Life after World War One and the events leading to World War Two
Canada and the League of Nations
In 1919, Wilson's proposal for an association of nations resulted in the creation of the league of nations in 1919
-league members agreed on 3 tools that can used when war threatened
-they could ask the countries to negotiate a peaceful resolution
-impose economic sanctions on an aggressive state to encourage it to seek peace
-use military force against the aggressor country
-Canadian officials persuaded decision-makers to have the collective-security provisions removed from the league charter
-they fought for the right to be able to decide whether to become involved in military actions
-joining the league of nations marked one of the first times Canada took independent multilateral action
-Multilateral Action- action in cooperation with many other countries
-Multilateral action would become a hallmark of Canadian foreign policy over the next century
Prohibition
-prohibition allowed organized crime to rise because people still wanted to drink
-crime rates skyrocketed as rival gangs competed for territory
-many Canadians got rich by illegally smuggling alcohol to the USA
-this is known as Bootlegging or Rum Running
Gangsters
-criminals made millions of dollars from the illegal sale of alcohol
-this resulted in a large loss of provincial taxes since each province was individually responsible for the sale of alcohol
-most Canadian provinces created prohibition laws in World War One
-By 1927, all these laws were repealed except for Prince Edward Island (1948)
-the United States had prohibition laws from 1920 to 1933
The Problem of Alcohol
-In the early parts of the 20th century, alcohol was viewed as the root of a lot of problems for Canadians and Americans
-problems such as crime, public drunkenness, family violence, and poverty
-As a direct result, a temperance movement started which called on people to stop drinking alcohol
Women's Christian Temperance Union
-people supporting of the temperance believed that if people stooped spending money on alcohol, many families would be able to improve their lives
-the WCTU campaigned for a total prohibition of alcohol
-the WCTU had two members from the famous five, Neville McClung and Louise Mckinney
Prohibition- laws against making and selling alcohol
Prohibition
In Canada under the War Measures Act, the federal government enacted Prohibition and the ban lasted until a year after World War One
-Some Canadians were not happy with this and were willing to pay high prices for illegal alcohol
The Dirty 30s/The Great Depression
Spark to World War Two
-the great depression was the spark to World War Two
-Canada, USA, and other Western European nations were in economic decline
-this gave Hitler the opportunity to seize control over Germany, while Germany was in need of a strong leader after its loss in World War One
-Hitler was able to capitalize on the nation's economic decline, and used the Great Depression to build his military and expand his empires
-the other nations were unprepared and were surprised to see Germany's control over Western Europe, along with their surprise Blitzkrieg attacks on small cities and states in Western Europe
-Therefore, Hitler used his surprise Blitzkrieg attacks to attack an unarmed and unprepared Poland nation
-this spark forced the allies to join the war and World War Two had began
Causes of the Great Depression
Cause#1: Overproduction of goods
-companies continued to expand rapidly in the 20's, but the demand for products did not grow at the same pace
-Several companies were making more products that they could sell
-this eventually led to the stock market crashing in America, which led to the start of the Great Depression in 1929
Cause#2: Buying on Credit
-Credit became available to the average Canadian person for the first time in the 1920s
-people took advantage of this by buying things and playing the stock market with borrowed money, leading to the the stock market crash in 1929
Cause#3: The Stock Market Crash
-the stock market was very strong in the 1920's as just about everyone was making money by buying and selling shares
-with most people investing with borrowed money and massive overproduction, the stock market was headed for disaster
-major investors began to pull out their money in the late 20's
-this caused share prices to drop
-On October 29, 1929, the New York Stock exchange collapse as stock prices fell to almost nothing
-known as "Black Tuesday"
-billions of dollars of investments became worthless
-people lost everything they had owned, and lost money that they had saved for themselves
Cause #4: Banks and Governments over-react
-In response to the crisis, the US government called back all their loans and stooped trading with other countries
