CHAPTER 5 PROSPERITY AND DEPRESSION

CHAPTER 5 PROSPERITY AND DEPRESSION

THE ECONOMY OF NEWFOUNDLAND During this time, Newfoundland and Labrador was an independent colony within the British Commonwealth (similar to Canada), and its 1920s experience was similar to that of the Maritimes. (Basically not so good.) There was a significant expansion in the forestry sector. A second newsprint mill opened in Corner Brook, and there was some expansion in mining. These expansions helped expand the Newfoundland economy from relying on the fishery, but they didn t create a meaningful economic growth for the average worker.

NEWFOUNDLAND CONT Economic growth was further limited owing to the minimal accumulation of capital in Newfoundland. Most investors in industries such as mining and paper were from outside the country, meaning profits were not reinvested in Newfoundland. Throughout the 1920s, the price of fish and newsprint declined. NL government also faced increasing debt to contributions in WWI and the island-wide railway. By the end of the 1920s, Newfoundland was very fragile.

QUESTIONS! Read [insert class-wide groan here] through pages 77-80 to find the information you will need to answer these questions three! 1. How did these factors hamper the Maritime and Newfoundland economies in the 1920s? 1. Railway 2. Lack of capital for investment 3. Development of hydroelectric power 4. Tariffs (taxes) 2. How did the lack of secondary industries limit economic growth? 3. Why might people have believed that a Maritime union would be beneficial?

5.2 LIFESTYLE AND TECHNOLOGY Ever hear of the Roaring Twenties? The 1920s were referred to this for the good times and social freedoms of the decade. The Haves: As wages increased, workers had to spend money on the new products that were being mass produced. The installment plan, which allowed consumers to buy now, pay later was introduced for those without the money or the patience to wait. For the first time, people began to buy on credit. People thought the good times were here to stay, so they didn t worry about getting into debt.

THE HAVES CONT. Cars were all the rage. In 1923, a Ford automobile cost $440 ($5730 in today s money), and the options included: a spare tire, a speedometer, or lights. Top speed was about 75 km/h. Telephones also became popular. In 1920, ¼ families had a telephone, but by 1929, in many regions of Canada, that number grew to ¾!

THE 1920S

THE HAVE NOTS The working poor did not benefit from the 1920s boom. In rural regions of Canada, families with little money would use the products they grew to barter with storekeepers for basic necessities. In towns and cities, the working poor struggled day-to-day, often without electricity. Many African Canadians and Canadians of Asian descent found themselves among the working poor.

HAVE NOTS CONT Women, in particular, had a rough time. During the war, the women made headway in the world of work because they needed to pick up the slack since the men were fighting. When the men returned, however, many women lost their jobs. Most girls left school by grade 8 and were expected to leave the workforce once they got married. Some women with education could be employed as teachers, nurses, bookkeepers, or secretaries. Unskilled women could only find work as clerks in offices, stores, and factories.

HAVE NOTS CONT Some women did attend university. In 1920, 16.3% of undergraduates were women. By 1930 it was 23.5%. Even though some women had university degrees and had greater access to jobs, they were paid far less than men in the same positions. Many young people worked in family businesses or left school to join the workforce, despite new child labour laws. By 1929, new child labour laws prevented children under age 14 from working in factories and mines in most provinces.

ABORIGINAL GROUPS AND THE 1920S The federal government hoped to assimilate Aboriginal peoples into the mainstream culture. They thought the Aboriginal peoples would benefit if they gave up their own values, beliefs and cultures, and adopted mainstream culture. (ethnocentric) Aboriginal children aged 7-15 had to go to residential schools, where they were removed from their families and forbidden to speak their native languages, wear their own clothing, or participate in their own cultural celebrations.

ABORIGINAL PEOPLES CONT... In Newfoundland, the Beothuk, Mi kmaq, Innu & Inuit never signed treaties with the English or French during Canada s early colonization, or with NL s government, so there was no formal policy to enforce assimilation. Interactions with the Moravians and other aspects of mainstream western culture, however, did result in the adoption of some mainstream practices. Mohawk First World War veteran, Fred Loft (Onodeyoh) founded the League of Indians of Canada in Dec. 1918. He wanted to improve the standard or education offered to First Nations in Canada. In 1927, the government made it illegal for First Nations to organize politically or to hire lawyers to represent them in any claims against the government. These restrictions remained in force until 1951.

LEISURE The inventions of radio and motion pictures (films) enriched leisure activities in the 1920s. Early radios were in high demand. Listeners had to use headphones and struggled to hear the sound. Radios were a means to make information and entertainment available to a wider audience. Silent movies were also a popular form of entertainment. Mary Pickford (Toronto) became a popular movie star and was called America s sweetheart. She starred in several silent movies, as well as some talkies when they were created in the 1930s.

LEISURE Charlie Chaplin: The Lion s Cage 1929 (I THINK!)

SPORTS Canada s Golden Age of Sports! More Canadians started attending sporting events such as baseball, football, and boxing. Hockey could be heard on the radio. Women began to take part in sports. In 1928, women were able to compete in track and field at the Olympics for the first time. (We won gold in the 400m relay!)

