Reactions to Recruitment Lesson 13

What does this map seem to show? About 35% of men who were of military age volunteered to enlist This means that 65% did not. What is the important difference between this map and the above statistics? What are the dangers when looking at statistics?

Did people have good reasons for refusing to sign up? Complete the first two columns of TLS Worksheet 1.4.4 – Anticipation Guide Read p. 54-55 of the textbook Complete the last two columns of the worksheet

TLS Worksheet 1.4.5 – Recruitment Chart Group In general, did members of this group support or oppose enlisting? What reasons might they have given to justify their decision to enlist — or not to enlist? Unemployed   Farmers French- Canadians Oppose They finally have a job, and one that pays well No one left to work the farms and feed the country and soldiers, or support family Oppose Oppose Not their war, didn’t speak the language

Show You Know Question Answer the following question in your notes. You do not need to copy the question Imagine that it is the beginning of World War I, and you are a member of one of the groups on your list. You don’t know how the war will turn out. Think about the various pressures you might be under to sign up. Do you think you would have resisted these pressures or given in and enlisted? Explain what would have influenced your decision.

Canadian Experiences To free up food, fuel and supplies for the troops in Europe, the government urged Canadians to conserve. Laws were passed to ensure this happened You could be charged with wasting food Bakeries could no longer make fancy bread Candy had to be made with less sugar

Definition Profiteering Making excessive profit by taking advantage of a situation. What actions might be considered profiteering?

Was the war effort at home something to be proud of? Complete TLS Worksheet 1.4.7 – War Effort at Home using the following text

Munitions Production Munitions were one of Canada's important contributions to the war effort. When World War I began, just one munitions factory existed in the entire country. Then factory owners discovered that supplying munitions to the armed forces was highly profitable. Three years later, more than 600 factories had shipped millions of dollars‘ worth of arms and equipment to Europe. More than 250 000 Canadians worked in the munitions industry.

Munitions Scandal Many of the friends of Sam Hughes, Canada’s minister of militia and defence, were wealthy businesspeople. With Hughes’s help, these businesspeople formed a group called the Shell Committee. Committee members used their influence to land $170 million in contracts to make artillery shells. They then gave out these contracts to Canadian munitions factories. Along the way, committee members took a big share of the profits.

Munitions Scandal By 1915, news of this profiteering - excessive profits - began to leak out. The scandal became worse when the committee was able to deliver only $5.5 million worth of shells, and even these deliveries were late. Hughes had already been criticized for supplying Canadian soldiers with the Ross rifle, which did not work well in combat. The munitions scandal ended his political career. He was forced to resign, and the Shell Committee disbanded

Women Go to Work During the war, there weren’t enough men to fill all the jobs at home. As a result, employers began hiring women to do skilled jobs that they had never before been allowed to do. Suddenly, women were working in munitions factories, hospitals, and offices. This was a big change for Canadian society. Conditions were not easy for these women workers. At first, labour unions did not want employers to hire women. The unions were trying to protect jobs for men. In factories, women often found themselves doing the same jobs as men - for a fraction of the pay.

Women Go to Work Working conditions were sometimes dangerous. In munitions factories, for example, the fumes from the materials used to make explosives damaged workers’ lungs and turned their skin bright yellow. Accidental explosions were also a risk. Employers did little to help women employees. Often, there were not even separate washrooms for female workers. The message was clear: once the men returned from Europe, they would take back their old jobs. Women workers would go back to their roles as wives, mothers, and domestic workers.