HIST 105 Flashcards
1
Q
What is the significance of Confederation?
A
- It was a Liberal Capitalist business deal that led to the European migration to the West of Canada, which was a clash of values. George Brown made the Globe and Mail and played a big role in moving west, as he wanted more power and land.
- Beginning of Canadian Nationalism
- Changed Canada’s political system to parallel that in Europe and now had a federal government, which is still here today
- Economy developed more; expanded all throughout the East coast and became way broader
- Canada now had sovereignty which meant they could independently contribute to conflicts like
2
Q
What was significant about the West before the Coming of Canada?
A
- Indigenous peoples on the prairies: They had their own trade systems especially with the Buffalo Hunt. Sacred and could not be owned, essential to Indigenous ways of life. When the Europeans came, they commercialized this for their hides and bones. This was catastrophic bc they over hunted and destroyed the balance.
- The Metis and Red River: Metis were the relationship between French and English fur traders and Indigenous women. Moved to Red River which is now Winnipeg. They are significant bc they have historical roots there, it became a place for Metis culture to grow.
- The Hudson’s Bay company: They contributed to trade, and played a huge role in Canada’s economy. They set up trading posts and shifted from seigneurial to merchant capitalist to liberal capitalist sfs. Negatively affected Indigenous peoples.
3
Q
What is significant about Canada in the Northwest Territories?
A
- North-West Mounted Police –> eventually became the RCMP. Significant bc police force is big part of settler colonialism in Canada, using it to control the people (indigenous and settlers). Also, they acted as an expansion of Canadian sovereignty, moving from East to West.
- Canadian pacific railway: Brought settlers from the East to the west. They were paid to move (promoting settler colonialism) but also created conflict between the government in the East who did not understand the terrain like the people who live there do. Changed the land forever.
- Reserve system and numbered treaties: Canadian gov would hold back food rations to force IP to move to reserves. Significant because it moved IP off their land so they could be replaced by white settlers (settler colonialism) as well as establishes the gov’s power, as they had the lives of IP in their hands. Also, beginnings of poor Indigenous health and nutrition, something that continued throughout residential schools and today
4
Q
What is the significance of making the west coast white?
A
- Mid 19th century, BC came to be. During these early days of BC, the number of settlers increased astronomically. The people who originally lived there were deported, ex. Victoria, which is an example of racial segregation to make space for White people. This has been seen all over the world since then, ex. Jim Crow Laws. These Immigration laws show that racism was omnipresent in Canada, as well as exploited for their labour, Chinese immigrants especially.
- Gender played a large role as well, forcing women into the private home life and men into the labour workforce. The effects of this are still seen today with the gender pay gap and the stereotypes that women should work at home with the family. Canadian gov wanted women who could bear and raise children and strong men who could do physical labour. Gender imbalance brought in more British women and ended up promoting Metis families.
5
Q
What is the significance of Chinatown in BC?
A
- head tax against chinese immigrants (racism, Canada not wanting non-white people to come)
- Chinatowns were a result of whiteness - white people wanted to put them all in one place to “get them out of the way” and bc they thought they were dirty.
- economic centres for Chinese people who could only hire specific groups of people who required less pay, made it harder for them to get money, make a living, etc. racial biases having generational consequences.
- white women labour laws: hiring white women bc it was cheaper than white men, but Canada made it illegal for Chinese businesses to hire white women, meaning they had to pay more. this meant they had no one to hire bc Chinese people weren’t coming to Canada bc of the head tax, and they couldn’t hire the one group that was exploding.
6
Q
What is the significance of Capitalism in Canadian history?
A
- has existed for ~150 years, replaced Indigenous social formation
- Goal: selling labour for wages, based on national policy: Railways, Immigration and tariffs
- Began in rural areas with the put out/outwork system
- Coal mining in NS, interconnected nature of the work. Henry Swift wanting to measure how much individual energy was needed.
- Child labour bc they were cheaper to pay and could do nimble work
- Significant bc changed the way of life, who worked, how people worked, the systems, etc. Made Canada economically competitive and affected the environment. Canada’s current social formation.
7
Q
What is the significance of the Labour Day Parade in Regina in 1913?
A
- representation of the labour movement
- shows people care about workers rights
- clash with the authorities
8
Q
What is the significance of drinking in pre-Industrial Canada?
A
- Breweries in Canada were some of the first and most influential businesses
- Booze was more common than water, cleaner, cheaper, so everyone drank it, even politicians.
- Significant bc it drove social movements like the Prohibition movement and the temperance movement to get people to stop drinking, which represents governmental control over the people.
