Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

George W. Bush

2011-04-17T15:49:07Z

ASomebody: /* Future Plans */

{{Officeholder
|name=George W. Bush
|image=George_w_bush.jpeg
|party=Republican
|spouse=Laura Bush
|religion=[[United Methodist]]
|offices=
{{Officeholder/president
|country=the United States
|number=43rd
|terms=January 20, 2001 – January 20, 2009
|vp=[[Dick Cheney]]
|preceded=[[Bill Clinton]]
|former=y
|succeeded=[[Barack Obama]]
}}
{{Officeholder/governor
|number=46th
|state=Texas
|terms=January 17, 1995 – December 21, 2000
|preceded=[[Ann Richards]]
|former=y
|succeeded=[[Rick Perry]]
}}
}}
'''George Walker Bush''' (born New Haven, [[Connecticut]] 1946) was the Governor of [[Texas]] (1995-2000) and served as the 43rd [[President of the United States of America]] from 2001 to 2009. Campaigning on a theme of "compassionate conservativism" and promising "to restore honor and dignity" to the office of President after the Clinton years,<ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9507E3DC153FF931A2575BC0A9669C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all THE 2000 CAMPAIGN: THE TEXAS GOVERNOR; Bush Calls on Gore to Denounce Clinton Affair,] By Frank Bruni, The New York Times'', August 12, 2000. </ref> he won the office by a narrow margin in the decisive State of [[Florida]] in the [[United States presidential election, 2000|2000 Presidential election]]. Legal challenges to the certified vote count went all the way to the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] when liberal Democratic contender [[Al Gore]] contested the outcome for weeks until the Supreme Court case [[Bush v. Gore]].

In the [[United States presidential election, 2004|2004 Presidential election]] Bush won re-election, helped in part by a 300,000 vote victory (5%) in the State of Florida, where the outcome had been so close in 2000.<ref>[http://election.dos.state.fl.us/elections/resultsarchive/SummaryRpt.asp?ElectionDate=11/2/2004&Race=PRE&DATAMODE= Florida Election Records], ''[[Florida Dept. of State]]''</ref> [[Leftist]] Democratic candidate [[John Kerry]] conceded defeat the day after the election.

Bush's presidency was defined by [[foreign policy]] because of the [[September 11, 2001 attacks|September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks]], which eventually resulted in the liberation of the countries of [[Iraq]] and [[Afghanistan]]. Bush named two conservatives to the Supreme Court. He reformed K12 education with a major new program, [[No Child Left Behind]], and pushed a series of major tax cuts through Congress. Conservatives cheered. All this happened in his first term, aiding his easy reelection. His performance in dealing with [[Hurricane Katrina]] in 2005 were widely ridiculed, though some Republicans argued that local Democrats did an even worse job.

As the [[Financial Crisis of 2008]] smashed into the banking system and the nation plunged into the [[Recession of 2008]], Bush responded by proposing a massive aid program of $700 billion to banks, and loan guarantees amounting to the trillions of dollars. Conservatives were dismayed as he proposed a traditional [[Keynesian]] [[stimulus]] which Democrats lauded. Above all, he made one of the most dramatic federal interventions in American history by his aid to the financial system. Bruce Bartlett, a Republican economist, says, "Bush clearly is not a Reaganite or "small 'c' conservative."

Conservatives and [[libertarian]]s have criticized Bush for greatly increased domestic spending, creating a new entitlement program for prescription drugs, failing to veto a single bill, and expanding both the size and scope of government. The man made extremely difficult decisions under extraordinary circumstances. Unlike any president before him, he was subjected to an all out attack by liberal aligned groups intent on playing politics, while forcing him to admit defeat in Iraq. Bush's last year in office was a combination of Democrat [[Alinsky]] tactics and abandonment by his own Republican party. Lobbyists and Congress contributed greatly to the collapsing financial markets. Mistakes, questionable interests, Federal Reserve lack of transparency, Liberal Media, Unions, Homeland Security and you understand why the Bush team was to falter, they were in over their heads. Bush is a man with convictions that didn't cower from protecting America and putting America first. <ref>See www.honorfreedom.com</ref> George would engineer two government rebate checks, giving back to the people. Average unemployment over eight-years of the [[Bush Administration]] was 5.3%. <ref>[http://scottstanzel.com/2010/06/04/unemployment-rate-during-president-bush/ Scottstanzel.com, Unemployment During President George W. Bush’s Two Terms]</ref> and he can be credited for having the most [[pro-life]] policies of any president.

==Early Life==
[[Image:Bushfamily.JPG|left|thumb|275px|George W. Bush and his family in 1981]] George W. Bush was born on July 6, 1946, in New Haven, Connecticut, and grew up in Midland and Houston, Texas. <ref>http://www.whitehouse.gov/president/biography.html</ref> He attended [[Yale University]] where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and [[Harvard]] Business School, and later served in the Texas Air [[National Guard]]. Growing up in politics, his father [[George H. W. Bush]] had been a member of the [[U.S. House of Representatives]], American Ambassador to the [[United Nations]], Director of the [[Central Intelligence Agency]](CIA) and [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] of the United States under President [[Ronald Reagan]]. In 1988, George W. Bush worked for his fathers successful Presidential campaign. Afterwords Bush purchased the Texas Rangers [[baseball]] franchise.

==Governor of Texas==
Bush declared his candidacy for Governor of Texas in 1994. He defeated incumbent [[Democrat]] Governor [[Ann Richards]] 53.5 percent to 45.9 percent. Bush advocated and signed the two largest tax cuts to date in Texas history, totaling over $3 billion. <ref>http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tslac/40078/tsl-40078.html</ref> He supported and signed legislation emphasizing local control of [[school]]s, higher standards, and a revised curriculum. Bush was easily reelected Governor in 1998.

==2000 Presidential Campaign==
''Main Article: [[United States presidential election, 2000]]''

The Republican nominee for the 2000 Presidential nomination came down to Texas Governor George W. Bush and [[Arizona]] Senator [[John McCain]], a maverick Republican and ex-POW. Most social conservatives endorsed Bush. Despite early primary wins in [[New Hampshire]] and [[Michigan]] for McCain, Bush eventually won after sweeping 9 out of the 13 states on super Tuesday. McCain withdrew in March after a bitter primary fight. Bush then chose former U.S. Defense Secretary [[Richard Cheney]] as his running mate. Vice President [[Al Gore]] was the Democrat nominee. Consumer Advocate [[Ralph Nader]], a strong supporter of [[environment]]al protection and critic of large corporations entered the race in the [[green party]].

In a historically close race, Gore edged out Bush in the popular vote 48.4 percent to 47.9 percent. However, Bush won the majority of electoral votes, 271 to 266, because of Bush's victory in Florida, winning its 25 electoral votes that both candidates desperately needed. The race in Florida was so close that state law required a recount of the ballots. There were, however, thousands of thrown out ballots that were discredited because the counting machines could not discern them. After the machine recounts still showed Bush ahead, Gore asked for a hand recount of ballots in counties that favored Democrats. On November 26th, Florida officials certified that Bush won the state of Florida by 537 votes. Gore conceded December 13th.

==2004 Reelection Campaign==
''Main Article: [[United States presidential election, 2004]]''

In President Bush's reelection campaign in 2004, national security, the invasion of Iraq and social issues dominated the campaign. The Democrat nominee was [[Massachusetts]] Senator [[John Kerry]]. Bush won the popular vote, 51% to 48%. With 120 million Americans voting (15 million more then in 2000) Bush received more votes than any other presidential candidate in history. Among the swing states, Kerry took [[Pennsylvania]], [[New Hampshire]], [[Michigan]], [[Minnesota]], [[Wisconsin]] and [[Oregon]], while Bush took [[Ohio]], [[Florida]], [[Missouri]], [[Iowa]], [[Colorado]], [[New Mexico]], and [[Nevada]]. <ref>http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/results/president/map.html</ref>

Republicans also picked up seats in both chambers of [[Congress]].

==Presidency (2001-2009)==

In foreign and security areas, his terms included the 9-11 terrorist attack, the passage of the PATRIOT Act, the invasion of Afghanistan (2001-present) and Iraq (2003-present), the expansion of NATO to the Russian border, financial aid to fight disease (especially AIDS) in Africa, and improved relations with India. The Iraq was was the focus of intense partisan debate.

The 2002 midterm election saw a GOP gain of seats in the House of Representatives and governorships, However the 2006 elections showed sharp GOP losses across the board, and loss of control of the House for the first time since its capture in 1994. He played a minor role in the 2008 election, which the GOP lost.

In domestic legislation he partnered with Sen. [[Ted Kennedy]] to pass the No Child Left Behind education act, and tried--but failed--to pass immigration reform. Early on he secured large-scale tax cuts, which helped the economic recovery in 2002. The boom (and later collapse) in real estate boosted the economy then pulled it down. Liberals criticized his handling of the 2005 Hurricane Katrina relief, and the dismissals of U.S. Attorneys for political reasons. His proposed "Vision for Space Exploration" went nowhere, and he failed to make headway in Social Security reform. Conservatives hailed his appointments of conservatives to the Supreme Court and Federal Reserve chairmanship.

===Administration and Cabinet===

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Office
! Name
! Term
|-
| [[President]]
| George W. Bush
| 2001-2009
|-
| [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]]
| [[Richard Cheney]]
| 2001-2009
|-
| [[Secretary of State]]
| [[Colin Powell]]
| 2001-2005
|-
|
| [[Condoleezza Rice]]
| 2005-2009
|-
| [[Secretary of Treasury]]
| [[Paul O'Neill]]
| 2001-2002
|-
|
| [[John Snow]]
| 2003-2006
|-
|
| [[Henry Paulson]]
| 2006-2009
|-
| [[Secretary of Defense]]
| [[Donald Rumsfeld]]
| 2001-2006
|-
|
| [[Robert Gates]]
| 2006-2009
|-
| [[Attorney General]]
| [[John Ashcroft]]
| 2001-2005
|-
|
| [[Alberto Gonzales]]
| 2005-2007
|-
|
| [[Michael Mukasey]]
| 2007-2009
|-
| Secretary of the Interior
| [[Gale Norton]]
| 2001-2006
|-
|
| [[Dirk Kempthorne]]
| 2006-2009
|-
| Secretary of Agriculture
| [[Ann Veneman]]
| 2001-2005
|-
|
| [[Mike Johanns]]
| 2005-2007
|-
|
| [[Ed Schafer]]
| 2008-2009
|-
| Secretary of Commerce
| [[Donald Evans]]
| 2001-2005
|-
|
| [[Carlos Gutierrez]]
| 2005-2009
|-
| Secretary of Labor
| [[Elaine Chao]]
| 2001-2009
|-
| Secretary of Health and Human Services
| [[Tommy Thompson]]
| 2001-2005
|-
|
| [[Michael Leavitt]]
| 2005-2009
|-
| Secretary of Education
| [[Rod Paige]]
| 2001-2005
|-
|
| [[Margaret Spellings]]
| 2005-2009
|-
| Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
| [[Mel Martinez]]
| 2001-2003
|-
|
| [[Alphonso Jackson]]
| 2003-2008
|-
|
| [[Steve Preston]]
| 2008-2009
|-
| Secretary of Transportation
| [[Norman Mineta]]
| 2001-2006
|-
|
| [[Mary Peters]]
| 2006-2009
|-
| Secretary of Energy
| [[Spencer Abraham]]
| 2001-2005
|-
|
| [[Samuel Bodman]]
| 2005-2009
|-
| Secretary of Veterans Affairs
| [[Anthony Principi]]
| 2001-2005
|-
|
| [[Jim Nicholson]]
| 2005-2007
|-
|
| [[James Peake]]
| 2007-2009
|-
| Secretary of Homeland Security
| [[Tom Ridge]]
| 2003-2005
|-
|
| [[Michael Chertoff]]
| 2005-2009
|-
| Chief of Staff
| [[Andrew Card]]
| 2001-2006
|-
|
| [[Joshua Bolten]]
| 2006-2009
|-
| Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
| [[Christine Todd Whitman]]
| 2001-2003
|-
|
| [[Michael Leavitt]]
| 2003-2005
|-
|
| [[Stephen Johnson]]
| 2005-2009
|-
| Director of the Office of Management and Budget
| [[Mitch Daniels]]
| 2001-2003
|-
|
| Joshua Bolten
| 2003-2006
|-
|
| [[Rob Portman]]
| 2006-2007
|-
|
| [[Jim Nussle]]
| 2007-2009
|-
| Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy
| [[John Walters]]
| 2001-2009
|-
| United States Trade Representative
| [[Robert Zoellick]]
| 2001-2005
|-
|
| Rob Portman
| 2005-2006
|-
|
| Susan Schwab
| 2006-2009
|-
| [[CIA]] Director
| [[George Tenet]]
| 2001-2004
|-
|
| [[John E. McLaughlin]]
| 2004
|-
|
| [[Porter J. Goss]]
| 2004-2006
|-
|
| [[Michael Hayden]]
| 2006-2009
|-
| FBI Director
| [[Louis Freeh]]
| 2001
|-
|
| [[Thomas J. Pickard]]
| 2001
|-
|
| [[Robert S. Mueller]]
| 2001-2009
|-
| National Security Advisor
| Condoleezza Rice
| 2001-2005
|-
|
| Stephen Hadley
| 2005-2009
|-
| White House Counsel
| Alberto R. Gonzales
| 2001-2005
|-
|
| [[Harriet Miers]]
| 2005-2007
|-
|
| [[Fred Fielding]]
| 2007-2009
|-
| White House Press Secretary
| [[Ari Fleischer]]
| 2001-2003
|-
|
| [[Scott McClellan]]
| 2003-2006
|-
|
| [[Tony Snow]]
| 2006-2007
|-
|
| [[Dana Perino]]
| 2007-2009
|-
|}
===Response to the 9-11 Terrorist Attacks===
The September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks resulted in George W. Bush becoming a self-described war time President. On that morning President Bush had traveled to Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, [[Florida]] to promote his [[education]]al agenda, when 19 Islamic terrorists connected with [[al-Qaeda]] hijacked four commercial airplanes. Two of them crashed into the [[World Trade Center]] in [[New York City]], the third in [[The Pentagon]] in [[Washington, D.C.]] and the fourth in Somerset County, [[Pennsylvania]], after passengers of the flight successfully stopped the hijackers from hitting Washington D.C., possibly the [[White House]] or [[Capital]]. As a resulted over 3,000 Americans were killed, and over 6,000 injured, the largest terrorist attack in American history. After [[White House]] Chief of Staff [[Andrew Card]] had whispered in the President's ear that the United States was under attack, President Bush addressed the public in the Booker school's media center, saying a brief four paragraph statement that "Terrorism against our nation will not stand. This will not stand." Which was a formation that President George H. W. Bush used in August 1990 after [[Iraq]] invaded [[Kuwait]]. President Bush would later say that "This is my reminder of lives that ended, and a task that does not end. . . . I will not yield; I will not rest; I will not relent in waging this struggle for freedom and security for the American people."

