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‘Who Are We?’: the Search for a National Identity in Argentina, Australia and Canada, 1870–1950

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Argentina, Australia and Canada

Part of the book series: St Antony’s Macmillan Series ((STANTS))

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Abstract

‘Who are we? What are we?’ are questions that have dogged new nations. Domingo Faustino Sarmiento posed that problem to his compatriots; he hoped that Argentines would throw off their Spanish roots and emulate the (North) Americans. While (North) Americans seemed to have confidence in their own nationality, two other offshoots of the British Empire — Australia and Canada — were not so fortunate. They, too, were searching for a national identity. It is likely that Argentina, Australia and Canada are not certain as yet that they have found it. But in the process of the struggle to achieve a national identity, the period 1870–1950 demonstrates how serious a problem it can be.

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Notes

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© 1985 St Antony’s College, Oxford

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Ogelsby, J.C.M. (1985). ‘Who Are We?’: the Search for a National Identity in Argentina, Australia and Canada, 1870–1950. In: Platt, D.C.M., di Tella, G. (eds) Argentina, Australia and Canada. St Antony’s Macmillan Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-17765-3_7

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