Politics in the depression years Flashcards
Who were the two dominant and outspoken controversial leaders
William Lyon Mackenzie aka King (liberal
and Richard Bedford Bennet - conservative
Describe kings approach to the great depression
Slash government spending’s
- no relief programs - if you didnt have a job you were lazy - cost him the election in 1930s
Describe Bennett’s approach
- Bennett hated the idea of relief but once in office created the Unemployment Relief Act. (Pogey)
- Bennett had little success in solving the problems of the depression. Only the start of WW2 would pull the world out of the depression
What were the Nicknames given to Bennet
Bennet Barnyard (deserted prairie farm) Drought meant farmers had no crops- went bankrupt
- Bennet Blanket (newspaper)
used by out of work people living on street as an extra layer of clothes to protect from cold conditions - Bennet buggy (car pulled by horses)
cant afford to fix car or put gas in it
what were relief Camps
- Bennett created Unemployment Relief Camps, provided work, food, and shelter to the homeless.
Camp workers laboured on a variety of infrastructure projects, including such things as municipal airports, roads, and park facilities, along with a number of make-work schemes. Conditions in the camps were terrible, not only because of the low pay, but the lack of recreational facilities, isolation from family and friends, poor quality food, and the use of military discipline, which made the camps feel like penal colonies
what were the rate of pay the men received before protesting the dismal conditions in the federal relief camps on April 1935
and also what were the strikers demanding while heading to Vancouver
20 cents per day
make sure to read all of cute card
The strikers were demanding wages of 50 cents an hour, union wages for skilled, and at least 120 hours of work a month.
What were the relief camps made for
The camps were designed to get unemployed men off the streets and out of the way. They were unwilling to pay the men a standard wage.
Did the public support the men going in camps complaining about camps?
Which types of governments would not take responsibilities for the camps
What did the men decide to do with their problems
What date was the On-to-ottawa Trek
Public support for the men was enormous but the municipal, provincial and federal governments would not take responsibilities for the camps. The men then decided to take their grievances to the federal government. On June 3, 1935, hundreds of men began boarding boxcars headed east in what would become known as the “On-to-Ottawa Trek.”
What did the protesters do?
13 points
-The protesters reached Regina, Saskatchewan, on June 14.
-The leaders met with two federal cabinet ministers
8 were asked to meet with P.M. Bennett.
-The rest of the protesters had to stay in Regina, where a large contingent of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police was located.
-The remaining trekkers continued to stay in the Regina Exhibition Grounds, eating meals in local restaurants.
-The June 22nd Ottawa meeting turned into a shouting match, with Bennett attacking the group as radicals and accusing Trek leader Arthur “Slim” Evans of being an “embezzler.”
-Evans in turn called the Prime Minister “a liar” before the delegation was escorted out of the building and on to the street.
-The talks in Ottawa quickly broke down and the delegation returned, having decided to disband the Trek. A rally was called for July 1 to secure last-minute assistance from the townspeople.
-Although the Trek was dispersing, Bennett had decided to arrest its leaders. That day Regina constables and RCMP squads moved into the crowd of some 300 to arrest Evans and other speakers, thus provoking the Regina Riot.
- The conflict raged back and forth on Regina streets, as Trekkers assaulted police with rocks and clubs. The fracas ended by midnight, after the rioters had returned to the Exhibition Grounds.
- One city constable had been killed, several dozen rioters, constables and citizens had been injured, and 130 rioters had been arrested.
- Four days later, the provincial government assisted the marchers on their way, most returning on passenger trains to Vancouver.
- The repression of the Trek and Bennett’s antagonism towards Evans contributed to the PM’s political decline.
What led to the political downfall of Bennet
The fact that he decided to go out and arrest all of the Treks leaders instead of just leading them go home, he used the RCMP and arrested Evans and some other speakers which caused public raged. He was never to be relected again I think, I also think this answer needs tome tweaking
On June 3, 1935
on ottawa trek