Unit 2 - 1896-1945 Streeter Notes PDF

UNIT 2 - 1896-1945 - STREETER NOTES Topic 1: Politics 1. Wilfrid Laurier’s Liberal Government a. Canada’s Status in the British Empire i. At the time Laurier assumes office Canada’s two main language groups (English and French) often clas...

UNIT 2 - 1896-1945 - STREETER NOTES Topic 1: Politics 1. Wilfrid Laurier’s Liberal Government a. Canada’s Status in the British Empire i. At the time Laurier assumes office Canada’s two main language groups (English and French) often clashed over their values and ideas. The main disagreement was what Canada’s position should be in the BE. English Canadians largely felt a sense of belonging to the BE, whereas the French Canadians did not. This was personified by two different Ideologies: Imperialism and French Canadian Nationalism. ii. Imperialist: D’Alton McCarty MP from 1876-1898, supported Canada’s involvement in the BE. iii. French Canadian Nationalist: Henri Bourassa founded Le Nationaliste and Le Devoir in 1904 & 1910 respectively. He believed in a union between English and French Canadians in order to promote Canadian Autonomy. Was anti-imperialist. iv. Laurier adopted a policy of COMPROMISE. He believed the two groups should focus on what they shared in common rather than their differences to encourage Canadian unity, develop Canada and promote its autonomy and identity while maintaining its ties to BE. I.e. played the middle ground. Imperialists are right, Canada should support the BE and French Canadian are right, Canada should support their own autonomy and identity. Therefore, Laurier sought to strengthen Canadian autonomy without sacrificing the bond with the BE. v. Boer War (1899-1902) pitted the two ideologies against one another. Imperialists wanted Canadians to go and fight (and support BE), while the FCN did not want to go fight this war. Laurier’s compromise: he did not implement conscription but did support the volunteers who chose to go and fight. vi. Building a Canadian Navy, Imperialists wanted Canada to send $ to support the BE in building more ships. FCN thought this was a waste of $ and did not want to support the BE. Laurier’s compromise: he used the $  UNIT 2 - 1896-1945 - STREETER NOTES to build a Canadian Navy to support the BE and strengthen Canadian Autonomy. b. Immigration Policy i. During Laurier’s time in office, Canada experienced a period of prosperity. To further stimulate growth Laurier focused on immigration to western Canada (a continuation of John A Macdonald’s policy). ii. Laurier used brochures, and advertisements, and even offered free land to immigrants. iii. Early 20th-century immigration: ⅓ UK, ⅓ USA, ⅓ Europeans - the influx of immigrants lead to the creation of provinces Alberta and Saskatchewan. c. Impact of Immigration in Western Canada i. Rise of xenophobia - basically Canadians in the West started to fear the “other”. Yeah, it's a dark time in Canadian history. ii. Targeted against anyone that was “other” there was specific fear against Asian communities. People in Western Canada feared the “other” because they felt it would destroy “Canadian Culture” iii. Canadian government granted increasingly restrictive measures towards Asian immigrants. E.g. Chinese Head Tax. iv. French Canadians also felt threatened by the rise of immigrants. This was intensified by Manitoba’s decision to ban educational instruction in French. This led to the Laurier-Greenway compromise that allowed French instruction as long as there were 10 or more Francophone students. d. Indigenous peoples in Canada in the early 20th century. i. Residential Schools - Canada really screwed up with this one. Canada’s government supported the Catholic church decision to open residential schools that were designed to “Kill the Indian in the child”. A truly dark and barbaric aspect of Canadian history. This paragraph does not do this topic justice, this needs to be studied above and beyond the Quebec Government’s propaganda course. I encourage all of you to research this further.  UNIT 2 - 1896-1945 - STREETER NOTES ii. Treatment in residential schools was horrific. Numerous accounts of physical, emotional, psychological and even sexual abuse occurred at the hands of the catholic church against the indigenous population. From 1880-1920 an estimated 25-30% of children died in residential schools. iii. Officially, the Canadian government's policy towards the IP was assimilation. iv. The Inuit fit a special category as they were not included in the residential schools and were not subject to the Indian Act. 2. The Second Phase of Industrialization (c. 1896-1929) a. Context i. Laurier applied JAC protectionist policies on imported goods. ii. A large number of immigrants increased the labour force and the demand for manufactured goods. iii. Wheat in west = $$ iv. Trade with the United States and UK intensified. v. WWI = good for the booming manufacturing sector. b. Resource and Main Production Sectors i. This period was marked by resource exploitation, from the use of hydroelectricity to power everything to the extraction of minerals via mining, and wood for the pulp and paper industry. ii. CHECK MAPS on slides - often used on tests to find regions. c. Role of the state i. In Quebec, Liberals took power in 1897 (MNarchand Government) and held power until 1936. Their economic focus was based on: industrialization, job creation, and exploitation of natural resources. ii. The liberal government of Quebec sought a policy of economic liberalism. Which is, an economic theory that defends liberal practices such as the free trade of goods, freedom of action fo private business, and limited state intervention. iii. The state-owned Quebec’s natural resources and used a royalty (a sum paid to the government for a work permit) to exploit this benefit.  