Unit 3 History Test GRADE 10 Flashcards
What is a margin call?
A demand from a broker, telling people who bought stocks on margin (10% down payment) have to pay up with the rest of the money.
How much money did Canada and the U.S. lose due to the crash?
Canada: 5 million
U.S.: 30 million
Canada’s unemployment reached…
27% (higher in some provinces)
Why did the Crash occur?
6 reasons
- Some areas of Canada were already entering a recession
- Overproduction of goods and over-expansion of goods
- Canada’s dependency on certain primary products
- Canada’s dependence on the USA for most of its trade and exports
- High tariffs cut international trade
- Too much credit buying
Too much credit buying of stocks
What is a recession?
A period of lost jobs, low wages, ruined businesses
Why was it bad that Canada depended so much on the U.S. for trade?
When the U.S. economy began to fall, Canada’s trade economy also fell.
Why was it a problem for Canada to only focus on a few industries?
If the industry would fail, many people would lose their jobs
Why was overproduction and overexpansion of goods a problem?
Canada was making more goods than it could sell. As no one was buying certain products, their prices would drop.
What is the difference between buying a stock and buying it on margin?
Buying a stock on margin requires a 10% down payment
What was the problem with too much credit buying?
As many new things were invented in the 1920s, Canadians used credit money to buy the latest products. SO, many Canadians were in deep credit dept that they couldn’t pay back.
What was the problem with too much credit buying stocks?
Many people borrowed money to purchase stocks. When stock prices fell, many had to sell their stocks or lose their money, and they had no money to repay their loans.
What was the problem with high tariffs?
High tarrifs cut off trade with other countries.
What was the purpose of high tariffs?
Canada hoped that if products from other countries were more expensive, then Canadians would purchase the Canadian goods
What are some examples of workers being taken advantage of during the GD?
Textile mills took advantage of cheap labor
Girls as young as 15 would be hired as they were willing to work for half the amount men would
Everyone was so desperate, they accepted any pay and working conditions
Getting relief depended on what?
The province, town, and person in charge
What is government relief?
The government giving people money
Sometimes people would have to work, but not always
Those who got married, owned a phone, jewelry, radio, or a car, or drank alcohol would lose their relief
What were relief camps?
Camps in which the unemployed and homeless men would go to work in exchange for a low wage, foods, and poor living conditions.
The men carried out multiple forms of manual labour.
Whose idea was it to set up relief camps?
General Andrew McNaughton
Where were relief camps set up?
Remote locations such as Northern Ontario and B.C
Why did Bennet refuse to spend money on relief programs?
Bennet believed that providing that money was a provincial and municipal effort
What was Bennet’s plan of action during the GD?
At first, he thought that the economy would recover quickly
Eventually, he increased tariffs on imports to Canada to protect Canada’s manufacturers and he wanted to force other countries to lower their tariffs on Canadian imports.
This did not work because, in response, other countries only increased their tariffs, which made it a challenge for certain Canadian exporters to sell their goods
Bennet received letters from Canadians, asking for support. Bennet would give them 5 to 20 dollars of his own money
Eventually, he sent out $20 million in aid to the provinces, which did not help
Offer a summary of the Ottawa Trek:
The men working in relief camps staged a walkout in demand for better working conditions and higher wages.
They planned to walk or get rides to Vancouver, from which they planned to take a freight train to Ottawa, where they would take their case to PM Bennett.
In Vancouver, 1500 men gathered, and they raised money for food.
When they reached Saskatchewan, the Federal Government wanted to keep them there so that no other unemployed people would try to join them
Bennett agreed to meet the trek leaders in Ottawa and pay for the waiting trekkers.
Nothing was resolved at the meeting, as Bennett believed that there was nothing wrong with the camps and that the trekkers were communist agitators.
The trekkers went home with nothing to gain.
However, when Bennett lost in the elections that same year, the camps were closed
What are the two things that sum up communism?