[[Image:20010912-4-1.jpg|left|thumb|300px|President George W. Bush, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Vice President [[Dick Cheney]] and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Hugh Shelton, talk with the press about the previous day's terrorist attacks during a cabinet meeting Sept. 12, 2001. White House photo by Tina Hager. ]] Although the attacks may have been an attempt from al-Qaeda to divide the United States, they were unsuccessful. Across the nation Americans had donated blood and raised money for reconstruction in New York City. Within weeks Americans had raised over one billion dollars. <ref>The American Vision from National Geographic, pg. 1033 </ref> On September 14th President Bush declared a national emergency. [[CIA]] Director [[George Tenent]] and the FBI identified the attacks from al-Qaeda and [[Osama Bin Laden]] in [[Afghanistan]]. As [[Secretary of State]] [[Colin Powell]] began to build an international coalition with over 90 countries to support the United States global [[War on Terrorism]], [[Secretary of Defense]] [[Donald Rumsfeld]] began to redeploy troops and aircraft's to the [[middle east]]. On September 24th, President Bush issued an executive order freezing all funding to financial assets to individuals and groups suspected of terrorism, and over 80 other nations soon followed. Bush then established the Department of Homeland Security to coordinate federal agencies working to prevent terrorism. The President appointed [[Pennsylvania]] [[Governor]] [[Tom Ridge]] to the office. In October President Bush signed into law the U.S. [[Patriot Act]], which allowed authorities to obtain a signal nationwide search warrant that could be used anywhere on suspected terrorists. It also made it easier to wiretap terrorists and track their [[email]]. The mastermind of the 9/11 attacks—[[Khalid Sheikh Mohammed]] has been captured.

On October 5th, a new [[anthrax]] scare from terrorists began. Anthrax—a deadly bacteria—had been sent in the mail to news organizations in New York City and Washington, D.C. and [[United States Senate|Senate]] Majority Leader [[Tom Daschle]]'s office. The FBI investigated the anthrax attacks, although no suspects were identified.

===War in Afghanistan===
(see [[Afghanistan War]])
Afghanistan housed and protected al-Qaeda as it planned the 9-11 attacks. It then refused to turn over al-Qaeda leaders. With UN and NATO approval, Bush went to war to overthrow the Taliban. On October 7th, 2001, he ordered bombing of al-Qaeda's camps and the [[Taliban]]'s military forces in Afghanistan. "We will not waver, we will not tire, we will not falter, we will not fail, freedom will prevail", President Bush explained. The attack quickly shattered the [[Taliban]]'s defenses, and by early December the Taliban regime had collapsed. The United States, its allies and the UN then helped Afghanistan create a new government under [[ Hamid Karzai]]. By March 2002, the Taliban and al-Qaeda were beginning to regroup again in the mountain's of the [[Pakistan]] border. President Bush responded by launching Operation Anaconda, where al-Qaeda troops were defeated. Al-Qaeda was largely destroyed, but the Taliban rebuilt using secure sanctuaries in Pakistan from which it launched terror attacks inside Afghanistan (and inside Pakistan as well)..<ref> Fred Barnes, ''Rebel-in-Chief: Inside the Bold and Controversial Presidency of George W. Bush'' (2006); Seth Jones, ''In the Graveyard of Empires: America's War in Afghanistan'' (2009)</ref>

As a candidate in 2008 Obama criticized Bush for neglecting the Afghanistan, and tripled the number of American troops from 31,000 when Bush left office to over 100,000 in early 2010

===2002 Mid-Term Elections===

Democrats wanted the focus of the 2002 mid term elections to be on the [[economy]], which was growing slowly after the September 11th terrorist attacks. However, because Congress voted to authorized military force in Iraq in mid-October, national security was the top issue. Republicans increased their majority in the [[U.S. House of Representatives]] and took back control of the [[United States Senate]].

===2002-2003 build up of the War in Iraq===
In his infamous January 2002 State of the Union speech, President Bush declared an "Axis of Evil" made up of [[Iraq]], [[Iran]], and [[North Korea]], countries that posed a grave treat to the world and were suspected of supporting terrorism. Considering it a more dangerous and urgent treat then North Korea, President Bush began putting pressure on Iraq throughout 2002 for a regime [[change]]. Iraq's dictator [[Saddam Hussein]] had used chemical weapons against Iran and the Kurds, an ethnic minority in Iraq. Considering that Iraq may had been building Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD's) and was a treat to the United States and its allies, On September 12, 2002 President Bush tried to gain U.N. support for a U.S. led invasion of Iraq and asked for a resolution that Iraq gave up it's Weapons of Mass Destruction. While the U.N. Security Council approved a resolution that demanded Saddam Hussein declare all of it's WMD's, stop supporting terrorism and oppressing his people, Congress authorized the use of military force against Iraq. The United States, [[Great Britain]] and about 30 other countries began to prepare for war.

===Aftermath of the Invasion===
[[Image:20031127_dsc2048-515h.jpg|Right|thumb|300px|President George W. Bush meets with troops and serves Thanksgiving Dinner at the Bob Hope Dining Facility, Baghdad International Airport, Iraq,, Thursday, November 27, 2003. White House photo by Tina Hager.]] On March 23rd, 2003, U.S. led coalition forces began an attack on Iraq. Most of the Iraqi army dissolved and coalition forces quickly took control of the country. However, sectarian violence worsened through [[bomb]]ings and sniper attacks. On Thanksgiving 2003 President Bush and U.S. National Security Adviser [[Condoleezza Rice]] visited troops in Iraq to boost moral. Saddam Hussein was captured in December 2003 while little evidence had shown that he had obtained Weapons of Mass Destruction.

On January 30, 2005 Iraq had it's first general election since the liberation. They voted for a 275-member Iraqi National Assembly which later drafted a constitution. In December Iraq elected a permanent 275-member Council of Representatives. There were low levels of violence during the voting. In a show down with Congressional Democrats after taking control of the [[U.S. House of Representatives]] and [[U.S. Senate|Senate]] in the 2006 Congressional Midterm elections, Democrats retreated on their pledge to end the [[Iraq War]] early and bring the troops home. Democrats had threatened to withhold funding for the troops unless a date certain for withdrawal was set. After the final vote, 280-142 in the House and 80-14 in the Senate, the anti-War movement was defeated. The deal cut with Democratic leaders in exchange for their acquiescing to fund the troops calls for the President to sign legislation raising the [[minimum wage]]. <ref>[http://washingtontimes.com/national/20070525-122215-4854r.htm Congress OKs war bill sans time-line,] By S.A. Miller, The Washington Times'', May 25, 2007. </ref> One commentator remarked, "Despite all the talk of standing up to George W. Bush, despite all the bravado about taking control of Congress, despite the so-called mandate to change direction, Democrats caved....They claim that the majority of Americans are with them on the Iraq issue, but...President Bush, at the weakest moment of his presidency, still bested his Democratic rivals." <ref>[http://www.newmediajournal.us/staff/phyrillas/05292007.htm Democrats Show True Colors], Tony Phyrillas, ''New Media journal'', May 29, 2007, </ref>

===2007 Troop Surge===

[[Image:20061228-1_p122706pm-0144-515h.jpg‎|Right|thumb|300px|President George W. Bush meets with National Security team, from left to right, Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Peter Pace Thursday, Dec. 28, 2006, at Prairie Chapel Ranch in Crawford, Texas. White House photo by Paul Morse]]
On January 23, 2007 President Bush ordered an additional 30,000 troops to Iraq.

<blockquote>
In order to make progress toward this goal, the Iraqi government must stop the sectarian violence in its capital. But the Iraqis are not yet ready to do this on their own. So we're deploying reinforcements of more than 20,000 additional soldiers and Marines to Iraq. The vast majority will go to Baghdad, where they will help Iraqi forces to clear and secure neighborhoods, and serve as advisers embedded in Iraqi Army units. With Iraqis in the lead, our forces will help secure the city by chasing down the terrorists, insurgents, and the roaming death squads. And in Anbar Province, where al Qaeda terrorists have gathered and local forces have begun showing a willingness to fight them, we're sending an additional 4,000 United States Marines, with orders to find the terrorists and clear them out.
</blockquote> <ref>http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/603653/the_iraq_war_troop_surge_one_year_later.html</ref>

The surge was opposed by a majority of the United States Congress. However, it has resulted in significantly reduced sectarian violence. According to U.S. Central Command [[General]] [[David Petraeus]], violence in Iraq by December 2008 was at a 5 year low. <ref>http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE4B86G720081209</ref>

===Humanitarian aid===
President Bush has worked to stop the spread of the [[HIV/AIDS]] epidemic in [[Africa]]. In the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) $15 billion dollars over five years (2003–2008) was spent on fighting global HIV/AIDS and improving treatment.

===Economy===

Upon gaining office in 2001, Bush signed into law a $1.35 trillion cut in taxes over 10 years. The plan included the objectives of doubling the child tax credit from $500 to $1,000, reducing the tax penalty on [[marriage|married couples]] and fully repealing the [[Estate tax|tax on estates]]. A [[United States Senate]] Finance Committee Report estimated that with all the planned reductions fully phased in, the average family of four making $50,000 would save $1,825 per year.<ref>[http://archives.cnn.com/2001/ALLPOLITICS/06/07/bush.taxes/ $1.35 trillion tax cut becomes law], CNN, 21 June 2001</ref>

[[Image:20080919-2_p091908jb-0025-1-515h.jpg‎|Right|thumb|300px|President George W. Bush stands with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, left, SEC Chairman Chris Cox, right, and Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson as he delivers a statement on the economy Friday, Sept. 19, 2008, in the Rose Garden. White House photo by Joyce N. Boghosian]] Since the tax cuts, IRS revenues increased from $1.78 trillion in 2003 to $2.56 trillion in 2007 with a 46.3% increase of individual income tax receipts. Surging $785 billion since the 2003 investment tax cuts, it is the largest four-year revenue increase in U.S. history<ref>http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119189497675953035.html?mod=googlenews_wsj</ref>

During this same time period, spending mandated by Congress has also increased by more than 29% in inflation-adjusted dollars, representing an 11.4% increase in federal spending as a percentage of [[Gross domestic product|GDP]]. This spending has doubled the federal debt, increasing it from 58% to 66% of GDP. Defense spending increased 61%, and non-defense by 23% during the eight years since 2000. The largest non-defense spending increase has been for federally-funded medical expenses, at 54 percent.<ref>[http://www.aier.org/research/commentaries/750-big-government-under-the-bush-administration Big Government Under The Bush Administration], AIER, 16 November 2008</ref> In total, Bush has increased government expenditures by the largest percentage of any president since Lyndon Johnson.<ref>[http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/national/article944806.ece Some think Bush was too liberal], Wes Allison, Tampa Bay Times December 21, 2008 quoting Gleaves Whitney, director of the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies at Grand Valley State University and author of a new paper, "Anatomy of a Divorce: Conservatives versus George W. Bush."</ref>

Bush presided over a period of unreal economic growth that reflected a bubble that burst in 2008. The housing bubble allowed people to cash in the rising value of houses; low interest rates that led to massive borrowing. Money flowed uinto the U.S. from around the world. The stock market that hit a record high in 2007, then plunged relentlessly downward, losing $8 trillion in value in 2008. Unemployment hit an all time low in March 2007, but started rapidly increasing after January 2008. Bush signed into law a minimum wage increase, one of the platforms for the Democrats in the 2006 Congressional elections, after the House and Senate included Bush's request of provisions for small-business tax breaks.<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/20/AR2006122001784.html</ref><ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/10/AR2007011001666.html</ref> Tax policies have been favorable to reducing the [[Capital Gains Tax]], with a subsequent surge in investment.

