THE DEPRESSION
Feople attempted to forget their problems t\rough s-eadi;tg, movieg and the-radio.
However; for tbe very po,or these metbods o{ escape wef,e dtfuer eot enough,.olthey colldyery high, as a nesurltthele werie []arr]
:eot affsrd th.m. Unemployment and poverty w&s
-*t.*pi by individuals, and the goveinrnent to escape fheir problemr The Qonsenrative
goyeru*rot of ;1B. Bennett had defeated the Llbera! Farty of Mackenzie Kiug iE 1938
.
,
aid paid from pubtiq funds and given to the poor by the
gover*ment- Municipal relief rvas called €hd DOLE. nt was embarrassing to o-e on relief,
but it lvas necessary. It was hard to get relief, and some was used to ftx u,p PIiBLIC
WORKS (roads, bridges etc.), and it rvas not given out to aIE fafrty-
1- RELIEF- Financial
camps formed during the Bepressioe foF single, unenaployed mea, in
of
ivhlch they rvere housed and fed, in return for vvonk- These weFe run by the Depa,rtment
Revolution
National ilefence rvho feared that these largb masses might start a Communist
the
sren
1.800
Ovei
camps.
if left in the cif,y. Over 170,000 men spent time in
legan
2. RELEF
CA-nlCps-
.:=.:',:..'....oo-Toott^,ru-T.'.r.1v!eq9!feyrvq,qj9.{t9p.93:efi]lr;r.-.3''t
ilL.i:ill:'l-=.jthedepnessionj.uut'tbeBenneft.g0vernmentst9pped]F;m;:.|;+.aus9tl|y..Ij'9I:.s''.fI.91
::
' thui, ou*n*rr. This ied to violent riots, on Bon'linion Day (Canada Bay) in Regjea' 'whel;e' ' "'
was kBed'
1,30 men \veE e aFrested, many injured, and one po!'lce ofEcer
.
3.
::
Chrarches and other charitable orgavriz:utlons ]ian, SOIU,F KTcFF'81\{Sto,feedJhe-hungry,
4. The Benneff
goyeFnEl1ent
frled to protect,the Ctnadlan'(dornestic)'ma-Iket;by raisino
TAR.IFFS to encourage peopXe to btry Canad,ian:goods, but;othelcpuntr]g,r1n3._C3+a.da
dennanded on for exporti oru tne sarne th,ilrg: Eennett'won:P'REFEnEfr'I4p-DUTIFS
, froxm Brifrai,rr, wh,iich-w,ere lro,rver ir,r,lpo,rt tayep fqr Canadians'and;other D.I1tj:o,.--1ilj9ot
eorepared to others. Itrowever; tradewith, t'h,e do,minibns,lYa$not:large;enbu$h:andithe'
agreemlent anrgered tseir nilost irniprortand panfoer; the linitedlstates.
amd to providdfib-ancial
Frarrie Farm RehablEitatiou Acttohelprthe
5. Eenneft cneated tle Bank of'Canada to regulate e&Freney,
advice to the goyerprpent. He introduced
':'-.
:--
' "'
j:
a
i
s-AFET-r hbT'aesi$ned to-iielp'people !s .';' :'1
time of need through unemployment insurance, a shol-tened work rveek" and a rniEix'lralrn
wage law.
;:":.:.;-.r;:.j:::r.-.
.'
:
' 6'i'Fi"utt". n.:orr"..a io'.".*t.
u
il.ir SoClai,
Bespite this the Couservatives and Bennett Fost to &'e X-ibexats urder NlackenzieF{ing:in
rvith
the 1.g35 enecfion. Many of the changes a:n'd plans.cnme too late, others'wer:e unhappy
others'needed-a
rvhile
the goverurnents tneatment of the peCIple iu tb,e Orn-to-Ottawa-Trek,
SCAFEGCAT (someoee to blaure for their pro,bl,enris. The Liberals rvon many government
of ai'l
seats but not a !ot, only 45oh of the POFULAR VOTE, wh'icb is the percen'tage
wiith
Canadiaes, because there lyere many new Ttr{IRF PARTIES rvho bad gained support
their ideas to battle the Fepression'
':,
'
.."'
:
'
ffieffiEffiS-€#Fwgffis
Alj Ceridians d€# l@cily *e*lw ef€b es@#y, iqq&$lf&the
rys+;€E b i*s(:ry*xiem-BesELT, agi..i13 pog,- Tb whfe re;c
Sryt'#&*ts # *.Ehichaeryraq+ ed #tb Eost fo,aqesifr-c
effi. eftn""gfr Ca@da wc ioereaslag fts F re;riiifcrt€E+q& we # iatid oe
Ae&s eod o{,$e tsedies ons
prima'y bd,nrti-S T qd
"ryry
sak of YeM, Wia3gyexPod6g-w@"
*o*ry relied too bviry ontb
e?*
@'t
buy aee wheat
€sw" ttsg
slso bad good
poscty, e did suq krceweneeded
Whffi fu U-S. ec6cory
.AgH.k=s to b€ry oRE: wtEd PIEB Ece Effi bd toe rca3ch wheaq.which
W"E@ rc'ene'hug&the
b€sE€tr tu prfoe @s {erypfy ad
i.L Thte
&l 8kY
€el3d Ed atroqd
'h$i6s€s did not make ema€b reqey, b@Eu€ tby weren't sdliog
ma$rCbctggd goods" T'bcry Ud to lay offwose€r$ oe'@ wagiqs' wh*stt
, gssn cffited Uigb u4e@el@,.@ a Eews-g#+sqi gf ii.vif&.'J$l'',.''
