The Rise of Agrarian Democracy: The United Farmers and Farm Women of Alberta, 1909-1921

301 Pages·2000·17.11 MB·English

by  Bradford James Rennie

THE RISE OF AGRARIAN DEMOCRACY:
THE UNITED FARMERS AND
FARM WOMEN OF ALBERTA, 1909-1921
The Rise of Agrarian Democracy is a lucid and persuasive work detailing one
of the greatest agrarian and mass democratic movements in North Amer-
ican history. It describes the events leading to the formation of the
United Farmers of Alberta in 1909 and explores the UFA's development
over the next decade as farmers built a distinct 'movement culture,' orga-
nized a large membership, and established the United Farm Women of
Alberta. A path is laid from the farmers' inherited ideas and common
experience, gender assumptions, class opposition, and agrarian ideals to
a collective sense of responsibility, co-operation, and confidence. We fol-
low the growth of a grassroots movement whose astonishing political suc-
cess culminated in the election of the United Farmers of Alberta in 1921
and in their governing the province for over a decade.
More than an institutional study, this book examines an elemental
period in Canadian democracy within the cultural, social, and commu-
nity context at the core of the movement's inception. It contributes sig-
nificantly to our understanding of the evolution and politicization of the
Alberta farmers' movement and as such is an important investigation in
western and agrarian history and economics.
Meticulously researched, this work is of interest to those studying co-
operative movements worldwide. With clarity and accuracy, Brad Rennie
provides valuable insight into both reform movement and gender his-
tory in Canada.
BRADFORD JAMES RENNIE is the winner of several academic awards and
has taught at the University of Victoria and the University of Calgary.
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The Rise of
Agrarian Democracy
The United Farmers and
Farm Women of Alberta
1909-1921
BRADFORD JAMES RENNIE
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS
Toronto Buffalo London
www.utppublishing.com
© University of Toronto Press Incorporated 2000
Toronto Buffalo London
Printed in Canada
ISBN 0-8020-4847-1 (cloth)
ISBN 0-8020-8374-9 (paper)
Printed on acid-free paper
Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data
Rennie, Bradford James, 1960-
The rise of agrarian democracy : the United Farmers and
Farm Women of Alberta, 1909-1921
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8020-4847-1 (bound) ISBN 0-8020-8374-9 (pbk.)
1. United Farmers of Alberta - History. 2. United Farm Women of
Alberta - History. 3. Alberta - Politics and government - 1903-1921.
I. Title.
HD1486.C3R462000 324.27123'02 COO-931592-6
University of Toronto Press acknowledges the financial assistance to
its publishing program of the Canada Council for the Arts and the
Ontario Arts Council.
This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Humanities
and Social Sciences Federation of Canada, using funds provided by the
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
University of Toronto Press acknowledges the financial support for its
publishing activities of the Government of Canada through the Book
Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP).
To my girls
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 3
1 The Forming of the Movement, 1879-1909 13
2 The Building of the Movement, 1909-1913 36
3 The Rural Economy and the Movement 62
4 Creating and Defining the Community 80
5 The Building of the Movement, 1914-1918 110
6 Co-operation in the Movement 138
7 Education in the Movement 161
8 The Politicizing of the Movement, 1919-1921 179
9 The Philosophy of the Post-War UFA/UFWA 207
Epilogue 224
Notes 231
Index 271
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Acknowledgments
I would like to thank, first and foremost, Ian MacPherson, who super-
vised the dissertation on which this study is substantially based. He was
particularly helpful in encouraging me to discern broad themes (the
proverbial forest), when all I could see was detail (the trees). I am also
grateful to Patricia Roy for her painstaking efforts and insightful sugges-
tions. John Herd Thompson, Gerald Hallowell, and two anonymous
readers made invaluable comments as well. Jill McConkey was a pleas-
ant and efficient editor; Catherine Frost was an excellent copy-editor;
Frances Mundy was a helpful managing editor. 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 fel-
lowship for my fourth year from the Social Sciences and Humanities
Research Council of Canada. The council also provided the funds for a
grant from the Humanities and Social Sciences Federation of Canada to
assist with the costs of publishing of this book. The Canadian Associa-
tion for Studies in Co-operation awarded me the Alexander Laidlaw Fel-
lowship. The University of Victoria Department of History helped to pay
for my research trips.
In addition, I would like to thank the staffs at the Glenbow Archives in
Calgary, the Provincial Archives of Alberta in Edmonton, the National
Archives of Canada in Ottawa, and the Queen's University Archives in
Kingston for their capable assistance. Last, but not least, I wish to
acknowledge my wife, Faye, and daughter, Sara, who made this project
possible and enjoyable.
B.J.R.