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Al Capone
Al Capone was a known mobster in the United States, he was popular for bootleg booze and dealing alcohol illegally. He was actually a fan favorite known to be a people pleaser and all his fan mail. He would rob out people and commit over 400 murders, he was never arrested for these crimes due to the high profits he used to pay off police officers. In 1930 he was eventually arrested by the FBI for tax evasion and got sent to Alcatraz for 11 years. His nickname was scar face and flashy. -
Spanish Flu
The soldiers returned home from WW1, they brought home a type of influenza that caused a mass epidemic in Canada. They brought home this virus from across the ocean, the type of Influenza was called the "Spanish flu". It came to Canada in 1918 and spread like wildfire, it affected many countries all around the world. There were horrible side effects like chest pain, seizures, and death. Schools, theaters, movies, and more were shut down. Over 50,000 Canadians died during this time. -
Radio
Radios became a common household item back in the 1920s, although it was originally invented in the 1890s. The radio became more convenient for more family's across Canada. It was a cheap and easy way for anyone to convey ideas or info. News and war affairs could now be broadcast nationally, concerts could be as well. This invention brought the nation together and was a whole new way to communicate and interact. -
Prohibition
in 1918, the federal government introduced prohibition, banning the production, import, and transportation of liquor across the country. This was during ww1 and was an effort for Canada to help support the war. This law caused more organized crime, many started to smuggle and sell liquor illegally. The prohibition enabled alcohol trafficking and mobsters like Al Capone would illegally sell/deal boose in gangs. -
Winnipeg General Strike
Worker's unrest came ahead in 1919 when more than 30,000 workers left their jobs to result in a strike. The strike was a result of workers leaving their jobs because of unfair acts and being disrespected. The building and trades council asked for decent wages, an eight-hour day, and more rights. This caused Mary Pickford to lead a huge protest with women and men all across Winnipeg. The strike was seen as hostile and a way to start a revolution, it ulitmently influenced bloody Saturday. -
Bloody Saturday
On June 21 "Bloody Saturday" violence erupted, it was a very tragic and dark day. Huge crowds gathered to watch a parade protesting the arrest of the strike leaders. The town mayor Charles Gray, in fear called up the North-West Mounted police. In addition Buisness hired special constables to scare away the protesters in fear for their buisness/shops. The riot turned ugly, the police charged and shot through the crowd. This lead to 1 man dying, over 30 injured, hundreds arested and left in fear. -
Residential Schools
Residential schools during 1920 caused trauma to thousands of Native Canadian children, disrupted lives and communities for years. Native Canadian children were taken away from their homes to be put into residential schools where European religion was forced upon them, they got taken away from their culture and beliefs for over 100’s of years. In the 1880s residential schools were made by the Canadian government as religious schools that were established to eliminate the indigenous culture. -
Jazz/Jazz music
Jazz gained popularity in the mid 1920's. Early jazz influencers started to manifest themselves in the music community by jazz and marching bands, which was the main popular way of concerts. New dances were devised to take advantage of the upbeat tempos of jazz and rag time music. Although the music was not popular with the older generation due to the nightclubing and parties that were venues for dancing. This became a great method of entertainment during the "roaring 20's". -
Sports/sporting events significance
During the 1920's sporting events became big and were known for the Golden age for sports. Sporting events such as the Olympics, hockey games, etc became a popular way of entertainment. College and pro sports were especially booming. Many athletes became known/popular like, Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey, and Lou Gehrig. The Olympics became a popular way for nations to come together and to take pride in their country. Women in sports also thrived, such as the Edmonton Grads and Bobbie Rosen Feild. -
Model T/the automobile
During the 1917's the automobile started to replace the horse and buggy, it didn't become common until the 1920s. When the "car" became popular/accessible for everyone, there was mass production for the assembly line. The first automobiles had flaws like, tow ropes that would break drivers' toes and cause many accidents/collisions. The first successful car was the Model T Ford in 1924. It ultimately brought people/families together, this made transportation faster and more affordable. -
Persons Case
In the late 1920s, women were sick of being treated unfairly and different from men. Many promenient women such as Emily Murphy and Henriette Edwards, decide to press the prime minister about the meaning of a "person". This got brought to the supreme court of Canada wherein in 1928 it got ruled women were not qualified as "persons". The privy council of Britain stated otherwise and as a result, women were valued in the eyes of the law as "persons" and no longer got denied basic rights. -
Great Depression and what caused it
The great depression was a time period from 1929-1940, when a large amount of the population in Canada became bankrupt, had little food, and was in economic dept. The main reasons for the depression were overproduction/expansion, Canada's dependence on primary products (wheat, fish, minerals, etc), Canada's reliance on the USA for 65% of all imports, and too much credit buying. All these lead to Canada and many citizens going completely broke. -
Black Tuesday
Balck Tuesday was the day the stock market crashed on October 29, 1929. This was a very dramatic event signaling the great depression. It was known as being a symptom/sign that the economy was not doing well in North America. The problem was, to much credit and buying of stocks. Many would buy stocks for only 10% of the price and pay the rest back later, this was called buying on margin. When the stocks dropper in value everyone took out their money which caused them to drop 50% in a few hours. -
Relief Camps
In 1934 the Canadian government set up the relief camp organization for unemployed men. After ww1 many men didn't have jobs and were struggling after the great depression. In exchange for food, clothes, and shelter the government created camps for men to work/do labour at. This provided them with work and eliminated the governments fear of an uprising occurring. They isolated the men up north to partake in nation projects, the food portions were small and men only got paid 20 cents an hour. -
Ottawa Trek
The Ottawa trek was a rebellion against the government by grown men who were sent away to relief camps. They were sick of being isolated up North, doing labour for only 20 cents an hour, horrid working conditions, little portions of food etc. Eventually, the men protested and escaped from the camps on freight trains heading to Ottawa. They were stopped at Ottawa by the Mounted police where mass commotion erupted and violence broke out. This disagreement/rebellion left many injured and one dead.