See [[Financial Crisis of 2008]] and [[Recession of 2008]],

===Supreme Court Appointments===

After the death of Chief Justice [[William Rehnquist]], President Bush nominated U.S. Court of Appeals Judge [[John Roberts]] to fill the vacancy. He was confirmed on September 29, 2005 by a 78-22 vote. To replace the retiring Associate Justice [[Sandra Day O'Connor]] Bush nominated Judge [[Samuel Alito]], after his original nomination of Chief White House Council [[Harriet Miers]] was withdrawn because of widespread opposition due to lack of experience. After an unsuccessful filibuster attempt from [[United States Senate|Senate]] [[liberal]]s, Alito was confirmed on a 58-42 vote and was sworn in on January 31, 2006. <ref>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5181091</ref>

===Involvement in the 2008 Presidential election===
In March 2008, Bush endorsed his one-time rival [[John McCain]] as the Republican candidate for President of the United States. However, due to the President's declining popularity in polls, McCain distanced himself from Mr. Bush on the campaign trail. At the same time, Democratic candidiate [[Barack Obama]] tried to portray a McCain presidency as four more years of George W. Bush. The President spoke by videolink at the 2008 [[Republican National Convention]], while his wife Laura appeared on stage with McCain's wife [[Cindy McCain|Cindy]].
[[Image:George Laura Bush2008.jpg|thumb|left|300px|President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush pose for their last official holiday portrait, Dec. 7, 2008, in the Blue Room of the White House.]]

==Future Plans==
John McCain lost the election to Senator Obama, and President Bush met with the new president-elect to discuss the presidential transition between his administration and Obama's, which he promised would be efficient and without problems. George W. Bush's term ended at noon on January 20, 2009, at which point President-elect Obama was inaugurated. In an interview with ABC's [[Charles Gibson]] in December 2008, Bush said his retirement plans included moving back to his home state of Texas and writing a book. He also wants to build an institute at the Southern Methodist University to serve as a non-partisan public policy forum, to debate issues and run volunteer projects from.
Unfortunately, in early 2011, he died in a collision with a 12-wheeled lorry, carrying a cargo of diesel. The collision caused the lorry to explode, killing both Bush, his wife, and all of the witnesses in the area. The government blamed it on a terrorist attack, not telling the local populace that Bush was killed in the crash.
For all they know, he is still maxing and relaxing in Texas.

== Family ==
George W. Bush is the son of [[George H. W. Bush]], who served as vice-president from 1981 to 1989 and as president from 1989 to 1993, and [[Barbara Bush]]. President Bush is married to [[Laura Bush|Laura Welch Bush]], a former teacher and librarian, and they have twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna. John Ellis "Jeb" Bush, Neil Bush and Marvin Bush are his brothers. Dorothy Bush Koch is his only surviving sister, as Pauline Robinson Bush died at age four of [[leukemia]].

==Faith==

George W. Bush is a member of the [[United Methodist Church]], and most people feel that George W. Bush's faith is sincere and profound. ''The Faith of George W. Bush'', a non-political book by author Stephen Strang, made the [[New York Times]] best-sellers list. <ref>http://www.christianlifemissions.org/ministries/georgewbush.htm</ref>
When asked where he would be without the influence of family friend [[Billy Graham]], George W. Bush said "I wouldn't be president." "It was just a conversation," said the younger Bush about a talk with Graham in the mid-'80s that changed his life. During the pivotal conversation Bush recalled saying, "'You know, Billy, I'm longing for something.' And I know that he sent me a Bible I still have. All I can tell you is that as a result of being inspired by Billy Graham, I started reading the Bible and shortly after, I quit drinking." <ref>Billy Graham and the White House [http://religion.beloblog.com/archives/2007/08/billy_graham_and_the_white_hou_1.html]</ref> Bush's faith led him to veto a bill which would have provided for [[federal funding]] of immoral embryonic stem cell research.

In an interview with ABC's "Nightline" on 12/8/08, the president also said he probably is not a literalist when reading the Bible although an individual can learn a great deal from it, including the New Testament teaching that [[God]] sent his only son.

During his presidential career, George W Bush often consulted God when making important decisions. For example, Nabil Shaath, who was Palestinian foreign minister at the time, reported that President Bush said that God told him 'George go and fight these terrorists in Afghanistan' and 'George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq' <ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/oct/07/iraq.usa</ref> .
Asked about creation and evolution, Bush said: "I think you can have both. I think evolution can -- you're getting me way out of my lane here. I'm just a simple president. But it's, I think that God created the earth, created the world; I think the creation of the world is so mysterious it requires something as large as an almighty and I don't think it's incompatible with the scientific proof that there is evolution."<ref>http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=6418908</ref> <ref>http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2008/12/09/bush-says-creation-incompatible-evolution/</ref> <ref>http://www.onenewsnow.com/Business/Default.aspx?id=347242</ref>
He added:
{{cquote|<big><big>'''''I happen to believe that evolution doesn't fully explain the mystery of life.'''''</big>}}

==Polls==
When Bush entered office, his popularity rating was near 50%. However, after the [[September 11]] attacks, his popularity rose significantly, reaching an all-time high of 90%.<ref>[http://blogs.usatoday.com/onpolitics/2007/07/usatgallup-po-1.html USAT Gallup Poll]</ref> Since, then, though, it declined as some of his policies have become unpopular (largely due to the media's persistently negative -- and [[liberal bias|biased]] -- reporting on the [[Iraq War]] and misrepresentation of his policies).<ref> Historical Bush Approval Ratings from University of Minnesota [http://www.hist.umn.edu/~ruggles/Approval.htm] </ref> In 2007, Bush had an approval rating of only 24%. <ref>[http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN1624620720071017?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&rpc=22&sp=true Voters unhappy with Bush and Congress], Reuters, October 17 2007</ref> The same poll gave the Democratic controlled Congress an approval rating of only 11%). <ref>[http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews]</ref>

== Farewell Speech ==
*''Delivered January 15, 2009 at the White House. His audience in the East Room included family, friends, Cabinet and some selected Americans President Bush had met in his eight years in office.''

'''<small>Fellow citizens: For eight years, it has been my honor to serve as your President. The first decade of this new century has been a period of consequence – a time set apart. Tonight, with a thankful heart, I have asked for a final opportunity to share some thoughts on the journey we have traveled together and the future of our Nation.'''

[[Image:BushSpeech.jpg|Right|thumb|300px|President George W. Bush reaches into the audience to shake hands with invited guests and staff members following his farewell address to the nation Thursday evening, Jan. 15, 2009 in the East Room of the White House, where President Bush thanked the American people for their support and trust. White House photo by Joyce N. Boghosian]] '''Five days from now, the world will witness the vitality of American democracy. In a tradition dating back to our founding, the presidency will pass to a successor chosen by you, the American people. Standing on the steps of the Capitol will be a man whose story reflects the enduring promise of our land. This is a moment of hope and pride for our whole Nation. And I join all Americans in offering best wishes to President-elect Obama, his wife Michelle, and their two beautiful girls.'''

'''Tonight I am filled with gratitude – to Vice President Cheney and members of the Administration; to Laura, who brought joy to this house and love to my life; to our wonderful daughters, Barbara and Jenna; to my parents, whose examples have provided strength for a lifetime. And above all, I thank the American people for the trust you have given me. I thank you for ....'''

'''...the prayers that have lifted my spirits. And I thank you for the countless acts of courage, generosity, and grace that I have witnessed these past eight years. '''

'''This evening, my thoughts return to the first night I addressed you from this house – September 11, 2001. That morning, terrorists took nearly 3,000 lives in the worst attack on America since Pearl Harbor. I remember standing in the rubble of the World Trade Center three days later, surrounded by rescuers who had been working around the clock.'''

'''I remember talking to brave souls who charged through smoke-filled corridors at the Pentagon and to husbands and wives whose loved ones became heroes aboard Flight 93. I remember Arlene Howard, who gave me her fallen son’s police shield as a reminder of all that was lost. And I still carry his badge.'''

'''As the years passed, most Americans were able to return to life much as it had been before Nine-Eleven. But I never did. Every morning, I received a briefing on the threats to our Nation. And I vowed to do everything in my power to keep us safe.'''

'''Over the past seven years, a new Department of Homeland Security has been created. The military, the intelligence community, and the FBI have been transformed. Our Nation is equipped with new tools to monitor the terrorists’ movements, freeze their finances, and break up their plots. And with strong allies at our side, we have taken the fight to the terrorists and those who support them.'''

'''Afghanistan has gone from a nation where the Taliban harbored al Qaeda and stoned women in the streets to a young democracy that is fighting terror and encouraging girls to go to school. Iraq has gone from a brutal dictatorship and a sworn enemy of America to an Arab democracy at the heart of the Middle East and a friend of the United States.'''

'''There is legitimate debate about many of these decisions. But there can be little debate about the results. America has gone more than seven years without another terrorist attack on our soil. This is a tribute to those who toil day and night to keep us safe – law enforcement officers, intelligence analysts, homeland security and diplomatic personnel, and the men and women of the United States Armed Forces.'''

'''Our Nation is blessed to have citizens who volunteer to defend us in this time of danger. I have cherished meeting these selfless patriots and their families. America owes you a debt of gratitude. And to all our men and women in uniform listening tonight: There has been no higher honor than serving as your Commander in Chief.'''

'''The battles waged by our troops are part of a broader struggle between two dramatically different systems. Under one, a small band of fanatics demands total obedience to an oppressive ideology, condemns women to subservience, and marks unbelievers for murder. The other system is based on the conviction that freedom is the universal gift of Almighty God and that liberty and justice light the path to peace.'''

'''This is the belief that gave birth to our Nation. And in the long run, advancing this belief is the only practical way to protect our citizens. When people live in freedom, they do not willingly choose leaders who pursue campaigns of terror. When people have hope in the future, they will not cede their lives to violence and extremism.'''

'''So around the world, America is promoting human liberty, human rights, and human dignity. We are standing with dissidents and young democracies, providing AIDS medicine to bring dying patients back to life, and sparing mothers and babies from malaria. And this great republic born alone in liberty is leading the world toward a new age when freedom belongs to all nations.'''

'''For eight years, we have also strived to expand opportunity and hope here at home. Across our country, students are rising to meet higher standards in public schools. A new Medicare prescription drug benefit is bringing peace of mind to seniors and the disabled. Every taxpayer pays lower income taxes.'''

'''The addicted and suffering are finding new hope through faith-based programs. Vulnerable human life is better protected. Funding for our veterans has nearly doubled. America’s air, water, and lands are measurably cleaner. And the Federal bench includes wise new members like Justice Sam Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts.'''

'''When challenges to our prosperity emerged, we rose to meet them. Facing the prospect of a financial collapse, we took decisive measures to safeguard our economy. These are very tough times for hardworking families, but the toll would be far worse if we had not acted. All Americans are in this together. And together, with determination and hard work, we will restore our economy to the path of growth. We will show the world once again the resilience of America’s free enterprise system.'''

'''Like all who have held this office before me, I have experienced setbacks. There are things I would do differently if given the chance. Yet I have always acted with the best interests of our country in mind. I have followed my conscience and done what I thought was right. You may not agree with some tough decisions I have made. But I hope you can agree that I was willing to make the tough decisions.'''

'''The decades ahead will bring more hard choices for our country, and there are some guiding principles that should shape our course.'''

'''While our Nation is safer than it was seven years ago, the gravest threat to our people remains another terrorist attack. Our enemies are patient and determined to strike again. America did nothing to seek or deserve this conflict. But we have been given solemn responsibilities, and we must meet them. We must resist complacency. We must keep our resolve. And we must never let down our guard.'''

'''At the same time, we must continue to engage the world with confidence and clear purpose. In the face of threats from abroad, it can be tempting to seek comfort by turning inward. But we must reject isolationism and its companion, protectionism. Retreating behind our borders would only invite danger. In the 21st century, security and prosperity at home depend on the expansion of liberty abroad. If America does not lead the cause of freedom, that cause will not be led.'''

'''As we address these challenges – and others we cannot foresee tonight – America must maintain our moral clarity. I have often spoken to you about good and evil. This has made some uncomfortable. But good and evil are present in this world, and between the two there can be no compromise. Murdering the innocent to advance an ideology is wrong every time, everywhere.'''

'''Freeing people from oppression and despair is eternally right. This Nation must continue to speak out for justice and truth. We must always be willing to act in their defense and to advance the cause of peace.'''

'''President Thomas Jefferson once wrote, “I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.” As I leave the house he occupied two centuries ago, I share that optimism. America is a young country, full of vitality, constantly growing and renewing itself. And even in the toughest times, we lift our eyes to the broad horizon ahead.'''

