Conscription and Its Negative Effects in WWI

The government and the general populace realized how hard the woman had worked for the sake of Canada, and this earned woman the respect that they had longed for from the general populace and the government. Furthermore, this very sense of respect was proved when the government under Prime Minister Borden approved the War measures act on September 20, 1917(“Woman’s right to vote in Canada”). This very act was a prime gesture from the Canadian government that illustrated how winning the respect of the people resulted in the destruction of the misogynistic sentiments of that era. Furthermore, many historians regard the “War Times Act” as a gesture that was carried out in order to acknowledge the efforts that women had done in order to aid in the war(“Suffrage in Canada”). As said previously, woman raised funds for war, they volunteered as nurses overseas, worked endless hours in factories in order to build munitions, and provided countless other services for the benefit of the economy and the government. Moreover, they simultaneously kept their families together,”while men went overseas”(“Woman get the vote”), and kept war efforts moving through funds raised by various non-profit organizations run by women. The government witnessed this and rewarded the services of such woman by granting them the right to vote. Furthermore, the fact the government wanted to integrate women into the Canadian political system reveals that the long arduous toiling that woman had done for the nation was finally beginning to reap rewards for their own battle for gender equality.. Although, the right to vote was only bestowed upon those who were related to soldiers fighting overseas, it nonetheless

Canada allowing these races into the war showed the independence from Britain. This war was a turning point for the women’s rights, women started to do jobs that only men would do, and possess more money than some men. Women eventualy took over many jobs that ran Canada and many jobs that supported the war with supplies. Women gained much respect and were looked at the same as men. By now Canada was independent but didn’t really have an identity, this war gave Canada an identity of being hard workers and good people. This social impact greatly impacted because still to this day people think the same. One bad thing that happened during the war was when Canada shafted the Chinese, Germans and the Italians. Canada was still impacted well because this shafting of races didn’t impact Canada today, many of these races live here and love it. So overall Canada was impacted greatly socially by World War 2.

Conscription, or more boldly the draft, has not been in place for some thirty years. While some people cringe at the thought of reinstating the draft, others have different views. This short paper will speak of those different views and the reasons why conscription of military service may not be such a bad idea after all.

Firstly, the Conscription Crisis of 1942 provoked conflict between the French and English Canadians, but also changed Canadian identity positively during the 1940s. Ever since World War ll began and Canada joined the war the French Canadians highly opposed to the idea of conscription; “[...]English-Canadians, who were mostly in favour of conscription, and French-Canadians, who were strongly opposed.” To begin with, the prime minister of Canada at the time, Mackenzie King had acknowledged the great disagreement the French Canadians had against conscription and made a promise to the nation: “King’s government [...] had promised the nation, and particularly Quebec, that it would not send any conscripts to serve overseas.” The last thing that King wanted to do was to impose conscription especially when Quebec strongly believed in anti-conscription: “The Quebec ministers kept a strong vigil over King's anti-conscription predisposition, reminding him of the terrible divisiveness of the World War 1

When it comes to Canadian History, perhaps the most controversial and widely disputable topic of debate would have to be one of Canada’s greatest wars: The War of 1812. A wide array of views are held on many aspects of the war ranging from who won to what ramifications the war would ultimately sire. In yet another discussion on the ever so controversial War of 1812, a new question was posed and deliberated by five historians: whose war, was it? Like any other question posed about this war a multitude of ideas would ultimately arise in each of their differing viewpoints. In their roundhouse discussion, the historians would ultimately serve to paint the War of 1812 as a war that transcends much further than the nationalistic view. A view that, though an important part of Canadian history, has been exaggerated to the point of choking out the many voices who fought and continue to fight for inclusion in the narrative. In their remembrance of the War of 1812, society unwittingly failed history in their lackluster commemorations which exclude important narratives and voices and stand tainted by the misuse of history to serve the nationalistic agenda.

