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The conscription crisis and the impact it had on Canadian society
The conscription crisis and the impact it had on Canadian society
Impact of conscription on canada
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Georges Vanier was an officer in the 22nd Battalion, which consist of French-Canadians. Georges believed that there should be conscription because the war was worth fighting for and French-Canadians should fight for their country. Also to the 4000 French-Canadian, soldiers that died in battle it would be a disgrace to them if the rest of the French-Canadian men at home did nothing for this war. In addition to that, he believed that French-Canadians should be helping their motherland France as well. Lastly, French-Canadians should be loyal to their country and, this can be shown when there is conscription in Canada. I too think that conscription is needed during the First World War. In the front lines, there was a shortage of soldiers so;
Essentially, Conscription brought more harm than good and led to a divide between French and English Canadians. As proven in the past, the 'all volunteer' military is more effective than any draft or mandatory conscription for all parties concerned. The Country gets men in the military who truly want to be there. Canada was not in danger of an attack from Germany, and therefore, there was no desperate need to force young men to serve into the army. The Russian Revolution in 1917 meant the Russians would soon quit the war and Germany would be able to bring it’s complete force to bear in the west. Conscription affected Canada’s economy, national unity and resulted in the sheer loss of
Born August 24th, 1922, René Lévesque grew up in a small costal town by the name of New Carlisle, where he realized quickly that “most of the French Canadians were poorer, with smaller homes and more wretched schools, than the English Canadian families — descendants of Loyalists who had fled the American Revolution — who were the self-appointed elites of the region.” (The Canadian Encyclopedia). This epiphany was said to build resentment in him against English-Canadians for having a more prosperous life, possibly due to their status as Loyalists. René Lévesque was not interested in politics from the beginning of his life, although he had been introduced to them from a young age by his late father. He went to school at the Collège des Jésuites Saint Charles Garnier, but was expelled due to his low marks. After finishing his formal schooling at the Séminaire de Québec, he was accepted into Université Laval, but dropped out after realizing he did not wish to be a lawyer. In 1938 he discovered radio journalism and worked at Radio-Canada. He was eventually sent to the front lines of the Second World War wit...
Before the General Strike, the Canadian government was fully invested in WWI, whereas most Canadian citizens were not; the dissonance urged industrial workers to unionize. From the beginning of Canada’s involvement in the Great War, their industrial complex mass-produced supplies and armaments for the Allied Powers. Most Canadian citizens had no qualms with the shift in the job market until there were not enough workers to produce the basic material goods necessary within Canada’s borders. The citizens began to form groups, seemingly in opposition of the government and its advocacy for war. To the Canadian government, this was incredibly concerning, presenting the possi...
Approximately 620,000 Canadians fought during the First World War. Nearly 700,000 if we account for the men and women that enlisted in the Canadian units outside of the Canadian Expeditionary Force and in the British forces. Of which, almost 173,000 Canadians were wounded and about 67,000 Canadians had lost their lives by November 11th, 1918. These casualties were devastating in numbers. Canada needed to regain the good faith of its people, despite the fact that it was still a colony of Britain. Canadians knew very little about why the war had started, or the significance of the events that instigated it. But, Canadians were called upon to fight it, therefore now was the greatest need for there to be better compensation for our returning Veterans than ever before. This was the time when the ground work for the Veterans Assistance Programs of today was laid down. Of ...
During the First World War, Canada suffered a great conscription crisis that divided the nation. The French-Canadian nationalists, led by Henri Bourassa, opposed conscription and felt that they were fighting an English war, and therefore felt no obligation to fight. The vast majority of those who enlisted during the age of voluntary recruitment were Anglophones; in contrast, very few Francophones volunteered to fight. On 17 May 1917, Prime Minister Robert Borden announced that military service was to become compulsory among men of fighting age of all classes. French-Canadians protested; however, despite their best efforts, the Military Service Bill came into effect. The protest eventually led to lengthy riots. Following this, Canada became
The War Measures Act was a law passed in 1914 by the Canadian Government in Canada during WWI, amongst many others that the government had passed that allowed the government to take control of communications, establish censorship of transatlantic cables, and organize the militia (Bolotta, Angelo et al. 39). The War Measures Act itself allowed the government to: censor and suppress publications, writing, maps, plans, photographs, communications, and means of communication, arrest, detain, exclude, and deport persons, control harbours, ports, and territorial waters of Canada and the movements of vessels, control the transport of persons and things by land, air, or water control trade, production, and manufacturing, and appropriate and dispose of property and of the use thereof (Bolotta, Angelo et al. 39). It gave the government emergency powers “allowing it to govern by decree” while Canada was in war (War). In World War I (1914-1920), it had been used to imprison those who were of German, Ukrainian, and Slavic decent, and was used in the same way again in WWII (1939-1945) to imprison Japanese-Canadians, and to seize all of their belongings. They were then relocated into internment camps and concentration camps (Bolotta, Angelo et al. 171). Both times, those that were persecuted did not have the right to object (War). Those these laws had been created for the purpose of protecting Canadians from threats or wars for security, defense, peace order and welfare of Canada it instead greatly limited the rights and freedoms of Canadian citizens and debasing immigrants of enemy countries both in WWI and WWII (Bolotta, Angelo et. Al 39).
