Flash cards

Q: What were hobos in the 1930s?

A: Unemployed individuals who lived in temporary shelters like hobo jungles or Bennettbughs.

Q: What were hobo jungles?

A: Settlements of unemployed people living in makeshift shacks.

Q: What did police often do to hobo jungles?

A: They raided and destroyed them.

Q: What does margin buying refer to?

A: Buying stocks without paying full price, relying on loans.

Q: Why was margin buying risky?

A: It depended on borrowed money and could cause huge losses.

Q: What does "overproduction" mean in the context of the 1920s?

A: Producing more goods than could be sold, leading to factory closures.

Q: What does "overexpansion" refer to?

A: Companies expanded too quickly, overestimating future demand.

Q: What are primary industries in Canada?

A: Wheat, pulp, paper, fish, and minerals.

Q: How did the decline in demand affect Canada’s primary industries?

A: Industries suffered and laid off workers.

Q: What natural disasters worsened the Depression for farmers?

A: Drought and grasshopper infestations.

Q: What was credit buying?

A: Buying goods on installment plans – "buy now, pay later."

Q: What happened to goods bought on credit during the Depression?

A: They were often repossessed.

Q: Why was Canada’s economy hurt by its dependence on the US?

A: The US stopped buying Canadian exports during the Depression.

Q: How did tariffs impact Canada during the Depression?

A: Foreign tariffs reduced exports, worsening the economy.

Q: What was Black Tuesday?

A: October 29, 1929 – the day the stock market crashed.

Q: How much was lost on the NYSE during the crash?

A: $9 billion in value, 16 million shares.

Q: How much did 16 Canadian companies lose in the crash?

A: $300 million.

Q: What was the "On-to-Ottawa Trek"?

A: A 1935 protest by relief camp workers seeking better conditions.

Q: How many people were in the relief camps?

A: 20,000.

Q: What was the goal of the On-to-Ottawa Trek?

A: Demand higher wages, better conditions, and political rights for workers.

Q: Where did the On-to-Ottawa Trek stop?

A: Regina, due to an RCMP training camp.

Q: What happened in Regina after the trekkers returned?

A: A protest turned into a riot; 130 arrested, 2 killed.

Q: Who led the On-to-Ottawa Trek?

A: Arthur "Slim" Evans.

Q: What was the "dole"?

A: Government relief during the Depression.

Q: What was required to qualify for the dole?

A: Publicly prove you had no money, radio, car, or phone.

Q: Why was applying for the dole humiliating?

A: It required exposing your poverty and being judged.

Q: How many Canadians were on the dole by 1933?

A: 1.5 million.

Q: How long did someone need to live in a place to qualify for the dole?

A: At least six months.

🧠 Political Responses

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Q: Who was Canada's Prime Minister from 1930–1935?

A: R.B. Bennett.

Q: What was Bennett’s response to the Depression?

A: Work camps, unemployment relief, tariffs, and a proposed New Deal.

Q: What were "Bennett buggies"?

A: Cars pulled by horses because people couldn’t afford gas.

Q: Why did people dislike Bennett?

A: His policies were seen as ineffective, and he refused to raise taxes on the wealthy.

Q: Who was Prime Minister before and after Bennett?

A: Mackenzie King.

Q: How long was Mackenzie King Prime Minister?

A: 1921–1926, 1926–1930, and 1935–1948.

Q: What was King’s approach to the Depression?

A: Reluctant to intervene; believed churches and families should help.

Q: What did King refuse to give to Conservative provinces?

A: 5 cents of relief money.

Q: Who was the leader of the Union Nationale?

A: Maurice Duplessis.

Q: What were Duplessis’ main ideas?

A: Quebec autonomy, support for farmers, traditional values, anti-communist.

Q: What party did JS Woodsworth lead?

A: Co-Operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF).

Q: What did the CCF advocate for?

A: Welfare state: pensions, healthcare, workers' rights, insurance.

Q: Who led the Social Credit Party?

A: William Aberhart ("Bible Bill").

Q: What did Social Credit believe would end the Depression?

A: Giving adults $25 monthly to stimulate the economy.

Q: Why was Aberhart’s plan controversial?

A: Only federal gov could print money.

Q: Who led the Communist Party of Canada?

A: Tim Buck.

Q: What did the Communist Party believe?

A: Capitalism caused the Depression; supported revolution and no private ownership.

Q: What happened to Tim Buck?

A: He was arrested and imprisoned in Kingston.

Q: Who led Canada’s Fascist Party?

A: Adrien Arcand.

Q: What did Arcand believe?

A: Nationalism, racism, authoritarianism; blamed capitalism and banks.

🦠 Spanish Flu

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Q: What year was the Spanish Flu pandemic?

