Unit 2: The Roaring Twenties powerpoint

The Roaring Twenties CHC2D1

Introduction 

After WW1 there was a period of adjustment:      

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The economy was moving away from war production The unemployment rate was high across Canada at the beginning of the 20’s People were dissatisfied with politicians Canada was moving closer economically and culturally with the United States The Aboriginal People faced the possibility of loosing their language and cultures Canadian nationalism was growing and Canadians were creating a distinct Canadian identity Attitudes towards women were changing Women’s style reflected some new freedoms Technology and new inventions changed the world As the economy improved, people started to spend money on appliances, telephones, radios and sporting events

Many people were optimistic about the future and thought that the good times were only going to get better.

The Canadian Economy The Winnipeg General Strike - May 1919 Pg. 67-69        

Economy adjusting to peacetime Industries that had munitions were now in the process of retooling their factories Unemployment increased Many veterans returned returned to find their jobs were either gone or taken by those who remained home Dramatic rise in the cost of living Soldiers felt that they sacrificed enough during the war that they deserved to be compensated with jobs and higher wages This frustration was directed towards the federal government On May 15, 1919 a General Strike occurred in Winnipeg    

24,000 workers went on strike By May 17th, there were 35,000 strikers The strike affected telephone operations, hotels, restaurants, newspapers and food supplies The employers reacted to the strike by creating a Citizens Committee and organizing a militia force of 5000 men

The Canadian Economy

The Winnipeg General Strike - May 1919 Con’t Pg. 67-69   

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The strike soon became more than an economic movement, took on an anti-foreigner focus As the speeches of the union leaders became more and more radical, the federal government in the militia to retain order The federal government also passed the Immigration Act that allowed them to deport any citizen not born in Canada On June 17th, a number of union leaders were arrested On June 21st, a crowd gathered together to protest the lack of progress in negotiations and arrest of the strike leaders. It became violent and the protesters attacked a streetcar, set it on fire and threw rocks at the troops The Riot Act was read and the police charged the crowd with their weapons drawn. The Strike was broken and the Federal Minister of Justice (Arthur Meighen) passes a law that gave the government permission to arrest and deport anyone considered a threat The strike demonstrated what could happen with workers feeling exploited.

The Canadian Economy pg. 73

 Although some unemployment, Ont, Que, and B.C. experienced good economic times throughout most of the 1920’s  Strong demand for pulp, paper, cars and other goods not available during the war  By 1923 the Roaring 20’s had begun and people saw more consumer products than they had ever seen before BUT…  The Prairies and the Maritimes were experiencing hard times as wheat prices were falling (they no longer needed to feed the oversea troops)  Some people in the Prairie and Maritime provinces felt that the Ottawa politicians did not care about them and started taking about creating new political parties or even separating from Canada.  Farmers in the Prairies and Ontario created the Progressive Party

Byng-King Crisis Pg. 75-76  A scandal erupted that shook the Liberal Party – it was discovered that some of the Liberals had been taking brides to allow the smuggling alcohol into the U.S.  The newly elected Progessive MP’s would not support a corrupt gov’t  P.M. King knew his government was in trouble  Only time before Arthur Meighen (leader of the conservatives) called a nonconfidence vote  Before the vote could be taken King asked Lord Byng (Canada’s Governor General) to call a new election  Byng refused the request and asked Meighen to become the Prime Minister  Meighen’s rein as P.M. only lasted 3 days and a new election was held  King used Canada’s nationalism in his speeches to ask how an unelected official can tell the Prime Minister what to do.  King returned to office in 1926

Conditions of Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples Pg. 76-77    

Aboriginal peoples did not benefit from the prosperity of the 1920’s The Canadian gov’t continued to make decisions for them Government parties continued to encourage assimilation The quality of life on the reserved continued to decline    

Alcohol was consumed in unhealthy amounts Suicide rates were the highest in the country Diseases like tuberculosis continued to kill many Inferior housing

 Policymakers saw residential schools as the ideal way to ‘assimilate’ Native Canadian children 

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Completely remove children from their communities and forced into ‘moral’ education that promoted the values of ‘White Society’ Little or no contact with families (officials were concerned children would revert) Prohibited children from speaking their Native languages, forced to wear uniforms and severely punished if rules were broken

 But some began to fight against the injustices done to their people  

F.O. Loft (Mohawk Chief) set up the League of Indians of Canada Other leaders were organizing their people to fight back and obtain justice

Canadian Art and Culture Pg. 79-82  Art  

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Group of Seven J.E.H. MacDonald, Lawren Harris, Franklin Carmichael, Arthur Lismer, F.H. Varley, A.Y. Jackson and Franz Johnson The artwork expressed Canada’s physical richness and beauty

 Literature 

A new style of Canadian literature would encourage and influence later generations of Canadian writers

 Sports     

“Canada’s Golden Age of Sports” Canadian athletes won medals and trophies all around the world Bluenose in 1921 Professional hockey emerged as one of Canada’s favorite sports 1928 Olympics (Bobbie Rosenfeld, Percy Williams)

Canadian Women in the 1920’s Pg. 84-87  Alberta’s Famous Five  

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In 1927 a group of western women asked Parliament if women were considered ‘persons’ They were called the “Famous Five”: Emily Murphy, Irene Parlby, Nellie McClung, Henrietta Edwards, Louise McKinney Before them the word ‘person’ in the Canadian Constitution meant only those of the male sex The Persons Case went to the Supreme Court of Canada and in 1928 the Court ruled that the word ‘persons’ in the Constitution meant only male persons The women kept fighting and appealed the decisions to the British Privy Council and in 1929 (to the surprise of many) the Council overturned the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision

Canadian Women in the 1920’s Pg. 84-87  Fashion    

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Clothing styles for women were changing Hemlines rose above the knee “Boyish” look was in Indicated that women were freer to to more than before and were more equal to men Called ‘flappers” However many men and women considered this lifestyle too extreme.

Prohibition Pg. 87-89  Between 1915-1917 Canadian Temperance Movements were able to outlaw the sale and consumption of alcohol in every province except Quebec  This was called Prohibition  In the U.S. prohibition was federal law from 1920-1933. In Canada, however, it sputtered out. Most provinces gave up on total prohibition by the mid-1920’s  Prohibition did reduce alcohol consumption by 80%. However, it also inspired a wave of crime that created tensions between the U.S. and Canada  Many people were prepared to break the laws; they liked to drink or wanted to get rich selling alcohol illegally.  The United States was the major market for the illegal alcohol 

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‘Rum-running’ became big-business ‘Bootleggers’ sprung up everywhere

 Liquor was transported to the United States by boats, trucks, cars and trains  Oakville – Chisolm family – founder of Oakville – his house was used to smuggle alcohol down to harbour in the 1930’s 

Oakville made a lot of money from the selling of illegal liquor

Prohibition Pg. 87-89

Changes in Technology Pg. 89-92  Insulin  

Frederick Banting in 1921 1922 Leonard Thompson, a 14 year old boy, was the first person treated

 The Telephone  

In 1920 1 in 4 families had a phone In 1929 3 of 4 families had a phone

 The Automobile  

The Model T car was mass produced and flooded the market Millions of jobs were created

 The Airplane 

Air transport expanded rapidly between 1920 and 1937

 The Radio    

First radio broadcast in North America was on May 20, 1920 New type of entertainment CBC – The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation was created Hockey Night in Canada first aired on March 22, 1923