Battle of Britain

As we begin looking at World War 2 we will pause to watch a movie......The Battle of Britain (1969) is a movie set in the year 1940 and is an,

"Historical reenactment of the air war in the early days of World War Two for control of the skies over Britain as the new Luftwaffa and the Royal Air Force determine whether or not an invasion can take place." Written by John Vogel

While dated, this movie is still very entertaining and quite interesting. It also gives us some insight into the desperation of the times and it depicts how many member of the Allies (including Canadians) worked together to defend the skies over Britain from the Nazi Luftwaffa.

Also one of the main characters in the movie is played by Christopher Plummer. He plays the role of a Canadian fighter pilot, Squadron Leader Colin Harvey. Since Plummer is Canadian, he asked for his character's RAF uniform to display the "Canada" on his shoulder flashes.

Check out some trivia facts here:
Trivia about the movie

Read this article for our third seminar of the term:
History in Images

The Great Depression

Desperate times call for desperate measures and the 1930's were definitely desperate times. When faced with the desperation of the Great Depression it is no surprise that many people around the world would begin looking for alternative forms of government to "fix" what had gone wrong. In Canada new parties were formed (CCF, Social Credit and the rise of the Communist party) in response to what many perceived as the inability of the Canadian government to help Canadian people during these times. In Europe we see the rise of Communism and Fascism as people try to find alternative leadership to bring them out of economic hardship. The rise of this new leadership some might say helped lead us to war. The 1930's are often seen as the precursor to the outbreak of World War Two. What we attempted to find out last period is how this economic depression occurred.

Yesterday's lesson focused on the causes of the Great Depression. Often the blame for the Great Depression is placed on the stock market crash triggering the start of the greatest economic recession of the 20th century.

However, we discussed the main causes of the depression in Canada as:

• Overproduction of manufactured goods and agricultural products
• Speculation and "buying on margin" on the stock market
• Protective tariffs (taxes) that made domestic products cheaper, but stalled global trade.
• The Dust Bowl - poor farming techniques worsened the drought conditions

If you missed class, it is really important that you catch up on the notes and do your best to stay on top of your readings.

The photo above depicts a "Bennett Buggy" - an out-of-fuel car pulled by a horse. Can you find any other Depression inspired images, cartoons or videos??? If you do please explain.

The Roaring Twenties

As we move into the inter-war period we begin to look at an exciting decade in the history of Canada. The 1920's is often referred to as the "Roaring Twenties" because this was a time when people made money, they broke social taboos, and they lived on the edge. This was a time when society was changed dramatically with the rise in consumerism, and the social rebellion visible in the form of flapper dresses and dance fads,. The assembly line altered our family living spaces as mass produced products made items like radios, cars and telephones affordable for middle class families. The speculation on the stock market contributed the acceptance of 'credit' as a form of payment, and helped lead to the decline of North America's economy....

We are going to examine how Canadian society, politics and economic systems changed as a result of the 1920s', and also how the values and laws set the stage for the Great Depression, and the rise of the 'Dirty Thirties.'

Class Activities:
Spend some time on this link and try to get a sense for what life was like in the 1920's both in Canada and the U.S.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roaring_Twenties


Extension Activity: What made the 1920's "Roaring"?

Topics: CHOOSE ONE, FIND A VIDEO or PICTURE or ARTICLE or LINK AND SUMMARIZE. (make sure to relate to Canada)

1. Jazz
2. Art
3. Prohibition
4. Movies
5. Sports
6. Inventions (technology)
7. Fashion
8. Other...