On 14 February 1933, the citizens of Blairmore, Alberta, elected a Communist
town council; this so-called Red administration remained in power until 1936. Best
known for their seemingly outrageous actions, the council exists within current
historiography as either the result of protracted depression or an example of the success
experienced by the Communist Party of Canada during this period. This thesis will
challenge both arguments, demonstrating that a series of social, economic, and political
experiences resulted in the election of known Communists being socially permissible by
1933. It will be demonstrated that the agenda of council was not strictly Communist,
rather it represented a balance between radical and populist programs, thus enabling
council to challenge capitalist society while providing a practical response to the local
effects of the Depression. The deterioration of this balance by 1936, coupled with a series of scandals, was resultant in the councils electoral downfall. / vii, 161 leaves ; 29 cm.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:ALU.w.uleth.ca/dspace#10133/530 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Creators | Franz, Kyle Randolph, University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science |
| Contributors | McManus, Sheila |
| Publisher | Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Arts and Science, 2007, Faculty of Arts and Science, Department of History |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Relation | Thesis (University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science) |
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