Canada's Great War, 1914-1918

How Canada Helped Save the British Empire and Became a North American Nation

Brian Douglas Tennyson

Canada’s Great War, 1914-1918: How Canada Helped Save the British Empire and Became a North American Nation describes the major role that Canada played in helping the British Empire win the greatest war in history—and, somewhat surprisingly, resulted in Canada’s closer integration not with the British Empire but with its continental neighbor, the United States.

When Britain declared war against Germany and Austria-Hungary in August 1914, Canada was automatically committed as well because of its status as a Dominion in the British Empire. Despite not having a say in the matter, most Canadians enthusiastically embraced the war effort in order to defend the Empire and its values. In Canada’s Great War, 1914-1918, historian Brian Douglas Tennyson argues that Canada’s participation in the war weakened its relationship with Britain by stimulating a greater sense of Canadian identity, while at the same time bringing it much closer to the United States, especially after the latter entered the war. Their wartime cooperation strengthened their relationship, which had been delicate and often strained in the nineteenth century. This was reflected in the greater integration of their economies and the greater acceptance in Canada of American cultural products such as books, magazines, radio broadcasting and movies, and was symbolized by the astonishing American response to the Halifax explosion in December 1917. By the end of the war, Canadians were emerging as a North American people, no longer fearing close ties to the United States, even as they maintained their ties to the British Commonwealth.

Canada’s Great War, 1914-1918 will interest not only Canadians unaware of how greatly their nation’s participation in the First World War reshaped its relationship with Britain and the United States, but also Americans unacquainted with the magnitude of Canada’s involvement in the war and how that contribution drew the two nations closer together.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 260 • Trim: 6½ x 9⅜

978-0-8108-8859-3 • Hardback • November 2014 • $116.00 • (£89.00)

978-0-8108-8860-9 • eBook • November 2014 • $110.00 • (£85.00)

Subjects: History / Military / World War I, History / Canada / Post-Confederation (1867-), History / Military / Canada

Canada's Great War, 1914-1918

How Canada Helped Save the British Empire and Became a North American Nation

Hardback

eBook

Summary

Canada’s Great War, 1914-1918: How Canada Helped Save the British Empire and Became a North American Nation describes the major role that Canada played in helping the British Empire win the greatest war in history—and, somewhat surprisingly, resulted in Canada’s closer integration not with the British Empire but with its continental neighbor, the United States.

When Britain declared war against Germany and Austria-Hungary in August 1914, Canada was automatically committed as well because of its status as a Dominion in the British Empire. Despite not having a say in the matter, most Canadians enthusiastically embraced the war effort in order to defend the Empire and its values. In Canada’s Great War, 1914-1918, historian Brian Douglas Tennyson argues that Canada’s participation in the war weakened its relationship with Britain by stimulating a greater sense of Canadian identity, while at the same time bringing it much closer to the United States, especially after the latter entered the war. Their wartime cooperation strengthened their relationship, which had been delicate and often strained in the nineteenth century. This was reflected in the greater integration of their economies and the greater acceptance in Canada of American cultural products such as books, magazines, radio broadcasting and movies, and was symbolized by the astonishing American response to the Halifax explosion in December 1917. By the end of the war, Canadians were emerging as a North American people, no longer fearing close ties to the United States, even as they maintained their ties to the British Commonwealth.

Canada’s Great War, 1914-1918 will interest not only Canadians unaware of how greatly their nation’s participation in the First World War reshaped its relationship with Britain and the United States, but also Americans unacquainted with the magnitude of Canada’s involvement in the war and how that contribution drew the two nations closer together.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 260 • Trim: 6½ x 9⅜

978-0-8108-8859-3 • Hardback • November 2014 • $116.00 • (£89.00)

978-0-8108-8860-9 • eBook • November 2014 • $110.00 • (£85.00)

Subjects: History / Military / World War I, History / Canada / Post-Confederation (1867-), History / Military / Canada

Author

Brian Douglas Tennyson read Modern History at the University of Toronto and Imperial History at the University of London. He has taught in the Department of History of Cape Breton University for many years, and was also Director of its Centre for International Studies, retiring Emeritus Professor in 2003. He was awarded the President’s Common Purposes Award and the Alumni Association’s Excellence in Teaching Award. He has written or edited fifteen books on Canadian political and military history, including most recently Merry Hell: The Story of the 25th(Nova Scotia)Battalion (University of Toronto Press) and The Canadian Experience of the Great War: A Guide to Memoirs (Scarecrow Press 2013).

Table of Contents

Introduction
Chapter 1: The Summer of 1914
Chapter 2: Between Mother England and Uncle Sam
Chapter 3: Answering the Call
Chapter 4: Preparing for War
Chapter 5: Discovering Modern Warfare
Chapter 6: Building the Corps
Chapter 7: Shock Troops of the Empire
Chapter 8: The Home Front
Chapter 9: Conscription
Chapter 10: Demanding a Voice
Chapter 11: Partners in a Common Cause
Chapter 12: The War at Sea
Chapter 13: The War in the Air
Chapter 14: Canada’s Hundred Days
Chapter 15: The New Reality
Chapter 16: North American Nation
Afterword
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
About the Author

Reviews

This brief book aimed at US and Canadian readers attempts to tell the story of Canada's role in the Great War. This is a large subject, and Tennyson has tackled it with the help of a list of secondary sources. . . .[F]or those who are interested in the subject of Canada's Great War, this brief, illustrated volume will be a useful starting point that covers the fighting better than it does the home front. Summing Up: Recommended. General, public, and undergraduate libraries.
— Choice Reviews