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Prohibition
Prohibition was a ban on the production and consumption of alcohol nationally, in 1918. Federal and local governments enforced the restriction because the manufacturing was delaying soldiers wheat construction when they were in the war, to decrease domestic violence, and the overall lack of benefit alcohol brought to the world. Prohibition resulted in speakeasies, less alcohol-related violence, more fatal crime, a busier police workforce, and eliminated several occupations. -
Spanish Flu
In 1918 soldiers were returning home from the war and brought back a strange yet fatal illness called the “Spanish Flu”. During the war soldiers came in contact with Europe while in combat, which led to the name “Spanish Flu”. In 1918, the Spanish Flu was spreading uncontrollably and leading several people to their demise. Later in 1919 to restrict the spread health measures were enforced. They consisted of quarantine, no social gatherings, employment decreasement, traveling, etc. -
Bloody Saturday
On Jun 21, 1919, in Winnipeg, Manitoba “Bloody Saturday” occurred. It was around the end of the Winnipeg General Strike, the strikers began flipping cars and lighting them on fire. The mayor did not condone this behavior and requested the Mounted Police’s assistance. When the Mounted Police arrived they began beating strikers with clubs and firing bullets towards the ground. Approximately 15 policemen were injured, 30 civilians were injured, and 2 strikers were killed. -
Golden Age of Sports
Throughout the 1920s and 30s, sports were very favorable. Even so, the 1920s were called the “Golden Age of Sports”. Specifically, amateur sporting rather than professional, as people found it to be more exciting to watch ordinary people’s capabilities. Sports were a huge asset to the consumption economy market, people invested so much time and money into them. While civilians had their free time in the 1920s athletics was a popular source of attention. -
Radio
The radio was a thrilling, insightful, and convenient source of entertainment in the 1920s. It was a profitable origin of news, sports, music, and skits. Instead of travelling to sporting events people would tune into a certain channel of spectators narrating, when people danced anywhere radio was utilized, to replace newspapers there were radio channels to listen to, and verbal acting was also popular audio. The radio invention was a huge asset to the consumption of products. -
Flapper
In the 1920s, Flappers were advocates for women's freedom, sexuality, and amusement. They cut their hair to “bobs”, wore dresses that exposed their calves and chests, constantly partied, drank alcohol, and practiced sexual freedom. Flappers were introduced to the world when the 1920s entertainment was extremely popular and people gained free time. The power of flappers came solely from influence, they knew what they desired and were persistent. -
Residential Schools
Across Canada and in the 1920s and 30s Indigenous children of ages, 7-15 were forcibly removed from their homes and put into residential schools. Residential schools are physically, emotionally, and sexually abusive towards the students there. The purpose of the schools was to transform and “fix” indigenous children’s religion and culture to the Christian Canadian citizen’s routines. The events these schools committed are an example of cultural genocide. -
Jazz Age
While entertainment was the main attraction of the 1920s, dancing was a huge hit as an understatement. The music people listened to was Jazz while they danced The Charleston. Jazz originated in New Orleans and vastly spread to Canada and the US. Young citizens were typically dancing the most, but amusement didn’t have any age requirements to enjoy it. -
Group of Seven
In 1920, the “Group of Seven” was formed. They are seven artists who painted impressionism of Canadian landscapes. The party consisted of Lawren S. Harris, J.E.H. MacDonald, Frederick Varley, Arthur Lismer, Frank Johnston, Franklin Carmichael, and A.Y.. Their paintings gained fame for displaying the insights of Canada, and deeper beauty. -
Insulin
In 1922, over a million people in North America had Diabetes and were vastly dying. Sir Fredrick G Banting, Charles H Best, and JJR Macleod discovered that the hormone Insulin was missing in Diabetic people, in Toronto, Canada. They managed to separate it as an individual medicine and treated the sickly community. -
Talkies
In the year 1927 “talkies” became available to the eager public. They were short films with audio, as there was no audio before 1927. With entertainment consuming the 1920s films and talkies were one of the main sources of content. People in the 1920s craved fun and the original quiet films were popular and talkies brought significant consumption. A famous actor Charlie Chaplin, had a character named the “Little Tramp”. The Little Tramp was a frumpy, cheap, and clumsy young man. -
Persons Case
The persons case was a constitutional ruling that established the right of women to be appointed to the Senate and took place on October 18, 1929, in London, England. The famous five initiated it, which consisted of Emily Murphy, Henrietta Muir Edwards, Nellie McClung, Louise Crummy McKinney, and Irene Parlby. In 1928, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that women were not “persons” according to the British North America Act. -
Black Tuesday
On October 29, 1929, on Wall St, New York the New York Stock Exchange crashed. This deleterious event is titled “Black Tuesday” and involved thousands of people. The reason for it occurring was that millions of people invested their savings or borrowed money to buy stocks, pushing prices to unsustainable levels, which led it to plummet. -
Bennett Buggy
As poverty took over during the great depression in the 1930s, one result of it was the fact that people couldn’t afford gasoline. This is when the “Bennett Buggy” was invented. A Bennett Buggy was a car with the engine, windows, and frame taken out. People additionally added a tongue to them, powered by horse. The mobile was named after former Prime Minister, R.B. Bennett to blame him for the country’s deficit. -
Five Cent Speech
The five-cent speech was a statement made by Mackenzie King, the former Prime Minister of Canada on April 3, 1930. Talking to the Canadian Parliament, he explained his belief how the Canadian government should not give unemployment benefits to provincial governments in Canada with Conservative leadership. The speech gained him great hate for his lack of sympathy for the civilians of Canada and their hardships.