1920s History Quiz Study Guide

Winnipeg General Strike

• hard times (recession) and Spanish Flu (many die in Canada) follow the war
• workers faced with unemployment and increased cost of living
• returning soldiers face similar hardships
• workers demand decent wages, 8-hour day, and the right to unionize
• working classes are inspired by Russia’s communist revolution
• business leaders and government fear the Bolshevik “Red Menace” and the prospect of
labour unrest culminating in a general strike (or revolution)
• after business owners refuse to address labour’s concerns, a general strike breaks out in
Winnipeg in 1919
• the establishment (government and business) forces unite to defeat the popular
movement with its seemingly revolutionary overtones
• violence erupts as police clash with labour demonstrators
• incident draws national attention to the concerns of labour but more importantly the
willingness of authorities to crush any such radical protests

Important to know:
Russian Revolution
Labour Unrest
Winnipeg General Strike
 Person’s Case
• women could vote and hold office but they could not accept appointments (become
judges or sit in the Senate) because they were not officially “qualified persons”
• a group of women decided to ask Prime Minister Borden to appoint Emily Murphy to
the Senate
• Borden refused to do so
• for years women’s groups and government officials would argue the matter
• exasperated, a group of women (the “Famous Five”) decide to challenge this in court,
sparking a lengthy legal battle
• Canada’s Supreme Court, however, would uphold the ruling that women were not
persons
• the women then appealed the “Persons Case” to a higher court in Britain
• in 1929 this court ruled in their favour: women were indeed persons

Important to know:
Famous Five / Privy Council Emily Murphy

Prohibition:
• in addition to other causes, women urged the government to place a ban on
the purchase, production or sale of alcohol (Prohibition)
• during the war years many provinces would introduce Prohibition (to
support the war effort and cure the evils of society)
• some like PEI eagerly adhered to it while others like Quebec never embraced
the policy
• one by one during the 1920s the provinces would abandon Prohibition
• the ban on alcohol continued in the United States and many Canadians, like
Samuel Bronfman, profited by supplying Americans with alcohol
• crime and corruption became a serious problem (Al Capone)
• both people for and against Prohibition came to agree that it would be best to
end the ban and let government regulate and tax the production and sale of
alcohol
• along with the income tax (started during the war), the alcohol business
becomes a great source of revenue for the government

Roaring Twenties:
– a release of pent up frustration after years of war
– newly (and gradually) won rights and influence for women
– controversy over alcohol
– Jazz music, dancing and Flappers
– political change for a young nation
– new prosperity for some, labour unrest for others
– new technologies