During the 1950’s, Canada experienced numerous scenarios which sparked its citizens to be proud. These events included the teenage outbreak, a rise in consumerism and the sudden growth in population. The teenagers were a huge deal in the development of Canada. Teenagers wanted to differentiate themselves from adults and the rest of society (Armstrong et al. 134). Teenagers dressed themselves different along with acting different as well. (Armstrong et al. 135). The new products were being created and sold through the process of consumerism. The new technologies helped shape the look of the new Canadian culture (Bain et al. 219).Lastly, the sudden growth in population was the “baby boom”. The baby boom was a period after WW2 in which babies
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 War; he reacted differently in comparison to Robert Borden. Although King promised not to introduce conscription as did Borden in his campaign race; he dealt the issue of conscription in a more controlled manner. Essentially Mackenzie King approached the issue of conscription using prior knowledge learnt from World War One.
During the majority of the war, men were guided into civilian and military positions through a policy that the Selective Service Director Lewis B. Hershey called "channeling." The draft system used induction as a threat to "channel" people into more desirable pursuits that were in the interests of the nation. For instance, an engineer earned a deferment from the war because he was needed at home while a person who did not have a deferment could be inducted into the army. For every solider in combat, there were many other positions that needed to be filled...
In the month of April of 1862, the government issued the first draft of the Civil War. Throughout the war, they put out drafts because so many men were needed to fight. Citizens were expected to obey these orders, and as the war progressed, it was harder and harder for men to avoid fighting for their country. Towards the end, the government began forcing almost every able man to enlist in the army. Men of ages 17-50 were drafted in the South (20-45 in the North); bodies were needed. And the government made sure that they got what they needed.
In final consideration, the times that Canada has instituted conscription has brought nothing more than turmoil between political parties, especially in Quebec, and the accord between French Canadians and the rest of Canada laid in ruins after prolonged riots. Conscription might’ve helped with the war, but what resulted from it on the homefront, left scarring wounds. The soldiers that had their right taken away through forced military service didn’t even have much of a choice, as if they did not fight, they would be shunned and harassed. Conscription was carried out poorly, and despite some achievements, failed to benefit Canada as a whole. Indeed Canada would not be as it would be today if the events in history did not happen, however Canada had the opportunity to have been so much more.
During this time, Canada was still a member of the British Empire and was legally at war the minute that Britain was. Even though the Canadian government was had no control about being at war, it did have control over what role Canada would play during the war. Canada could send soldiers, food and clothing, or they could even do nothing about the war. Robert Borden, who was Prime Minister at the time, felt that Canada should send soldiers, food, and clothing to Britain. He felt that Canadian's should be proud to fight for their king and country. Wilfrid Laurier, who was leader of the Opposition at the time, was hoping that the war would be over soon, and that we should offer money and food to France and Britain. Henri Bourassa, who was the publisher of Le Devoir news paper felt that Canada should do nothing, and that Britain got into the mess by themselves, so to can they get out of the mess. After much debate, the government decided to send soldiers, and economic aid to Britain for the war.
Canadians contributed in many ways to help our country's great efforts in the First World War. Canadians had literally the whole country and made enormous demands on the Canadian people, whether they were involved in the actual fighting or remained on the home front to work in industry or farming to support the war effort. Canada grew tremendously through the war as a nation, individually and emotional. Canadian troops had to be strong and responsible as they were always running from one front to another and had to be strong so that the little thing don’t bother them so they don’t become emotionally unstable, then could end there life. Strength played a major role through the war as did courage and every Canadian troop had those two components making them a strong army to attack against.
People who support the military draft will say that it is the obligation of every citizen of the United States, and every other person residing in the United States, who is between the ages of 18 and 42, to perform a period of national service. Aren?t there many other ways--less deadly ways--to contribute to the country?s well being? Should we, as citizens, be allowed to evade this ultimate obligation by turning it over to the poorer members of society, those who can't find good-paying jobs or training except in the military? In "A War for Us, Fought by Them," William Broyles, a Vietnam war veteran and the father of a young man who is a soldier in the Marines, argues that the military draft should be brought back, and this time it should be done right: everybody should be drafted, not just ?the profoundly patriotic or the economically needy" (Broyles 695).
...itary conscription in the name of freedom is an illegitimate, criminal organization. A government that is willing to enslave people cannot be trusted to protect your liberty. A government that forces people to fight for its goals, its protection, and its benefit has created a morally perverse situation where there is no free society left to defend” (Boldin). Another thing we must look at is without an overflow of troops; “unpopular wars are very difficult to fight. The ability to use conscription actually encourages politicians to wage even more wars;the massive resources are a temptation that is hard for the war-lover to resist. When the draft was finally undermined in the 1970′s, for example, the Vietnam War ended” (Boldin).