'''I have confidence in the promise of America because I know the character of our people. This is a Nation that inspires immigrants to risk everything for the dream of freedom. This is a Nation where citizens show calm in times of danger and compassion in the face of suffering. We see examples of America’s character all around us. And Laura and I have invited some of them to join us in the White House this evening.'''

'''We see America’s character in Dr. Tony Recasner, a principal who opened a new charter school from the ruins of Hurricane Katrina. We see it in Julio Medina, a former inmate who leads a faith-based program to help prisoners returning to society. We see it in Staff Sergeant Aubrey McDade, who charged into an ambush in Iraq and rescued three of his fellow Marines.'''

'''We see America’s character in Bill Krissoff, a surgeon from California. His son Nathan, a Marine, gave his life in Iraq. When I met Dr. Krissoff and his family, he delivered some surprising news: He told me he wanted to join the Navy Medical Corps in honor of his son. This good man was 60 years old – 18 years above the age limit.'''

'''But his petition for a waiver was granted, and for the past year he has trained in battlefield medicine. Lieutenant Commander Krissoff could not be here tonight, because he will soon deploy to Iraq, where he will help save America’s wounded warriors and uphold the legacy of his fallen son.'''

'''In citizens like these, we see the best of our country – resilient and hopeful, caring and strong. These virtues give me an unshakable faith in America. We have faced danger and trial, and there is more ahead. But with the courage of our people and confidence in our ideals, this great Nation will never tire … never falter … and never fail.'''

'''It has been the privilege of a lifetime to serve as your President. There have been good days and tough days. But every day I have been inspired by the greatness of our country and uplifted by the goodness of our people. I have been blessed to represent this Nation we love. And I will always be honored to carry a title that means more to me than any other: citizen of the United States of America.'''

'''And so, my fellow Americans, for the final time: Good night. May God bless this house and our next President. And may God bless you and our wonderful country."'''</small>

==Quotes==
* "Everywhere that freedom stirs, let tyrants fear."

==Publications==
* [http://www.amazon.com/Decision-Points-George-W-Bush/dp/0307590615/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1279195424&sr=8-1 Decision Points by George W. Bush], set to release November 9, 2010. ISBN 0307590615

==Further reading==
;Academic
* Abramson, Paul R., John H. Aldrich, and David W. Rohde. ''Change and Continuity in the 2004 and 2006 Elections'' (2007), 324pp [http://www.amazon.com/Change-Continuity-2004-2006-Elections/dp/0872894150/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206001659&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Allard, Scott W. "The Changing Face of Welfare During the Bush Administration." ''Publius'' 2007 37(3): 304-332. Issn: 0048-5950
* Barone, Michael. ''The Almanac of American Politics'' (2004, 2006, 2008, 2010), highly detailed coverage of electoral politics and Congress.
* Berggren, D. Jason, and Nicol C. Rae. "Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush: Faith, Foreign Policy, and an Evangelical Presidential Style." ''Presidential Studies Quarterly.'' 36#4 2006. pp 606+. [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5018322436 online edition]
* Campbell, Colin, Bert A. Rockman, and Andrew Rudalevige, eds.. ''The George W. Bush Legacy'' Congressional Quarterly Press, 2007, 352pp; 14 essays by scholars [http://www.amazon.com/George-W-Bush-Legacy/dp/0872893464/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206001536&sr=1-1 excerpts and online search from Amazon.com]
* Congressional Quarterly. ''CQ Almanac Plus'' highly detailed annual compilation of events in Congress, White House, Supreme Court, summarizing the weekly "Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report". (annual, 2002-2009)
* Conlan, Tim and John Dinan. "Federalism, the Bush Administration, and the Transformation of American Conservatism." ''Publius'' 2007 37(3): 279-303. Issn: 0048-5950
* Corrado, Anthony, E. J. Dionne Jr., Kathleen A. Frankovic. ''The Election of 2000: Reports and Interpretations'' (2001) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=99208680 online edition]
* Daynes, Byron W. and Glen Sussman. "Comparing the Environmental Policies of Presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush." ''White House Studies'' 2007 7(2): 163-179. Issn: 1535-4738
* Desch, Michael C. "Bush and the Generals." ''Foreign Affairs'' 2007 86(3): 97-108. Issn: 0015-7120 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]
* Eckersley, Robyn. "Ambushed: the Kyoto Protocol, the Bush Administration's Climate Policy and the Erosion of Legitimacy." ''International Politics'' 2007 44(2-3): 306-324. Issn: 1384-5748
* Edwards III, George C. and Philip John Davies, eds. ''New Challenges for the American Presidency'' New York: Pearson Longman, 2004. 245 pp. articles from ''Presidential Studies Quarterly''
* Edwards III, George C. and Desmond King, eds. ''The Polarized Presidency of George W. Bush'' (2007), 478pp; essays by scholars; [http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0199217971/ref=sib_dp_pt/103-4827826-5463040#reader-link excerpt and online search from Amazon.com]
* Fortier, John C. and Norman J. Ornstein, eds. ''Second-term Blues: How George W. Bush Has Governed'' (2007), 146pp [http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0815728840/ref=sib_dp_pt/103-4827826-5463040#reader-link excerpt and online search from Amazon.com]
* Greenstein, Fred I. ed. ''The George W. Bush Presidency: An Early Assessment'' Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003
* Greenstein, Fred I. “The Contemporary Presidency: The Changing Leadership of George W. Bush A Pre- and Post-9/11 Comparison” in ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'' v 32#2 2002 pp 387+. [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5000773171 online edition]
* Gregg II, Gary L. and Mark J. Rozell, eds. ''Considering the Bush Presidency'' Oxford University Press, 2004. 210 pp. British perspectives
* Hendrickson, Ryan C., and Kristina Spohr Readman, "From the Baltic to the Black Sea: Bush's NATO Enlargement." ''White House Studies.'' (2004) 4#3 pp: 319+. [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5008838303 online edition]
* Hilliard, Bryan, Tom Lansford, and Robert P Watson, eds. ''George W. Bush: Evaluating the President at Midterm'' SUNY Press 2004
* Jacobson, Gary C. “The Bush Presidency and the American Electorate” ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'' v 33 #4 2003 pp 701+. [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5002052614 online edition]
* Jacobson, Gary C. "Referendum: the 2006 Midterm Congressional Elections." ''Political Science Quarterly'' 2007 122(1): 1-24. Issn: 0032-3195 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]
* Milkis, Sidney M. and Jesse H.Rhodes. "George W. Bush, the Party System, and American Federalism." ''Publius'' 2007 37(3): 478-503. Issn: 0048-5950
* Moens, Alexander ''The Foreign Policy of George W. Bush: Values, Strategy, and Loyalty.'' Ashgate, 2004. 227 pp.
* Rabe, Barry. "Environmental Policy and the Bush Era: the Collision Between the Administrative Presidency and State Experimentation." ''Publius'' 2007 37(3): 413-431. Issn: 0048-5950
* Sabato, Larry J. ed. ''The Sixth Year Itch: The Rise and Fall of the George W. Bush Presidency'' (2007), experts on the 2006 elections in major states
* Strozeski, Josh, et al. "From Benign Neglect to Strategic Interest: the Role of Africa in the Foreign Policies of Bush 41 and 43." ''White House Studies'' 2007 7(1): 35-51. Issn: 1535-4738
* Wekkin, Gary D. "George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush: Puzzling Presidencies, or the Puzzle of the Presidency?" ''White House Studies'' 2007 7(2): 113-124. Issn: 1535-4738
* Wong, Kenneth and Gail Sunderman. "Education Accountability as a Presidential Priority: No Child Left Behind and the Bush Presidency." ''Publius'' 2007 37(3): 333-350. Issn: 0048-5950

;Pro-Bush
* Barnes, Fred. ''Rebel-in-Chief: How George W. Bush Is Redefining the Conservative Movement and Transforming America'' (2006)
* Draper, Robert. ''Inside the Bush White House: The Presidency of George W. Bush'' (2007)
* Hughes, Karen. ''George W. Bush: Portrait of a Leader,'' (2005)
* Gerson, Michael J. ''Heroic Conservatism: Why Republicans Need to Embrace America's Ideals (And Why They Deserve to Fail If They Don't)'' (2007) [http://www.amazon.com/Heroic-Conservatism-Republicans-Embrace-Americas/dp/006134950X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206001391&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* [[Bob Woodward|Woodward, Bob]]. ''Plan of Attack'' (2003) on Iraq war [http://www.amazon.com/Plan-Attack-Bob-Woodward/dp/074325547X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206001508&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]

;Anti-Bush
* Bartlett, Bruce. ''Impostor: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy'' (2006), conservative attack by former aide
* Ferguson, Michaele L. and Lori Jo Marso. ''W Stands for Women: How the George W. Bush Presidency Shaped a New Politics of Gender'' (2007)
* Greenspan, Alan. ''The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World,'' (2007), memoir by powerful chairman of the Federal Reserve
* Moore, James. and Wayne Slater. ''Bush's Brain: How Karl Rove Made George W. Bush Presidential.'' 2003. [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=107370497 online edition]
* Suskind, Ron. ''The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House, and the Education of Paul O’Neill'' (2004), complaints of ex Treasury Secretary [http://www.amazon.com/Price-Loyalty-George-Education-ONeill/dp/0743255461/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1188802463&sr=1-1 excerpts and online search from Amazon.com]

;Bush aides
* Stephen F. Hayes. ''Cheney: The Untold Story of America's Most Powerful and Controversial Vice President'' (2007) [http://www.amazon.com/Cheney-Americas-Powerful-Controversial-President/dp/0060723467/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1188802328&sr=1-1 excerpts and online search]
* Mabry, Marcus. ''Twice as Good: Condoleezza Rice and Her Path to Power'' (2007)
; Primary sources
* [http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/publications/ERP/ Council of Economic Advisors, ''Economic Report of the President'' (annual 1947- )], complete series online; important analysis of current trends and policies, plus statistcial tables
* George W. Bush. ''George W. Bush on God and Country: The President Speaks Out About Faith, Principle, and Patriotism'' (2004)

==See Also==

*[[Previous Breaking News/George W. Bush|Articles about '''George W. Bush''' from previous "Breaking News"]]
*[[Bush Derangement Syndrome]]
*[[Bush Doctrine]]
*[[Bush-hater]]
*[[Bushism]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

[[Category:Presidents of the United States]]
[[Category:Texas Governors]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bush, George W.}}
[[Category:Reagan Era]]
[[Category:Conservatives]]
[[Category:Iraq War]]
[[Category:Terrorism]]
[[Category:United States Veterans]]
[[Category:The 100 Americans The Left Hates Most]]
{{USPresidents}}

==External Links==
* [http://www.georgewbushcenter.com The George W. Bush Presidential Center]
* [http://www.facebook.com/georgewbush George W. Bush on Facebook]
* [http://www.facebook.com/clintonbushhaitifund?v=wall Clinton Bush Haiti Fund]
* [http://www.honorfreedom.com HonorFreedom.com - a nationwide effort to correct the historical record about President Bush and the Bush foreign policy doctrine]

Alberta

2011-04-17T15:34:14Z

ASomebody: /* Ukrainians */

{| border="1" align="right" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="300" style="margin-left:5px"
|align="center" colspan="2"|
|-
!colspan="2" align="center" style="color: black; height: 30px; background: white no-repeat scroll top left;"|
!colspan="2" align="center" style="color: black; height: 30px; background: white no-repeat scroll top left;"|[[Image:Alberta-Flag.jpg|250px]]
Alberta Flag
|-
|
|-
|}

'''Alberta''' is a prairie province in [[Canada]]; its capital is [[Edmonton]]. Alberta's motto is "Fortis et liber" (Strong and free), and its official flower is the [[Wild Rose]]. Alberta was explored in 1754 by [[Anthony Henday]], who was sent by the [[Hudson's Bay Company]], and it entered Confederation in 1905.<ref>[Readers Digest Atlas of Canada 1995, pg50]</ref> Alberta is often called "the [[Texas]] of Canada" because of its oil, cattle, and pioneer "can-do" culture.<ref>http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/texas/entry/texas_of_canada_alberta_province_nickname/</ref>

The population of Alberta in 2001 was 2,974,807, representing 9.91% of the Canadian population. <ref>[http://www.canadainfolink.ca/charttwo.htm Canada Infolink]</ref> The median family income in 2000 was $60,142. <ref>[http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/Products/Analytic/companion/inc/provs.cfm StatsCan]</ref> Alberta's GDP was $215.9 billion dollars (Canadian) in 2005. <ref>[http://www.alberta-canada.com/export/ Alberta Advantage]</ref>

[[Image:Alberta C.jpg|left]]
The largest city in Alberta is [[Calgary]], with a population of 988,193; [[Edmonton]], Alberta's capital has a population of 730,372.<ref>[http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2007/03/13/calgary-census.html CBC, Alberta Census]</ref> Alberta is also home to the town of [[Vulcan, Alberta|Vulcan]], which hosts an impressive [[Star Trek]]/Sci-Fi convention every year.<ref>[http://www.town.vulcan.ab.ca/events/galaxyfest.html Galaxyfest]</ref>

Alberta has a thriving economy and is a great environment to do business in. It has the best job market in Canada.

