Great Depression Politics

Transcription

1 Great Depression Politics

2 I Need a Dollar Aloe Blacc is singing about losing his job during the Great Recession what are some of the problems that someone from the Great Depression would share with him?

3 Great Depression vs. Great Recession

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5 What did the Government Do? Mackensie King thought that the problems of the Depression were temporary. He told Canadians that relief was the responsibility of Provincial and Municipal governments Many municipal governments had gone bankrupt Mackensie King also said he would not give a five cent piece to a Conservative government King is famous for this remark, and it caused him to lose the 1930 election

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7 RB Bennett RB Bennett was also not in favor of government relief He believed one of the greatest assets a man can have on entering life s struggle is poverty Bennett s government did introduce some things to help Canadians get through the Depression

8 Unemployment Relief Act Gave the Provinces $20 million for work creation programs. This did not improve the economy

9 Tariffs Bennett tried to use Tariffs to blast a way into world markets and out of the depression He raised tariffs by more than 50% to protect Canadian industries This protected some businesses It did more harm than good in the long term other nations set up trade barriers against Canada.

10 Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Act Introduced in 1935 to help farmers build irrigation systems and reservoirs Drought and poverty had already forced many families to leave their farms and go elsewhere.

11 Work Camps Bennett created a network of work camps for single men Work camps were usually located deep in the woods and the men were very isolated. Men worked on projects building roads, clearing land, and digging drainage ditches. They were paid $0.20 a day and given a place to stay and something to eat. The food was terrible and the bunks were often bug infested More than men spent time in these camps

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13 Red Scare There was a fear that the jobless young men would become communists Many middle class Canadians were afraid that a communist party could take over In 1931 Bennett made a law that outlawed communist agitation (talking about communism, organizing around communism) Communist Party Leader Tim Buck was convicted and spent 2 years in prison.

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16 On to Ottawa Trek 1935 more than 1000 men left the relief camps to protest camp conditions and demand higher pay They joined the Relief Camp Workers Union and they decided to take their complaints directly to the prime minister in a protest called the On to Ottawa Trek

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18 On to Ottawa The men road in and on top of freight cars Many people supported them with food and supplies, or joined the trek By the time they reached Regina in Saskatchewan, 2000 people were included Bennett responded by calling in the RCMP to stop them in Regina The protestors were kept in a stadium and only the leaders were allowed to go to Ottawa

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21 Regina Riot The union leaders met with Bennett had hopes of being heard, but Bennett attacked them as communist radicals and troublemakers The RCMP in Regina were ordered to clear the trekkers from the stadium but the trekkers resisted and fought the police for hours This incident is called the Regina Riot one officer was killed, many were injured and 130 men were arrested

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23 New Deals United States US President Franklin Roosevelt introduced a New Deal The New Deal was public works programs, or jobs for unemployed and farmers He introduced Social Security which included old age pension, unemployment insurance, financial assistance for dependent mothers and children The US Government spent billions of dollars to get the economy working again. It did not end the Depression but it helped millions of people to survive.

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27 New Deals - Canada RB Bennett did not want to spend government money, but before the 1935 election he surprised everyone

28 Bennetts New Deal Progressive Taxation: If you earned more money, you would pay more tax. Workers Insurance: Protects workers against illness, injury and unemployment Workplace Reforms: Regulated working hours, minimum wages, working conditions

29 Bennetts New Deal Old Age Pensions: Money for people over 65 Agricultural Support Programs: Help farmers, created the Canada Wheat Board to regulate prices

30 Protest Politics Canadians want new answers to the problems of the Depression. New political parties were created.

31 CCF - Co-Operative Commonwealth Federation The CCF was created in 1932 in the prairies It was Canada s first socialist party The CCF believed capitalism caused inequality and greed. Capitalism caused the Depression The CCF supported the government controlling the economy. J.S Woodsworth was chosen as the party leader. By 1939 the CCF was the Opposition party in British Columbia and Saskatchewan.

