CHC2P
Canadian History
Exam Review
WWI: Topics
 General information
 Important Canadian Battles
 Alliance systems
 America entering the war
 Causes
 The Last Hundred Days
 Assassination of Franz
Ferdinand
 Treaty of Versailles
 War Measures Act
 Life in the Trenches
 New technology
 Troubles on the Homefront
 Women’s roles
 Conscription crisis
General Information
 Occurred between August 1914 – November 1918
 Called the “Great War”  first time a war involved
many nations across the world
 Canada entered the war on August 4, 1914
 Same day as Britain did  we were part of the British
Commonwealth and were governed by their rules
Alliance Systems
 There were two alliance systems at the beginning of the
war. Other countries joined with these forces throughout
the course of the war.
Triple
Entente
Triple
Alliance
Britain
Germany
Major Causes
 Nationalism  having pride in your own country
 Arms race  trying to have the largest amount and the
most powerful weaponry
 Imperialism  fierce competition between nations;
many imposed their rule on other countries and claimed
them as their colonies
 Alliance systems  countries who are willing to back
one another with military support in times of conflict
Assassination of Franz
Ferdinand
 June 28, 1914
 Franz Ferdinand (Duke of Austria-Hungary) and his wife
Sophie were assassinated in Sarajevo while on a tour of their
new coming empire
 Responsibility put in the hands of the Black Hand
(terrorist group from Serbia)
 Gavrilo Princip charged with their killings
 Serbia would not give up the person in charge of the crime
and Austria-Hungary declared war
War Measures Act
 Limited the civil liberties of citizens in order to
ensure support for the war
 Passed in 1914 because the government needed to
come up with funds
 Some of the conditions were:
 Food Board (control supplies at home), Imperial
Munitions Board (quality control for weapons), censoring
newspapers/media, temporary 3% tax, food rationing,
savings bonds, etc.
Life in the Trenches

Conditions


Diseases  trench foot, trench fever, infections, lice
Daily Life  ate, slept, worked in trenches

Layout  zig-zag pattern so enemies cannot see straight down the line if they
invade

Reason for building them  machine guns and artillery had been developed so
needed a place to protect soldiers from fire
New Technology
 Artillery  large guns with long range
 Machine guns  could be operated by 4 people, could fire
bullets quickly
 Planes  originally made from wood and canvas, used to
photograph troop positions; later had gun mounted on them
and used for fighting
 Tanks  helped soldiers cross no-man’s land, but they were
not hugely effective; improved as war went on
 U-boats  German submarines
Important Canadian Battles
 Ypres  April 1915, Belgium; take back from
Germans who wanted it for access to the sea (port
town); first use of chlorine gas by the Germany;
20,000 killed, 4,000 wounded
 The Somme  July 1916, France; cross the river to
allow cavalry to break through; involved “suicide
runs” into German machine gun fire; NFLD
regiment took heavy losses at Beaumont Hamel;
24,000 wounded or killed
Important Canadian Battles
 Vimy Ridge  April 1917, France; take ridge
embedded with German trench lines; practiced on
mock battlefield before; used “creeping barrage”
technique and “leapfrogging” technique to move
ahead; led by Canadian General Currie; 10,000 killed
or wounded
 Passchendaele  November 1917, Belgium; capture
German trenches; huge rain storms that flooded
trenches, many soldiers and horses died in mud and
water; 16,000 killed or wounded
America Enters the War
 Germany declares “unrestricted submarine warfare”
and sinks supply ships crossing the Atlantic
 Allies used convoys (large groups of ships with military
escorts) and Q-ships (decoy military ship posing as supply
ship) to try and get across safely
 U-boats sink a U.S. passenger ship (Lustania)
 U.S. cannot ignore the threat and enters the war in
support of the Triple Entente (1917)
The Last Hundred Days
 Once Americans declare war, Germany sends troops from
Eastern Front (Russia) to Western Front to try and defeat
the allies before the U.S. arrives
 Germans stopped just before Paris
 Improvement of tanks and fresh American soldiers help
allies push Germany back to borders  defeated ¼ of
German army, 48 000 casualties, including 9 000 dead
 Armistice to be signed on November 11, 1918 at 11:00am