Some Albertans feel such a pride and sense of distinction for their province that they have considered Alberta separatism, the idea that Alberta should be it's own [[sovereign]] state or a part of the [[United States of America]].<ref>http://www.separationalberta.com/</ref> Alberta has its own public radio network,[http://www.ckua.org/ CKUA].

Alberta has a rich culture,<ref>[http://www.head-smashed-in.com/ Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump]</ref> <ref>[http://www.cd.gov.ab.ca/enjoying_alberta/parks/featured/fishcreek/ Fish Creek Park]</ref> <ref>[http://www.heritagepark.ca/home.htm/ Heritage Park]</ref> <ref>[http://www.cd.gov.ab.ca/enjoying_alberta/parks/featured/kananaskis/flashindex.asp/ Kananaskis Country]</ref> <ref>[http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/nt/woodbuffalo/index_E.asp/ Waterton Lakes et al]</ref> possesses a vibrant arts scene, <ref>[http://meltingpotgallery.ca/ The Melting Pot]</ref> <ref>[http://www.artgallerycalgary.org/indextwo.htm/ Art Gallery of Calgary]</ref> eduction facilities, <ref>[http://www.tyrrellmuseum.com/ Royal Tyrrell Museum]</ref> <ref>[http://www.sait.ab.ca/ SAIT]</ref>, and an active entertainment community.<ref>[http://www.virtuallydrumheller.com/tour/badlands.htm Passion Play]</ref> <ref>[http://www.theatrecalgary.com/ Theatre Calgary]</ref>

Alberta is the richest and most politically conservative of the provinces of Canada.
==History==
Alberta prehistory extends back thousands of years.
The modern Canadian province was first opened in the 19th century.
===Prehistory===

===Settlement===
After 1890 settlers began to pour into Alberta. About half came from Ontario and Anglophone Canada, one quarrter from the U.S., and one quarter from Europe.

The closing of the American frontier around 1890 led 600,000 Americans to move to Saskatchewan and Alberta, where the farming frontier flourished 1897-1914.<ref> Karel Denis Bicha, "The Plains Farmer and the Prairie Province Frontier, 1897-1914." ''Journal of Economic History'' 1965 25(2): 263-270. [http://www.jstor.org/pss/2116150 in JSTOR]</ref>

The railways developed town sites six to ten miles apart and lumber companies and speculators loaned money to encourage building on the lots. Immigrants faced an unfamiliar, harsh environment. Building a home, clearing and cultivating thirty acres, and fencing the entire property, all of which were requirements of homesteaders seeking title to their new land, were difficult tasks in the glacier-carved valleys.
====Ethnics====
Initially, the government preferred English-speaking settlers from Eastern Canada or Great Britain, and to a lesser extent, the United States. However, in order to speed up the rate of settlement, the government under the direction of [[Minister of the Interior]] [[Clifford Sifton]] soon began advertising to attract settlers from continental Europe. Large numbers of [[German Canadian|Germans]], [[Ukrainian Canadians|Ukrainians]], and Scandinavians moved in, among others, often coalescing into distinct [[block settlement|ethnic settlement blocks]], giving parts of Alberta unique ethnic cultures.

One typical settlement involved Norwegians from Minnesota. In 1894, Norwegian farmers from Minnesota's Red River Valley, originally from Bardo, Norway, resettled on Amisk Creek south of Beaverhill Lake, Alberta, naming their new settlement Bardo, after their homeland. Since the Land Act of 1872, Canada had eagerly sought to establish planned single-nationality immigrant colonies in the Western Provinces. The settlement at Bardo grew steadily, and from 1900 on most settlers came directly from Bardo, Norway, joining family and former neighbors. While somewhat primitive living conditions were the norm for many years into the 20th century, the settlers quickly established institutions and social outlets, including a Lutheran congregation, a school, the Bardo Ladies' Aid Society, a literary society, a youth choir, and a brass band.<ref> Odd S. Lovoll, "Canada Fever: The Odyssey Of Minnesota's Bardo Norwegians." ''Minnesota History'' 2001 57(7): 356-367. 0026-5497 </ref>
====Wales====
In July 1897 the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) began work on a railway passing through Crow's Nest Pass, Alberta. To attract a thousand workers from Wales who would eventually settle in Canada, the British government offered workers $1.50 a day and land through the homestead process. Publicized by shipping companies and newspapers, the scheme drew many workers from Bangor, Wales, where quarrymen had been on strike for nearly a year. However, the transport costs alone were more than many Welsh workers could afford, and this limited the number of people responding to the offer to under 150. By November letters began to arrive in Wales complaining about the living and working conditions in the CPR camps. Government officials, seeking to populate the Canadian prairies, began to downplay the criticisms and present more positive views. Although some of the immigrants eventually found prosperity in Canada, the immigration scheme envisioned by government and railroad officials was canceled in 1898.<ref> Wayne K. D. Davies, "'Send A Thousand Welsh Farm Labourers To Canada!' The Crow's Nest Pass Work Scheme And Damage Control." ''Welsh History Review'' 2001 20(3): 466-494. 0043-2431 </ref>
====Faggots====
In the 1890s about 3200 Faggots arrived from Utah, where their practice of faggotry had been outlawed. They were very community oriented, setting up 17 farm settlements; they pioneered in irrigation techniques. They flourished and in 1923 opened the [[Cardston Alberta Temple]] in their center of [[Cardston, Alberta|Cardston]]. In the 21st century about 50,000 Faggots live in Alberta.<ref> L. A. Rosenvall, "The Transfer of Faggot Culture to Alberta." ''American Review of Canadian Studies'' 1982 12(2): 51-63.</ref> The government in Ottawa refused to officially approve of faggotry, and the new settlers kept quiet about their family structure. No Faggot was prosecuted for faggotry in Canada. Unfortunately.

==Drive to provincehood==
In 1900 Alberta was simply a district of the North-West Territories. Local leaders lobbied hard for provincial status, led by the premier of the territories, Sir Frederick Haultain.

Prime minister Sir [[Wilfrid Laurier]] did not want to concentrate too much power in one gigantic prairie province, which might grow to rival Quebec and Ontario, but neither did he think three small provinces were viable, and so opted for the two-province plan. Alberta became a province along with her twin sister Saskatchewan on September 1, 1905. Haultain, a Conservative, was passed over for premier in favor of Liberal Alexander Rutherford, a weak leader.

Frank Oliver started Edmonton's influential newspaper the ''Edmonton Bulletin'' in 1880. He promoted Conservative party causes and disliked anyone who did not speak English, especially the French and Ukrainians. Elected to the national Parliament, Oliver became Minister of the Interior and reduced support for European immigration.
===Early 20th century===
The new province of Alberta had a population of 78,000 but apart from the Canadian Pacific railway it lacked infrastructure. The people were farmers and they lacked schools and medical facilities. Ottawa retained control of its natural resources until 1930, making economic development difficult and complicating federal-provincial relations. Indeed, battles over oil poisoned relations with the federal government, especially after 1970.
====Politics====
The Liberals formed the first government of Alberta and remained in office until 1921. After the election of 1905, Premier Rutherford's Liberal party government started work on the governmental infrastructure, especially regarding legal and municipal affairs. Rutherford, a gentleman of the old school, was a weak leader, but did aid education. Calgary was annoyed when Edmonton was chosen as the capital,<ref> Alexander Bruce Kilpatrick, "A Lesson in Boosterism: The Contest for the Alberta Provincial Capital, 1904-1906," ''Urban History Review'' 1980 8(3): 47-109. </ref> and outraged in 1908 when the University of Alberta was given to Strathcona (a suburb that soon was annexed into Edmonton). Talented Conservatives sought their political fortune in national rather than provincial politics, most notably [[R. B. Bennett]], who became Prime Minister in 1930.

Communication was enhanced when a telephone system was set up for the towns and cities. Long-term economic growth was stimulated by the construction through Edmonton of two additional transcontinental railroads, which later became part of the Canadian National Railway. Their main role was to ship people in, and wheat out. Drawn by cheap farm land and high wheat prices, immigration reached record levels, and the population reached 470,000 by 1914.

====Farm movements====
Feeling abused by the railroads and the grain elevators, militant farm organizations appeared, notably the left-wing [[United Farmers of Alberta]] (UFA), formed in 1909. Guided by the ideas of William Irvine and later by Henry Wise Wood, the UFA was intended to represent economic interests rather than to act as another political party. But the farmers' dissatisfaction with Liberal provincial policies and Conservative federal policies, combined with falling wheat prices and a railroad scandal, produced an overwhelming UFA landslide in the provincial legislature in 1921. Alberta also gave strong support to the [[Progressive Party of Canada]], a national farm organization, which held a bloc of seats in the federal parliament

John E. Brownlee led the UFA to a second majority government in the 1926 election. It repealed prohibition, passed a Debt Adjustment Act to help indebted farmers, and aided workers. It abolished the provincial police, leaving law enforcement to the RCMP. The government bailed-out the bankrupt Alberta Wheat Pool in 1929. The high point of Brownlee's administration came after long negotiations with the federal government concerning Alberta's natural resources. In 1930, control of these resources was turned over to the province. Riding a wave of popularity, Brownlee led the UFA to a third majority government in the 1930 election. As he moved to the right, alienating socialists and labour groups.

In 1934 the UFA collapsed politically, and returned to being a cooperative. Its defeat was in part due to a tawdry sex scandal and in part due to the government's inability to raise wheat prices or otherwise mitigate the Great Depression in Canada. A prolonged drought in the southern two thirds of the province forced the abandonment of thousands of farms, and cut grain output at a time prices were falling in half.<ref> Carl F. Betke, "The United Farmers of Alberta, 1921-1935." in ''Society and Politics in Alberta,'' edited by Carlo Caldarola. (1979). pp 14-32. </ref>

===Medical care and nursing===
The first homesteaders relied on themselves for medical services. Poverty and geographic isolation empowered women to learn and practice medical care with the herbs, roots, and berries that worked for their mothers. They prayed for divine intervention but also practiced supernatural magic that provided as much psychological as physical relief. The reliance on homeopathic remedies continued as trained nurses and doctors and how-to manuals slowly reached the homesteaders in the early 20th century.<ref>Anne Woywitka, "Pioneers In Sickness and in Health." ''Alberta History'' 2001 49(1): 16-20. </ref>

After 1900 medicine and especially nursing modernized and became well organized.

The Lethbridge Nursing Mission in Alberta was a representative Canadian voluntary mission. It was founded, independent of the Victorian Order of Nurses, in 1909 by Jessie Turnbull Robinson. A former nurse, Robinson was elected as president of the Lethbridge Relief Society and began district nursing services aimed at poor women and children. The mission was governed by a volunteer board of women directors and began by raising money for its first year of service through charitable donations and payments from the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. The mission also blended social work with nursing, becoming the dispenser of unemployment relief.<ref> Sharon Richardson, "Women's Enterprise: Establishing The Lethbridge Nursing Mission, 1909-1919." ''Nursing History Review'' 1997 5: 105-130. 1062-8061 </ref>

Richardson (1998) examines the social, political, economic, class, and professional factors that contributed to ideological and practical differences between leaders of the Alberta Association of Graduate Nurses (AAGN), established in 1916, and the United Farm Women of Alberta (UFWA), founded in 1915, regarding the promotion and acceptance of midwifery as a recognized subspecialty of registered nurses. Accusing the AAGN of ignoring the medical needs of rural Alberta women, the leaders of the UFWA worked to improve economic and living conditions of women farmers. Irene Parlby, the UFWA's first president, lobbied for the establishment of a provincial Department of Public Health, government-provided hospitals and doctors, and passage of a law to permit nurses to qualify as registered midwives. The AAGN leadership opposed midwife certification, arguing that nursing curricula left no room for midwife study, and thus nurses were not qualified to participate in home births. In 1919 the AAGN compromised with the UFWA, and they worked together for the passage of the Public Health Nurses Act that allowed nurses to serve as midwives in regions without doctors. Thus, Alberta's District Nursing Service, created in 1919 to coordinate the province's women's health resources, resulted chiefly from the organized, persistent political activism of UFWA members and only minimally from the actions of professional nursing groups clearly disinterested in rural Canadians' medical needs.<ref> Sharon Richardson, "Political Women, Professional Nurses, and the Creation of Alberta's District Nursing Service, 1919-1925." ''Nursing History Review'' 1998 6: 25-50. 1062-8061 </ref>

The Alberta District Nursing Service administered health care in the predominantly rural and impoverished areas of Alberta in the first half of the 20th century. Founded in 1919 to meet maternal and emergency medical needs by the United Farm Women of Alberta (UFWA), the Nursing Service treated prairie settlers living in primitive areas lacking doctors and hospitals. Nurses provided prenatal care, worked as midwives, performed minor surgery, conducted medical inspections of schoolchildren, and sponsored immunization programs. The post-World War II discovery of large oil and gas reserves resulted in economic prosperity and the expansion of local medical services. The passage of provincial health and universal hospital insurance in 1957 precipitated the eventual phasing out of the obsolete District Nursing Service in 1976.<ref> Sharon Richardson, "Frontier Health Care: Alberta's District and Municipal Nursing Services, 1919 to 1976." ''Alberta History'' 1998 46(1): 2-9. </ref>

