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History General

Polarity, Patriotism, and Dissent in Great War Canada, 1914-1919

by (author) Brock Millman

Publisher
University of Toronto Press
Initial publish date
Apr 2016
Category
General, General, World War I, General
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9781442647251
    Publish Date
    Feb 2016
    List Price
    $84.00
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781442667631
    Publish Date
    Apr 2016
    List Price
    $35.95

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Description

Compared to the idea that Canada was a nation forged in victory on Vimy Ridge, the reality of dissent and repression at home strikes a sour note. Through censorship, conscription, and internment, the government of Canada worked more ruthlessly than either Great Britain or the United States to suppress opposition to the war effort during the First World War.

Polarity, Patriotism, and Dissent in Great War Canada, 1914–1919 examines the basis for those repressive policies. Brock Millman, an expert on wartime dissent in both the United Kingdom and Canada, argues that Canadian policy was driven first and foremost by a fear that opposition to the war amongst French Canadians and immigrant communities would provoke social tensions – and possibly even a vigilante backlash from the war’s most fervent supporters in British Canada.

Highlighting the class and ethnic divisions which characterized public support for the war, Polarity, Patriotism, and Dissent in Great War Canada, 1914–1919 offers a broad and much-needed reexamination of Canadian government policy on the home front.

About the author

Brock Millman is an assistant professor in the Department of History at Western University.

Brock Millman's profile page

Awards

  • Winner, 2016 C.P. Stacey Award

Editorial Reviews

‘Millman’s bold and provocative interpretation of wartime dissent offers a new perspective on a past that many Canadians continue to find embarrassing and shameful.’

Literary Review of Canada April 2016

‘Professor Brock Millman, an expert on home front politics and society in Britain during the Great War, has provided a stimulating book that examines, as the title suggests, how the extremity of the Canadian war effort rocked the dominion to the core.’

Canadian Military History vol 26:02:2017

"Considering both its strengths and weaknesses, Polarity, Patriotism and Dissent in Great War Canada, 1914-1919 is a fascinating read. Each chapter is filled with diverse and detailed accounts of Canada’s home-front during the Great War."

Seventeenth Century News