1920s and 1930s Timeline

Works Cited

1920s and 1930s Timeline

Videos about the strike

Bain, Colin. Making History. Toronto: Prentice- Hall, 2000. Print.

Bitonti, Daniel. Remembering Toronto’s Christie Pit Riot. The Globe and

Mail Incorporated. 2013. 29 October. 2013.

Bondy, Robert. Canadiana Scrapbook The Confident Years Canada in the

1920s. Scarborough Prentice Hall, 1978. Print.

Canada History. Bennett’s Conversion. Canada History. 2013. 4 November.

2013.

Dimanno, Rosie. Remembering the Christie Pits Riot. Toronto Star Newspaper. 2013. 29 October.

2013.

Fink, Howard. Radio Drama English- Language. The Canadian Encyclopedia. 2012. Web. 4

November. 2013.

Hallowell, Gerald. Prohibition. The Canadian Encyclopedia. 2012. Web. 3 November. 2013

Munroe, Susan. Winnipeg General Strike 1919. About Canada. 2013. Web 4 November. 2013.

Neatby, Blair. King, William Lyon Mackenzie. University of Toronto. 2005. Web. 4 November.

2013.

Reilly, Nolan. Winnipeg General Strike. The Canadian Encyclopedia. 2012. Web. 4 November.

2013.

Rosenberg, Jennifer. Prohibition. About 20th Century History. 2013. Web. 5 November. 2013.

Turnbull, Walter. Giving Canada Its Own Voice: Statute of Westminster. Government of Canada.

Web. 4 November 2013.

.

Canada's First Radio Drama Broadcast

Canada would have its first radio drama broadcast in 1925. The first radio drama would be broadcast in a period of new urbanization, when a radio was just one of the many new inventions. The first regular radio drama series would be the CNRV Players produced by Jack Gillmore.

The radio was the first invention that broke down the imaginary walls that kept families isolated in their rural areas. They were able to keep up with news around the country and keep themselves entertained.

The radio drama added new entertainment for listeners, and refined audio techniques such as voice and music. New actors were able to receive some exposure and it fought back American influence. This was Canada’s own unique drama and played to different audiences.

Through radio drama, Canadians found a new identity and way to keep entertained. Radio drama gave pride to Canadians.

As we can see, radio has made a lot of improvements since the first radio drama. It entertained many at the time but it as now made great improvements. Radio drama may not be as common but still entertains many now a days.

http://www.cbc.ca/player/Radio/Rewind/ID/2162982954/?page=5

Link to what radio sounded like in the 1920s.

The Riot of Christie Pits put pressure on the Canadian government to respond to Hitler’s ideals. The Canadian government could no longer ignore the issue in Germany and would have to respond or else they might’ve faced more chaos in all of Canada. This riot can be seen as one of the main motivations and the launch pad for Canada joining WWII on their own accord.

A small video remembering the riot at Christie Pits: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/news-video/video-torontos-christie-pits-riot-remembered-80-years-later/article13781703/

Rankings

The rankings are

6. Canada's First Radio Drama Broadcast

5. Mackenzie King's 5 cent Piece Speech

4. American Prohibition

3. Riot at Christie Pits

2. Winnipeg General Strike

1. Statute of Westminster

Statute of Westminster

Riot at Christie Pits

Left: Mackenzie King signs the Statute of Westminster

Right: A page of the Statute of Westminster

On August 16, 1933 a brawl between Nazi sympathizers known as the Pit Gang and Jewish citizens in Christie Pits broke out. After a baseball game between two junior teams (one team predominantly Jewish and Italian), the Pit Gang stood in the centre of the field and unravelled a flag with the Swastika. As soon as the Swastika was revealed, Jewish players and spectators rushed the Pit Gang and any Nazi sympathizers. The two parties engaged in a violent battle .

Hitler had risen to power just months before and his words had evidently reached some Germans in Toronto who decided to adopt Hitler’s fascist ideals. The Riot at Christie Pits was the culmination of all the racial tensions between Nazis and Jews that he been building up during the summer. Jews were compared to dogs in many neighbourhoods with signs reading “No Jews or Dogs Allowed.” It is no surprise that a bloody brawl broke out.

The Imperial Conference of 1926, Lord Balfour established the idea that Britain and all its colonized countries were equal. All nations would be legally free from Britain unless they decided to keep British laws. The requests for autonomy for British dominions would be known as the Balfour Report. Instead of the British Empire, dominions would be known as the British Commonwealth of Nations.

