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The Spanish Flu of 1918 is a virus that attacks the respiratory system and is highly contagious. During this time there were no drugs or vaccines to prevent getting this virus and this flu was estimated to have infected 500,000 people worldwide, about 1/3 of the world population at the time. It is unknown where exactly this flu started but it was first observed in Europe, America, and areas of Asia before it spread worldwide. -
The Winnipeg General Strike was the biggest strike in Canadian history. Public transport workers, shop employees, as well as public employees like police and firemen all joined the strike, more than 30,000 workers left their jobs to protest against poor working conditions, low wages, and a lack of bargaining rights. The strike lasted from May 15 to June 25, 1919, and resulted in many injured, some arrested and even some killed. -
"Bloody Saturday", June 21st, marks the end of the Winnipeg General Strike. The RCMP was sent to handle a riot that had started, the officers fired shots into the crowd killing two workers, Mike Sokolowski and Steve Szczerbanowicz, and injuring others. Strike leaders later called off the strike. -
The U.S 19th amendment granted white american women the right to vote. After many years of protesting, petitions, and lectures, these women were legally granted the right to vote. -
Prohibition was the ban of manufacturing, trasporting, and selling alcohol from 1920-1933 under the terms of the 18th amendment. Prohibition was meant to reduce negative effects of alcohol consumption such as social issues, crime, and health issues. The prohibition era led to a lot of organized crime like bootlegging, and speakeasies. -
Amendments to the Indian Act in 1920 made it mandatory for native children aged 7 to 16 to attend residential schools. these schools were government funded, church run schools that were meant to "kill the indian in the child." Stripping the children of their culture, teaching them more modern ways of doing things. These schools resulted in emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, and numerous child deaths. Those who survived had to deal with the trauma they had experienced at these schools. -
The Group of Seven was founded in 1920 as an organization of self-proclaimed modern artists, composed of Franklin Carmichael, Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson, Franz Johnston, Arthur Lismer, J.E.H. MacDonald and F.H. Varley. Tom Thomson was a leading influence, but died before the group was formed. Their style of painting gained international attention and is seen as an integral part of Canada's nationality. -
IN the summer of 1921 students from the University of Toronto begain trying new experiments suggested by Dr. Frederick Banting. By the spring of 1922, 3 researchers Frederick Banting, J.B. Collip, Charles Best, and their supervisor J.J.R Macleod were able to accounce their discovery of insulin -
The Great Depression was the longest and most severe depression to exist. The Great Depression began around 1929 and was said to end during WW2 in 1941. After the stock market crash, the unemployment rate spiked and there was a mass increase in poverty and homelessness. -
The Persons Case was a case in which five famous five fought to be considered "persons". The British North America Act of 1867 specified that only qualified persons could be sentors, and the court relied on an old British definition of "women are persons in matters of pains and penalties, but not persons in matters of rights and privelleges". The Canadian Senate did not consider them "persons", but the British Privy Council did. -
The U.S. stock market expanded during the 1920s, but began to decline during September and October of 1929. Panic set in and on October 24, over 12 million shares were traded. October 29, 1929, also known as Black Tuesday, over 16 million shares were traded on the New York Stock Exchange in one day, resulting in billions of dollars lost and thousands of investors wiped out. The stock market crash accelerated the economic collapse, but was not the primary cause of the Great Depression. -
This term refers to the devastating dust storms during a severe drought in the 1930s. Farmers suffered much from this drought, crops failed across the prarie region, people and livestock losing their lives. By 1934, an estimated 35 million acres of land was determined useless -
William Lyon Mackenzie King was the prime minister of Canada during the Great Depression. He refused to give federal unemployment benefits to those who were unemployed, saying he would not even give them a 5 cent piece. This caused Conservatives to view him as incapable of running the Canadian government, they benefited greatly from this speech and won the election later in 1930. -
A British law that was passed on December 11, 1931. This law made all Commonwealth countries independent and equal with Britain. -
September 1st 1939 marks the start of the second world war.