UNIT 2 - 1896-1945 - STREETER NOTES d. Foreign investment i. Many countries responded favourably to Canada’s economic liberalism. Notably, the United Kingdom and the United States invested heavily in Quebec. Between the 1920s and 1930s, the United States became the dominant investor in Quebec’s economy. e. Foreign trade i. During the second phase of industrialization foreign trade intensified. Notably, there was a massive influx in exports of wheat from Canada to Europe. Additionally, Canada traded pulp and paper and various minerals to the United States as well. f. Trade infrastructure i. Because of the rise in trade, many port cities had to increase the development of trade-related infrastructure. Eg port of Montreal or railways or highways. g. Monopoly capitalism i. Monopoly capitalism is defined as an economic system in which a company has full control over the production of its product or has no competition for the production of its product. ii. Monopolies are achieved in 2 ways. 1. By acquiring competing companies to remove the competition in order to have full control of the price of the product. 2. By acquiring the companies that are used in the means of production of the product. iii. Bonus: Monopoly capitalism is the basis for Hydro-Quebec. 3. Social transformation at the beginning of the 20th century a. Union movement i. Unions continued to increase in power and scope as working conditions were still challenging. Ultimately, our neighbours to the south were large influences on the development of Quebec’s union organizations. Eg knights of labour.  UNIT 2 - 1896-1945 - STREETER NOTES ii. Technically, labour laws had improved but the reality during the second phase of industrialization just as in the first, workers remained powerless before their employers. iii. An example of legislation designed to help the workers is Workmen’s Compensation Act of 1909. iv. Strikes continued to be the main avenue for negotiating power, these did lead to some positive results but the reality was that strikebreakers could still be hired by a company and perform the same duties as the individuals striking thus rendering their labour replaceable. b. Catholic church and social interaction i. The catholic church continued to be a dominant role in Quebec’s social life. They still ran schools, charities and hospitals and had incredible power in Quebec society. They effectively dominated a moral and cultural sphere within Quebec and Canadian society. The catholic church largely rejected socialism but they ultimately did accept the creation of catholic unions which were founded in 1921. ii. Cooperatives became more prevalent. A cooperative is an organization that promotes the pooling of resources, collective management and profit-sharing. This is often seen within the farming community. An additional example, however, can be found with a bank (a bank that you probably know) called Desjardins. c. Social services and urban areas i. Cities became densely populated and because of the dense population diseases were far more rampant. The government had to take measures to attempt to reduce the breakout of epidemics. Starting in the 1910s in an effort to solve this problem the city of Montreal introduced; 1. Water chlorination and filtration system 2. Clinics called goutte de lait distributed quality milk and information on public hygiene. ii. Municipalities also sought to improve transportation within the city. The original tramway (which would eventually become our metro station) was built in 1906.  UNIT 2 - 1896-1945 - STREETER NOTES d. The education system i. Quebec's education system struggled to provide a competent education. Many students dropped out by the age of 12. Certain measures were put in place in the early 20th century to attempt to improve the education system. e. Women’s Struggles i. The feminist movement became more evolved - they started demanding for more legal and political rights. Their main demands were: greater access to education (specifically university), the right to run for elected office, the right to vote, better employment opportunities and higher wages, and gender equality. ii. These demands disrupted the social order (traditional, catholic values). iii. Women received the right to vote federally in 1918, and the provincial right to vote in 1940. iv. Women joined the labour market, they received lower wages, and their place in the labour force expanded during both World Wars. 4. The First World War (1914-1918) a. European War i. Militarism, nationalism, alliances, and imperialism were all the main factors that contributed to WWI. When the fighting started all nations were dragged into their war based on their agreements to defend one another, Canada was brought into the war to defend the UK. b. Wartime Federal Government i. The Canadian Government opted to implement the War Measures Act in 1914, this gave the Canadian government control over (or the ability to): impose censorship, control prices and wages, and intervene in all sectors of the economy so that factories could focus on war production (weapons, munitions, provision, clothing, etc.) ii. Immigration feels considerably during the wartime years. Additionally, The Canadian government set up internment camps to hold “enemies of the state” essentially, any individual from a country that Canada was currently at war with.  