On December 11, 1931, the Balfour Report was made into an official law known as the Statute of Westminster by the British government. This law freed Canada from any British laws and allowed Canada to pass their own laws. Canada was now in charge of all its decisions and the only obstacle still standing in their way of nationhood was the constitution (British North America Act). This was Canada’s largest step in gaining autonomy and independence from Great Britain.

Joe Black was seven at the time when he witnessed the riot

Map of where the riots took place

Mackenzie King's 5 Cent Piece Speech

On February 16, 1930 Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King would deliver his infamous 5 cent piece speech. It was just mere months after the stock market crash known as Black Tuesday when provinces began requesting relief payments. King, inexperienced in the matter started cutting government spending. Fearing more economical unbalance, King would refuse to give relief payments to any province with the Conservative party in power even speculating that provincial requests for relief were Conservative plots. He also believed that provinces were in charge of their own welfare. He would get voted out in the next election for this opinion.

Mackenzie King didn’t work to solve the Great Depression but only worsened Canada’s situation; he didn’t provide aid to any unemployed men and as a result, men, women and children all suffered from the lack of money unable to provide necessities to their families

Canadian citizens were satisfied that prohibition on alcohol had been lifted and they could as much as quadruple their profit on liquor sales. You could say that Canadians at the time got the best of both worlds during the American Prohibition period.

Through the 1920s and 1930s, periods of success and hardship, numerous events would occur bound to shape our world. I've analyzed 6 important events and have ranked them from least to most importance in comparison.

Though the Winnipeg General Strike may seem negative, it has made a lasting impact on Canada. It is because of the Winnipeg General Strike that Canada’s working conditions and wages have vastly improved. It is because of this that workers were able to receive pension. Without a strike of this magnitude, none of the problems the strikers protested against would have been solved. These issues would not have been brought to attention or noticed. It is because of the strikers that Canada’s labour has so greatly improved.

This is a 2 minute video on how bootlegging worked in the 1920s. It explains how Canadians would transport alcohol to Americans http://video.about.com/history1900s/How-Did-Bootlegging-Work-During-Prohibition-.htm

Liquor would be put into barrels and smuggled. If caught, the barrels would be emptied and the liquor would be disposed

Winnipeg General Strike

In early May 1919, Winnipeg’s metal and building trades workers left their posts protesting against low wages, poor working conditions and long work weeks. They also protested to bargain along with unions. By May 15, 30 000 workers in Winnipeg left their posts. Businesses which could not function without labourers decided to retaliate against protestors, hiring special “volunteers” and arming them with baseball bats. Government would attempt to persuade workers to return to their jobs but fearing their communist-like ideas, decided to send RCMP officers into the fray. On June 21st, strikers and RCMP would fight on the day known as “Bloody Saturday”. 2 died during the brawls. By June 26th, workers would return to their jobs.

Mackenzie King never acknowledged the impending economic crisis and as a result, Canadian families would suffer. This would be a scar that took long to heal for Canadian families.

Skip to 8:25 in this video and watch until 9:18 http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=TQnGuNMVTLkal.

American Prohibition

From the beginning of WW1 to 1920, Canada would ban all alcoholic beverages. The banning of alcohol would be known as prohibition. Americans however, would ban all alcohol from 1920 to 1933.

In Canada’s period of prohibition they were able to decrease drunkenness by 93%, double savings (money spent for alcohol was saved) and some were able to make large sums of profit off the illegal sale of alcohol. Alcohol was outlawed making it harder to obtain, causing alcohol value to rise. During the American prohibition period, Canadian bootleggers could much more easily obtain and sell their liquor. Canada’s prohibition ended right when America started theirs so it was easy for Canadians to obtain alcohol. The only problem was getting past the border, though many bootleggers cleverly got past them.

Profit for beer and liquor for Canadians during American prohibition would jump 400% even though people drank 50% less.

Part of Mackenzie King’s 5 Cent Piece Speech “"But, I would not give a single cent to any Tory government! With respect to giving moneys out of the federal treasury to any Tory Government in this country for these alleged unemployment purposes, with these governments situated as they are today, with policies diametrically opposed to those of this government, I would not give them a five cent piece."

History is the reason why things are the way they are today; whatever had happened in the past either directly or indirectly shaped our future.

We can chart our future clearly and wisely only when we know the path which has led to the present. -Adlai E. Stevenson