A: 1918.

Q: Why was it called the Spanish Flu?

A: Spain, being neutral, reported on it when others did not.

Q: How many people died from the Spanish Flu worldwide?

A: 50–100 million.

Q: How many Canadians died from the Spanish Flu?

A: About 50,000.

Q: What happened in PEI during the Spanish Flu?

A: It quarantined itself from mainland Canada.

Q: How did the Spanish Flu affect daily life?

A: Schools closed, public transport halted, gatherings cancelled.

🚗 Technology in the 1920s

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Q: What transportation technology boomed in the 1920s?

A: Automobiles.

Q: What was the most popular car?

A: Model T Ford.

Q: How much did a Model T cost?

A: $424.

Q: What infrastructure developed due to cars?

A: Roads, gas stations, signs, parking lots.

Q: When did Ontario introduce driver's licenses?

A: 1927.

Q: What were early speed limits?

A: 32 km/h in cities, 56 km/h in country areas.

Q: What advantage did trucks offer businesses?

A: They could carry larger loads.

Q: What communication technology spread in the 1920s?

A: Telephone and radio.

Q: What major improvement came to telephones in 1927?

A: Combined handset with mouthpiece and earpiece.

Q: What were "talkies"?

A: Movies with sound, starting in 1927.

Q: What was the first talkie movie?

A: The Jazz Singer.

Q: What electric household items emerged?

A: Washing machines, vacuums, stoves, hair dryers.

Q: What was one unintended effect of household appliances?

A: Increased expectations for cleaning.

💉 Health and Science

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Q: What happened to life expectancy in the 1920s–1930s?

A: It increased slightly; women could expect to live to 52.

Q: Who discovered insulin?

A: Frederick Banting and Charles Best at U of T in 1922.

Q: What two everyday health items were invented in 1920?

A: Bandaids and Q-Tips.

👩‍⚖ Women’s Rights & Social Change

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Q: What was the goal of the Famous Five?

A: To have women legally declared “persons.”

Q: When did the Supreme Court rule women were not persons?

A: 1929.

Q: Who overturned the Supreme Court ruling in 1929?

A: The British Privy Council.

Q: What is a "flapper"?

A: A rebellious 1920s woman with short hair, short dresses, who drank and smoked.

Q: What rights did women lack in the 1920s?

A: The vote and personhood under the law.

Q: Who were the Edmonton Grads?

A: A dominant women's basketball team.

Q: What was the Matchless Six?

A: A group of Canadian women who excelled at the Olympics.

🚫 Discrimination

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Q: What groups faced discrimination in the 1920s/30s?

A: Chinese, Jewish, Black, Indigenous, LGBTQ+ Canadians.

Q: What caused the Christie Pits Riot?

A: A swastika was unfurled at a Jewish baseball game.

⚒ Labour Movements

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Q: What was the goal of the Winnipeg General Strike?

A: Better wages, working conditions, and union recognition.

🇨🇦 Canadian Autonomy

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Q: How did WWI contribute to Canadian autonomy?

A: Canada fought separately and gained international recognition.

Q: What happened at the Paris Peace Conference (1919)?

A: Canada signed the treaty independently.

Q: What organization did Canada join in 1919?

A: League of Nations.

Q: What was the Chanak Affair?

A: Canada refused to send troops to support Britain without debate.

Q: What was the Halibut Treaty?

A: The first treaty Canada signed independently (with the U.S.).

Q: What was the Byng-King Crisis?

A: A conflict over whether the Governor General could dissolve Parliament.

Q: What did the Byng-King Crisis establish?

A: The Prime Minister, not the Governor General, holds power.

Q: When was Canada’s embassy in Washington established?

A: 1927.

Q: What did the Statute of Westminster (1931) do?

A: Gave Canada full legal freedom from British laws.

📷 Video Notes - Dr. Hastings

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Q: Who was Dr. Hastings?

A: Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health in 1911.

Q: What did Dr. Hastings advocate for?

A: Better living conditions and sanitation in slums.

Q: What was Toronto the first Canadian city to do, thanks to Dr. Hastings?

A: Pasteurize milk.

🇨🇦 Cultural Genocide

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Q: What was the goal of residential schools?

A: Assimilate Indigenous children into white Canadian culture.

Q: What year did the first residential school open?

A: 1831 (Mohawk Institute).

Q: When did the last residential school close?

A: 1996.

Q: What were the effects of residential schools?

A: Intergenerational trauma, cultural loss, identity crises.

Q: Who was Dr. Peter Bryce?

A: A medical officer who exposed death and abuse in residential schools.

Q: What did Dr. Bryce call the situation in his 1922 report?

A: “A national crime.”

Q: What happened to Dr. Bryce?

A: His work was suppressed by the government.