Conscription in World War Two Essay

The Battle of Somme had a significant impact on Canadian nationalism by uniting people under a shared identity. This battle brought Canadians together against a common cause despite the intensity of the war and the heavy death toll. The majority of the deaths were young men from Newfoundland. The Battle of the Somme was a significant event in the First World War. The bravery and accomplishments of Canadian soldiers there helped establish their growing reputation as skilled defensemen who could face opposition in the face of heavy fire. Before WW1, Canada was merely a Federation that did not have the soul and unity of a nation. Residents did not identify themselves as “Canadians” until this momentous occasion in the war that helped cement the

The Great War was known as ‘the war to end all wars’ as it had such a dramatic and tragic impact on soldiers and civilians alike. Many aspects of the conscription debate, the home front, trench warfare and weaponry had a significant impact on Australia and its involvement in the war.

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.

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

The Wartime Elections Act gave all women that were relatives of soldiers serving (or who died) in WW1, the right to vote. The Military Voters Act gave all men who were serving overseas at the time, the right to vote. The War Measures Act gave the power to the Canadian Government to pursue emergency procedures whenever they feel necessary. This included arresting, or deporting anyone they felt was a threat to the safety of their citizens. All three of these were significant to Canadian history in their own ways, but the Wartime Elections Act had the most significant effect.

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

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,

After the Normandy campaign in 1944, a shortage of military reinforcements arose and Minister of Ralston told Cabinet that the time for overseas conscription had come (Stacey, July 15, 2013). Canada had failed to recruit on any large number of home-defence volunteers for overseas services, forcing King to face an extremely difficult decision. This is not to say that Canada always had a shortage of volunteers, it wasn't until 1943 that the issue of insufficient amounts of volunteers started to arise. At the beginning of WWII, there were up to 41.15% military volunteers (Canada at War, December 3, 2007). However, with Quebec feeling alienated from Canada, they were contributing significantly less amounts of volunteers compared to all other provinces.

Not only did Canada’s acceptance show their motive to lessen the war and desire for peace, it also outlined that this country was no longer under the strings of the U.S. who (at the time) was considered a superpower and had great military power. To be more specific, 20 000 American draft-dodgers and 12 000 army deserters from their military service in Vietnam were welcomed and found refuge in Canada . The ‘draft dodgers’ event proves that Canada stepped away from the big, violent idea of “Communism vs Capitalism” and walked towards peace and responsible choices. In fact, Canada was capable of over-looking the United States’ desire and their dependent relationship for peace and

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

It was debated on the issue in the House of Commons for several days and was nearly unanimous. People felt the obligation to go to war in loyalty to Britain as well as felt it would be better for Canada to defend themselves in Europe rather than resulting in war on the home front. This

Canada is in a time of grief and despair. Local Canadians thought the actions of the FLQ could not get any worse until the unthinkable happened. The abducted victim known as Pierre Laporte was found dead. Our deepest condolences go out to his family. May you rest in peace. Mr. James Cross was also found in a critical condition, and I wish the best of luck regarding his health. Many people think enacting the War measures act was wrong. I, for one, am not one of those people. The FLQ needed to be dealt with as their actions were getting out of hand. The FLQ’s objective was to preserve French culture in Quebec while downgrading the English culture. They also wanted to lead Quebec into sovereignty, making them an independent country. English speakers

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.

The Second World War was one of the most terrifying events in the world’s history. The U.S.A fights back like never before against Italy, Japan and Germany. Previously the WWII by the 1930’s America was completely poor and lost. By entering in the War, The U.S. becomes a superpower in just four years. The disruption of World War II arouses the mobilization of American industrial and in the military section. The preparation for the battle and the mobilization of the War was a complete success; purpose and determination led the U.S.A to win the WWII.

Next, Jacques’ attempt to shine light on Adelard Godbout’s progressiveness also led to the unveiling of traits that may describe a “traitor”. Adelard was viewed as a traitor to the French-Canadians for multiple reason but mostly for trying to conscript them into the war, and his good relationship with Mackenzie King. His action to send a military to fight Hitler was derived from the Nazi’s saying: “To conquer Eastern Canada, we must subjugate French-Canadians”. Andre Laurendeau drew comparison from the way English-Canadians oppressed French-Canadians in the same way Hitler oppressed smaller nations like Poland. In the height of his political career, Adelard continued to push for conscription which led to the Conscription Crisis of 1944. This was a less drastic version of the Conscription Crisis of 1917, which Mackenzie King tried very hard not to replicate. In fact, Mackenzie King’s negative view on conscription was caused by his experience with it in 1914, which is why he always voted against it when he had political clout. Adelard got very serious backlash from