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UMI Bell & Howell Information and beaming 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 The United Farmers and Farm Women o f Alberta: The Development of a Movement, 1909-1921 by Bradford James Rennie B.A., University o f Calgary, 1982 B.Ed., University of Calgary, 1990 M.A., University of Calgary, 1992 A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in the Department of History We accept this dissertation as conforming to the required standard Dr. Ian î^^cPherson, Supervisor (Department of History) ia Roy, Departmental% Member (Department of History) mental Member (Department of History) Dr. L.D. McCann, Outside Member (Department of Geography) Dr.r. John Herd ThomiThomp^jn, External Examiner (Department of History, Duke University) (c) Bradford James Rennie, 1998 University of Victoria All rights reserved. This dissertation may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopying or other means, without the author’s permission. u Supervisor Dr. Ian MacPherson ABSTRACT This study examines the emergence and evolution of the United Farmers and Farm Women o f Alberta (UFA/UFWA) through three stages: the "movement forming," the "movement building," and the "movement policizing." It argues that the UFA/UFWA developed a "movement culture" of two ideologies and several core elements that helped push farmers through those stages. The core elements, products o f fermers' inherited ideas and their class and movement experience, included a belief in education; feelings of community; a sense of class opposition; gender assumptions; commitment to organization, co-operation, and democracy; a social ethic; religious convictions; a sense of citizenship responsibility; agrarian ideals; and collective self-respect and self- confidence. In the movement forming stage, which spanned the three decades to 1909, farmers questioned the status quo and acquired a nascent movement culture which prompted them to create several farm associations. Organizational rivalry led to the final act of "movement forming" - the formation of the UFA. In the the second stage, the "movement building" stage, the organization gained a substantial membership base, established a women's section, built its culture, and moved toward independent political actioiL In the third stage, the "movement politicizing," farmers committed themselves to direct politics, were confirmed in this decision by their interpretation of events, created political structures, and entered the 1921 elections. This dissertation shows how agrarian education, co-operative enterprise, community relations, and a non-wheat economy were crucial to this movement development. It also sees the post-war UFA/UFWA social and political philosophy, including group government, as an expression of the movement culture. Examiners: Dr. Ian MacPherson, Supervisor (Department o f History) Ill E^^a&^cia R ^ , Departmental Member (Department of History) Dr. Bnan Dippie, De^utmental Member (Department of History) __________________________ Dr. L.D. McCann, Outside Member (Department of Geography) John Herd Thon^on, External Examiner (Department of History, Duke University) Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................. ü Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................. v Dedication ............................................................................................................................vi Introduction ...........................................................................................................................1 Chapter One: The Movement Forming, 1879-1909 ....................................................... 16 Chapter Two: The Movement Building, 1909-1913 ..................................................... 50 Chapter Three: The Rural Economy and the M ovem ent................................................91 Chapter Four: Creating and Defining the Com munity ............................................... 132 Chapter Five: The Movement Building, 1914-1918 . : ............................................. 178 Chapter Six: Co-operation in the M ovem ent ................................................................. 227 Chapter Seven: Education in the Movement ................................................................. 264 Chapter Eight: The Movement Politicizing, 1919-1921 ............................................. 294 Chapter Nine: The Philosophy of the Post-War UFA/UFWA ................................. 340 Epilogue and Conclusion ................................................................................................ 362 Bibliography ...................................................................................................................... 370 Acknowledgements I would like to thank, first and foremost, my supervisor, Ian MacPherson, for his kindness, support, and patience, and for helping me to discern the broad themes of this study when all I could see was the detail. I am also grateful to Patricia Roy for her painstaking editing and insightful suggestions. These two individuals contributed greatly to the quality of this dissertation. L.D. McCann and Eric Crouse made useful comments as well. I am responsible for the errors and weaknesses that remain. Several institutions gave generous financial aid. The University of Victoria provided a Fellowship for the first three years of my doctoral studies and a President's Research Scholarship. I received a Doctoral Fellowship for my fourth year from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The Canadian Association for Studies in Co-operation awarded me the Alexander Fraser Laidlaw Fellowship. The University of Victoria Department of History helped fund my research trips. In addition, I would like to thank the staffs of the Glenbow Archives, Calgary, the Provincial Archives of Alberta, Edmonton, the University of Alberta Archives, Edmonton, the National Archives of Canada, Ottawa, and the Queen's University Archives, Kingston, for their capable assistance. My thanks also to George Colpitts, Jimmy Tan, and Caron Coutu for helping with my technical and computer work. Last, but not least, I wish to acknowledge my wife Faye and daughter Sara who made this project possible and enjoyable. VI TO SARA, AND TO THE MEMORY OF HER GRANDPARENTS, GORDON RUSSEL RENNIE AND PHYLLIS LORRAINE RENNIE Introduction The old country hall stands decrepit, leaning and rotting at the foundation, its windows boarded up, its paint - the little that remains - peeling. The interior, renovated in tacky 1960s fashion, is in shambles from hard use, neglect, and vandalism. This was once a happy place. Here, with a blue and gold UFA flag hung proudly on the wall, proclaiming "our motto equity," farmers chatted, smoked, educated themselves, and talked about the latest co-operative shipment. Here, women overcame loneliness, sewed for the Red Cross, wrote resolutions demanding legal rights, and discussed household efficiency. Here, the Junior UFA planned the next debate, and shouted, "Hip hooray, we are members of the U.F.A" Here, youth and adults tripped the light fantastic into the "wee sma'" hours of the night to the tune of Yankee Doodle on a screechy violin. Here, a sense of community, mutuality, and collective confidence was built. Here, farmers perceived that a truly just society was within their reach, and took political action to grasp it. All that remains are the ghosts of those memories and noise of the door flapping in the wind. All eyes were fixed on the doorway of the Mechanics' Hall in Edmonton, Alberta, on January 14, 1909, at the Alberta Farmers' Association (AFA) convention. The weathered delegates shifted restlessly, evincing a fidgety anticipation, and discussed the imminent event in subdued tone. Suddenly, James Speakman appeared at the entrance way with the Society of Equity