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The civil rights movement began in the 50s. Important figures such as Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks were very present at the time. Rosa Parks in particular, as directly rejected the Montgomery, Alabama law when she wouldn't give up her seat for a white man.

Next, she helped Martin Luther King Jr with a protest against the bussing system in Alabama. In the process, they organized a boycott against the bus system. over 90% of the African American population of Montgomery did not take a bus the first day, so they proceeded with the boycott. Withall, the civil rights movement fought for equal civil rights and the right to be desegregated.

This is significant because racism is still apparent in today's day and age. While civil rights are largely equal across North America and most of the world, personal vendettas get in the way. Attacks on marginalized groups are continuing and they happen all the time. I definitely don't agree with discrimination against others.

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October 9th 1989

Following mass protest, the government of East Germany made a formal announcement communicating that every citizen of the East German Republic would be allowed to emigrate to West Germany. This news was a total shock that totally disregarded the past 40 years of strict rule. The people of Germany saw this and rushed to the border in excitement. East German officials had planned to control the passage of citizens, but the thousands of people were too overwhelming. Swarms of citizens found way across the Wall, by climbing over it, breaking through, and more. All the while having a pretty joyous time, embracing the liberation that they fought so long for. Citizens hacked away at the wall to express their emotions towards the government. In the end, everybody held hands and circled the wall to celebrate.

The message that this poses is very powerful. I find it very secure for the German people to be together, free of Soviet oppression. Their actions of celebration speak bounds of significance.

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October 1962

The Cuban missile crisis was a close call for nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union. To start, the US was trying to take over Communist Cuba, so Cuba sought assistance from the Soviet Union. The Soviet premier gave Cuba nuclear weapons in secret to protect Cuba and counter the U.S' nuclear weaponry. In response, the U.S was ready with missiles to launch in Italy and Turkey. The current President, John F. Kennedy had to call the shots, and he practically set an act of war when he surrounded Cuba. It was close but the two superpowers negotiated out of the potential “apocalypse”.

We must remember this missile crisis as tensions rise between Russia and the United States in the current day. To prevent a nuclear conflict, I think it is wise to follow past commitments of holding the weapons against each other to prevent attacks.

It is in my agreement that we should avoid the first usage of a nuclear weapon since Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

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August 1st, 1958

The Arrow was a supersonic interceptor jet designed by A.V Roe . The plane was quite literally named after him. This plane performed as well as other planes of the era, being able to reach high speeds on account of its lower flying height. For this reason, it displayed Canada to be doing well in the space of science. Although, the program was eventually cancelled in 1959 which lost thousands of jobs for Canadians.

I find the Arrow to be significant in setting Canada apart from other countries. Even though the program was scrapped, it remains a symbol of our development as a country. After all, the RCAF is still around and kicking.

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RCAF Avro Arrow 202 - First Flight (RESTORED FOOTAGE)

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August 19th, 1942

The Dieppe Raid was a straight-up unsuccessful attack for the Allies. The primarily Canadian soldiers at Dieppe were bested because of several factors. Firstly, Canadian forces had minimal intel on the German defences. There was no warning of German dugouts on the side of the cliff, which contributed to many Canadian deaths. To make matters worse, the Germans were expecting an Allied attack as warned by French double agents.

The soldiers going into this battle had little training, and a last-minute change of plans left forces confused. Consequently, the battle ended in a retreat for the Allies. Approximately 900 Canadians were killed, 2450 wounded, and almost 2000 Canadian men were captured.

This is significant because Canadian forces were the primary allied force and we suffered the most casualties. In WWII, this was the highest casualty count of any other battle. The Canadian regiments must have been down in the dumps after this one, but I think it contributed to successes at D-Day. Mainly because this battle was such a failure, higher-ups in the chain of command must have been more strict about training and such going forward.

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December 6th 1917

The Halifax explosion was the result of two ships colliding. The Mont-Blanc, a French munitions ship headed out to sea and the Imo, a simple relief ship making its way to New York. The two ships had gotten relatively close when they were confined to a narrow opening between anti-sub nets. Additionally, the Mont Blanc showed no warning regarding the 3000 tonnes of explosives aboard, and a munitions ship would generally fly a red explosives flag. Unfortunately, the boats failed to avoid each other in a panic; they collided at 8:45am, but the explosion wasn’t immediate. The crew of the Mont Blanc abandoned ship as they knew what was coming. Crowds of people started gathering at the shore to see what had happened, but none of them knew they were putting themselves in danger. Crew members made it to shore and attempted to warn bystanders. While the crew members likely saved some lives, over 2000 people died after the explosion set off.

