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CANADA IN THE POST WAR ERA

OPTIMISTIC VS. PESSIMISTIC

Knowing what you now know about WWI, the 1920’s, The 1930’s and World War II…do you think in 1945 Canadians were Optimistic or Pessimistic?

OPTIMISTIC VS. PESSIMISTIC• Some key things to remember:

• The World has been destroyed twice within 30 years

• Racism and Prejudice although common has been found to one of the terrible causes of WWII, and Canadians have felt the shame of it

• The USA and the USSR are now the only super powers who, although ‘allies’ deeply distrust one another

• We now have the ability to kill everyone on earth

• With the soldiers coming back, how do we make sure the same thing after WWI doesn’t happen?

• Women have socially progressed more than ever before

• The United Nations now exists with a more specific mandate and more members

THEMES

• The Post War Era combined three different and often opposite themes:

• Security (international and domestic)

• Unity (Canadian and International)

• Prosperity (Canadians’ lives unmistakably got better…but it was not even)

ACTIVITY

• For each of the following slides determine if:

a. Whether it leaves you (or Canadians at the time) feeling optimistic or pessimistic

b. Which theme does the slide fall into- security, prosperity or unity

HIROSHIMA

FALL OUT SHELTER

DUCK AND COVER

WAR BRIDES (UK)

REFUGEES AT PIER 21

CANADIAN BILL OF RIGHTS

NEWFOUNDLAND JOINS!

PEACEKEEPERS

PEARSON WINS NOBEL PRIZE

TOMMY DOUGLAS/ MEDICARE

THE KOREAN WAR

IGOR GOUZENKO- RUSSIAN SPIES

TRANS CANADA HIGHWAY

AVRO ARROW

THE ROCKET RICHARD (RIOT)

CANADA’S NEW FLAG 1965

HYDRO MEGA PROJECTS

CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

THE QUIET REVOLUTION

ABUNDANCE!

COMMERCIAL AIR TRAVEL

NEW MUSIC

NEW “STARS”

SUBURBIA