-this severely hurt Canada because we sold many things to Americans
-people lost their homes, cars, and sometimes the clothes off their backs
Cause #5: Drought
-the prairies experienced one of the worst droughts in history
-plants and trees died, while farms turned to dust
Overview
-the great depression was a time during the 1930s where the economic activities between several Western and European nations had crashed completely
-the 1920s economy was flawed, irresponsible spending and production of goods led to severe price drops and layoffs
-unemployment increases, 25% of workers in major Canadian cities don't have jobs
-people's wages are decreasing, factories are closing with no sales
-standard of living decreases for all Canadians, not many government programs to help unemployed workers in Canada
Conditions that affected Indigenous People
Residential Schools
-the Indigenous people were humiliated, beaten, tortured, and many were killed in the Residential schools
-the Residential schools emphasized Christian religious values and Aboriginal spirituality was condemned
-children were separated from their siblings, friends, and family
-children were forced to live and sleep in dormitories, while learning English and other Canadian Studies
-many teachers were harsh and cruel to the Indigenous students
-Most students were required to do homework or manual labor to reduce the Intuition's operating costs
-several Indians lost touch with their parents, native traditions, and more importantly their culture
-several of them did not know how to speak their native language and could only speak English or French
-many suffered physical and sexual abuse from nuns or teachers from the residential schools
-Graduates of residential schools could become enfranchised- qualified for citizenship rights, and had the right to vote
-However, they were forced to give up their Indian traditions, culture, and status in return for being enfranchised
-In 1920, the Indigenous graduates were forced to become enfranchised regardless if they wanted it or not
Life for Indians on the Reserves
-life on the reserves was miserable, and the Indians were mistreated by the Canadians
-certain laws limited economic activities on reserves, which decreased access to jobs and increased unemployment for the Indigenous people
-housing on reserves was primitive, lacking running water and indoor toilets
-poor health care and infectious diseases also affected the daily life of the Indigenous people
-poverty was widespread on the reserves, children were malnourished, and suicide rates increased rapidly
-In 1500, 500,000 First Nations people lived in Canada, but it reduced to only about 100,000 people in the early 1920s
First Nations and the Indian Act
-the Canadian government passed the Indian act in 1876, which made the government have control over most aspects of the Indigenous people's life on the reserves
-the Canadian government took control of the Indigenous people's Indian status, land, resources, wills, education, and band administration
-the act's goal was to assimilate Indigenous people into Canadian society and monitor the Indian's activities on a day-to-day basis
-this stripped the indigenous people from their own rights, freedoms, privileges, right to vote, and status as Native Indian people
Economic Growth and Urbanization in the 1920's
Urbanization
-the growth of technology and assembly lines allowed manufacturing plants to expand in Canada
-populations continued to grow in Canada, as more people were moving to cities from rural areas and coming from foreign countries
-Toronto's population expanded from 208,040 in 1901 to 667,500 people in 1941
-Due to the population growth, Canadian cities needed to build more stores, house and road construction, health care providers, and schools
-Canadian goods and Industry was in demand, which created a growing economy
-Some main Canadian goods and Industries were Forestry, Mining, Wheat, and Technological Manufacturing
Most of Canada's economic growth took place in Central Canada (Ontario, Quebec), and in the prairies (Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba)
-Canada's economic growth relied on America's economic growth because America was Canada's main trading partner
-these manufacturing plants gave Canadians jobs and cheaper products, but all the profits went to the Americans
Political Parties and Technological Change in the 1920's and in the 1930's
Telephone Technological Advancements
-Phone technology became cheaper and an essential part of life in the 1920s
-Dial Phone was developed in 1924
-A one piece headset was developed in 1927
-In 1927, 13 out of 100 Canadians had a phone in their home
Assembly Lines
-Assembly lines and mass production of moor vehicles were created
-In 1913, Henry Ford developed the assembly line for producing the Model T.