UNIT 2 - 1896-1945 - STREETER NOTES c. Canada’s war effort i. Canada contributed immensely to the allied force with an increase in production (military equipment, soldiers, wheat, etc.) ii. Canada recruited 600,000 men, 417,000 were sent overseas and approximately 60,000 were killed in the fighting. iii. Famous battalion: 22nd battalion, was a French Canadian Battalion. iv. Famous battle: Vimy Ridge & Dieppe. v. Financial resources: to help offset the cost of the war on the Federal government, Canada issued Victory Bonds, which were bonds designed to help fund the war effort. Additionally, the first iteration of income tax was established in 1916 to help pay for the war, this tax was meant to be removed after the war finished, but it never did so. vi. Women played a huge role at the homefront in the war, they essentially replaced the men and were the main reason the economy could function at capacity during the war. They received the right to vote provincially at the end of WWI. d. Conscription Crisis i. Canada faced a major internal conflict which reached its climax with the conscription crisis. Conscription is an act that the government can enact that calls on a draft of able-bodied men to go fight in the war. This faced major opposition from French Canadians and the Catholic church, whereas English Canadians largely were okay with conscription. ii. Our Prime Minister (Rober Borden) faced a dilemma that would define his time as Canada’s leader. Break a promise to our allies in Europe, or cause further tensions between English and French Canadians. Prime Minister Borden opted to enact the Military Service Act (Conscription) in 1917. This was met with huge protests and rallies in Montreal in opposition to his decision. e. End of WWI and soldiers civil re-establishment i. WWI ended on Nov 11th 1918, Canada’s victory was celebrated across the country. Canada faced the challenge of demobilization, reducing their  UNIT 2 - 1896-1945 - STREETER NOTES military personnel and re-introducing them into society. WWI ended with the Treaty of Versailles, which set the stage for WWII by how harshly Germany was punished. ii. The end of the war lead to a greater Autonomy for Canada. Canada represented itself in the League of Nations in 1919. iii. The Statue of Westminster 1931 effectively granted Canada nearly complete Autonomy from the UK. The only thing that was not granted, was full legal autonomy, as to amend the Canadian constitution it still needed to go through the British Parliament. 5. The Inter-War Period (1920 - 1939) a. The Roaring 20s (1920-1929) i. The Roaring 20s were a period of economic prosperity and the development of mass culture. TV and radio expanded, prohibition was enacted in the States and Montreal became famous for its nightlife with Jazz musicians and the sale of alcohol. ii. The 1920s were also emblematic of a period of mass consumption. Individuals had a high purchasing power which allowed individuals to splurge on goods and services that they desired. All of this mass consumption for the better part of a decade came to a sudden halt with the stock market crash and subsequent Great Depression. b. The Great Depression (1930 - 1939) i. The end of the 20s was marked by the infamous stock market crash of 1929. It can be summarized by this flow chart: 1. Overproduction and accumulation (of goods) → 2. Drop in prices (because of accumulation of goods) → 3. Loss of investor confidence (because of the fall of prices) → Drop in stock market value (because of loss of investor confidence) → 5. Business profits drop (because less investors) → 6. Drop in production (because of a drop in profits) → 7. Layoffs, and higher unemployment (because fewer employees are needed for less production) → 8. Weak consumer purchasing power (because people  UNIT 2 - 1896-1945 - STREETER NOTES were not employed) → 1. Overproduction and accumulation (because people couldn't afford many goods) (And the cycle restarts). ii. The great depression, expectedly so, had a negative impact on trade for Canada. Exports fell as much as 50%, and certain businesses were able to survive but unfortunately many closed. c. Federal and Provincial government measures i. Since the onset of the great depression, the federal and provincial governments hesitated to intervene in the economy. However, starting as of 1930, a year after the start of the great depression the governments of Quebec and Canada implemented various measures in an attempt to curve the economic downturn. Examples include; public works programs, direct relief, the founding of the Bank of Canada, and Office de Credit Agricole. ii. In 1935, Prime Minister Bennett proposed a plan to address Canada’s economy. His plan was based largely on American President Roosevelt’s plan. Bennett’s new deal proposed to allow the Federal government more rights to intervene in provincial jurisdictions. This was largely criticized by the provincial governments. Bennett’s plan was never officially enacted. iii. In Quebec, many sought to remedy the great depression would be to “return to the land”. This notion was largely supported by the Catholic church and French Canadian nationalists as a means of both fixing the economy and supporting traditional French Canadian values. d. Challenging capitalism and democracy i. Another consequence of the great depression was new political parties. New political parties arose to offer a solution to avoid the catastrophe of another great depression. These new federal parties were as follows; Communist Party of Canada, The Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), Partie Nationale Sociale Chretien (the National Social Christian Party - this was a fascist party, inspired by Adolf Hitler) and Social Credit. ii. These political parties did not gain much support in Quebec. However, a new party founded in 1935 Union Nationale rose to power in Quebec.  