- The notion that everyone in a given society receives equal shares of the benefits derived from labour (equal pay to all)
- The state owns all means of production. Thus, no one could have their businesses or sell their goods as the state owned everything
Why did the Canadian government fear a communist revolution?
- The GD was dragging on and none of the government plans were working, so, there was a discussion on solutions for the GD, including communism
Why did Bennett agree to setting up relief camps?
Top prevent the unemployed men from organizing a protest or revolution for communism
What did the Padlock Law do?
The Duplessis government believed that communism was a threat to Quebec society, so they introduced the Padlock law.
This allowed authorities to enter private and public buildings to search for communist propaganda. If they found any, they would padlock the building until the owner attended court.
This also allowed the government to decide what and what was not communist propaganda
What was Roosevelt’s “New Deal” about?
Roosevelt’s New Deal was a series of social reforms to offer relief and economic recovery.
He wanted everyone to work infrastructure projects (the improvement of facilities, services, and systems that are already in place)
What did Bennett’s “New Deal” entail?
New social programs like unemployment insurance and minimum wage
When King was PM again, what did he do regarding the GD?
He decreased tariffs to increase trade which was successful. He also invested money in public works projects and relief programs
But he did not create more jobs
Overall, he did little to tackle unemployment
King said he would not give a 5-cent piece to any conservative province
Balanced budget
What brought farming back up to a profitable level?
WW2
Offer a summary of the Canadian Wheat Board and how it came to be:
- privately owned companies bought wheat and stored it in elevators
- they made more money than the wheat farmers themselves
- in WW1, grain supply was short, and the federal government established the Board of Grain Supervisors to ensure the delivery of grain was at stable prices
- the board was disbanded after the war, but some farmers liked the idea
- prairie farmers set up their wheat pools to coordinate the sale and delivery of grain
- pools paid farmers the expected selling price at first, then the rest after the crop was sold
- the stock market crashed, the price of wheat went down, and the pools couldn’t repay the farmers
- Facing bankruptcy, the pools appealed to the federal government for help
- for years, the prices of wheat remained low, and so the government was forced to support the prairies still
- the government set up the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB)
- Under this agreement, the government would support the pools to pay back farmers when necessary, and profit would go to the farmers, too
- at first, participation was voluntary, but then it became mandatory as the government wanted to control the distribution and prices of grain during WW2
Which was the board that ensured the delivery of grain at stable prices?
Think: Burlington Green and Sarah
Board of Grain Supervisors
What ways would communities help the needy?
- At parties hosted by poor people, the guests would plan to leave early to leave a lot of leftover food for the poor
- people would help each other with harvesting, planting, and barn building
Why was the radio such a great source of entertainment?
- it was free
- Soap operas could be heard every day
- On Mondays, there would be radio versions of the latest movies
- music for dancing
- Sporting broadcasts
What was one of the best known bands?
Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians
On Saturday, it was hockey night in Canada. Who’s welcome were Canadians waiting for?
Foster Hewitt’s
A radio broadcaster, famous for his play by play on Hockey Night
Who are two examples of African -Americans artists
Billie Holiday
Ella Fitzgerald
Who were the Marx Brothers?
A comedy group
Name the two popular baseball teams?
Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Royals
What three sports were popular?
Baseball
Football
Hockey
Name the two popular hockey teams?
Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadians
What does it mean to ride the rails?
Hopping on freight trains illegally
This was common as people had to go search for new work opportunities, and this was the only way to get around
Why were the workers in relief camps upset?
Their wages were low and their living conditions were poor
Why were there relief camps?
- To offer job opportunities for the men searching for jobs on freight trains
- Bennett wanted the men in camps to keep them from organizing for communism
Who would be in relief camps?
Young, unmarried and unemployed men
Offer a summary for the things that Bennet did during the GD?
