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Enlistment In 1914 Essay

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Enlistment In 1914 Essay
In the first few weeks after war was declared in 1914, “daily newspaper editorials, political speeches, and lectures from the [government] implored men that their duty to King and Country meant serving in the military. Early recruitment posters urged enlistment on the basis of patriotism and emotional connections to the war’s major issues.” Thousands of men enlisted in the first few weeks from Britain and Canada and even more volunteered after the retreat from Mons in August of 1914, and after the news of the first fatalities there was a renewed rush of enlistment after the fall of Antwerp in October. By the end of 1914 there were hundreds of thousands enlisted which continued into the next year (1915) including men from all areas and social …show more content…
When trying to fund the war, Britain looked to Canada to loan their government money, on average it cost Canada $1 million a day, which would average out to approximately $16.5 million today. Due to federal expenditures exceeded revenues the government resorted to three methods to raise money for the war. The first method was to borrow money by selling government bonds to Canadians, also known as “war loans”. The first war loan was in 1915 and it promised large and small investors a return of five percent. The government expected to raise $50 million for the war, however Canadians ended up raising more than $179 million. Two similar loans followed in 1916 and 1917, raising $460 million. Furthermore between 1917 and 1919, the finance minister offered another type of war loan called “victory bonds”, which were offered to the public with a promise of a return of five and a half percent; more than three million Canadians bought victory bonds, raising over $1.7 billion. Together six war loans raised over $2.3 billion. Then in 1917, the government came up with its third source of revenue: a direct tax, which was the first of its kind in Canada, it was called the Income War Tax. To help finance the war, the Canadian government levied taxes on businesses and many common products, including but not limited to, coffee, tea, tobacco, telegrams, liquor, patent

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