{"product_id":"hardscrabble-the-high-cost-of-free-land-9781459708044","title":"Hardscrabble: The High Cost of Free Land","description":"\u003cp\u003eHow emigrants were lured to Ontario's Muskoka in the 1870s in a vain attempt to farm the Canadian Shield. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen the Free Grants and Homestead Act was first introduced in 1868, fierce debates erupted in Ontario's Legislature over whether land in the Muskoka region should be opened to settlement or reserved for the Aboriginal population. From the beginning, many people vented serious doubts about the free grant scheme, citing the district's poor agricultural prospects. In the end, such caution was ignored by overeager boosters. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The story in \u003ci\u003eHardscrabble\u003c\/i\u003e also takes readers to Britain, where emigration philanthropists urged their government to send the country's poor to Canada, then follows these emigrants as they left the familiar behind to make a new life in the Canadian wilderness. The initial romance of living off the land was soon dispelled as these hapless souls faced clearing the land, building shelters, and sowing crops in desolate, remote locations. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Donna Williams's extensive research leads her to conclude that Muskoka's experience epitomizes the wrongheadedness of placing already poor people on remote land unsuited for farming.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=AUTH-6654133\"\u003eDonna E. Williams\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e J. Patrick Boyer Book\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/06\/2013\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 208\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.75lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.96h x 6.08w x 0.52d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781459708044\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1459708040\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBISAC Categories:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-HIS\"\u003eHistory\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-HIS006020\"\u003eCanada | Post-Confederation (1867-)\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-HIS\"\u003eHistory\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-HIS015000\"\u003eEurope | Great Britain | General\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-HIS\"\u003eHistory\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-HIS029000\"\u003eNorth American\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDonna E. Williams is a writer and freelance editor. Following a 30-year career in trade book and magazine publishing, she returned to the University of Toronto and completed an M.A. in history. \u003ci\u003eHardscrabble\u003c\/i\u003e is based on her master's thesis. She lives in Toronto.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"J. Patrick Boyer Book","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42649769214189,"sku":"9781459708044","price":22.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/8097\/6621\/products\/img_0d305165-f91d-4444-8b8c-8afd30536e23.jpg?v=1649190084","url":"https:\/\/sureshotbooks.com\/products\/hardscrabble-the-high-cost-of-free-land-9781459708044","provider":"SureShot Books Publishing LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}