Transcript The Roaring Twenties - Langley School District #35

The Roaring Twenties
Armistice Day 1918: Crowds in London's Tralfalgar
Square celebrating the end of the first world war

When the 1920s arrived, there was
excitement in the air!
◦ Why?

Things seemed to be changing very
rapidly for the better:
◦ WWI was over and Canada was victorious!
◦ People were trying to find things that would
help them forget the horrors of war.

How do you forget about the past?
◦ If you change the world, it will not remind you
of the past.
◦ Canadians started listening to new music
(jazz).
◦ They started wearing shocking new clothes!
◦ New inventions were completely changing life
at home (electricity, washing machines,
dishwashers, cars, movies, telephones…).

Although many people were enjoying
these new luxuries, for many others this
new wealth was only an illusion:

When soldiers came back in 1919, they
found:
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No special medical services for the wounded.
Very few jobs
No pensions for veterans
Lower wages
Higher prices
The factory owners who had stayed home were
richer than ever!
◦ The soldiers who had risked their lives had
gained nothing!
Wounded Soldiers

Result: Confrontations between workers
and employers became inevitable.

What did the workers do?

They began to form unions.
◦ This resulted in strikes across Canada.
◦ Many times, the strikes became violent!
◦ In March of 1919, workers from western
Canada formed the One Big Union (OBU).

What was the purpose of the OBU?
◦ To represent all Canadian workers.
◦ Their main weapon was the general strike.

How did the government respond?
◦ They were afraid that the OBU would give
workers too much power.
◦ Some feared it would lead to a communist
revolution.
◦ Result: The OBU was quickly broken up by the
government and declared illegal.