1920s Unit 2 Test Flashcards
What is Prohibition?
Definition: the banning of alcohol
Who wanted to ban alcohol and why?
- Women were behind the movement to ban alcohol
- Alcohol was blamed for many social problems like crime, family violence, and poverty
What type of societies were created for prohibition?
- The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union campaign was created for a total prohibition of alcohol
- The creation of temperance societies believed if people stopped spending money on alcohol, then families would be able to improve their lives.
Why did the ban of alcohol not work?
- Made criminals rich because they sold alcohol (bootlegging) to angry Canadians while the government lost income generated from alcohol taxes
- Smuggling occurred
- Made dry provinces wet provinces
- People made their alcohol (moonshine) which could be poisonous
- It was served secretly at speakeasies, essentially bars
- All law enforcement officers were men and didn’t like the ban
- So the government allowed alcohol to be in place with controlled liquor sales because of the money they lost
What is bootlegging?
- the illegal manufacture, distribution, or sale of goods, especially alcohol or recordings.
- Rum Runners
How did U.S. prohibition benefit Canada and who were they called?
- Introduced prohibition but lasted longer than Canada
- Allowed opportunities for Canadian businesses to smuggle their products into the U.S.
- “Rum Runners” transported liquor to the U.S. through lakes, etc.
How did the Winnipeg General Strike happen and what happened to Canada’s economy after WWI?
- After WWI, booming economy in Canada ended
- Factories close and companies get into a slump, cutting production as weapons aren’t needed anymore to be produced
- People lost their jobs and employers couldn’t provide returning soldiers with jobs → unemployment increased and it became a time of tough economic struggle
- Unions were formed with people from the same trade
- A few people represented a larger group and bargained with employers → process called collective bargaining
- Purpose of unions: companies were not willing to discuss wage and working conditions
- So union members would vote to strike or stop working to put pressure on employers with other unions
- Strikes disrupt many businesses
- Metal workers went on strike in Winnipeg → wanted higher wages and fewer hours
- The Metal Trades Council wanted to be recognized as a union that could bargain for its workers
- When employers denied it, the workers asked the Winnipeg Trades Labour Council for help → they believed that if every worker went on strike, employers would be forced to give in
- The strike began May 16, 1919, when people left their jobs, part of or not part of the union, and 30,000 workers were on strike for many days
Who were blamed after WWI with job?
- Immigrants who came before the war which took away jobs from Canadians
- Soldiers blamed business owners who made money during the war
Fears of Strikes
Canadian leaders deposed large unions because they believed it was based on communism and feared power because collective bargaining may be dangerous. There was a lurking fear of what would happen when unions got out of control → didn’t want worker’s revolution to occur like in Russia here in Canada
What is the One Big Union and its purpose? Who did they strike against and what were created?
- Union leaders created this branch
- Purpose: an alliance would increase bargaining power with gov and employers
- One group would support one another if one decided to strike
- Pamphlets were produced where they outlined a need for restructuring the society as it was on an unfair class system
- It showed how workers suffered “hunger and want” while employers had all the good things in life
- They united to fight those who denied equality and fairness
- OBU supported General strikes → not directed to a single employer but against the government and groups of employers
What happened during and how did it end the Winnipeg Strike?
- The strikers were led by a strike committee
- Citizens Committee of One Thousand was created to ensure city services were maintained during strikes
- Employers refused to back down and workers enthusiasm decreased as they couldn’t stay out longer
- Public opinions turned against the unions as the strike committee seemed to be running the city
- Soon people returned to work
- Gov decided to arrest strike leaders and charge them with conspiracy
- This erupted protests all over Canada
- A march was planned but the Winnipeg mayor forbade it
- Ex-soldiers protested leading thousands where Mounties fired pistols and killed two people
- Bloody Saturday → gov sent troops to patrol pretests with machine guns, so Union Leaders called the strike off
GENERAL SUMMARY: Winnipeg workers walked off the job to protest low wages, long working hours and other poor working conditions, as well as their employers’ unwillingness to negotiate. In response, they were met with clubs and bullets from the police. Many strikers lost their jobs
The aftermath of the Winnipeg Strike (how did it impact the future of labour)
- Although it failed, it was a turning point in labor relations
- Sparked political consciousness of issues
1920: strike leaders were elected to Manitoba legislature and workers had political representation in Ottawa - Canadian trade union movement gained support although Manitoba’s labor movement would be divided for years
Legacy of Winnipeg Strike
Although the strike was ultimately unsuccessful, it sparked more worker activism and the creation of unions across the country, and united workers with common goals.