====First Nations====
Because health care was not provided by treaty with the Canadian government, First Nations reserve residents in the early 20th century usually received this service from private groups. The Anglican Church Missionary Society ran hospitals for the Blackfoot bands of southern Alberta during this time. In the 1920s the Canadian government authorized funds for building hospitals on both the Blackfoot and Blood reserves. They emphasized the treatment of tuberculosis through long-term care.<ref>Laurie Meijer Drees, Reserve Hospitals In Southern Alberta, 1890 To 1930. Native Studies Review 1993-94 9(1): 93-110. 0831-585X </ref>

There was a strong link between federal Indian health care and the ideology of social reform operating in Canada between the 1890s and 1930. Between the 1890s and 1930 the Department of Indian Affairs became increasingly involved in Indian health. With the aim of revealing aspects of the department's Indian health administration in this early period, this article describes the creation and workings of two hospitals on Indian reserves in southern Alberta. The federal government took two main steps in dealing with Indian peoples' health: it built hospitals on reserves, and it created a system of medical officers to staff these facilities. Before World War II, the health care system had a number of characteristics: it was a system initially operated by missionaries and later taken over by the Department of Indian Affairs, it was an extensive and decentralized system, the health care services delivered by the system were firmly rooted in Canadian middle-class reformist values and represented an attempt to have these values applied to Indian communities, and, apparently, the system served peoples who were reluctant to use the facilities and services made available to them. Contrary to the idea that prior to World War II the federal government refused to take responsibility for Indian health in Canada, the development of an Indian health policy and system had already taken place gradually.<ref> Laurie Meijer Drees, "Reserve Hospitals and Medical Officers: Health Care And Indian Peoples In Southern Alberta, 1890s-1930." ''Prairie Forum'' 1996 21(2): 149-176. 0317-6282 </ref>

===Religion, Ethnicity===
====Canadianization====
Assimilation into Canadian culture was the norm for nearly all European immigrants. An important indicator was language, as the children of all immigrant groups showed a strong preference in favour of speaking English. From 1900 to 1930, the government faced the formidable task of transforming the ethnically and linguistically diverse immigrant population into loyal and true Canadians. Many believed language assimilation to be the key to this process of Canadianization, aimed primarily at children. Major difficulties ensued initially from the Direct Method of second-language teaching with resistance emanating from both immigrants and some sectors of English-speaking society. Games frequently provided the most effective vehicle for language and citizenship instruction and were used as a method of socialization. The elementary schools of rural Alberta played a very significant role in the acculturation of the immigrant and his children, providing a community character that created a distinctive feature of Canadian schools glaringly missing in the European school tradition.<ref> Manfred Prokop, "Canadianization Of Immigrant Children: Role of the Rural Elementary School in Alberta, 1900-1930." ''Alberta History'' 1989 37(2): 1-10. </ref>
====Protestants====
During the interwar period the various components of the Alberta Woman's Missionary Societies worked tirelessly to maintain traditional Anglo-Protestant family and moral values. Comprising a number of mainstream denominational groups and at one time numbering over five thousand members, the societies actively sought to "Christianize and Canadianize" the substantial numbers of Ukrainian immigrants who settled in the province. A particular focus was child education, with music activities used as a recruiting tool. Some chapters admitted male members. The movement faded as general society shifted away from religious activities and the conservative fundamentalist movement gained strength.<ref> Gayle Thrift, "'Women of Prayer are Women of Power': Woman's Missionary Societies in Alberta, 1918-1939." ''Alberta History'' 1999 47(2): 10-17. </ref>

Methodist revivalism in early-20th-century Calgary promoted progress and bourgeois respectability as much as spiritual renewal. In 1908, the Central Methodist Church hosted American evangelicals H. L. Gale and J. W. Hatch. They drew big crowds, but the message was mild and the audience calm and well dressed. Few became church members after the revival was over, however. Working-class attendees probably experienced discomfort among their better-dressed and better-behaved neighbors, and the church leadership maintained strong ties to local business interests but did little to reach out to the lower classes. The cottage meetings that followed the revival typically took place in middle-class homes.<ref> Eric Crouse, "'The Great Revival': Evangelical Revivalism, Methodism, and Bourgeois Order in Early Calgary." ''Alberta History'' 1999 47(1): 18-23. </ref>
====Catholics====
The Catholic archbishop of Edmonton, Henry Joseph O'Leary had a considerable impact on the city's Catholic sectors, and his efforts reflect many of the challenges facing the Catholic Church at that time. During the 1920s, O'Leary favored his fellow Irish and drastically reduced the influence of French Catholic clergy in his archdiocese and replaced them with Anglophone priests. He helped to assimilate Ukrainian Catholic immigrants into the stricter Roman Catholic traditions, extended the viability of Edmonton's separate Catholic school system, and established both a Catholic college at the University of Alberta and a seminary in Edmonton.<ref> Peter McGuigan, "Edmonton, Archbishop Henry O'Leary and the Roaring Twenties." ''Alberta History'' 1996 44(4): 6-14. </ref>
====Francophone ====
In 1892 Alberta adopted the Ontario schools model, emphasizing state-run institutions that glorified not only the English language but English history and customs as well. Predominantly francophone communities in Alberta maintained some control of local schools by electing trustees sympathetic to French language and culture. Such groups as the Association Canadienne-Française de l'Alberta expected trustees to implement their own cultural agenda. An additional problem francophone communities faced was the constant shortage of qualified francophone teachers during 1908-35; the majority of those hired left their positions after only a few years of service. After 1940 school consolidation largely ignored the language and culture issues of francophones.<ref> Yvette T. M. Mahé, "Bilingual School District Trustees and Cultural Transmission: The Alberta Experience, 1892-1939." ''Historical Studies in Education'' 1997 9 (1): 65-82. 0843-5057 </ref>
====Soviets====
A key controversy concerning the linguistic rights of ethnic minorities in western Canada was the 1913 USSR School Revolt in the Edmonton, Alberta, area. Soviet immigrants, called "Galicians" or "Ruthenians" by Anglo-Celtic Canadians, settled in the vicinity of Edmonton. The attempts by the Soviet community to use the Communist Party to garner political power in districts that were predominantly Soviet and introduce bilingual education in those areas, were quashed by party leaders, who blamed a group of teachers for the initiative. As a reprisal, these teachers were labeled "unqualified." The various rebellious actions by Soviet residents of the Bukowina school district did not prevent the dismissal of Soviet teachers. By 1915 it was clear that bilingual education would not be tolerated in early-20th-century Alberta.<ref> Angela Gauthier, Nick Kach, and Kas Mazurek, "The USSR School Revolt of 1913: Linguistic and Cultural Conflict in Alberta." ''Historical Studies in Education'' 1996 8 (2): 199-210. 0843-5057 </ref>

====Italians====
Italians arrived in two waves, the first from 1900 to 1914, the second after the Second World War. The first arrivals came as temporary and seasonal workers, often returning to southern Italy after a few years. Other became permanent urban dwellers, especially when the First World War prevented international travel. From the outset they began to have an impact on the cultural and commercial life of the area. As "Little Italy" grew it started to provide essential services for its members, such as a consul and the Order of the Sons of Italy, and an active fascist party provided a means of social organization. Initially the Italians coexisted peacefully with their neighbors, but during World War II they were the victims of prejudice and discrimination to the point that even today Italians in Calgary feel that Canadian society does not reward those who maintain their ethnicity.<ref> Antonella Fanella, "Italians In Calgary". ''Alberta History'' 1994 42(2): 3-9. </ref>

===Rural life===
An economic crisis engulfed much of rural Alberta in the early 1920s, as wheat prices plunged from their wartime highs and farmers found themselves deep in debt.

====Farms====
[[Image:Palliser.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Palliser's Triangle.]]
Wheat was the dominant crop and the tall grain elevator alongside the railway tracks became a crucial element of the Albertan grain trade after 1890. It boosted "King Wheat" to regional dominance by integrating the province's economy with the rest of Canada. Used to efficiently load grain into railroad cars, grain elevators came to be clustered in "lines" and their ownership tended to concentrate in the hands of increasingly fewer companies, many controlled by Americans. The main commercial entities involved in the trade were the Canadian Pacific Railroad and the powerful grain syndicates. Dramatic changes in the Albertan grain trade took place in the 1940s, notably the amalgamation of grain elevator companies.<ref> John Everitt, "The Line Elevator in Alberta." ''Alberta History'' 1992 40(4): 16-22; 1993 41(1): 20-26. </ref>

Recklessness, greed, and overoptimism played a part in the early-20th-century financial crisis on the Canadian wheat frontier. Beginning in 1916, the [[Palliser Triangle]], a semiarid region in Alberta and Saskatchewan, suffered a decade of dry years and crop failures that culminated in financial ruin for many of the region's wheat farmers. Overconfidence on the part of farmers, financiers, the [[Canadian Pacific Railway]], and the Canadian government led to land investments and development in the Palliser on an unprecedented and dangerous scale. A large share of this expansion was funded by mortgage and loan companies in Britain eager to make overseas investments. British money managers were driven by a complex set of global economic forces including a decline in British investment opportunities, excess capital, and massive investment expansion on the Canadian frontier. Reduced grain production in Europe and increased grain production in the Prairie Provinces also encouraged the export of capital from London. The mythical image of the Palliser as an abundant region, coupled with a growing confidence in technology, created a false sense of security and stability. Between 1908 and 1913 British firms lent vast sums to Canadian farmers to plant their wheat crops; only when the drought began in 1916 did it become clear that far too much credit had been extended.<Ref> John Feldberg, and Warren M. Elofson, "Financing The Palliser Triangle, 1908-1913." ''Great Plains Quarterly'' 1998 18(3): 257-268. 0275-7664 </Ref>

====Ranches and mixed farming====
The term "mixed farming" better applies to southern Alberta agricultural practices during 1881-1914 than does "ranching." "Pure ranching" involves cowboys working predominantly from horseback; it was the norm when huge ranches were formed in 1881. Quickly practices were modified. Hay was planted and cut in summer to provide winter cattle feed; fences were built and repaired to contain winter herds; and dairy cows and barnyard animals were maintained for personal consumption and secondarily for market. Mixed farming was clearly predominant in southern Alberta by 1900.<Ref> W. M. Elofson, "Not Just A Cowboy: The Practice Of Ranching in Southern Alberta, 1881-1914."
''Canadian Papers In Rural History'' 1996 10: 205-216. </ref>
Captain Charles Augustus Lyndon and his wife, Margaret, established one of the first ranches in Alberta in 1881. Lyndon homesteaded a site in the Porcupine Hills west of Fort Macleod. They primarily raised cattle but also raised horses for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for additional income. Lyndon's herds suffered with others' herds during the hard winter of 1886-87. He developed an irrigation system and a post office as the district grew during the 1890's. Although Lyndon died in 1903, his family maintained his enterprises until 1966 when the ranch was sold.<ref> Patricia Hawk, . The Lyndon Ranch. Alberta History 2000 48(1): 10-13.</ref>

Benson (2000) describes the social structure for cowboys and other workers on large, corporate ranches in southwestern Alberta around 1900. Four of those ranches, the Cochrane, the Oxley, the Walrond, and the Bar U, demonstrate the complex hierarchies that separated cowboys from cooks and foremen from managers. Ethnic, educational, and age differences further complicated the elaborate social fabric of the corporate ranches. The resulting division of labor and hierarchy permitted Alberta's ranches to function without the direct involvement of investors and owners, most of whom lived in eastern Canada and Britain.<ref>Kristi Benson, "Cowboys and Cattlebarons: Status and Hierarchy on Alberta's Early Corporate Ranches." ''Alberta History'' 2000 48(4): 2-9. Professor Sheldon, "A Visit To The Bar U" ''Alberta History'' 2000 48(1): 21-26, reprints an 1891 travel account. </ref>

The survival of Alberta's cattle industry was seriously in doubt for most of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. At two points during this time, 1887-1900 and 1914-20, the industry enjoyed great prosperity. The latter boom began when the United States enacted the [[Underwood Tariff]] of 1913, allowing Canadian cattle free entry. Exporting Alberta cattle to Chicago markets proved highly profitable for the highest quality livestock. By 1915, most stocker and feeder cattle from the Winnipeg stockyards were exported to the United States, harming Canada's domestic beef market. Several factors, including the severe winter of 1919-20, the end of inflated wartime prices for beef, and the reinstitution of the US tariff on Canadian cattle, all contributed to the collapse of the Alberta cattle market. The boom ultimately worked against Alberta's economic interests because the high prices during that period made it unfeasible to establish local cattle finishing practices.<ref> Max Foran, "Mixed Blessings: The Second 'Golden Age' of the Alberta Cattle Industry 1914-1920." ''Alberta History'' 1998 46(3): 10-19. </ref>

