1900-1945 History

Canada has been shaped by the historical influences of World War 1, The Roaring 20's & Dirty 30's and World Was 2; setting the basis for the society for which we live in today. World Was 1 had a big impact on Canada because it started the process of giving woman rights and showing people that they can do the same jobs men can do. The Roaring 20's & Dirty 30's has a big effect on the country because people went from having a lot of luxuries in the 20's, To having no luxuries in the 30's. When World War 2 came it gave people jobs and money so they could buy back everything they lost in the depression.

World War 1 started when Archduke and Archduchess were killed while on a visit in Serbia. The Austro-Hungarian government blamed Serbia for there deaths. They sent Serbia an ultimatum. An ultimatum is a demand by one government to another to accept its terms or face war. Austria-Hungary wanted Serbia to 1) put down all hatred against them. 2) Punish all those involved in the assassination plot. 3) Allow Austro-Hungarian officials into Serbia to help crush the Black Hand. The Serbs agreed to all the terms but the last one. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on July 6 1914. Russia, who was an ally of Serbia, started to mobilize its troops. France was Russia's ally started to mobilize its forces too. Germany felt threatened by France and Russia so they ask them to stop mobilizing. When they didn't Germany declared war on Russia on Aug 1, 1914 and on France the next day. Germany was planning on attacking France through Belgium that was a neutral nation. Britain had promised Belgium that they would protect them if they were ever invaded. So when Belgium was invaded, Britain declared was on Germany. Canada was part of the British Empire they were automatically at war. At first everyone wanted to go to war. They thought it would be over in a few months. Since the country was making so many supplies for the war everyone had jobs and money. People were going out and buying brand new cars and houses. They were buying things that they never would have bought before the war. Since most of the men were fighting, the women had to do the jobs that the men usually did. They even gained the night to vote with the wartime elections act. Without World War 1 it may taken women a lot long to gain the right to vote. The war came to an end the treaty of Versailles. Some of the major terms of the treaty of Versailles were: After March 31 1920 the German army must not exceed

100 000 soldiers. The German Naval forces must not exceed 6 battle ships, 6 light cruisers, 12 destroyers and 12 torpedoes. They are not to have submarines. They are not to have a military air force. Germany must accept the responsibility for causing all the loss and damage that the Allies and there citizens have suffered. That was only a few of the terms Germany has to agree to. If the terms weren't so harsh maybe other wars wouldn't have broken out.

In the 20's everything was going great. People could afford cars and radios. They were investing in the stock market and buying on credit. There were many new inventions in the 20's. There was the radio, it allowed people who lived in the country to get the news at the same time that someone in the city would. It also provided people with entertainment right in there homes. There was the Automobile. People didn't have to live close to their work. They could live right out side of town where the houses were cheaper. It made it a lot easier to get around and to get to a place faster. In the 1920's women still didn't enjoy all the privileges men had. Even though they had the right to vote, there were few who were elected into the House of Commons. In the eyes of the law a woman was not a "person". Emily Murphy and four other women started to appeal to the prime minister, but the supreme court of Canada decided that women were not "persons". So the five of them went to Britain to see the Privy Council about their case. They declared that women were persons in the eye of the law. When the 1930's came around everything went down hill. In October 1929 the stock market crashed. Many people put their life savings into the stock market and lost everything they owned. Lots of them ended up homeless. Some of the causes of the great depression was that since the United States was our biggest trading partner, that when there economy went down so did we. There were no longer needed to buy our goods, so people here were laid off and we were no longer getting money from the states. So many people were buying on credit. They were buying everything they needed on money that they didn't have. They just