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33 Regina Manifesto J.S Woodsworth was the leader of the CCF The CCF party platform was called the Regina Manifesto It opposed free market economies It thought the public should own key industries It wanted social programs to help the elderly, unemployed, homeless and the sick Woodsworth also wanted the government to spend money on public works projects (building things like parks and libraries)

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35 Social Credit Party Led by Bible Bill Aberhart Based on idea that capitalism was a wasteful economic system Aberhart thought that the government should release money into the economy so that people could spend it This idea appealed to people in Alberta because they were hit very heavily by the Depression

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37 Social Credit Aberhart promised each citizen a basic dividend of $25 per month to buy necessities The federal government said that a province could not make its own money and Social Credit was disallowed by the Supreme Court. Social Credit was in power in Alberta until 1971

38 Union Nationale Maurice Duplessis formed the Union Nationale The Union Nationale supported Quebec Nationalism, was supported by the Catholic church and rural voters The political platform was based on improved working conditions, social insurance programs, publicly owned power companies, and farm credits During his first term there was not much change and things did not change much in the future. Duplessis was Premier until 1959

39 Ontario Liberals The Ontario liberals came to power in 1934 for the first time in 29 years. Mitchell Hepburn supported the causes of the little man He did little to help improve Ontario s economy, and was against unionization

40 BC Liberals Dufferin Pattullo brought the Liberals into power He believed that the province should spend money on programs He introduced reforms: Shorten the work day Increase the minimum wage Increase relief payments by 20% He built the Fraser River bridge in New Wesminister, and a new city hall The federal government challenged his authority to introduce programs that were considered to be in the federal domain

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42 Questions: What do the new political parties have in common? What are their differences?

43 Unemployment Out of 11 million Canadians only 300,000 could pay income tax in Married people earning more than $2000 per year, and single people earning more than $1000 paid tax but at this time, only 300,000 people could afford to pay People were evicted from their homes because they could not pay rent.

44 Pogey Government relief payments were called pogey The payments were kept low to encourage people to look for a job People had to wait in line to collect their payments They had to swear that they did not have anything of value, and prove that they were being evicted from their home. People were given vouchers to be exchanged for food and essentials but the vouchers did not cover all expenses

45 Riding the Rails Winter 1933 ¼ of Canadians were unemployed. Young, jobless and homeless men looked for work They travelled by hopping the freight riding trains carrying supplies. After riding the rails, men would stay in shanty towns which started to grow outside of cities

46 The Disadvantaged There was discrimination with emergency assistance money City families received more money than country families because the government through country families could grow food etc. Immigrants, Aboriginals people and women were very disadvantage More than 28,000 immigrants were deported from Canada by 1935

47 The Disadvantaged The Chinese population in Vancouver suffered greatly Many people did not qualify for relief payments By 1932 many people were starving in the Chinese community:

48 Chinese Community in Vancouver By 1932 destitute Chinese men, most of them elderly, were begging in the street the first.. Chinese deaths from starvation finally forced the provincial government to show some concern. It funded the Anglican Church Mission s soup kitchen but it expected a Chinese to be fed at half of what it cost to feed a white man on relief. Some desitute Chinese said they d rather starve than accept relief. - Denise Chong, The Concubine s Children, 1994

49 Jewish Community The Jewish community was also targeted They faced anti-semitism Many professions were closed to them, employers posted signs forbidding them to apply. Many clubs, organizations and resorts barred Jewish people. This made it very difficult to make ends meet during the depression

50 First Nations People Aboriginal Families were only given $5 per month in relief compared to the $19 - $60 given to non aboriginal families. They were expected to live off the land although they couldn t because the land on reserves was so poor. The government continued to cut off land from the reserves, limiting aboriginal people s resources further

51 First Nations People In Vancouver the government transferred land from the Squamish Capilano Indian Reserve to the company building the Lions Gate bridge, without consulting or compensating the First Nation. In 1939 King George and Queen Elizabeth drove over the bridge to honour it. The Squamish first nation asked the royal couple to stop and receive gifts but their request was ignored Later they were assured that their majesties took particular pains to acknowledge the homage of their Indian subjects, and that in passing them the rate of speed was considerable lowered.

52 The Plight of Women There were few jobs for women other than domestic work which paid only a few dollars a week Some people believed that working women contributed to the depression they took jobs from the men. Some people believed that women should be supported by a husband, brother or father Most unemployed single woemn did not qualify for government relief and relied on charities

53 The Plight of Women In Vancouver, the Women s Labour League campaigned for more support providing milk for babies, clothing allowance for women and children, and medical care for pregnant women during the Depression

54 The Fortunate Minority Wealthy Canadians did not see a big change in their life style. Gray Miller earned $25,000 a year as CEO of Imperial Tobacco Clerks in the companies United Cigar store earned $1300 a year, working 54 hours per week.