I find this significant because this was the largest man-made explosion at the time. This would not be topped until 1945 with the introduction of atomic bombs. Also, around 9000 people who saw the explosion were left wounded or blinded. The resulting tsunami took out hundreds of buildings and trashed the city. Overall, the explosion caused a difficult life for many Canadians in Halifax. I feel that this should be an example of why we should avoid nuclear warfare, since this explosion was nearly 1/5 as powerful as the nuclear weapons in 1945.

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1929

The stock market crash was an event that took place in the United States. The crash in stocks occurred for numerous reasons, one being careless financial habits from the prior decade. The 20s had been a prosperous time when many people had extra money for recreational purposes. As a result, people invested their money into the soaring stock prices to get even more. In some cases, people would buy on margin. This lost people a lot of money when the stocks crashed, as they had to pay back the loaned money and what was lost from stocks. Everybody was thrown into a panic of selling stocks, to only pay back portions of debt.

This event is significant because of how quickly the change occurred. Many middle-income families had been living somewhat lavish lives until the Depression, which brought a complete turnaround of emotions. This severe change would have likely been traumatizing for children. If a similar event happened today, I feel that it would be more dangerous to be out in public.

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April 9th - April 12th, 1917

The battle of Vimy Ridge is widely known as one of Canada's most monumental battles. Leading the charge was Lieutenant-General Julian Byng, whose training largely attributed to securing Vimy Ridge. They employed various strategies to outwit the Germans. For example, engineers built tunnels to get soldiers closer to the enemy lines. At the same time, artillery units created a 'creeping barrage' just ahead of the soldiers. This allowed for the men to get closer and prevent enemies from passing the line of heavy fire. The battle was a sure success as they captured all of the objectives in a matter of three days. At the cost of 3500 dead and 7000 wounded, the lowest number of casualties in comparison to other WWI battles.

This battle was highly significant for Canada as an independent nation. It proved our independence from Britain in that a Canadian-trained army accomplished the assault when British/French attempts were unsuccessful. The victory brought a wave of pride to Canadians on the homefront.

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National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies

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National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies

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On the first of January 1914, the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies was established in Canada.

It was the establishment of this union that set off women's voting rights in Canada. As a result, the union was able to pick up more traction and gain more supporters due to having nationwide coverage. Smaller regions across the country began to support suffrage as well, varying in different provinces.

I think this is significant because this was an early step towards how we see equality today. Nowadays, Canadian voting requirements simply consist of citizenship and age. I think that women should have always had the right to vote, and their opinions were under-appreciated.

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On April 6th 1994, Hutu president Juvénal Habyarimana of Rwanda was shot down in a plane crash. As a precaution to stay in power, the Hutu government paid militias to slaughter important Tutsi figures and civilians. The next 100 days saw around one million Hutu citizens joining the conflict from being manipulated or having a personal opinion of the Tutsi's actions. After the events, the total bloodshed of this genocide amounted to 800,000 Rwandans. With such a large display of violence, it was difficult for the UN to offer much support during the matter. But in the end, a small Tutsi group had taken control of the country. This genocide left a horrible gap in the population, followed by the tedious prosecution of citizens who participated in the genocide.

To discuss the significance of this event, it is necessary to know that the origin of this conflict was colonisation. Upon arrival, Belgian colonists enforced systemic racism upon each of the local ethnic groups in Rwanda; Hutu (85%), Tutsi (14%) and Twa (1%). The Tutsi were treated like royalty due to being in power. In contrast, the Hutu were seen as lower class. So even after most colonial forces were out of Rwanda, tensions remained between the Hutu and Tutsi. This is a clear example of why systemic racism must be avoided at all costs. It saw the mass destruction of so many lives, infrastructure, and families. Therefore, the Rwandan Genocide is a major example of how colonialism can ruin a country. Caused by systemic racism, many people of Hutu and Tutsi ethnicities can only think of one another as enemies.

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What caused the Rwandan Genocide? - Susanne Buckley-Zistel