Effects of WWII on Canada Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Effects of WWII on Canada - Essay Example Historical records show that over 50 countries participated in the war and the effects were felt in the whole world. Fighting took place in nearly all parts of the world and in every continent except for Antarctica. The chief battlegrounds for the war included Europe, Asia, the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, Mediterranean Sea, and North Africa. Even though historians seem not to agree entirely on the exact date when the war started, most of them consider that the invasion of Poland by Germany on September 1, 1939 without warning marked the beginning of the World War II. By September 3rd, the war had gained more momentum as France and Britain were at war with Germany. Within a week after the war had began, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and Australia had joined the war. Six years of total war then followed, being fought over numerous kilometres. The war was fought on land, in the air, and on the sea (Zuehlke 2004). It should be noted that although many countries were involved in the World War II, major world powers were the main players as they sought for global domination. Other countries like Canada and New Zealand were just backing their dominant allies based on certain factors such as territorial and historical. It should not be lost that such involvement, although not in the scale of major world powers, resulted to more effects on these countries than in countries that played very passive or no role at all during the war. It is against this background that it is necessary to understand what effects that these countries faced. This essay will focus specifically on the effects of World War II on Canada. Before evaluating the effects of World War II on Canada, it is important to highlight the effects of the war upon the major world powers, the non- European world, international organizations, and science and technology. Understanding effects on the aforementioned countries and aspects is very crucial because the

Book report; schlesinger, The Distinguishing of America Term Paper

Book report; schlesinger, The Distinguishing of America - Term Paper Example he thesis that the emphasis on ethnic awareness, especially among public school, is a mistake; that instead of students studying the history that will unite America, they would be studying the history of his or her ethnic origin that is not even a historical fact. According to him, â€Å"the purpose of history is to promote not group self-esteem, but understanding of the world and the past, dispassionate analysis, judgment, and perspective, respect for divergent cultures and traditions, and unflinching protection for those unifying ideas of tolerance, democracy, and human rights that make free historical inquiry possible† (Schlesinger 104). In pushing for his thesis, Schlesinger argued that it is really not beneficial for Afro-Americans to study the history of an ethnic group or country which they have no cultural ties. He used the example of W.E.B. Du Bois to illustrate the detachment of the present generation of Afro-Americans to Africa as saying that â€Å"neither my father nor my father’s father ever saw Africa, or knew its meaning or cared overmuch for it† (Schlesinger 88). Even quoting the great Afro-American civil rights activist Martin Luther King as â€Å"we know nothing of Africa† (Schlesinger 89). In Schlesinger assertion, this can even lead to a distorted sense of history and cultural crisis as students would tend to study the essays written by the likes of Afrocentric writers such as Asa Hilliard and John Henrik Clarke, whose assertion that Africa is the â€Å"mother of Western civilization† has no historical basis, that is grounded more on fiction than documented fact. While it is agreeable that it is very important to study the history and the traditional canon of one’s country of birth (America), the tragedies that molded it, or the nuances of its cultural orientation, the assertion of Schlesinger that extending the historical study to other ethnic roots could distort one’s cultural image or sense of history is rather simplistic. It