1.

I think the title does describe the decade, however, also leaves out very important parts of the

1920s. Yes, many of the inventions we still use today were designed in the 1920s, such as

commercial radio broadcasts, electric washing machines, refrigerators, garbage disposals, and

televisions. However, the 1920s was also very miserable. The Spanish flu killed 55,000 Canadians

right as the new decade started, and hundreds of businesses were closed or shut down. Racism

was at its prime, with many riots against businesses owned by “enemy aliens”. The economy

was also very inferior, resulting in low wages and high inflation, with simple foods costing twice

as much as they used to. Very atrocious working conditions, and exceedingly long hours. The

1920s had many technological advancements and introduced pop culture, but life was

despairing and downhearted.

Sear One thing I Where did I learn this? How does How else
ch believe -was it from an image/video clip/website? this impact would
Term about the -provide URLs or paste images here my thinking you
s 1920s: on whether describe
Used the 1920s the
‘roared’? 1920s?
-list other
descripto
rs
(adjective
s)
Spanish 55,000 https://www.ryerson.ca/alumni/news-and- The 1920s Miserable
Flu, Canadians stories/2020/09/a-look-at-pandemics-in-canada/ may have ,
deaths, died to the “roared” but sorrowful,
Canada Spanish Flu 55,000 unhappy.
Canadians
died to the
flu, almost
as many in
WWI
Enemy The Anti- https://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/a- The Anti- Costly,
aliens, Greek riot century-later-a-vicious-anti-greek-riot-in-toronto- Greek will dangerou
Anti- was one of offers-lessons-for-today/ forever be s, racist.
Greek Torontos remembere
riot, largest riots, d in Toronto
Canada, with and Canada
1920s. damages history and
costing will be used
$50,000, or as an
nearly example to
 $1,000,000 show our
today. It is past
estimated mistakes
that and show
anywhere how much
from 5,000 we have
– 20,000 improved
people since then.
participated
in the 3-day
riot.
Inflation, During the Many Expensive
Economy, 1920s, https://observationsandnotes.blogspot.com/2011 families , poor,
Canada, inflation was /03/100-years-of-inflation-history.html were no poverty,
1920s, at an all longer able jobless.
Low
wages time peak, https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Unemploym to put food
prices up by ent-Rate-1900-1998_fig1_5051954 on the table
nearly 20%. due to the
The high
unemploym inflation
ent rate also rates
spiked to combined
more than with the
15% at the high
start of the unemploym
new decade ent rates.
and didn’t Life
go down
until a little
later in the
decade,
around
1924.

Step 2

I give the 1920s a 7/10, in terms of how “roaring” it was. Yes, the focus in Canada, for the most part, was

entertainment. Films, commercial radio broadcasts, television, things we still use today to entertain

ourselves were being invented then. Central Canada was the birthplace for many of the greatest actors

and actresses in history. People could listen to a sports game, by turning on the radio and listening to

someone commentate on the game. Today, it seems normal but at the time this was revolutionary and

unthinkable. The average home was becoming more and more modern. However, it wasn’t like this

everywhere. At the time, one of Canada’s biggest problems included, but were not limited to, heavy

racism and xenophobia, inflation, and high unemployment rates. Citizens living in Canada from a
different culture/ethnicity were treated inhumanely and segregated from a lot of things that British

Canadians or caucasians were able to do, such as voting (women given the right to vote, however

women of different ethnicities, such as Japanese, First Nations, or German, were not allowed to vote),

certain jobs, and other activities. Unemployment rate was at an all time high (20%), and so was inflation

(15%). Many men could not get a job to support their family, the inflation rates also made it hard for a

working man to feed his family.

