How “Roaring” were the Roaring Twenties in Canada?
Teaching Canadian history using Culturally Inclusive and Relevant Pedagogy
“The image of an era is usually set by its middle class. They provide both the journalists and the historians.” Canadian History Desmond Morton
It’s often said that history is written by the winners and it’s often assumed that this phrase refers to the context of war and conquest. However, as a Canadian history teacher, I think it equally applies to more seemingly mundane historical subjects.
Take for example the so-called “Roaring Twenties.” When I first started teaching Canadian history, I found that the subject of the 1920s was often limited to a couple lessons, mainly revolving around jazz music and flappers. It was presented to students as a happy, “roaring” decade set between the dark times of the First World War that preceded it and the Great Depression that followed. However, if we move beyond this surface-level image of the era and instead consider it from multiple perspectives, it quickly becomes apparent that the decade was far more interesting and nuanced than the traditional history textbook would have us believe.
It’s true that the 1920s saw some progress in social, economic and political life - there was fairly sharp economic growth for much of the decade, along with technological innovations and some new political rights for women thanks to the persistent efforts of activists such as the Famous Five. However, for many marginalized groups in Canada, including First Nations, Chinese immigrants, Black Canadians, farmers, working class Canadians, and yes, even women, the 1920s represented a time of harsh discrimination.
For First Nations, this era represented the height of the residential school system in Canada, as well as a time of dispossession and expropriation of Indigenous land. For Chinese Canadians, the 1920s marked the beginning of one of the most humiliating eras in their history. In 1923, due to pervasive racist and xenophobic attitudes in Canada, the federal government passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which outright banned Chinese people from immigrating to Canada for the next 25 years. Black Canadians faced racial segregation policies in schooling and housing, as well as the emergence of the KKK in Canada for the first time. Workers suffered from low wages, harsh working conditions and severe exploitation, leading to many strikes and bloody clashes between workers and police forces acting on behalf of their employers. And while women made some political progress, they still lived in a country that was, on the whole, extremely patriarchal. Viewed from this perspective, we can see that the 1920s were not “roaring” for a great many Canadians. In fact, after we eliminate the marginalized groups listed above, we are only left with urban, middle and upper class white men. The 1920s was not a time of war, yet it appears there were clear winners.
So, what’s the problem? What’s the harm in simply teaching that the 1920s were “roaring”? Well, by teaching students, many of whom belong to those traditionally marginalized groups, that the 1920s were a wonderful, “roaring” time, our history classes unfairly ignore their experiences and identities. It sends the message that their voices and perspectives don’t really matter, which in turn can lead to disappointment and disengagement with the subject. Furthermore, it teaches students who may be from the “winners” side that they don’t need to consider the perspectives and experiences of other groups. In other words, when we teach history solely from the perspective of dominant groups, we get a society where different groups fail to understand each other and hence where social divisions are exacerbated.
So what can history teachers do about it? What does this information mean for the history classroom? To go back to the “Roaring Twenties” in Canada, it means presenting students with the traditional view of the 1920s but then challenging that view by presenting primary and secondary sources that highlight the perspectives and experiences of marginalized groups. From there, we can grapple with some big and interesting questions, including: How “roaring” were the 1920s, really? Who were the 1920s roaring for, and who were they not roaring for? If they were only “roaring” for some people, why does our textbook still insist on calling it the “Roaring Twenties”? Is the textbook lying to us? What can this tell us about bias and objectivity in the study of history in general? And if our schools only teach history from the perspective of one dominant group while ignoring the perspectives of marginalized groups, what kind of problems could this create for our society today? Could this serve to perpetuate present-day racial stereotypes and social divisions?
Not only is this teaching approach more inclusive and culturally relevant, but isn’t it so much more interesting? That being said, I know how hard it can be to find the time to develop or restructure units, lessons and assessments. Developing resources like these has been a passion project of mine that’s taken years and is still ongoing. So, if you want to adopt a culturally inclusive approach to teaching the Roaring Twenties in Canada, but simply don’t have the time, check out The Cheat Sheet’s complete unit HERE!