Last Canadian soldier killed at 10:55am (Private Price)
Treaty of Versailles
 Signed at the Palace of Versailles in 1919; Britain,
France and U.S. decided Germany’s fate
 Conditions: accept blame and sign a “War Guilt
Clause”, pay reparations, no submarines or air force
(small navy and army allowed), Rhineland occupied by
Allied troops, lost all colonies, Austria-Hungary broke
up, lost land and industry as it was divided up
 League of Nations formed to keep world peace
Troubles on the Homefront
 Winnipeg General Strike  1919, workers in Winnipeg went
on strike to fight for better conditions/wages; ended in June
when strikers took to the streets to protest the arrest of their
leaders, called “Bloody Saturday” because several people were
killed or wounded
 Spanish flu  influenza carried back from war by soldiers;
more than 20 million people worldwide died; hit
small/isolated communities hard; Stanley Cup finals were
even cancelled
 Conscientious objectors  object to war as a matter of
conscience or religious beliefs; many farming communities on
Prairies didn’t want to go to war because they thought they
were needed to contribute supplies; however, would fight if
attacked
Troubles on the Homefront
 Pacifists  would prefer peaceful negotiations to solve
problems; wouldn’t fight if attacked; often paid heavy
price for not supporting war efforts
 Halifax explosion  December 1916; two ships (Mont
Blanc [carrying explosives] & Imo) collided in Halifax
harbor caught fire and exploded; many people came out
to see boats on fire and explosion killed 1600+ and
wounded 9000+
 Enemy aliens  people from enemy countries; given ID
cards and had to report to police and some put in
internment camps or deported once war broke out
Women’s Roles

Received separation allowance ($20/month) to cover costs

Barely enough to get essentials, often had to rely on family members;

Charities set up to help cover additional costs  upper-middle class women often ran
them, called “nosy parkers” because they would check to see if people were spending
money properly

Did a lot of volunteering  made socks, bandages, bake sales

Worked in munitions factories making bombs and artillery shells

Administrative jobs for the military

Nurses at home and on the front lines; also ambulance drivers

Took over many jobs for the men who were gone to war

With the help of “suffragists” like Nellie McClung, this helped women earn
the right to vote starting with Manitoba in 1916
Conscription Crisis of 1917
 PM Borden thought war would continue longer after
meeting in 1917
 Already had 1 in 16 in uniform and needed more 
introduce conscription (military service required by law)
to get more troops
 Divided country  Quebec, farmers in Prairies,
Objectors/Pacifists, Liberals all objected to it; was
important because there was an election coming up and
this could make or break the current government
 Passed in the summer of 1917, but troops never actually
saw any combat action
Interwar Years: Topics
 Immigration Boom
 The Economy
 Changes in education and  The Great Depression
employment
 On-to-Ottawa Trek
 Consumerism and popular
 The New Deal and new
culture
political parties
 Prohibition
 Women in politics
Immigration Boom
 Canada was removed from the war, economy was
booming (natural resources) and opportunity for a
new life  Pull Factors
 Wanted: people from Britain, U.S., Western Europe
 Unwanted: Chinese (1923 Exclusion Act), Japanese
Employment & Education
 Higher levels of education for everyone
 Rural  up to gr. 8 was average
 Urban  up to end of high school was average
 Boys and girls  gender specific courses that were geared
toward typical careers
 Employment
 Men  most in factories (3/4), doctors, lawyers
 Women  department stores, secretaries, clerks
Consumerism & Popular Culture
 Low energy costs = increased production & jobs
 New inventions (car, radio, home appliances) were symbols of
status; gave people more leisure time

People went into debt to buy these things!
 New type of women was “born”  flapper, dressed and acted
unconventionally (smoked, danced, drove, new clothing style)
 Prohibition also put in place