CHANGING AND CONFLICTING ATTITUDES Night clubs became popular in the 1920s. The flappers were a group that many considered to offensive. These young, urban women would rebel against conventions in dress and behaviour, and were considered scandalous. The Charleston was the dance to learn! Women s clothing demonstrated a new freedom for women. Skirts became shorter. Hairstyles were boyish. Men started wearing baggy pants, hats and bowties.

QUESTIONS (SIGH, I KNOW) Page 86: Review and Reflect : #1 and #2 That s not so bad, is it?

5.3: CAUSES OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION The Stock-Market Crash October 29, 1929: Black Tuesday is the day New York s stockmarket crashed. What are stocks?: A stock is a share in the ownership of a company. Many companies sold stocks in the 1920s to raise money to develop new products. Someone who buys a stock is promised a share in the company s profit, called a dividend. During WWI, Canadians were encouraged to buy victory bonds, which were guaranteed certificates that were used to raise money for the war. After the war these bonds could be cashed in for the price they were bought for plus an additional amount of money called interest.

THE STOCK-MARKET CRASH On October 24, 1929, share prices began falling dramatically on the New York Stock Exchange (the major stock exchange in North America.) Shares became worth less and less money. By Tuesday, October 29, thousands of investors crowded the New York Stock Exchange frantically trying to sell their stocks before they loss more money. Without the confidence of investors, the stock market crashed. The Great Depression had begun.

THE ROOTS OF THE DEPRESSION The roots of the Great Depression can be traced back to spending and buying habits during the 1920s. People became greedy. Manufacturing practices were another root cause of the Depression. Companies produced more goods than customers wanted. By 1928 and 1929 there were clear signs that economies around the world were slowing down. Canada s economy became closely connected to that of the USA during the 1920s. Canada relied heavily on exports to the USA, and as the USA s economy slowed, Canada lost a lot of that trade. USA investors pulled out of Canada and branch plants closed.

By 1932, international trade had dropped by 50%. From the levels of the 1920s. Hundreds of thousands of people around the world lost their jobs. Financial institutions were less regulated by government than they are today, so many banks in the USA failed, wiping out the savings of thousands of people. People started getting laid off. Unemployment hurt the economy even more. Nobody could pay for anything they had bought on credit. The Great Depression lasted through much of the 1930s and the economy only recovered with the start of the Second World War.

5.4 EFFECTS OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION Most Canadians, including the prime minister at the time (William Lyon Mackenzie King), thought that the Depression was a temporary setback and that recovery was just around the corner. (1929) King, leader of the Liberal Party, was beat by R.B. Bennett (Conservative) in 1930. Bennett promised to fix the economy and his government gave $20 million in aid to the provinces. The provinces used the money for public relief (welfare) and public works projects (building roads, etc). Bennett believed that a balanced budget was key to ending the Depression, and he waited for the recovery. Things got worse. A Bennett Buggy was a car that had its engine removed and was hitched to horses. People could no longer afford to maintain a proper working vehicle.

5.4 CONTINUED Social Conditions It was almost impossible for unskilled labourers, small-business owners, farmers and young people to find work. Conditions worsened for already disadvantaged groups such as women, First Nations, and the visible minorities. Luxuries and extras vanished except for those who were wealthy. Even the essentials vanished for many people, causing a large amount of homeless and starving people. During the 1930s there were no government assistance programs such as medicare, unemployment insurance, or child tax credits.

HARD TIMES More found on page 90-91. (You don t need to copy this. Hooray!) One winter we practically had to live on potatoes. Don t laugh, but in the spring when they were sprouting, the sprouts became our vegetables. From Ten Lost Years by Barry Broadfoot. As many as 7 families would save money by crowding into quarters designed for far fewer, using a common sink in the hallway and climbing several flights of stairs to get water. From The Great Depression by Pierre Berton

People tried everything to get jobs. They tried door-to-door sales, begging, borrowing from family members, asking for charity from the churches. When all else failed, people asked for public relief, aka the dole or pogey. This was a humiliating task, as there were embarrassing requirements: Example: In Ontario you had to give up alcohol and your driving licence. In relief camps men were sent to live in camps and to labour at clearing brush, cutting wood, or building roads. Other people just became hobos and jumped into empty train boxcars to travel across Canada looking for work.

POLITICAL CHANGES Canadians believed traditional political parties were failing to deal with the problems that had led to the Great Depression, and so a number of new political parties were formed. The Communist Party: became well known in the 1930s. It was based on a belief that all people should have a share in society s prosperity. Members protested against social injustice and supported government assistance for relief and housing. Many feared the party was controlled by the Soviet Union, where communists had overthrown the government. The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF): A coalition of farmers, labour leaders, & university professors. They believed in public ownership of utilities and transportation, government-funded pensions, health and welfare insurance, children s allowances, unemployment insurance, and worker s compensation.

The Social Credit Party: believed that the government should give people money (in the form of a $25 credit) so they could buy things. If people could buy things, the business cycle would be revived, jobs would return and the Depression would end. The Union Nationale Party of Quebec: An alliance of former Liberals and Conservatives and Quebec nationalists who wanted change. Proposed reforms to end unemployment and the hardships of the Depression.

New political actions did not end the Depression. Economic conditions gradually improved as the decade progressed. International trade began to increase, employment began to return. In 1938 the unemployment rate in Canada was still12-13% (it had been 3% in 1929 before the stock market crashed.) In 1933 the unemployment rate was at its highest at around 30%. It would take a war to change this statistic.