Conscription proved itself on angering many French Canadians. The October Crisis showed how French Canadians can fight back against Canada. The 1992 and 1995 Referendums demonstrated the actions that the French can take if they are ignored. Becoming aware of Canada’s actions can prevent straining French-English relations to the point where it cannot be

In 1917 during WW1, the Canadian government justified in enacting the Military Services Act to register and conscript men for war. Almost all French Canadians opposed conscription because they felt they had no loyalty to France and Britain. Other Canadians were at ease with the conscription as they supported the British Empire. The farmers, union heads, and pacifists were all opposed of the conscription like the French Canadians. I believe the Military Services Act was not the best choice because it ripped up the relations between the English and the French Canadians, it eliminated the freedom of the people by forcing them to go to war, and caused a riot in Quebec City leading to a few deaths. The

To say Canada played an important role in World War Two would be an understatement. Canada’s significance in the war will forever be remembered as one of the greatest, and the Battle of Hong Kong is a prime example of just that. The fact that Canada provided troops even with the optional not to, and the struggles the troops endured not only on the battlefield, but as prisoners of war, and the amount of physical and moral support the Canadian soldiers gave to the British soldiers in Hong Kong is proof that Canada was a major contributor in World War Two.

At the beginning of World War I, the Canadian government was hesitant about Aboriginals in the military. When the war broke in 1914, recruitment of “Status Indians” was prohibited, as they were often connected to torture and scalping. Some natives enlisted in face of the law, thanks to a commitment to their land. It wasn't until 1916 that the government allowed active

Pierre Elliotte Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada during the 1970s, was the man who saved Quebec from separating from Canada by using the War Measures Act very effectively. At that time, Quebec was in a bad situation because of a terrorist group called the FLQ (Front de libération du Québec), that had been bombing Quebec since 1963 and gathering people to carry violent demonstrations and destruction. The situation got worse by each passing day as the FLQ’s revolutionary movement turned into terrorism. The government faced a tough situation. Pierre Trudeau could not see his country getting divided and took a strict action. The government didn’t have any safe options, but Trudeau handled the matter very tactfully by following the right path,

The act of applying conscription during the First and Second World Wars have nearly torn Canada apart. The conscription crisis of 1917 was a treacherous event that occurred during the First World War. During this time the relations between Quebec and the rest of Canada were in an all time low in our Canadian history. The Québécois thought conscription was merely unnecessary no matter what circumstance; while all other Canadians did essentially want conscription occur. The contrast was inevitably high on the issue of conscription between the Québécois and the rest of Canada thus creating a solution when conscription was indeed needed was impossible. However while William Lyon Mackenzie King was the Prime Minister during the Second World

The source clearly communicates a perspective that is in favour of conscription. The source starts off by portraying their opinion through the key term ‘to maintain the contribution of Canada’s fighting force.’ Conscription was a way to build up a stronger force for Canada because more soldiers became involved this way. This was seen as ‘necessary’ according to the source because as stated in the beginning, “Canada would not back down from the commitment it made to Great Britain.’ The key words in the context ‘in order to protect freedom and democracy,’ are in correlation to Canada’s determination to defeat in battle and to keep their force strong. This term demonstrates that Canada’s morals were for the better of our country and how conscription

War on the home front was not a shaped many Canadian negatively in WWI. The Wartime Elections Act had an effect on Canadians politically. The great influenza affected Canada socially. Lastly, propaganda and victory bonds caused Canada to fall economically. Canada’s home front during WWI had a negative impact on the Canadian people politically, socially and economically.

Throughout human history, war has permeated the lives of billions of people. From early conflicts such as conquests to control vast swaths of land by Alexander the Great and Cyrus the Great to modern, global wars such as the World Wars, the concept of war has been at the forefront of humanity’s mind for centuries. However, in recent years, opposition to war and lack of participation in the military has become a common theme in many countries, including the United States. To help alleviate the troubles caused by lack of participation, the United States instituted a law allowing for the conscription of its citizens. Conscription, which can also be referred to as a draft, is defined as the compulsory drafting of citizens into military service (What). The Draft has been utilized throughout US History in a couple of prominent wars; however, opposition has manifested against the Vietnam War and the draft, rightfully stemming from ethical opposition to the war and hatred for what the war and the draft stood for.

It was in the weary war years of Mackenzie King in the 1930’s when the development of Canadian foreign policy started to take shape. Before that period Canada did not have an independent foreign policy with no international presence whatsoever and Canadian people saw themselves as part of the British dynasty. The first period in the formulation of Canadian foreign policy was in fact the ‘absence’ of policy and it was World War 1 which gave birth to foreign policy. Sixty thousand Canadians were lost which left Canadians wary of international development especially when there were very few military objectives. Canada had minimal control over her own troops and negotiations with the British were a challenge. Our troops were under control of the British and negotiating with the British was challenging. Looking back, there was almost a sense of absurdity about WW1. Therefore, Canadians came out of WW1 with a stronger than ever desire for independence. The Statute of Westminster, 1931, was the last of the Imperial Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain applicable to all dominions. It granted Canada,