,, ' ' ;1',:,..;:i
.gqglU bfg6e t6'--e6ies \pasFep@ E* a CR,fuSgf iE tb thirtieg'whtch '
Whgt!
dh.t natbns
e
@}
drasy, e
*U, fu;*
#
b
,
''
,,
#ed id
Eim€s
fcr
ry
CaEE+ks
FRAMEEFAffi
trgARETTEgES AFgts tsRETESEE C@fuEItr€gEA
-
d;d EFt dryxJ scc wM, eke €eas did drynd en the
gxpfi.f prii*qy grcds, si:ch as fisP,!, ed lcgmb€r. Frices dFotrFd' and
*ttt *uugees a3! ovsr ehc world elssed" €kse F+Ple also suffereui
Ale3pa€h
6ry
::
.
:
'..,-,
.,.i r:;.:,;:, :..i: ,i- :
.::-.':.,r::.
'.
,r :.r::.:-.....,,;i
':
l
: ';
l:r,'
i
Summary Notes
The Great Depression
Citizens/Government
o
o
The 1920s was a period of prosperify for many canadian; there
were jobs, money and good times.
Some people went into debt to pay for things they could not
afford; as long as they had their jobs they could make their credit
payments.
o
By the late 1920s some companies were producing many goods
and were too optimistic about the future.
o
Canada's prosperity relied heavily on the export of fish, wood,
minerals, and wheat; when other countries cut back on buying
these natural resources; Canada's economy was badly affected.
o
In
1929 a major drought hit the West and many prairie farmers
watched helplessly as their farms turned to dust
.
The Great Depression began in 1929 with the collapse of the stock
markets in North America
.
Many businesses went bankrupt and their workers lost their jobs
o
Many of these unemployed workers could not meet their credit
payments and lost their possessions
o
Mackenzie king, the Prime Minister in power in 1929, viewed the
poor economic times as temporary and something that would pass
without any help from his government.
o
Prime Minister King was defeated in 1930 by R.B. Bennett when
angry and disappointed voters blamed King for doing nothing to
correct the bad times.
o
Prime Minister Bennett raised tariffs on imported goods to make
them more expensive than Canadian-made products.
r
Liberal and Conservative politicians had never experienced such
bad economic times and they did not know what to do. Politicians
were unwilling to try new methods to attack the Great Depression
o
A small number of Canadians created a new political parties with
new ideas and approaches; these included the Communist Party
of Canada the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, the
Social Credit Party and the union Nationale
o
The unemployed had to rely on charity and relief to survive
o
The 1.5 million unemployed Canadians did not have
unemployment insurance to help them get through the bad times
o
Canadians who were refused relief wandered the country looking
for non-existent work and food
o
Public opinion supported the idea that married women with
husbands should stay at home. Many working married women,
either lost their jobs to unemployed men or had to take wage cuts
to keep their jobs
o
Prejudice and discrimination against immigrants and cultural
minorities grew during the 1930s
o
Relief camp workers planned and ooOn-to-Ottawa Trek" to voice
their demands
o
Strikes and riots by unemployed were put down by governments
and their police forces
o
Canadians who could afford it turned to entertainment such as
radio, music, movies and sports to escape their troubles
o
The CBC was created in 1936 to provide Canadian programs and
news coverage
.
In the 1930s Canada did not want to be involved in the affairs and
disputes of other countries or the League of Nations
Grade l0 Acudemic History
Text: Face Of ANation (Gage)
GOVERNMENT AND THE GREAT DEPRESSION (pp. 100-114)
1. why
2.
was canada especially hit hard by the Depression? Explain.
What made up most of Canada's exports during this time.
3. How did Canadians budget their expenses during the 20's? Was this a
wise decision?
4. What is a share? Where can they be purchased?
5. Were there warning signs before the great depression
6. Why did the Canadian government
7
. Did all Canadians experience
occurred?
raise tariffs?
the prosperity of the 20's? Explain.
8. List the immediate causes of the great depression.
g.
What is the significance of "Black
Tuesday"?
,,
10. What was much of the prosperity of the twenties based on?
11. How did Prime
Milistel King view thc stock ir.arkei
ciash?
12. Who won the election of 1930? Which parry did he belong to?
13. What is the difference between the Capitalist system and the
Communist system.
14.'On the bottom of page 111, read the quote of Pope Pius XI (under the
heading "skill check"). Do you agree with his ideas? Explain.
.t