-Bennett was the PM of Canada for 5 years, the worst years of the GD
- most measures did not help the country out of the depression
- Bennett raised tariffs to protect Canadian manufacturers, but this did not work as other countries also increased their tariffs in response
- as Bennett received many letters from Canadians asking for financial aid, he would send them 5 to 20 dollars of his own money
- Bennett sent out 20 million to the provinces in relief, but this did not help as many men were still unemployed
- Bennett announced his own “New Deal,” which included social programs like minimum wage and unemployment insurance
- Bennett agreed to the idea of Relief Camps to prevent men from organizing a communist revolution
- Bennet agreed to meet the trek leaders in Ottawa and pay for the trekkers’ food. But, this meeting didn’t solve anything as Bennett insisted that there was nothing wrong with the camps
What were King’s responses to the GD?
- King believed a balanced budget was best: Canada would only spend as much as it was bringing in
He thought it irresponsible to place the country in debt even to support the industries or offer relief - he invested in relif programs
- he decreased tariffs to increase trade
- he did NOT create more jobs
- King made the mistake of saying that he would not give “a 5-cent piece” of relief money to any Conservative provincial government for the unemployed
Offer a summary of the Regina Riot
At a public meeting in Regina Square Market on July 1, Regina Police and The Royal Canadian Mounted Police tried to arrest the leaders.
Many people joined the trekkers as that day was a public holiday.
When the police attacked, civilians panicked; some people fought back to the police
By the end of the riot, one policeman was dead, and hundreds of police and civilians were injured
Within days, the trekkers left Regina to go home or back to the relief camps with nothing to gain.
That same year, however, relief camps were closed.
Who was the leader of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) and what was the role of the party?
J.S. Woodsworth
- they wanted to dismantle the free enterprise economic system (an economy in which the markets determine their prices rather than the government) as they believed it is what caused the GD
They wanted to introduce socialism (an economic system based on government control of the economy)
- CCF introduced many changes such as employment insurance
Who was the leader of the Social Credit Party and what was the role of the party?
William Aberhart
Aberhart wanted to give out 25 dollars a month - the social credit.
He believed that if people had more spending money, the GD would end.
The party governed Alberta and B.C. from 1935 to 1992
In the 1970s, internal disputes divided the party, and it gradually disappeared
Who was the leader of the Union Nationale, and what was the role of the party?
Maurice Duplessis
- concerns about maintaining a francophone culture in Quebec contributed to its formation
This new party attracted voters because of its planned changes such as higher minimum wages, a provincially owned hydroelectric system, farm credit programs to help struggling farmers, and providing funds to the Catholic Church to run education, healthcare, and social services in the province.
The Union also tried to stamp out dissenting ideas (ideas that disagree with an official or public opinion). For example, Duplessis’ government passed the Padlock Law.
This Union was the start of Quebec’s “Quiet Revolution”
What were some of the promises of the Union Nationale?
- higher minimum wage
- a provincially owned hydroelectric system
- farm credit programs to help struggling farmers
- providing funds to catholic churches, healthcare, and social services
- strike out dissenting ideas (e.g. communism)
How did the GD affect the First Nations?
To save money, the government failed to provide the same support for the First Nations as it did for other Canadians. Instead, the government urged them to go back to their traditional ways of living
However, many First Nations communities lost their land
On the prairies, it was illegal for First Nations to hunt and fish
Without land, many First Nations people lost their skills
To save money, the government cut funding to First Nations reserves
What were the common causes of the GD?
- 6 causes of the stock market crashing (recession in areas, overproduction and overexpansion of goods, too much credit buying, high tariffs cut of international trade, Canada’s dependency on a few primary products)
- Bank failures
- due to the crash in the stock market, many businesses did not have the money to stay afloat, and therefore, had to let many people go
- due to the stock market crashing and many people losing almost all of their money, people weren’t purchasing items
- drought conditions made the amount of wheat being sold was reduced, it’s price was reduced
How did banks fail?
Banks invested in the stock market. So, when it crashed, they lost more money they had