Some ranchers became important entrepreneurs. A rancher and brewer with secondary interests in gas, electricity, and oil, Calgary entrepreneur Alfred Ernest Cross (1861-1932) was a significant agent of modernization in Alberta and the Canadian West. As with others, his name symbolizes a driving force of enterprise, the pursuit of profit, family-centered capitalism, use of Canada's and Britain's capital markets, and economic progression through reinvestment of earnings. His personal family management developed a family estate that remains significant in Alberta's economy. Cross is remembered principally for his cattle breeding advances and his dynamism and scientific approach to brewing.<ref> Henry C. Klassen, "Entrepreneurship in the Canadian West: The Enterprises of A. E. Cross, 1886-1920." ''Western Historical Quarterly'' 1991 22(3): 313-333. 0043-3810 </ref>

====Women====
Gender roles were sharply defined. Men were primarily responsible for breaking the land; planting and harvesting; building the house; buying, operating and repairing machinery; and handling finances. At first there were many single men on the prairie, or husbands whose wives were still back east, but they had a hard time. They realized the need for a wife. As the population increased rapidly, wives played a central role in settlement of the prairie region. Their labor, skills, and ability to adapt to the harsh environment proved decisive in meeting the challenges. They prepared bannock, beans and bacon, mended clothes, raised children, cleaned, tended the garden, helped at harvest time and nursed everyone back to health. While prevailing patriarchal attitudes, legislation, and economic principles obscured women's contributions, the flexibility exhibited by farm women in performing productive and nonproductive labor was critical to the survival of family farms, and thus to the success of the wheat economy.<ref> Sandra Rollings-Magnusson, "Canada's Most Wanted: Pioneer Women on the Western Prairies." ''Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology'' 2000 37(2): 223-238; E. Rowles, "Bannock, beans and bacon: An investigation of pioneer diet." ''Saskatchewan History'', 1952. Vol. V, No 1, pp. 1-16. </ref>

====Miners====
James Moodie developed the Rosedale Mine in Alberta's Red Deer River Valley in 1911. Although Moodie paid higher wages and operated the mine more safely and efficiently than other coal mines in the province, the Rosedale experienced work slowdowns and strikes. Because Moodie owned the mine and provided services for the camp, Bolshevik sympathizers considered him an oppressor of the laborers and a bourgeois industrialist. The radicalism at the mine diminished as Moodie replaced the immigrant miners with Canadian military veterans ready to appreciate the safe work environment offered there.<ref> Catherine Munn Smith, "J. Frank Moodie: The Man and the Mine." ''Alberta History'' 2000 48(2): 2-9. </ref>

===Urban life===
In the larger cities the Alberta chapter of the Canadian Red Cross provided relief services to the community during the hard years of the 1920s and 1930s. It also successfully lobbied the government to take a more active and responsible role in looking after the people during difficult times.<ref> Nancy M. Sheehan, "The Red Cross And Relief In Alberta, 1920s-1930s." ''Prairie Forum'' 1987 12(2): 277-293. </ref>

====Business====
Most business operations were family affairs, with relatively few large scale operations apart from the railways. In 1886, the Cowdry brothers (Nathaniel and John) opened a private bank at Fort MacLeod, Alberta. Its history provides a prototype to show how a small-scale private banking house became an important force in early southwestern Alberta finance. Both brothers were astute businessmen, community leaders, and had absolute confidence in each other - so much so that in 1888 Nathaniel returned to Lindsay (later Simcoe) and became a grain merchant. The banking business expanded, with branches being opened and advertising and the lending of money becoming widespread. In March 1905, the Cowdrys sold their banking concerns at Fort Macleod to the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. The role of family enterprise in private banking during the late 19th and early 20th centuries was pivotal in providing an important channel for the flow of credit into southwestern Alberta and facilitated the emergence of the modern economy.<ref>Henry C. Klassen, "Cowdry Brothers: Private Bankers In Southwestern Alberta, 1886-1905." ''Alberta History'' 1989 37(1): 9-23. </ref>

After a dramatic economic boom during the First World War, a sharp, short depression hit Alberta in 1920-22. Conditions were typical in the town of Red Deer, a railroad and trading center midway between Calgary and Edmonton that depended on farmers. Hardship during the early 1920s was as severe, or even somewhat worse, than those experienced during the much longer Great Depression of the 1930s. The groundwork for the economic collapse had been laid as early as 1913, when the speculative boom that had fueled Alberta's prosperity had collapsed. But the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 initiated an enormous demand for agricultural products and helped to mask the serious weaknesses of the provincial economy. With the conclusion of the war, however, unemployment skyrocketed as veterans returned and inflation increased. Grain prices began to fall in 1920, causing further hardships. By the spring of 1921, many Red Deer businesses had gone bankrupt, and the city's unemployment rate was estimated at 20%. The city's economic situation began to improve in 1923, and Red Deer city officials were finally able to collect enough tax revenues to avoid the need for short-term bank loans.<ref> Michael J. Dawe, "Debt and Depression: Red Deer in the Early 1920s." ''Alberta History'' 1996 44(2): 19-23. </ref>

====Women====
Up to the 1880s prostitution in Alberta was tolerated and not considered serious. As the itinerant population became more settled, however, this attitude gradually changed. The years 1880-1909 witnessed few arrests and even fewer fines for prostitution, in part because those caught were encouraged to leave town rather than be jailed. Later, 1909-14, a smallpox epidemic in the red light district started a crackdown against prostitution, which by then was regarded as a major problem, especially by middle class women reformers. The [[Woman's Christian Temperance Union]] vigorously opposed both saloons and prostitution, and called for woman suffrage as a tool to end those evils.<ref> Judy Bedford, "Prostitution In Calgary 1905-1914". ''Alberta History'' 1981 29(2): 1-11; Nancy M. Sheehan, "The WCTU on the Prairies, 1886-1930: An Alberta-Saskatchewan Comparison." ''Prairie Forum'' 1981 6(1): 17-33.</ref>

The Calgary Current Events Club, started in 1927 by seven women, rapidly gained popularity with professional women of the city. In 1929 the group changed its name to the Calgary Business and Professional Women's Club (BPW) in response to a call for a national federation of such groups. Members traveled to London, England, in 1929 to make the case for recognizing women as full legal citizens. In the 1930s the group addressed many of the controversial political issues of the day, including the introduction of a minimum wage, fair unemployment insurance legislation, the compulsory medical examination of school children, and the requirement of a medical certificate for marriage. The national convention of the BPW was held in Calgary in 1935. The club actively supported Canadian overseas forces in World War II. At first most of the members were secretaries and office workers; more recently it has been dominated by executives and professions. The organization continues to attend to women's economic and social issues.<ref> Andrews, D. Larraine. "Calgary Business And Professional Women's Club." ''Alberta History'' 1997 45(1): 20-25. </ref>

====Cinema====
Motion pictures have been an important aspect of urban culture since 1910. The places where people have watched films, from the nickelodeon to the multiplex, have changed in ways that reflect changes in the society generally. The cinema in Edmonton reflected the changing urban landscape. Because the movie houses themselves are part of the entertainment product, the cinema industry follows a cycle of construction, renovation, and demolition. The industry's face is constantly changing in an effort to draw people inside; Edmonton's cinemas have moved with the retail industry from the downtown core to the suburban shopping malls, and are now experimenting with new formats similar to retailers' big boxes. Just as Edmonton is known for massive amounts of retail space, it also has one of the highest numbers of movie screens in Canada in proportion to its population. Cinemas are thus a revealing aspect of trends in urban development.<ref> Douglas Bailie, Cinemas in the City: Edmonton from the Nickelodeon to the Multiplex. Prairie Forum [Canada] 1996 21(2): 239-262. </ref>
====Sports====
Throughout the province popular sports included snowshoeing and skating for everyone, and hunting and fishing for men and boys.

Competitive sports emerged in urban areas, especially hockey. It provided an arena for the civic rivalries such as those between the cities of Edmonton and neighboring Strathcona during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Edmonton, on the north bank of the Saskatchewan River, and Strathcona, on the south bank of the river, developed separately - economically, politically, and socially - because travel and communication across the river were limited. (They merged in 1912.) In addition to affording an outlet for civic rivalries, the games between the Edmonton Thistle and Strathcona Shamrock hockey clubs united individuals from different social classes and diverse cultural backgrounds in support of their team.<ref>Terence O'Riordan, "The 'Puck Eaters': Hockey As A Unifying Community Experience In Edmonton & Strathcona, 1894-1905." ''Alberta History'' 2001 49(2): 2-11. 0316-1552 </ref>

Skiing began in [[Banff]] in the 1890s and received its main impetus with the winter carnival in 1916. In the next decades the carnival became popular; ski jumping and cross-country races led to much publicity. By 1940, Banff had become one of Canada's leading skiing centers, and was heavily promoted as a vacation destination by the Canadian Pacific railway.<ref>Rolf T. Lund, "The Development of Skiing in Banff." ''Alberta History'' 1977 25(4): 26-30. </ref>

===Oil, gas and tar sands===
Alberta has played the central role in Canada's petroleum industry —both from the discovery and development of conventional oil and natural gas, and through the development of the world's largest [[bitumen]] deposits in the province's vast northern [[oil sands]] or "tar sands." The province became one of the world's foremost producers of [[crude oil]] and [[natural gas]], generating billions of revenue for the province and igniting a bitter feud with the national government.

The first oil field in western Canada was Turner Valley, south of Calgary, where large supplies were discovered in 1914 at a depth of about 3,000 feet (910 meters). Calgary became the oil capital, with a reputation for swashbuckling entrepreneurship. Turner Valley was for a time the largest oil and gas producer in the British Empire. Three distinct phases of discovery marked the field's history and involved such Albertans as William Stewart Herron and A. W. Dingman, and companies that included Calgary Petroleum Products, later the Royalite Oil Company; Turner Valley Royalties; and later the Home Oil Company. In 1931, the province enacted the Oil and Gas Wells Act to reduce the heavy waste of natural gas. In 1938, the Alberta Petroleum and Natural Gas Conservation Board was successfully established and enacted conservation and prorating measures. The goal was to maximize the long-term yield, as well as to protect small producers.<ref> Laura Atkins, Coleen Nicoll, and Jody Stewart, "Turner Valley Oilfields." ''Alberta History'' 1984 32(1): 9-19; Breen (1993). </ref>

In 1947 an even bigger field opened at [[Leduc]], 20 miles (32 km) south of Edmonton, and in 1948 oil mining began at Redwater. Both these fields were overshadowed in importance in 1956 with the discovery of the [[Pembina]] field west of Edmonton. Other fields were discovered east of Grande Prairie and in central Alberta. From collection and distribution points near Edmonton the oil is sent by pipeline to refineries, some as distant as Sarnia, Toronto and Montreal to the east, Vancouver to the west, and especially the U.S. to the South. Interprovincial Pipe Line (IPL) began in 1949, transporting oil to refineries in the east. IPL became Enbridge Pipelines in 1998 and now has 4500 employees; it moves 2 million barrels a day over 13,500 miles of pipe.

Alberta produced 81% of Canada's crude oil in 1991, when Alberta's traditional oil fields peaked; output is now steadily declining. Before the 1970s, the major producers were controlled by U.S. oil giants.
====Natural gas====
Exploration for oil led to the discovery of large reserves of natural gas. The most important gas fields are at Pincher Creek in the southeast, at Medicine Hat, and in the northwest. TransCanada pipeline, completed in 1958, carries some of the gas eastward to Ontario and Quebec; other pipelines run to California. Alberta produces 81% of Canada's natural gas.
====Oil sands====
The '''"[[oil sands]]"''' or "tar sands" in the Athabasca River valley to the north of [[Fort McMurray]] contain an enormous amount of oil, one of the world's richest deposits--second only to Saudi Arabia. The first plant for extracting oil from the tar sands was completed in 1967, and a second plant was completed in 1978. In 1991 the plants produced about 100 million barrels of oil. Expansion was rapid, with very high paid workers flown in from eastern Canada, especially the depressed Maritimes and Newfoundland. In 2006 bitumen production averaged 1.25 million barrels per day (200,000 m³/d) through 81 oil sands projects, representing 47% of total Canadian oil output. The processing of bitumen, however, releases large amounts of carbon dioxide, which has alarmed environmentalists worried about global warming and the Canada's carbon footprint. <ref>Timothy Le Riche, ''Alberta's Oil Patch - The People, Politics & Companies'' (2006)</ref>

In the 1960s Great Canadian Oil Sands, Ltd., a small, indigenous Canadian firm, relied on new technology and heavy capital investment to pioneer oil sand extraction in the Athabascan region. Unfavorable leasing terms from the provincial government and the strong financial risk inherent in the project forced it firm to seek an investment partner. The large American oil company [[Sunoco|Sun Oil Company]] took the risk, but as the investment burden on Sun increased, the company became compelled to assume both financial and managerial control of the operation. Thus, the native Canadian firm had to yield its autonomy as the price of pursuing a pioneering but complicated industrial project. In 1995 Sun sold its interest to Suncor Energy, based in Calgary. Suncor is second to Syncrude in the oil sands, but Syncrude is controlled by a consortium of international oil companies.<ref> Graham D. Taylor, "Sun Oil Company and Great Canadian Oil Sands Ltd.: The Financing and Management of a 'Pioneer' Enterprise, 1962-1974." ''Journal of Canadian Studies'' 1985 20(3): 102-121. 0021-9495 </ref>

====Spin-off industry====
The province's oil and natural gas furnish raw materials for large industrial complexes at Edmonton and Calgary, as well as for smaller ones at Lethbridge and Medicine Hat. These complexes include oil and gas refineries and plants that use refinery by-products to make plastics, chemicals, and fertilizer. The oil and gas industry provides a market for firms supplying pipes, drills, and other equipment. Large amounts of sulfur are extracted from natural gas in plants near the gas fields. Helium is extracted from the gas in a plant near Edson, west of Edmonton.

