World War 1 Essay
World War 1 Essay
World War 1 Essay
There is always a point in time where something is going to change; nothing is bound to stay the same forever. With age, things mature, and they age. They learn new things, explore new places, meet new people, and soon they become their own identity. They learn how to compromise, but they also learn how to fight for what they want. Canada as a nation changed significantly after the First World War. The First World War changed Canadas ties with Britain. Before World War One, Canada was only seen as a part of the British Empire. Canada supported all of Britains choices, such as going to war, and helped Britain in the ways that they can. The only reason Canada was ever in the war was due to the fact that Britain was an Alliance fighting in the war, and nationalists from Britain wanted to help their mother country. Although Canada was sent to battle for the British, Canada was seen as Canadians as oppose to British Commonwealth troops. This was seen after Canadas performance at Vimy Ridge, where Canada gained more ground, taken more prisoners, and captured more artillery than any other British offensive and claimed the Victory; Canada also received the reputation of being and elite fighting force. Canada came out of the World War emerging into becoming an independent nation. After the World War, Prime Minister Robert Borden demanded that Canada get its own seat at the Paris Peace Conference, and to sign the Treaty of Versailles as an independent nation Canada did both. Canada evolved from being dependent on Britain to independent as a result of the First World War As a result of World War One, Canada exposed a great division between the French and English Canadians due to conscription. Before the World War, Canada had been patching things together between the Canadians and Canadiens. Wilfrid Laurier helped resolve their division, and resolved the Manitoba Schools Question, which satisfied both sides of the line. However, when Prime Minister Borden came into action, conscription became an issue in Canada. Before elected, Borden promised that there would be no conscription, but he broke this promise after he learned how many men were needed to win Vimy Ridge. This angered those of French descent because they did not feel the need to battle for the British. The French saw the Military Service Act, the act imposed to make conscription compulsory, as forcing them to fight in a war that had no connection to them. The French, like Henri Bourassa, saw that the country had lost too much money and enough men on a war that Canada had little to do with, too. Conscription also brought violence to Quebec. Even after the Union Government won the election, Quebecois threw rotten vegetables and rocks at Canadian troops and on April 1, four demonstrators were killed by Canadian soldiers. The status of women also changed significantly after the First World War. Before the World War, women stayed at home, and were not eligible to vote. However, the role of a woman became more important during the war, for they needed women efforts on home front, or the Canadian wartime economy wouldve collapsed. Women helped as low-skill, low-paying jobs, such as knitting scarves, until industrial production demanded more labourers. Women, then, were hired for all types of work, even work for men because war was seen as more important than gender inequality, such as operating fishing boats. During the Khaki Election of 1917, Borden passed the Wartime Elections Act, which allowed women related to servicemen overseas to vote. This was the beginning of women being eligible to vote, and in 1918, women were able to vote federally. Because of World War One, women suffragists were able to achieve their goal: to vote, and to work. Change is inevitable. Without all of these changes -- the status of women, the conscription, independenceCanada would be in the same knot as it was in 1914. As a woman, I would not be able to go to school, for I would be at home cleaning and cooking. If not for these changes, who knows, we might even have a British accent right now, and to learn about Britain would be a part of the high school curriculum, too. Change creates a new way of living, for everyone affected, whether it be a good thing or not, change will always come and bite you around the corner.