History Final Set 1

Front 1

TheGreat depression

Back 1

Thisis the darkest episode in Canadian history. Called the decade of discourse. 1in 4 canadians out of work. The worst years are in 1933-34. Ontario is doingokay because we have a solid diversified economy but it’s still pretty bad, percapita income declines by 50 percent. They have a crop crisis as the demand forwheat goes down. It’s really bad on the prairies. In Alberta it’s 71 per centand Saskatchewan its 81 per cent down. Older people have the depressionmentality. The politicians don’t do anything drastic, they are “rich onrhetoric and poor on action” we go from this period that governments shouldlive within their means.

Front 2

William Lyon Mackenzie King (1874-1950):

Back 2

He is the most successful prime minister in all of Canadian history. In power for 22 years. He is kind of like a Laurier and a McDonald, he is a pragmatist. He’s also a person who is cautious in the extreme, stealing ideas from other people all the time. Best educated of the prime ministers, PHD from Harvard. He is a liberal but he is cautious. He says the depression is just a small thing that will pass. He is governed by a couple of things.

Front 3

The “old orthodoxies”

Back 3

This is the dominant way of thinking in Canada prior to 1936. There’s two old orthodoxies that determine Kings thinking. 1. Governments should live within their means. 2. The individuals were responsible for their own problems.

Front 4

R.B. Bennett (1870-1947)

Back 4

He is the PM between 1930 and 1935. Significant because his response to the great depression is symbolic (his policies don’t deal with the structural problems of the Great Depression). He is a tycoon in politics, made his money as a corporate lawyer. He was born in 1870, moves to Calgary and sees the potential, invests his profits in real estate, has all kinds of money. Takes over the leader of the conservative party from Arthur Meighen and gets voted in. he says the government needs to do more drastic things. This resonates with Canadians. Election of 1930 becomes PM. He does a number of things but all are superficial. 1. He makes the bank of Canada: this is a revolutionary institution but the policy of the bank of Canada is anything but revolutionary. This is not priming the pump of economic activity.

Front 5

Work Camps

Back 5

this is the second thing that Bennet does. Significant because this is an example of Bennett’s band aid solutions to the Great Depression (symbolic solution). Many are worried that Bolshevics will take over Canada with low employment. There are a lot of people rioting in the streets because they are unemployed. They make work camps which are basically army camps. If we were unemployed we would be marched down to these work camps, we would be given clothes and a meal and make 10 cents a day for work. They would be given meaningless jobs like putting up fence posts. This was symbolic and because of this just being symbolic, Bennet is losing popularity

Front 6

Cooperative commonwealth federation

Back 6

this is a left party, completely socialist. Significant because this is a new party that emerges out of the depressed economic times in the 1930’s. This is not a party, this is a coming together in a way. This is a coalition of the following four groups: farmers who were upset about declining wheat prices, workers who were angry about no pay, left leaning intellectuals, social gospel practitioners (members of the church) they were upset with poverty and misery. The CCF says that if they vote J.S Woodworth (leader of the CCF) in they will make a socialist country, they will make the banks all publicised

Front 7

J.S Woodsworth

Back 7

He appears to our better selves, he is a son of a minister born in Etobicoke He becomes a minister later in life. Goes off to university in Oxford. While at Oxford he would go to the slums in Manchester, he was helping people out. He was doing the heavy lifting. He has also read up his Carl Marx. He always said there needs to be a transition from capitalism to communism with violence. Woodsworth wants to do it peacefully and talk it out. Leader of the CCF, his message doesn’t resonate with the people.

Front 8

Reconstructionist party

Back 8

this is a right wing party that emerges during the depression. Lead by a guy named Henry Herbert Stevens. He was a conservative in Bennett’s party. Wants a return to small scale capitalism. He sees all the misery and see’s all the wealth. People are being paid less and charged the same. He figures this out and the government does nothing about this so he splits off. He wants to bring back the cottage industry. He receives one seat.

Front 9

Election of 1935

Back 9

returns King to power. Says in his campaign that “if you want stability back vote for me.” In the election the Liberals win a majority, conservatives 40 seats , CCF, Reconstructionist party 1 seat, CCF 7.

