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Essay On Conscription In 1917

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Was conscription the correct choice for Canada in 1917? In my opinion, conscription was not the right choice for Canada for three major reasons; the weakening of Canada, the resulting deaths of soldiers, and the moral issue behind it.
I believe that conscription in 1917 also a choice that weakened Canada as a whole. Evidence of my claim are the divisions that were created between French and English Canadians as a result of conscription, and because of the weakening of Canada’s population. A result of conscription was lots of backlash from many French-Canadians who did not support it. Riots broke out in Montreal, which resulted in 4 deaths of unarmed civilians, injuries of many others, and thousands of dollars of property damage. Overall, because …show more content…

To get into the first point of why conscription was an improper choice, we must first recognize that war goes beyond just strategy and weaponry, and that to war there is also a deeper side of the philosophy of war. We should not be looking at these deaths as mere casualties of war, but instead as unique minds, thoughts, and experiences that have completely vanished, and are to never return. Evidence of the lives lost are the 25,000 conscripted Canadian soldiers that were sent to the frontlines. Many of these soldiers undoubtedly died. The soldiers who went to war before conscription made their own choice to fight for their country, but conscripts did not have the ability to make their choice, it was decided for them. A quote from Hebert Hoover sums this up well: “Older men declare war. But it is youth that must fight and die.” We certainly did not see Prime Minister Borden go out onto Dead Man’s Land to fight as a soldier did we? What gives one man the right to sentence thousands to death? I believe that lives are one of the most important things in a war, and that conscription does not take this into

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