The Roaring 20’s

Clara Bow Brewster 1921

The Famous Five

Canada After the War

• War propelled Canada into independence.• The war had changed the perception of war for so

many people.• Canada lost 46,000 dead and wounded from the war.

This led to the emergence of a lost generation

• A Generation Lost• The Lost Generation and the arts

The League of Nations

• Canada was a founding member of the newly created League of Nations

• Americans objected to the formation of the League but once again they conceded. American Senate rejected the states from becoming members of the League.

• The League pledged every member to defend the boundaries established at Versailles

Influenza Pandemic

• World wide influenza pandemic broke out in 1918 originating (they suspect in an American Army base)

• Response from Ottawa and provinces was slow (being occupied with the war)

• Claimed 30,000 to 50,000 lives in Canada and around 50 million worldwide!

• Rumor of peace helped to calm people down

Flu victims being buried. North River, Labrador, 1918

Trouble for Canada

• At the end of the war Munitions factories were shut down

• Over a quarter million workers were suddenly out of jobs

• Canadian government had to pay 250 million in back pay to soldiers returning from front

Trouble for Canada continued

• Membership in unions increased during the war from 143,000 in 1915 to 378,000 by 1919.

• Many workers talked of a revolution like the one in Russia

• The government became scared of threat of Communism (Red Scare)

Winnipeg General Strike

• A general strike began in Winnipeg on May 15, 1919.• 30,000 metal and building workers walked off the job

together• The general strike spread across Canada• Most employees wanted to bargain with employer

not a revolutionWinnipeg General Strike

Striker Demands

• The strikers had stiff demands.• Strikers wanted higher wages and a shorter

work week.• They also wanted Collective Bargaining, which

meant the companies had to negotiate with the workers as a whole.

Crowd gathered outside old City Hall during the Winnipeg General Strike, June 21, 1919

Business Backlash

• Business leaders, politicians and industrialists wanted to protect their own interests.

• They formed the Citizen’s Committee of One Thousand to attack the strike in the press.

• The committee had the support of the government.

Winnipeg Strike Continued

• Parliament made it illegal to even talk about a revolution.

• Government ordered the leaders of the strike arrested June 17th.

• Protestors organized a mass rally.• On June 21, 1919, mounted police charged the

crowds on Main Street Winnipeg, in a Confrontation that became known as Bloody Saturday.

Think/ Pair/ Share

Think/Pair/Share:

1.What is collective bargaining? What do you think are some of the advantages and disadvantages of this system. 2.Should the government have been allowed to use force to stop the Winnipeg General Strike?

Disgruntled Canadian Farmers

• Farmers were very unhappy• The price of wheat was determined by government

Wheat Board.• In 1919 the board set the price at $2.15 per bushel just

when world price rose to $3.15 per bushel• The next year the government dissolved the board just as

a bumper crop in Europe dropped the prices to $1.11 per bushel, forcing many farmers who had borrowed money on the original price into bankruptcy

The Election of 1921

• Borden didn’t run in the election.• The leader of the Liberal party was William Lyon

Mackenzie King.• The election brought the emergence of a new

party representing the needs of farmers known as the Progressives

• Arthur Meighen was the Conservative leader

The Election 1921 Continued

• For the first time, Canadians had three choices.• The election brought in the creation of Regionalism as a

result of different parts of the country having such different needs.

• King won with a minority government and led Canada into a time of economic boom.

• The election of 1921 and the emergence of the third party system

Government and Crisis

• The progressives did not last long but they were influential in creating pensions.

• In 1922 when Britain announced its planned invasion of Turkey, PM Mackenzie King said Canada would not support Britain.

• This is known as the Chanak crisis• We had officially challenged Britain’s stranglehold

on Canadian international affairs.

King-Byng Affair

• PM King’s minority government needed the support of the Progressives to hold power. When they lost it he rushed to the Governor General for an election but was denied.

• Under pressure Byng finally called the election. The appointed governor general, however, had gone against the elected leader of the country.

Burning Questions! Think/ Pair/Share

1. Under what circumstances, if any, do you think the Governor General should be allowed to step in and interfere with the policies of the Prime Minister.

2. What do you think are some of the problems with minority governments? What are some of the advantages? What do we have now? Explain which is the superior form of government in your opinion.

The Improving Economy

• The 1920’s started in depression.• Then the US started investing in Canada and our

economy grew.• US Companies set up ‘Branch Plants’ which operated

here but for American business men.• With the increase in employment and economic

prosperity few Canadians questioned the long term effects of American involvement.

Bootlegging the Border

• The Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) pushed prohibition into legislation in Canada and the US.

• By 1921 provincial governments were overturning the decision because of its unpopularity.

• The US, however, enforced it until 1933. Canadians sold illegal alcohol over the border for about 10 years.

Prosperous Times

• With the new booming economy Canadians were afforded more opportunities to enjoy the luxuries of life.

• Motor cars were becoming affordable and popular.• Telephone lines were becoming commonplace for

all houses in cities.• Professional sports were also increasing in

popularity.

Acrostic Poetry

• As a way to take a break from writing so many notes you will now be given time to use the more creative part of your brain!

• Create an Acrostic poem on the Winnipeg General Strike. The Chanak Crisis, the Progressive Party or the Women’s Christian Temperance Union

The Group of Seven

• The group was made of painters from the 1920s (Franklin Carmichael, Lawren Harris, A. Y. Jackson, Frank Johnston, Arthur Lismer, J. E. H. MacDonald, and Frederick Varley).

• They were influenced by European Impressionism had bright colours, unique brush styles, interesting view angles, and a large inclusion of nature.

Emily Carr

• Emily Carr was from Victoria and is considered one of Canada’s most important painters ever.

• She was impressed by the Group of 7 and took this style to her paintings of the west coast lifestyle.

Odds and Ends, by Emily Carr

The Forgotten Ones…

Aboriginal peoples• Even after serving in WWI Aboriginal people were still not

legally considered adult people.• Reserve conditions were poor.• Aboriginal peoples were split on whether they should

accept a British style of living.• The Potlatch, an important Aboriginal celebration, was

banned and people were thrown in jail.• The government had been taking land from Aboriginal

people as they saw fit.

The Forgotten Ones…The Allied Tribes• Formed in 1916 to protect Aboriginal land and protest the

racist decisions they faced from the government.• They wanted to seek a resolution to land claims in BC

through negotiations with the federal and provincial governments.

• In 1927 they were made illegal by the federal government who changed the Indian Act.

• For more extensive information, see “Native Issues” power point, in a file folder near you.

The Forgotten Ones…

African Canadians• African immigrants were discouraged but

never blocked from immigrating.• Some provinces set up a separate school

system and many public areas excluded coloured minorities.

The Forgotten Ones…

Other Immigrants• Employers often welcomed new

immigrants to Canada because it was assumed they would work cheaper.

• For this reason unions hated immigrants. They believed immigrants cut down the wages they could achieve.

And Then It Crashed…

• By 1927 the price of wheat was dropping and the world market showed weakness.

• People still believed that the post-war world had infinite economic possibilities and that things would keep getting better.

Stock Market Crashof 1929

• Then, on ‘Black Tuesday,’ a flurry of stocks suddenly plummeted.

• People lost billions and rushed to protect the money they had.

• The great depression was on…

Crowd gathering on Wall Street after the 1929 crash

Questions for Thought

Think/Pair/Share

1. Why is art important in history? What does it tell us?

2. Why was the stock market crash felt so heavily? Was the world prepared?

3. Who was Emily Carr? What do you think her art can do for Victoria and western Canada more generally.