James Alexander Macdonald (January 22, 1862 – May 14, 1923) was a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 newspaper editor, minister, educator and author.

He was born in East Williams Township, Upper Canada

Upper Canada

The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...

, the son of John Alexander Macdonald and Jane Grant, and was educated there, in Hamilton

Hamilton, Ontario

Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...

, in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

 and at the University of Toronto

University of Toronto

The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...

. Macdonald continued his studied at Knox College, where he became editor of the Knox College Monthly. After graduating in 1887, he continued to be editor and also served as college librarian. In 1890, Macdonald married Grace Lumsden Christian. He was ordained a Presbyterian minister in 1891 and assigned to Knox Presbyterian Church in St. Thomas

St. Thomas, Ontario

St. Thomas is a city in southern , Ontario, Canada. It is the seat for Elgin County and gained its city charter on March 4, 1881.-History:...

. In 1896, Macdonald was named principal of Presbyterian Ladies' College in Toronto. He also became editor of a new Presbyterian monthly, the Westminster. In 1902, Macdonald also became editor of a new weekly Presbyterian. In 1903, he became editor of the Globe

The Globe (Toronto newspaper)

The Globe was a newspaper in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, founded in 1844 by George Brown as a Reform voice. It merged with The Mail and Empire in 1936 to form The Globe and Mail.-History:...

, continuing in that role until 1915. Macdonald also served as a director of the Canadian Associated Press and for the University of Toronto, as a trustee for the Toronto General Hospital. A pacifist, he was a director of the World Peace Foundation and participated in rallies against American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 involvement in World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. Later concluding that German aggression needed to be stopped, Macdonald emphasized that the intent of war should be to restore peace. He died in Toronto at the age of 61.

Macdonald published two collections of essays, Democracy and the Nations in 1915 and The North American Idea in 1917, proposing closer ties between Canada and the United States.