Front 10

Mitch Hepburn

Back 10

he is significant because he is the premiere of Ontario during the depression. He portrays himself as a friend of the working man. He says he is a friend of those who are down and out in the great depression. He is a son of a farmer living in a place called St. Thomas. Serves in the war, comes back as a celebrated hero. He uses that as a stepping stone into politics. He is sitting as a liberal in Mackenzie King’s government. He is called on by King to rebut people like Bennet and Meighen because he is a great talker. He would debate like crazy and King loved him for this, but he did not like him because he was a party boy. Our morale PM puts him on the back benches because of this. Due to feeling put down, Hepburn in 1930 he becomes the leader of the Ontario liberals. He brings this party back to life, primarily by criticizing those in power during the depression. Gets elected in 1934. He had promised the people of Ontario that if he was voted in, things would change. He said he would defend the working man’s place. He only puts in place, his actions are purely symbolic. Large on rhetoric and small on action. His actions: 1. Cuts the salaries of MPP’s 2. He sold all the governments limousines, 87 of them sold3. Fires all the people who had been hired in the last year, who were hired in the civil service so the Ontario government. 4. Fired all the bee keepers in the provincial zoo’s These are all symbolic measures and this brings the Oshawa general strike.

Front 11

Oshawa General Strike

Back 11

proves that Mitch Hepburn is no friend of the working man: takes place on April 1 in 1937. They go on strike because management won’t help them. What the workers ask for: 1. An 8 hour day 2. A seniority system 3. Better working conditions 4. Recognition of their union, the UAW Management says no, so the workers strike. The management contact Mitch Hepburn, he at this time is having a good time with all the elites of Ontario. Hepburn then calls out King to get the RCMP to stop this strike and move the people forcefully. King doesn’t like Hepburn and sees this as a touchy subject so he says no. Hepburn then goes out and hires thugs, dresses them up in military gear and sends them out to crack some skulls. They call these thugs sons of mitches. After some blood is spilt, the strike ends. This proves he is big on the talk but he did not defend the workers.

Front 12

John Brownlee sex scandal

Back 12

was the premiere of Alberta before Bible Bill. His government falls because of the sex Scandal. He is premiere until 1933, heads the UFA united farmers of Alberta. Up until the sex scandal. He is 50 years old, he is giving a talk, sees a beautiful women named Vivian McNaul. Goes and finds out she is the daughter of the mayor of Edison, Alberta, she is 18. She becomes a court worker with Brownlee. She isn’t making ends meet so Brownlee offers her to move in and take care of his kids. She begins to sleep with the premiere, goes for three years. She goes and charges the premiere with seduction. A rogue newspaper called the Edmonton Bulletin decides to cover this. This was rare at the time. This story goes viral, he is found guilty of seduction which is rape in today’s terms. She said on the stand that she was forced to do so. He is convicted of this crime and is forced to resign.

Front 13

Bible Bill Aberhart

Back 13

This leads to a far more moral man to be hired. He is the premiere of Alberta from 1935 to 1948. He gives radical rhetoric on how to solve the great depression. He was born in Ontario, went to Queens. Gets a teaching degrees, goes to Sunday school. He would always talk and give a strong speech at the end of a sermon. He had a very powerful charismatic voice. Parents would come early to pick up kids from Sunday school. A radio station gave him a radio show. They know him first as a guy who is on the airwaves. He runs a bible bill show. He would be introduced to a book called social credit out of England. He wasn’t a great economic thinker but he understood the book because it said there is poverty in the midst of plenty. He saw all the wheat and no one could consume it, he would blame the banks. He saw the solution in the A+B theorem. A is the wages going into workers pockets. B is all the goods that go into producing any sort of goods. C is final costs of all goods and services. He saw that people wouldn’t have enough money for B. He said that the government would give people $25 a month to help pay for things. People wanted social credit, landslide victory. The problem is matters of currency is that giving money is a federal jurisdiction so it couldn’t pass. Another example of talking the talk with no walk.