Banning of the sale of alcohol except for religious or medical
reasons
 We were highly influenced by American culture

Radios, gangs, music
Women in Politics
 “Famous Five” fought for women’s rights in 1920s
 Nellie McClung was one of them
 Went to Supreme Court in “Person’s Case” so
women could legally be called people and therefore
could run for Senate  won the case
The Economy
 Stock market  many people invested in stocks with
loans from brokers (buying on margin)
 American influences  companies were opening up
factories in Canada (branch plants) to avoid tariffs
(taxes) for importing goods
 Downside: smaller Canadian companies got shut down,
all the profit and management went back to the U.S.
 Upside: more jobs were being created in Canada and we
had a greater variety of goods available
The Great Depression
 Started with the stock market crash on October 29, 1929
(“Black Tuesday”)




Line up to get jobs at factories
Stand in “bread lines” or collect relief money to get food
Wages cut if jobs were kept
Lost homes, possessions and all their money
 Men 16 and over were forced to go into labour camps
 paid very little, difficult jobs, but were fed and clothed
 There was a drought on the Prairies and farmers could
barely grow any crops (Dust Bowl)
On-To-Ottawa Trek
 Union workers were rallying to get better working
conditions
 This was a bad time because companies didn’t have
money to increase wages for workers because of the
Depression
 Unemployed people & men from labour camps went
across the country by train to protest in Ottawa
 Trains were stopped in Regina where a riot began
 Did result in work camps being shut down
Bennett’s New Deal
 Needed to put a plan in place to get the country our
of the Depression. This included:
 government control of industry, more jobs, cut down
work week to 48 hours from 60 hours, unemployment
insurance
 Didn’t win upcoming election to put this all in place,
but Liberals, who did, kept many of these provisions
New Political Parties
 Rural areas thought they weren’t being represented by
the current parties because they were centered in large
cities; made their own parties:
 Social Credit Party  prosperity certificates to increase buying
power of the people ($25/month)
 Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF)  government
should take over industry; unemployment insurance, free
medical care, pensions, family care also part of platform
 Union Nationale  people in Quebec should have power over
its own industries
WWII: Topics
 Fascism, Anti-Semitism and  Battles of WWII
Racism around the world
 Hiroshima & Nagasaki
 Hitler’s rise to power in
 The Holocaust 
Germany
Kristallnacht, ghettos,
 Propaganda
concentration & death
camps
 Fundraising efforts on the
homefront
 Internment of Japanese
Canadians
 Technology advancements
 Conscription
 Causes of WWII
 Women’s roles in the war
Fascism, Anti-Semitism & Racism
 Fascism: governmental system led by someone who has complete
power, opposes criticism or opposition of their ways, controls
industry and economy, and emphasizes extreme nationalism and
racism
 Italy, USSR & Germany  used this system
 Hitler believed that Germans were of a higher race; blonde
hair, blue eyes, slender and tall were the characteristics of the
“Aryan” people

Named Jewish and other races who had darker features of a
lesser race (anti-semitism)

Most other countries also discriminated against Jews
Hitler’s Rise to Power

Economy after WWI was unstable and people turned to extreme parties because
they had a strong message

Nazi Party  why were they popular?

Supported dictatorship

Wanted to stop paying reparations to other nations

Invest in Germany’s industries to create economic growth

Build up Germany’s military forces

End unemployment
Bullied people into voting for him



Fire at Parliament, “storm troopers” threatened people
When he won, disbanded Parliament as soon as they gave him permission to
deal with “enemies of Germany”