- affected labour laws because workers could not show up to work drunk and have 3 days off
- Joe beef’s canteen… (discussed in another card)
9
Q
What is the historical significance of taverns, such as Joe Beef’s Canteen?
A
- centre for equality and equal rights, everyone was welcome, people could be themselves
- benefited poor people as there were places to stay
- economic and social hub in mtl
- he represented the working class and was a safe haven for many of the people
- Joe Beef’s funeral brought people together and reports on the event showed how working vs middle class people perceived him differently
10
Q
What is the historical significance of movements such as the Temperance movement and the Prohibition movement?
A
- an example of small L liberalism
- Temperance wanted to lessen and then completely stop the consumption of alcohol
- Prohibition movement gave people the right to choose to stop drinking or not, and most did.
- People in the aftermath of prohibition began to question if alcohol was actually the problem or not. They decided that alcohol wasn’t the issue, but that capitalism was.
- Deeper historical significance of the prohibition movement
- A “social revolution”; a far reaching change in our habits and popular behaviour as people
- Far reaching change came not in peoples drinking habits, but in the fundamental reshaping of peoples mentalities to accept and become used to the role of the state in regulating people’s behaviour
- Drinking regulations replaced prohibition. The state still controls the sale of liquor
- The prohibition movement brought thousands of Canadians together in support of the state regulating peoples personal habits and life (revolution that the journalist was talking about a few bullet points up)
11
Q
What is the historical significance of the meaning of sex in Canada?
A
- heterosexual monogamy was known as “the white life for two”
- Annie Affleck and John Thompson’s private sex life (letters) people were shocked that an adult married couple had sex
- Sexual assault in kingston, Mary prepared to sell her body for sex to one man, not to get raped by several
- Keith from Queen’s who was arrested in Toronto for cross dressing
- these stories represent the history of sexuality and human rights and how they’ve changed over time. Things are better now, people are allowed to have sex lives and with who they want in Canada, but there is still a long way to go.
- intersectionality of justice
12
Q
What is the historical significance of sexual regulation in Canada?
A
- “Social purity” meant not being sexual, and was the name of the movement (like the Prohibition movement) that wanted to control people and their sexual acts. Wanted to target prostitution and masturbation. Food and books on the subject to try and stay pure.
- Birth Control and contraceptives: completely illegal to advertise or sell, which meant that women turned to dangerous abortions.
- Sexuality is the product of social, historical, cultural, and political change
- rise of eugenics movements to stop people who were “unfit to give birth” from having children, which made birth control and contraceptives more common
- Birth control is now common in Canada and abortions are legal but it’s an issue in the United States and a heavily debated subject
- history of control over women’s bodies and peoples sex lives
- policies that are still being debated today
- shows how much (some aspects of) society has changed in ~100 years to become more accepting of this
- food that was invented to not make people horny
- police looking at gay men in public bathrooms
13
Q
What is the historical significance of Vimy Ridge?
A
- Historical memory that comes from Vimy: The dynamics of historical memory and counter memory, a notion that is borrowed from Michel Foucault
Historical memory reminds us that history is not just a set of facts about the past, but that they take on meaning once we interpret them, or once we remember the past - Out of the first world war, Canada emerged as a nation (first time the rest of the world actually saw them as a powerful nation)
- Connection between war and nationhood
- Vimy as high nationalism
- Meaning was assigned to Vimy after the war though things like war-time poems and memorials
- Significant bc it showed the benefits of proper military planning, unlike many other battles in WWI
- High casualties and sacrifice of Canadian soldiers shows that the war was not won with nothing
- Acts a symbol of remembrance for the Canadians lost during WWI, as well as the other soldiers
- Brought Canada together as a nation
14
Q
What is the historical significance of the Use and Abuse of Jack Babcock?
A
- Jack Babcock passed away in 2010 at the age of 109. He grew up just outside of Kingston and volunteered for the Canadian army at age 15. He was the last Canadian WWI veteran. He signed up for the war because it was his way to get off his farm and get to see the world
- Not conscript his memory through nationalism pretexts, but to remember him as a person and as his imapctful way of remembering and looking at the war
- These stories make us wonder: Whose memories of the war are being taught? The governments or the veterans? Or someone else?
- historical memory
15
Q
What is the significance of mass culture as seen though hockey and sport?
A
- Beaver magazine only recognizing women as housewives, not athletes
- Hockey for middle class workers
- Formation of the NHL, then ways to make to make it more exciting to be able to capitalize off of it more
- brings a national identity to Canada, as our nation is associated with the sport.
- impacted the economy creating a new industry of production and consumption of items and media
- social inclusion: making hockey for women, they used to have to play in skirts and now they have the PWHL and are getting more recognition (slowly)
