Embedded Files
Learning Intention:
Success Criteria:
Activity 1- The Conscription Debate (Copy the following into your exercise book)
Conscription is when men are forced to join the army and fight- otherwise they go to jail. Most of the countries involved in the war already had conscription but Australian soldiers had all been volunteers. The Prime Minister did not have the power to make conscription law so a referendum* was needed to ask Australians to support it. This issue greatly divided Australia.
Reflection: How to do you feel about the idea of Conscription?
(referendum* - a general vote by the electorate on a single political question.)
In WWI and II, propaganda* was used to influence public opinion on the justification of war and on the enlistment of soldiers. This came in a variety of forms including political cartoons, posters and songs. Familiarise yourself with the key arguments for and against conscription.
(propaganda*- information of a biased nature which promotes a political point of view)
Activity 2: Exploring Perspectives and Entering the Debate. (Your teacher will print a copy for you)
The Conscription Debate brought many varying views as to whether we as a nation should force our men to fight for our nation in The Great War.
Listen to the different perspectives as a class on the Conscription Debate and complete the table on the various views held by Australians
The Conscription Debate.docxActivity 3 - Propaganda Source Analysis
Propaganda was a means for delivering a perspective of groups within the government. Analyse the following political propaganda posters on the Conscription Debate and answer the following questions for each.
Source A - Political Cartoon
a) Which countries/ individuals are represented in this cartoon?
b) According to this cartoon, explain what will happen on October 28th.
c) Is this FOR or AGAINST conscription?
Source B - Political Cartoon
a) What is a caricature? Explain how it is used here. (ie. what figures are represented here?Are they anyone specific?)
b) What is the motive or purpose of this poster?
c) Who is the audience for this poster?
d) Is it FOR or AGAINST conscription? Support your answer with specific reference to source quotes and visual features.
Activity 4: What were the outcomes of the 1916 Conscription Referendum? (Copy the following into your book)
● When the referendum on conscription was held on the 28th of October 1916, it was narrowly defeated, with 54% of Australians voting against it.
● However, bitter controversy did not go away. ‘Patriots’ blamed Roman Catholics & Australian Germans and demanded that Daniel Mannix be deported for his anti-conscription view.
● There was political division amongst the Labor Party on both Federal and State levels. Despite being Prime Minister, Billy Hughes was kicked-out of the political party. However, the Nationalists (led by Billy Hughes) won the Federal Election in May 1917, so thought this election win showed support for conscription. However, in 1917, a second conscription referendum was again defeated; by a slightly bigger margin.
Activity 5: Conscription EP: 22 minutes.
https://app.educationperfect.com/app/1910681/2916697/activity-starter
Activity 6: Extended Writing Task
a) Outline the arguments for and against conscription during WW1. 300 words
b) Having now considered both sides of conscription, what would you have voted to the referendum question below. If you wish, explain your reasons.
Question: Are you in favour of the proposal of the Commonwealth Government for reinforcing the Commonwealth Forces overseas?'
Page updated
Report abuse