Step 4

Search One thing I Where did I learn this? How does How else
Terms believe -provide URL and website titles here this impact would you
Used about the my thinking describe
1920s: on whether the 1920s?
the 1920s -list other
was one of descriptors
progress or (adjectives
decline? )
Women, Women http://www.discovernikkei.org/en/interviews/cli Despite the Progressiv
women’s were given ps/842/ segregatio e,
rights, the right to n and segregated
immigrants, vote in the racism, the ,
xenophobia 1920s, 1920s was exclusionar
, voting however still a y
rights women of decade of
different progress.
origins
were
excluded.
This
included
Japanese,
First
Nations,
and African
Canadian
women.
Radio, The first https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/culture/clmhc- Commercia Technologi
commercial commercial hsmbc/res/information- l radio is cal,
radio, radio radio backgrounder/diffusion-radio-broadcasting still used to revolutiona
broadcasts, broadcast this day, ry,
1920s, in Canada and it has commercia
Canada took place come a l
in a very far
Montreal way since
facility. the 1920s.
They were It is by far
experimenti one of the
 ng with greatest
wireless technologic
broadcastin al
g, and soon advancem
after the ents in
success, history.
received a
license for
station
XWA in
December
of 1919.
Insulin, In 1921, Sir https://www.diabetes.org.uk/research/researc Insulin is Revolution
1920s, Frederick G h-impact/insulin one of the ary,
Canada, Banting greatest Medicinal,
Ontario, discovered medical lifesaving.
Toronto, insulin, a achieveme
Medicine, treatment nts in
Diabetes. to diabetes. history. It
Before the has saved
discovery, it millions of
was lives over
extraordina the last
ry if a 100 years.
patient with With the
type 1 discovery
diabetes of insulin,
lived for the
longer than University
a year, but of Toronto
with insulin became a
(at the much more
time), you acknowled
can live for ged school.
10+ years
longer.
Canada, In March https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/a The Independe
1920s, 1923, rticle/halibut-treaty signing of nt,
USA, Canada the halibut autonomou
Halibut, and the US treaty, s.
Fishing, negotiated without a
Recreation a treaty Britain
al Fishing. concerning official, not
fishing only
rights in the indicated
Pacific that the
Ocean. The economy’s
point of the focus was
treaty was shifting
to conserve from Britain
the stock of to the US,
fish in the it was also
ocean. one more
step for
Canada to
become e
 independe
nt.
Great Starting in https://www.sutori.com/en/story/canada-s- During the Miserable,
Depression 1929, the major-events-during-1920-s-and-1930-s- Great poor,
, 1929, stock timeline--24stj74irSKVbaQHrG1aBKr1 Depression unemploye
1939, market , no one d,
Canada, crashed had time to depressing
unemploym and have fun, .
ent rate. Canada everyone
suffered was too
very worried
heavily. about if
Millions of they could
Canadians afford to
were left feed their
unemploye families.
d, hungry, No one
and had time to
homeless. invent
Unemploy appliances
ment rates or
reached as electronics.
high as
60%. And
even the
employed
Canadians
were
making up
to $1000
less then
the living
wage per
year (1200-
1500 per
year is
considered
liveable
wage). The
Great
Depression
lasted 10
years.
Liquor, In the https://www.sutori.com/en/story/canada-s- The Dry,
liquor 1920s, the major-events-during-1920-s-and-1930-s- millions of bootleg,
prohibition, federal timeline--24stj74irSKVbaQHrG1aBKr1 dollars the illegal.
1920s, government governmen
Canada placed a t missed
prohibition out on
on the could have
consumptio been
n and invested
selling of into
alcohol. research,
This ban and
was heavily something
 supported revolutiona
by many ry might
different have came
unions and out of that
groups. At investment.
first, the At least the
ban crime rate
seemed had gone
like a great down and
idea, families
because were
there was a happier.
decrease in
crime rate,
and more
pay checks
were being
taken home
instead of
to the bar.
However,
once the
government
discovered
people
were selling
liquor
illegally,
they
realized the
millions of
dollars they
are missing
out on, so
the ban
was soon
lifted.
Documenta During the https://www.filmsite.org/20sintro.html Movies Entertainin
ry, films, 1920s, became g.
1920s, films and much more
Canada, movies popular
Quebec, became a during the
movies big thing. 1920s. It
Toronto was
was something
actually the everyone
birthplace had to
for many of watch at
the most least once
famous in their
actors and lives, a
actresses moving
in history. picture. At
The first the time,
ever the idea of
documentar a moving
 y (Nanook picture
of the must have
North) was still been
filmed in an
Quebec, unbelievabl
and e concept.
instantly At the time,
was a box around 800
office hit. movies
Movies saw were filmed
a large rise annually.
in interest Today,
in the around
1920s 2500
compared movies are
to the released
1910s. The annually.
1910s were The 1920s
mainly was an era
focused on in which
the war, everything
and so in that we still
the 1920s, use today
over 800 was
movies and invented.
documentar
ies were
filmed.

Step 5

My rating for the 1920s remains the same, 7/10. After doing my research, I am actually leaning closer to

6/10. There were times in the era where I believe the 1920s was a very roaring decade, however

everything else that happened balances out all the revolutionary inventions and discoveries. Racism,

xenophobia, sexism, discrimination, etc. At the time, it must have been very painful to be a descendant

of Japanese, indigenous, or “enemy alien” blood. Unable to vote, being underpaid, biggest riots in

Toronto history just because of where you are from. I cannot imagine everything that happened that

wasn’t recorded in history and completely wiped from media. Fortunately, times have changed and we

can all live happily, however discrimination has not been fully cleansed yet.