Hitler’s word was now LAW!
Alliance Systems
ALLIED SIDE
COUNTRIES
YEAR OF ENTRY
Britain
1939
France
1939
Canada
1939
Other Commonwealths
(NFLD incl.)
1939
United States
1941
Soviet Union
1941
Germany
1939
Italy
1940
Japan
1941
AXIS SIDE
Propaganda
 Government used posters, radio ads, newspaper articles
 All controlled with censorship (only published what they
wanted people to read about)
 Wanted people to support the war by giving money,
enlisting or volunteering
Fundraising Efforts
 Government didn't have enough money to support
the war because we were just coming out of a
recession; looked to citizens to help out
 Chinese Canadian communities raised over $5
million for the war efforts
 "One Percent Scheme“ (in NFLD)
 Scrap drives
 Victory Gardens
 Packing Boxes of supplies
 Rationing
 Victory Bonds
Technology & Training
Advancements




Air Force

British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP)

Pilots, bombers, navigators, gunners, paratroopers, etc. trained in Canada
Camp X

Intelligence service to gather information about the enemy; based in Canada

Many agents went under cover into Nazi-occupied Europe
Project Manhattan

Canadian scientists helped develop the atomic bomb

Uranium sourced from Deep River, ON
Radar & Sonar

Could detect enemy aircraft (radar) and enemy submarines (sonar)

This could be used to plan a counter-attack against the enemy forces
Hitler’s Road to War & Causes of WWII

Between 1936 and 1939, Hitler took over
more and more territory in Europe and
no one reacted to his actions

March 1936: troops sent into Rhineland;
supposed to be no troops were allowed

March 1938: takes over Austria for
Germany

October 1938: allowed to take over
Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia (mostly
German speaking); Hitler promises no
more demands for territory

March 1939: take over the rest of
Czechoslovakia

September 1939: invades Poland
START OF WWII
Battles of WWII

Battle of Britain  1940, Britain; prevented Germany from invading Britain
(last unconquered country in Europe) with “Blitzkrieg”; planes mostly fought

Battle of the Atlantic  1939-1945, Atlantic Ocean; fought to maintain supply
route; used convoys and “corvette” ships to avoid German “wolf packs”

Battle of Hong Kong  1941, Hong Kong; helped to fight against Japan, but
Hong Kong lost in 17 days, Canadians put in POW camps

Dieppe  1942, France; massacred by Germany forces on the beach; tanks
useless on sandy/rocky ground

Italian Campaign  1943-1945, Italy; fought hand-to-hand to liberate Italy

D-Day  1945, Normandy; planned for 2 years after Dieppe failure, pushed
Germans back (beginning of the end); Canadians in charge of Juno beach

Liberation of Netherlands  1945, Netherlands; pushed Germans out and
provided starving Dutch people with supplies (formed special relationship with
Dutch people)
Atomic Bombings in Japan
 First bomb dropped on August 6, 1945 in Hiroshima
 Dropped bomb “little boy” at 8:15 am
 90,000 – 166,000 killed or died of injuries/radiation
 Second bomb dropped in August 9, 1945 in Nagasaki
 Dropped bomb “fat man” at 11:01 am
 60,000 – 80,000 killed or died of injuries/radiation
 Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945
Internment of Japanese Canadians
 After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Japanese Canadians were
sent to internment camps
 Of the 21,000 sent, 17,000 were Canadian citizens
 Forced to live in cramped conditions with little food, no running
water, no flushing toilets under armed guard
 All of their possessions were claimed and sold to pay for the
internment camps
 Some were deported back to Japan
 Many had never actually been to Japan in their lives!
Women’s Roles in the War
 Couldn’t have any combat roles, but had positions in
every division of the military service
 Air Transportation Auxiliary Ferry Service 
transported planes to Britain, worked in ground crew
 Canadian Women's Army Corps  secretaries,
mechanics & cooks, went through basic training
 Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service  got the best
of the best!, trained on all women’s ship
 Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps  nursing
Conscription of 1943
 PM Mackenzie King didn’t want to enforce conscription
 Had a negative effect on the country in 1917
 Needed to do something, volunteer rates were dropping off
 Held a plebiscite (voters asked to answer a yes or no question;
government may choose to adopt of ignore the result)
 Divided country again, but it passed
 Conscripts drafted and trained, but were never sent overseas
 Left a bad feeling with the nation
The Holocaust
 Discrimination against the Jews started long before the war

