoon his opponents. He spent the years between 1876 and 1880 in Boston, where he wrote for Punch. Back in Toronto by 1880, he began to write for the Globe. He also threw his energies into championing the concerns of labor and advocated the unionization of workers. Thompson became involved with the Knights of Labor, a trade union movement that started in Philadelphia and spread to Canada by the early 1870’s. Thompson’s indictment of monopolies was a concomitant cause. In 1887, he published The Politics of Labor, putting forth his views on the importance of unions and the need to dismantle monopolies.
In the 1890’s, Thompson embraced Theosophy, which seemed to reflect his social philosophy of a nonsectarian, color-blind, nondiscriminatory worldview. He also implicated organized religious denominations in the monopolistic dominated economy. Theosophy may have provided Thompson a spirituality that echoed or reinforced his progressive political and economic views.
Into the 1900’s, Thompson continued to write about progressive politics and a broader socialist agenda. He was unsuccessful in his attempt to broker an agreement between Canadian trade unions and the farmers’ union. He became associated with the Ontario Socialist League. His attempts to win office failed. He opposed Canada’s participation in the Boer War and was a vocal critic of the Canadian government’s policies during World War I. Thompson was blind during his last ten years; he died in 1933.