Weebly



Social Studies 11- World War Two

The Homefront: The Conscription Crisis and Internment of Japanese-Canadians

Vocab:

Plebiscite- a direct vote on an issue of national importance, similar o referendum

Relocation centres- areas where ‘enemy aliens’ were transported before going to internment camps

Internment camps- prisons located in the interior of British Columbia where ‘enemy aliens’ were held

Repatriation- in this case to move back to, and become a citizen of Japan

Compensation- when the government gives money to a person/group for damages or suffering caused by the government

Conscription Again

1. What is conscription?

2. When was the last time Canada used conscription? What was the result?

3. In 1939, what does Prime Minister King promise to Quebec?

4. In 1942, King is worried that he might have to break his promise, why?

To release his government from his commitment to Quebec, King decides to hold a national plebiscite on the issue.

On April 27, 1942 the Canadian population was asked to vote yes or no on the following question:

Are you in favour of releasing the government from any obligation arising out of past commitments restricting the methods of raising men for military service? YES________ NO________

Results of the plebiscite:

• In Quebec, 71.2% of the population voted no against conscription

• In English Canada, 77% voted yes in favour of conscription

• Across Canada 63% voted in favour of conscription

The results once again show the divisions between English and French Canada. Prime Minister King, mindful of this division, delays using conscription for overseas service until 1944, when 13,000 men were sent to Europe.

Examine the political cartoon at left with your partner and respond to the following questions:

1. What is the intended message of the cartoon:

2. Think of an appropriate title for the cartoon:

3. Invent a nickname for Prime Minister King that underscores his role during the conscription crisis:

Japanese Internment

1. When was the last time Canada used internment camps, and against which groups?

Read pp. 126-7

1. Which event made Canadians fear a Japanese attack on Canada was possible, why?

2. Why did Japanese-Canadians become the target of suspicion?

Examine Figure 5-23 and discuss with a partner what effect you think this poster had on Canadian attitudes towards Japanese-Canadians:

| |

3. Why did the federal government decide to ‘relocate’ Japanese-Canadians?

4. What evidence suggests that the federal government did not consider Japanese-Canadians a national security risk?

Describe the hardships endured by many Japanese-Canadians under the War Measures Act:

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

In 1988 Prime Minister Brian Mulroney’s government apologized to Japanese-Canadians on behalf of Canada and agreed to compensate the 1400 survivors of the internment camps with $21,000 each. Furthermore, the federal government agreed to restore Canadian citizenship to any Japanese-Canadian who had lost it due to repatriation to Japan.

Paragraph Response:

Evaluate the federal government’s decision to compensate Japanese-Canadians for the hardships they experienced during the Second World War. Should compensation have come earlier, or not all? (Imagine if they had been Chinese- or Korean-Canadians)

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download