Music of the 1920s
- Known as the Jazz age
- New wave of music by Louis Armstrong
- Edward Kennedy → greatest composers of the 20th century
- Musical genres such as blues and swing would become to be popular
Dance in the 1920s
- Jazz age introduced energetic dances that some considered inappropriate
- Charleston, Black bottom and Fox Trot were famous dances
Movies in the 1920s
- Silent movies weren’t silent but rather have sound effects, musical instruments playing and subtleties
- Talkies arrived in 1927 which eliminated theater jobs for musicians
- Comedy most popular type of movie in the silent film era, it was stupid actions that made it funny
- Laurel and Hardy and Charlie Chaplin most famous comedians
- Newsreel: collection of short news clips became a part of movie theater programs along with short cartoons, sports and travelogs.
- Warner Brothers studies released the first motion picture with sound, The Jazz Singer, in 1923
Who was Mary Pickford?
- Known as “America’s Sweetheart
- One of the top stars of Canada’s beginning in movies and the development of the American industry.
- Joined with other stars to establish United Artists, a film studio.
- This studio played an important role in the development of the movie industry.
- She was the first woman reported to earn more than 1 million dollars a year by acting as co-running a movie studio.
- This sparked the idea that women are talented and capable of doing incredible things.
Cartoons in the 1920s
- Mickey Mouse was popular after the release of SteamBoat Wille
- Had sounds but no voices
Sports in 1920s
- The media helped the 1920’s the golden age of sports in canada
- Newspapers promoted sporting events
- Radio and films made massive appeal to sports
- Cinemas showing films on boxing matches or highlights of sporting events
- Baseball was most popular sport in Canada
- Every community had an amateur baseball team
Who was Lionel Conacher?
- Lionel Conacher (The Big Train)
- Famous for his power, stamina and speed
- Won Lacrosse Association
- Played football, lacrosse and hockey very well
NHL first all-star - Entered politics and was Liberal MPP for Toronto
- Was Ontario athletic commissioner to provide recreational facility sin city parks
- Elected federal MP for Toronto Trinity
- Greatest all-round athlete of Canada
What did the radio do to the world?
- Made world seem smaller
- Inexpensive
- Ended isolation and brought families together to listen to latest news, sports, music or drama, or soap operas, crime stories, mysteries, comedies where they actually acted on microphone to tell stories
What were the first radios like?
Had a small piece of quartz crystal where a thin wire went over the crystal to locate stations.
What was the revolutionized radio?
Edward Rogers revolutionized the radio industry by inventing the world’s first AC radio tube. → allowed radios to be powered by household electricity rather than batteries which were expensive
Why was the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission created?
- Some Candains radio station existed but most were produced from U.S. transmitters
- PM King wanted Canadian content to be protected so it was recommended that there was a coast to coast radio system → The Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission (CBC today)
Fashion in 1920s
- Women wore dresses or skirts higher than normal to rebel against the societal norms
Every women wore some sort of decorative piece on their heads - The Flapper Dress:This iconic look was popularized by the rebels of the time, who were eager to break with convention and have some fun. The signature style features a loose, knee-length hemline with fringe details and beading. The flapper dress was one of the most iconic looks of the Great Gatsby era.
- Trends: more casual and relaxed.
- Women often wore knee length tubular day dresses
- Men often wore knickerbockers with sweater vests.
- The flapper style for women and the zoot suits for men were also popular in the 1920s.
Why was Canada’s economy growing in the 1920s?
- Canadian pulp and paper industry expanded
- Demand is huge in the American market to deliver newspapers to the U.S.
- Exported more pulp than the rest of the world combined
- Europe was recovering and demanding products from Canada → creating more job
How did the Canadians change their lifestyle?
More moved from rural to urban areas
Why did mass advertising campaigns encourage people to spend money on stuff?
- During the economic boom, Canadians could afford more and when they had money left, mass advertising campaigns encouraged people to spend on stuff other than necessities
- Eatons → major department store that created catalogs and mailed them across the country
- Catalogs became large publications that persuaded people to buy products
- Women were the intended audience so catalogs had stylish stuff on there
Overall, how were the new inventions like?
Automatic products and electrical things
Explain the expansion of automobiles
- Top consumer item, buying it was made easier with mass production plants intro
- More plants in Canada than in the U.S.
- Could buy a Chevrolet or Pontiac
- Large percentage owned cars, increased by 300% over 10 years
- Only the rich could travel but in the 1920s everyone could
- With assembly lines, products could be made more quickly and for less money
- Changed manufacturing process and cars could be made more cheaply
- Prices dropped = more people can afford
- More cars meant gov had to invest in infrastructure
What were the major demands of resources in Canada?
- More use of electrical power made Canadian industries move from coal to power factories → made the development of large hydroelectric power stations
- Canadian resource industries like forestry and mining expanded to keep up with demand
- Became major wheat exporter
Explain the trades between U.S. and Canada
- Canada was with Britain but now with U.S. as American economy grew
- Canadains wanted free trade agreement with U.S. but gov didn;t want that
- Upset farmers formed Progressive Party to reduce tariffs and won seats in the election but were unable to build momentum and faded away