This Kindred People

Book excerpt: Kohn shows how Americans and Canadians often referred to each other as members of the same "family," sharing the same "blood," and drew upon the common lexicon of Anglo-Saxon rhetoric to undermine old rivalries and underscore shared interests. Though the predominance of Anglo-Saxonism proved short-lived, it left a legacy of Canadian-American goodwill as both nations accepted their shared destiny on the continent. Kohn argues that this new Canadian-American understanding fostered the Anglo-American "special relationship" that shaped the twentieth century.