-the assembly line was used to create other products in the 1920s
-these assembly lines allowed for quicker production and lower costs of goods
-the vehicle assembly indicated that more roads and infrastructure was needed
The Volkswagen Beetle
-the original volkswagen Beetle has the longest production run of any vehicle on the planet and has more than 21 million examples manufactured between 1938 and 2003
-was developed by Ferdinand Porsche and spearheaded by Adolf Hitler
-was created to get German people on the road for just the price of a motorcycle
-testing began in the mid-1930s, with production and sales beginning in 1938
-the beetle remains one of the most versatile vehicles created
Radar
-In 1935, the first practical radar system was produced by the British physicist Sir Robert Watson-Watt
-By 1939, Great Britain established a chain of radar stations along its south and east coasts to detect aggressors in the air or on the sea
-these radar systems had revolutionized Scientific technology used in World War Two
-these new radar-based technology systems were used both by the Allies and the Axis powers to detect and track enemies in the air, ground, or on the sea
By September 1939, both Great Britain and Germany had fully functioning radar systems
In World War One, several soldiers had risked their lives to go to no man's land to detect enemy troops, but radar systems have prevented that from happening in World War Two
The beginnings of Bombardier Inc.
-Bombardier Inc. is know for its commercial aircraft and Business jets, as well as its subway systems and rail manufacturing
-Joseph-Armand Bombardier was the leader and inventor of the party from Quebec, who wanted to help locals get around more easily in the snow
-Bombardier invented a motor-powered vehicle that could travel over snow and it became popular in the 1936-1937 winter season
-Bombardier created his own factory and was manufacturing the B7, which was his first production snowmobile
Today, Bombardier Inc. is a multinational transportation company worth billions of dollars and is recognized worldwide
Technological Change- Air Transportation
-Aircraft technology advanced during World War One
-Aircrafts were now able to carry passengers mail and freight aboard over long distances
-as airports were built, commercial airlines started flying regular flights between communities
-airplanes could connect Canada to even remote communities in the rest of the world
Social Credit Party
-was a Canadian conservative political party founded in 1935 by William Aberhart in Alberta
-William Aberhart supported paying social dividends to fill the gap between the costs of production and the costs of purchase -the party's main goal is to distribute wealth to consumers in a way that can benefit consumers
-this campaign was largely successful in British Columbia and in Alberta
In 1936, the Union Nationale formed the government in Quebec and Duplessis became the premier
Communist Party-supported the idea that everyone should share equally in the profits of their labor
-their main goal was to fight for the rights of workers who were being physically and financially oppressed by society
-they helped fight racism and wanted to give equal rights to black people vulnerable in society especially
-4 main Political Parties were formed in the 1920's: The Communist Party, Co-operative Commonwealth Foundation, Social Credit Party, and the Union Nationale
The Roaring 20's
Healthcare Advancements
Frederick Banting- A doctor from Toronto who created the formula for Insulin which helps control the effects of diabetes
-his research used dogs, but the first human was injected in 1922 and the results were successful
-Banting and Macleod received the Nobel Prize for medicine in 1923
Arts and Media-Canadian Visual Arts
-major themes of visual arts by Canadians before the 1920s focused on Realism, and Imperialism
-In the 1920s, Canadian visual arts focused on the Canadian wilderness, landscapes, and vivid use of color
-this movement was developed by Artists who explored nature and the wilderness, while painting what they saw
-this movement is known as the group of seven, these seven famous Artists revolutionized nature in visuals arts
-Individuals still discuss, learn, and teach the group of seven in today's society
Arts and Media-Movies
-the 1920s introduced the world to sound in movies after the invention of the Vitaphone in 1926
-these new sound movies were called talkies
-the first talkie was the Jazz singer made in 1927
Entertainment-Arts and Media-Radio
-radios was the television of the 1920s
-radios aired Drama, comedy, news, Christian mass/preaching, Operas, Music, Sports broadcasts, children's, and health shows
-the roaring 20s was known as a time where western society wanted to enjoy life after world war one
-it was the beginning of a modern age defined by social, cultural, technological, economic change, and excitement
-people were able to afford things, and women were allowed to vote during World War One due to their contributions in World War One
-Canada felt proud of their contributions in World War One and was seen as an independent nation without needing the help of Britian
