Unit 1 – World War I & the Early 1920s: Key Vocabulary

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards summarizing major people, events, laws, and concepts from Canada’s WWI era through the Roaring Twenties.

Militarism

Building large, well-equipped armed forces and showing readiness to use them.

Alliance System

Network of treaties pledging mutual defense; escalated any conflict into a wider war.

Imperialism

Extending a nation’s control over foreign lands for economic or strategic gain.

Nationalism

Intense pride in, and loyalty to, one’s nation—often with a belief in superiority.

Triple Entente

Pre-war alliance of Britain, France, and Russia (later called the Allies).

Triple Alliance

Pre-war alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy (later Central Powers).

Central Powers

WWI coalition of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, and allies.

Allies (WWI)

Britain, France, Russia, later the USA, Canada and other partners.

Black Hand

Serbian nationalist group that planned Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s assassination.

Gavrilo Princip

Black Hand member who shot Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo (1914).

Archduke Franz Ferdinand

Heir to Austro-Hungarian throne; his assassination sparked WWI.

Schlieffen Plan

German strategy to defeat France quickly via Belgium before turning on Russia.

Plan 17

French pre-war strategy emphasizing rapid offensives into Alsace-Lorraine.

Belgian Neutrality

1839 treaty Britain upheld; Germany’s invasion brought Britain into WWI.

British Expeditionary Force (BEF)

Britain’s professional army sent to France and Belgium in 1914.

Battle of the Marne

September 1914 clash halting German advance; began trench warfare.

Trench Warfare

Static fighting from long, fortified earthworks separated by no-man’s-land.

No-Man’s-Land

Exposed ground between opposing trenches—heavily mined and deadly.

Trench Foot

Painful rot caused by prolonged wet, cold trench conditions; could require amputation.

H.M.S. Dreadnought

1906 British battleship that revolutionized naval power and spurred an arms race.

Creeping (Rolling) Barrage

Artillery tactic in which fire moved forward just ahead of advancing infantry.

Gas Mask

Protective face gear shielding soldiers from poison gas attacks.

Small Box Respirator (SBR)

Improved British WWI gas mask introduced after early gas fatalities.

Billy Bishop

Canadian fighter ace credited with 72 victories; WWI VC recipient.

Conscientious Objector

Person refusing military service on moral or religious grounds.

Conscription

Government policy of compulsory military enlistment.

War Measures Act (Canada)

1914 law granting federal emergency powers, including internment of “enemy aliens.”

Wartime Elections Act

1917 Canadian law giving female relatives of soldiers the federal vote.

Military Voters Act

1917 act allowing soldiers to vote in any riding, boosting pro-conscription support.

Propaganda

Biased information spread to influence public opinion and morale.

War Bonds

Government securities sold to finance the war; repaid with interest.

Thrift Stamps

Low-cost stamps collected toward purchasing a war bond.

Halifax Explosion

1917 collision of SS Mont-Blanc and SS Imo causing massive blast in Halifax.

SS Mont-Blanc

French munitions ship whose cargo detonated in Halifax Harbour, 1917.

SS Imo

Norwegian relief ship that struck Mont-Blanc, triggering the Halifax blast.

Armistice

Cease-fire ending WWI hostilities, signed 11 Nov 1918 at 11 a.m.

Paris Peace Conference

1919 meeting where Allies drafted post-war treaties, notably Versailles.

Treaty of Versailles

1919 peace treaty imposing harsh terms and blame on Germany.

Reparations

Payments Germany had to make for war damage under Versailles.

League of Nations

Post-WWI international body aimed at preventing war; lacked enforcement power.

Spanish Influenza

1918–19 global pandemic killing ~55,000 Canadians and millions worldwide.

Income Tax (Canada)

“Temporary” 1917 tax introduced to fund war; became permanent revenue source.

Winnipeg General Strike

1919 labour action of 30,000 workers; shut down the city for six weeks.

League of Indians

1920s Indigenous organization advocating for First Nations rights in Canada.

Komagata Maru

1914 ship carrying Sikh migrants turned away from Vancouver under exclusion laws.

Model T Ford

Mass-produced automobile symbolizing 1920s consumer and technological boom.

Flapper

1920s young woman rejecting Victorian norms through fashion, jazz, and independence.

Jazz

Energetic African-American music style that dominated 1920s clubs and dance halls.

Prohibition

Legal ban on alcohol production, sale, and consumption in most provinces (1918-1920s).

Speakeasy

Secret, illegal bar operating during Prohibition.

Rum Runner

Smuggler transporting liquor—often by boat—from Canada to the U.S. during Prohibition.

Blind Pig

Small establishment illegally selling alcohol during Prohibition.

Indian Act

1876 Canadian law giving government sweeping control over First Nations peoples.

Residential School

Church-run, state-funded boarding school aimed at assimilating Indigenous children.

Assimilation

Forcing a minority group to adopt the dominant culture’s language and customs.

Ethnocide

Deliberate destruction of a people’s culture while leaving them alive.

Famous Five

Canadian women—Murphy, McClung, Edwards, McKinney, Parlby—who led the Person’s Case.

Person’s Case

1929 ruling declaring Canadian women “persons” eligible for Senate appointment.

Suffragist

Activist campaigning for women’s right to vote.

Emily Murphy

First female magistrate in the British Empire; leader in the Person’s Case.

Nellie McClung

Manitoba suffragist and author; member of the Famous Five.

Henrietta Edwards

Co-founder of the National Council of Women; Person’s Case plaintiff.

Louise McKinney

Former Alberta MLA; one of the Famous Five seeking female legal status.

Irene Parlby

Alberta cabinet minister; advocated rural women’s rights; Famous Five member.

Enfranchisement (FNMI)

Process of First Nations people losing status to gain full Canadian citizenship.

Pacifist

Person opposed to all war and violence; often resisted conscription.

Bolshevik Revolution

1917 Russian uprising that withdrew Russia from WWI and established communist rule.

Vladimir Lenin

Leader of the Bolsheviks; negotiated Russia’s exit from WWI.

Austro-Hungarian Empire

Central European monarchy that collapsed near war’s end in 1918.

Balkans

Southeastern European region whose tensions helped ignite WWI.

Helmuth von Moltke

German commander who modified and executed the Schlieffen Plan in 1914.

Alfred von Schlieffen

German Field Marshal who devised the plan for a quick victory over France.

Picric Acid

High-explosive chemical among Mont-Blanc’s deadly cargo in 1917 Halifax blast.

Gun Cotton

Explosive nitrocellulose used in munitions; part of Mont-Blanc’s load.

No. 2 Construction Battalion

All-Black Canadian labour unit whose relatives gained the 1917 wartime vote.