UNIT 2 - 1896-1945 - STREETER NOTES e. The election of Union Nationale and Maurice Duplessis i. In 1936, the union national won the election and Maurice Duplessis became the premier of Quebec. ii. Maurice Duplessis's political ideology was based on promoting a rural way of life for French Canadians, Catholic values, conservative values, and a traditional way of life. iii. Maurice Dupplessis despised communists and was not a fan of unions. An example of this can be seen with the Padlock act of 1937 f. Clerico-nationalism i. Clerico-nationalism is a form of French Canadian nationalism supported primarily by the Catholic clergy. It considered Quebec the national territory of French Canadians. To protect French Canadian identity if defended a rural way of life and traditional and conservative values. ii. Lionel-Groulx (1878-1967) was a Catholic priest, historian, teacher, writer and speaker and he was the champion of clerico-nationalism. iii. Lionel-Groulx’s brand of nationalism was different from Henri-Bourrasa’s. For Henri-Bourrassa, French Canadians and English Canadians formed one nation; the Canadian nation. For Lionel-Groulx, only French Canadians formed a nation since they had shared ancestry of columnists who had settled on a common territory at the time of New-France, and because they shared a collective history. For him, the province of Quebec constituted the main political space that could guarantee the protection of French Canadian identity. iv. During the great depressio,n the Catholic church began to critique capitalism. They did not bring all of capitalism into question but they denounced the excess of capitalism. The Catholic church supported rural developments and returning to the land in the smaller scale of business. v. Some French Canadians, influenced by economic liberalism, distanced themselves from clerico-nationalism. While they did not oppose rural development, they believed that it was in the best interest of French Canadians to be involved in business. Their goal was to reduce economic  UNIT 2 - 1896-1945 - STREETER NOTES dependence on Anglophones by allowing French Canadians to be more involved in business. This would ensure a French Canadian nation could thrive and develop and have a prosperous economy. 6. The Second World War (1939-1945) a. European political and economic climate i. The great depression created serious socio-economic problems in Europe. This was the context that was conducive to the rise of fascist parties in Italy, Spain and Germany. Adolphe Hitler was democratically elected in 1933, his discourse was militaristic, nationalistic, discriminatory against minorities, particularly Jews. He believed he would restore Germany to its former glory and vowed to avenge the defeat of the First World War. ii. In 1939, the war started when Hitler invaded Poland. France, The United Kingdom and Canada declared war on Nazi Germany and the war was underway. iii. The axis powers; Germany, Italy, and Japan, vs. the allies; France, the United Kingdom, Canada, the USSR and the United States (as of 1941). b. The wartime federal government i. Just as we had with World War I, the Canadian government implemented the War Measures Act. This act included rationing resources and allowing the government to have control of the production of materials such as fuel, rubber, nylon, and metal. ii. The Federal government promised not to impose conscription for overseas military service (just as it had with World War I). iii. In 1940 it adopted The National Resource Mobilization Act, which allowed the government to have a nationwide registration of eligible men, it was the first step towards conscription. iv. Immigration fell during World War II as Canada closed its borders to immigrants. Also, Canada had set up internment camps to hold “enemies of the state”. c. Canada’s war effort  UNIT 2 - 1896-1945 - STREETER NOTES i. Canada mobilized all of its materials, food, military, and financial resources to defeat the enemy. The Canadian economy was operating at full capacity, industrial production and exports were on the rise. Canada provided its allies with military equipment such as tanks, ships, planes, food and troops for the war effort. ii. Canada had one of the most dominant naval forces in the entire war, this was largely attributed to its successful wartime production. iii. Financially the Canadian government went into debt to keep up with the military spending. In order to offset the cost of the war, the Canadian government issued victory bonds. iv. The first 3 years of the war Canadian volunteers fought and died for the war effort. In 1942, the Canadian government realized it did not have enough troops to sustain and support their allies in Europe. v. The prime minister, Lyon Mackenzie King held a plebiscite asking the population to release him from his promise of not enacting conscription. vi. Just as we had with World War I, most French Canadians still opposed conscription and voted against the plebiscite, opposing conscription. English Canadians largely supported the Prime Minister and his attempts to enact conscription, and as English Canadians were the majority the plebiscite succeeded and the request was granted. In 1944, the Federal Government of Canada, for the second time, imposed conscription. vii. Women were also heavily relied on in the war effort, making up for the labour shortages. Female employees received lower wages than men for doing the same job but the war effort would not have been successful without women’s work in the factories (heavy industry). d. End of the war i. The beginning of the end of the war was symbolized by the D-day operation on June 6th 1944. Allied forces stormed the beaches in Normandy to break a heavily fortified German position. Canada was responsible for attacking a beach code named “Juno”. It is estimated that 1200 Canadians died on those beaches that day.