1933  first concentration camp opened in Dachau for political
prisoners and other “unwanted’s”

1935  Nuremburg Laws (couldn’t attend university, teach in any
school or university, marry a person who was not of the Jewish
faith, hold a government job, be the author of a book, be a lawyer
or doctor)

1938  “Kristallnacht” where 1000s of business were destroyed
and Jews were attacked in the streets

Ghettos  parts of cities turned into Jewish-only slums; extremely
poor conditions, close to rail lines for evacuation
The Holocaust



Final Solution

plan to exterminate Jews and other “undesirable” races in Europe

Jews, Romas, handicapped, mentally-ill, homosexual and others sent to:

Concentration camps  forced manual labour to support Germany’s war efforts

Death camps  large scale mass-murder by gas/poison; six camps existed
When these camps were finally liberated, Nazi’s tried to run away (with
prisoners) or burn them down to hide the evidence

Some intact because they had to leave without warning

Allies were horrified at what they saw  malnutrition, disease, torture,
medical experimentation
Nuremburg Trials (1945-1949) held to put those in charge of the
Holocaust and other war crimes to justice
Post War Era: Topics
 United Nations
 Cold War
 Korean War
 Suez Crisis
 Population explosion  immigration and baby boom
 Popular Culture
United Nations
 Created after WWII because League of Nations had failed
 Wanted to be able to protect people after the horrors of the
Holocaust
 Permanent members all had to agree for any actions to take
place

Had “veto” power if they didn’t agree; action would not be
undertaken unless everyone was on the same page
 Major contribution was the creation of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights by Canadian John Peters
Humphrey (law expert)
The Cold War


Soviet Union wanted to spread communism around the world

“Iron Curtain”  divided communist Eastern Europe/Soviet Union from capitalist
Western Europe/North America

Formation of NATO and Warsaw Pact alliances for protection
Nuclear bombings in Japan started “nuclear age” and a new arms race



Mostly in the form of threats, spies and intelligence gathering
Soviet Union also launched a satellite (Sputnik) into space

Rockets could carry missiles and get to N.A. faster

Had also developed the hydrogen bomb, more powerful

People created nuclear fallout shelters to protect from nuclear war
Canada and the U.S. pooled their resources and decided to cooperate with each other
to defend against a potential attack

NORAD  set up radar stations, joined military equipment
Korean War & Suez Crisis
KOREAN WAR
SUEZ CRISIS
• North Korea (communist; backed by
China & Soviet Union) invaded South
Korea (capitalist, backed by UN
nations)
•Shipping canal created in 1800s by
Britain & France
• End of fighting = truce and the
border being drawn almost where it
was at the beginning of the war
• Britain, France & Israel against Egypt
& Soviet Union
• DMZ still in place at the border of
the two countries
• Was Canada’s first involvement in
“peacemaking” activities
• Egypt now independent and wanted
control of land
• Lester B. Pearson (Canadian) came
up with negotiation plan; UN sent in
UNEF to provide “peacekeeping”
• Egypt paid for the canal, Pearson
given a Nobel Peace Prize
• First time Canada went against
Britain’s wishes
Population Boom
 Immigration
 again, Canada was attractive place to go after the war
 Soldiers brought back “war brides” and children
 Canada changed its immigration laws to allow for refugees of
the war and political situations to enter the country (Holocaust,
Hungarian revolution)
 2 million immigrated
 Baby boom
 Good economic times
 Couples wed early and started families
 9 million children born between 1945 – 1960
Popular Culture
 1950’s saw the creation of a “teenage” culture
 Had part-time jobs, allowances (“buying power”)
 Created their own style of dress (bobby-soxers, greasers), acted
rebelliously, listened to R & B and rock n’ roll

parents and conservative society disapproved (religion was
important factor)
 Things like movies, products, businesses were focused on this
market for huge profits