Women's Role In World War One

Introduction

World War One was the first war to impact the world as much as it did. It was called “the war to end all wars,” which it was for a while. Canada being a growing, young country, had to pay the price for this war not only with money, but also through divisions within the country and a countless number of deaths. The sheer horror and tragedy that Canada had to go through in this World War was unfathomable. Many will say Canada became a nation because of this war, but the costs that our nation paid completely outweigh the gains. Canada may have been seen an independent country, but they could have done it in a way that did not involve fighting World War One.

Concession

Although World War One was a terrible couple of years, women in Canada were allowed many more rights. With the election in 1917 that Prime Minister Robert Borden ordered, he gave permission for women to vote for the first time. Even though he only allowed women who had a relative fighting in the war to vote, to fulfill his conscription goal, it was still the start to the Women’s Rights Movement. Many believed that only men were involved in World War One, but women played a huge role in this war. With women filling jobs of 2000 nurses, 1000 in the

royal air force, and 6000 in the civil service, women had definitely done more than anyone would have ever expected from this time period.
Prior to the war, women did not have basic rights, but as all the men were off at the front, the Canadian government could not help but to integrate women into their society.

Nevertheless, if Canada had not gone to war, women would have still gotten these rights. They would simply echo the Americans who were going through the same revolution during this period. At this time, Canada still looked up to America even though it was an independent nation. This is further demonstrated a couple years after the war during the 1920’s. Many women during the war went through trauma as they might have lost a brother, husband or even son. Women could also come across dangerous situations working in factories that made weapons for the soldiers at the

front.

Deaths in the First World War (best body)
Before World War One occurred, many people volunteered and celebrated to go to war. This is because they had not yet experienced the horror and tragedy that war brings. In this war, 60,000 Canadian soldiers were killed and 126,595 were wounded. This meant 60,000 soldiers that did not come home to their loving family. For days at a time, soldiers had to sit in the tight spaces during trench warfare. There were also very unsanitary conditions for the injured. Canadians were not only affected on the battlefield, but people were also in danger back at home. Women working in factories that produced weapons for the country were greatly impacted by shell shock. This opened the eyes of many and showed Canadians that war was not something they want to be involved in.
Next, soldiers at the front came in contact with many rats, lice, and possibly other soldiers that carried diseases. This is perhaps how one of the most terrible diseases came to Canada. The Spanish Influenza was a devastating illness that killed over 50,000 Canadians. It was brought home by Canadian soldiers returning from war. Soldiers then spread the disease to their friends and family, and from there it spread like wildfire. The influenza killed many innocent people and left many children without parents. This of course created terrible conditions for Canadians back at home, but even worse conditions for the soldiers still fighting at the front.
Finally, having 25% of all allied nations weapons going through their port, Halifax was a very important city in the First World War. The Halifax Explosion happened on December 6th, 1917 when two ships carrying two million kilograms of explosives collided just off the shore of Halifax. This resulted in an explosion that was equal to three kilotons of TNT, and killed 2,000 people. Halifax had to completely reconstruct their city because of an incident that could have been avoided if Canada was not involved in the war to begin.
Losing one soldier is devastating, never mind losing over 60,000 men to a war that did not involve the country. Canada, being a very young country, was trying to build its nation with a large portion of its men dying at war. Not only were soldiers fighting in the war injured and killed, but people back at home were also in danger of this. With the Halifax explosion and the Spanish Influenza, over 52,000 innocent Canadians lost their lives. Canada could have avoided many of these deaths if they did not enter the war in the first place.

Conclusion
To close, it was not worth it for Canada to participate in World War One. Although the country received a great international reputation and many women’s rights were allowed, it was still not worth the trauma and devastation it caused. This is shown through a tremendous loss of money for the war effort, a division in the country, and many deaths both at home and at the front. The country received very little gains when compared to the amount Canada lost during the war. As a newly developing country, small in population, Canada had a difficult time trying to fill the workforce after losing so many soldiers to the war. Overall, reviewing the costs Canada had to pay during this war, anyone would go back and change Canada’s decision to join World War One.