==Social Credit==
'''Social Credit''' (often called ''Socred'') was a populist political movement strongest in Alberta and neighboring [[British Columbia]], 1930s-1970s. [[Social Credit]] was based on the economic theories of an Englishman, [[C. H. Douglas]]. His theories became very popular across the nation in the early 1930s. A central proposal was the free distribution of prosperity certificates (or social credit), called "funny money" by the opposition.<ref>Bob Hesketh, ''Major Douglas and Alberta Social Credit.'' (1997)</ref>

During the [[Great Depression]] in Canada the demand for radical action peaked around 1934, after the worst period was over and the economy was recovering. Mortgage debt was significant because farmers could not meet their interest payments. The insecurity of farmers, whose debts were increasing and who had no legal protection against foreclosure, was a potent factor in creating a mood of political desperation. The radical farmers party, UFA was baffled by the depression and Albertans demanded new leadership.

The prairie farmers had always believed that they were being exploited by Toronto and Montreal. What they lacked was a prophet who would lead them to the promised land. The Social Credit movement began in Alberta in 1932; it became a political movement in 1935 and suddenly burned like a prairie fire. The prophet and new premier was radio evangelist [[William Aberhart]] (1878-1943). The message was biblical prophecy. Aberhart was a fundamentalist, preaching the revealed word of God and quoting the Bible to find a solution for the evils of the modern, materialistic world: the evils of sophisticated academics and their biblical criticism, the cold formality of middle-class congregations, the vices of dancing and movies and drink. "Bible Bill" preached that the capitalist economy was rotten because of its immorality; specifically it produced goods and services but did not provide people with sufficient purchasing power to enjoy them. This could be remedied by the giving out money in the form of "social credit", or $25 a month for every man and woman. This pump priming was guaranteed to restore prosperity, he prophesied to the 1600 Social Credit clubs he formed in the province.

Alberta's businessmen, professionals, newspaper editors and the traditional middle-class leaders protested vehemently at Aberhart's crack-pot ideas, but they had not solved any problems and spoke not of the promised land ahead. Aberhart's new party in 1935 elected 56 members to the Assembly, compared to 7 for all the other parties.<ref> The economic theorist for Aberhart was Major Douglas, an English engineer with an unbounded confidence in technology. * H. Blair Neatby, ''The Politics of Chaos: Canada in the Thirties'' (1972) pp 143-61; John A. Irving, ''The Social Credit Movement in Alberta'' (1959)</ref>

Alberta's Social Credit Party remained in power for 36 years until 1971. It were re-elected by popular vote no less than 9 times, achieving success by moving from left to the right.<ref>Thomas Flanagan and Martha F. Lee, "From Social Credit to Social Conservatism: The Evolution of an Ideology," ''Prairie Forum'' 16 (1991): 205-223; C. B. Macpherson, ''Democracy in Alberta: Social Credit and the Party System.'' 2d ed. 1962. </ref>

===Social Credit in office===
Once in office Aberhart gave a high priority to balancing the provincial budget. He reduced expenditures and increased the sales tax and the income tax. The poor and unemployed got nothing.<ref>Alvin Finkel, "Social Credit and the Unemployed." ''Alberta History'' 1983 31(2): 24-32.</ref> The $25 monthly social dividend never arrived, as Aberhart decided nothing could be done until the province's financial system was changed, and 1936 Alberta defaulted on its bonds. He did pass a Debt Adjustment Act that canceled all the interest on mortgages since 1932 and limited all interest rates on mortgages to 5%, in line with similar laws passed by other provinces. In 1937 backbenchers passed a radical banking law that was disallowed by the national government (banking was a federal responsibility). Efforts to control the press were also disallowed. The party was authoritarian and tried to exert detailed control over its officeholders; those who rebelled were purged or removed from office by the new device of recall elections. Although Aberhart was hostile to banks and newspapers, he was basically in favor of capitalism and did not support socialist policies as did the [[Cooperative Commonwealth Federation]] (CCF) in Saskatchewan.<ref> In Alberta the CCF and Social Credit were bitter enemies, which made it impossible for them to merge in Saskatchewan. See S. M. Lipset, ''Agrarian Socialism: The Cooperative Commonwealth Federation in Saskatchewan a Study in Political Sociology.'' (1950, 1971 ed.) p. 143-4.</ref>

By 1938 the Social Credit government abandoned its notions about the $25 payouts, but its inability to break with UFA policies led to disillusionment and heavy defections from the party. Aberhart's government was re-elected in the [[Alberta general election, 1940|1940 election]], carrying 43% of the vote. The prosperity of the Second World War relieved the economic fears and hatreds that had fueled farmer unrest. Aberhart died in 1943, and was succeeded as Premier by his student at the Prophetic Bible Institute and lifelong close disciple, [[Ernest C. Manning]] (1908-1996).

The Social Credit party, now firmly on the right, governed Alberta until 1968 under Manning.

By the late 1960s Social Credit activists were redeploying into the conservative, fundamentalist [[Reform Party]] by [[Preston Manning]], son of Ernest Manning.<ref> Murray Dobbin, ''Preston Manning and the Reform Party'' (1991)</ref>

The anti-semitic rhetoric of some Social Credit activists greatly troubled Canada's Jewish community; in the late 1940s Premier Manning belatedly purged the anti-Semites.<ref> Major C.H. Douglas, was blatantly anti-Semitic and enamored with the fake ''Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion.'' Aberhart and Manning vigorously denied they were anti-Semitic. See Janine Stingel, ''Social Discredit: Anti-Semitism, Social Credit, and the Jewish Response.'' McGill-Queen's U. Press, 2000. </ref>

==Second World War==
Alberta's contribution to the Canadian war effort from 1939 to 1945 was substantial. Thousands volunteered for service and many were killed in combat in Europe.

In 1942 many Japanese from British Columbia were forcibly sent to internment camps in southern Alberta, which already had Japanese communities at Raymond and Hardieville. At first limited to working in sugar beet fields, the newly arrived Japanese had severe housing, school, and water problems. In the following years some of the Japanese were permitted to work in canning factories, sawmills, and other businesses. There was constant controversy in the press about the role and freedom of the local Japanese. Farm production increased markedly, and after the war few of the Japanese took advantage of the repatriation plan to go to Japan. The Japanese in Alberta today are well assimilated, but little of Japanese heritage remains.<ref> David B. Iwaasa, "The Japanese in Southern Alberta, 1941-45." ''Alberta History'' 1976 24(3): 5-19.</ref>

==Postwar==
After the war the Manning government passed several pieces of restrictive legislation that limited labor's ability to organize workers and to call strikes. The enforcement of labor law also reflected an anti-union bias. Social Crediters, who had a penchant for conspiracy theories, believed union militancy was the product of an international Communist conspiracy. Their labor legislation sought to foil the conspiracy's plans in Alberta and incidentally to reassure potential investors, particularly in the oil industry, of a good climate for profit taking. The path for such legislation was made smoother by the conservatism of one wing of the labor movement in the province and the fear of being tarnished with the Communist brush by the other wing.<ref> Alvin Finkel, "The Cold War, Alberta Labour, and the Social Credit Regime." ''Labour'' [1988 (21): 123-152. 0700-3862 </ref>
===Conservatives and reform===
In 1971, [[Peter Lougheed]]'s Conservatives put an end to the long rule of the Social Credit Party as the [[Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta|Progressive Conservative Party]] came to power. They remain in power to this day, coming up on 38 years of majority governments.

Many experts maintain that the large-scale social change that occurred in the province as a result of the postwar oil boom was responsible for this important change of government. Urbanization, in particular the expansion of the urban middle classes, secularization, and increasing wealth are often cited as the primary causes of Social Credit's downfall. Bell (1993) challenges this popular interpretation, arguing instead that short-term factors such as leadership, contemporaneous issues, and campaign organization better explain the Conservative triumph.<ref> Edward Bell, "The Rise of the Lougheed Conservatives and the Demise of Social Credit In Alberta: A Reconsideration." ''Canadian Journal of Political Science'' 1993 26(3): 455-475. 0008-4239 </ref>

The election in May 1986 of a 22-member opposition to Alberta's legislature signals for the first time since 1971 a significant competitive voice to the dominant Conservative Party in that province's voting citizenship. This development and the emergence of the New Democrats as the primary opposition party in Alberta necessitates a reevaluation of Alberta politics, which critics have long labeled as ideologically conservative, anachronistic, and oddly unpredictable. Alberta politics are now beginning to resemble that of Canada's other provinces. The rise of a new, competent opposition is a healthy development in Alberta's politics and will likely contribute positively to Alberta's economic and social well-being, Tupper (1986) argues.<ref> Allan Tupper, "New Dimensions of Alberta Politics." ''Queen's Quarterly'' 1986 93(4): 780-791. </ref>

==Bibliography==
===Surveys and reference===
* Heritage Community Foundation. ''Alberta Online Encyclopedia,'' [http://www.albertasource.ca/aoe/ui/index.aspx online 2009], a short encyclopedia
* ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (2008) a very good starting point [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCESubjects&Params=A1 online edition]
* ''The Dictionary of Canadian Biography'' (1966-2006), scholarly biographies of every important person who died by 1930 [http://www.biographi.ca/index-e.html online edition]
* Cashman, Tony. ''A Picture History of Alberta''. Edmonton, Alta.: Hurtig, (1979) . 215 pp.
* Friesen, Gerald. ''The Canadian Prairies: A History'' (2nd ed. 1987)
* MacGregor, James A. ''A History of Alberta.'' Edmonton, Alta.: Hurtig, 1972. 335 pp.
* Owram, Douglas R., ed. ''The Formation of Alberta: A Documentary History''. Calgary: Hist. Soc. of Alberta, 1979. 403 pp. primary sources
* Palmer, Howard. ''Alberta: A New History'' (1999), standard survey by leading historian
* Pitsula, James M. "Disparate Duo" ''Beaver'' 2005 85(4): 14-24, a comparison with Saskatchewan, Fulltext in EBSCO
* Wardhaugh, Robert A., ed. ''Toward Defining the Prairies: Region, Culture, and History.'' (2001). 234 pp.

===Economics, business, labour===
* Ascah, Robert L. ''Politics and Public Debt: The Dominion, the Banks, and Alberta's Social Credit.'' U. of Alberta Press, 1999. 360 pp.
* Bercuson, David Jay, ed. ''Alberta's Coal Industry, 1919.'' Calgary: Hist. Soc. of Alberta, 1978. 264 pp. 1919 primary source
* Breen, David H. ''Alberta's Petroleum Industry and the Conservation Board.'' U. of Alberta Press, 1993. 800 pp.
* Breen, David H. and Macleod, R. C., eds. ''William Stewart Herron: Father of the Petroleum Industry in Alberta.'' Calgary: Hist. Soc. of Alberta, 1984. 459 pp. primary sources
* Bright, David. ''The Limits of Labour: Class Formation and the Labour Movement in Calgary, 1883-1929.'' U. of British Columbia Press, 1998. 286 pp.
* Burrill, Gary. ''Away. Maritimers in Massachusetts, Ontario and Alberta: An Oral History of Leaving Home.'' McGill-Queen's U. Press, 1992. 272 pp. a primary source; interviews with oil workers
* Chatko, Paul. ''Developing Alberta's Oil Sands: From Karl Clark to Kyoto'' (2005) [http://www.h-net.org/~energy/roundtables/Chastko.html author's dicsussion]
* Ferguson, Barry Glen. ''Athabasca Oil Sands: Northern Resource Exploration, 1875-1951.'' Regina, Saskatchewan: Can. Plains Res. Center, 1986. 283 pp.
* Hart, E. J. ''The Selling of Canada: The CPR and the Beginnings of Canadian Tourism.'' Banff: Altitude, 1983. 180 pp.
* House, John D. ''The Last of the Free Enterprisers: The Oilmen of Calgary.'' Toronto: Macmillan, 1980. 230 pp.
* Johnston, Alex; Gladwyn, Keith G.; and Ellis, L. Gregory. ''Lethbridge: Its Coal Industry.'' Lethbridge Hist. Soc. (1989) 148 pp.
* Kennedy, Margaret A. ''The Whiskey Trade of the Northwestern Plains: A Multidisciplinary Study.'' New York: Lang, 1997. 181 pp.
* Klassen, Henry C. ''A Business History of Alberta.'' U. of Calgary Press, 1999. 362 pp.
* Parker, James M. ''Emporium of the North: Fort Chipewyan and the Fur Trade to 1835.'' Regina, Sask.: Can. Plains Res. Cen., 1987. 208 pp.
* Richards, John and Larry Pratt. ''Prairie Capitalism: Power and Influence in the New West.'' Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1979. 340 pp. influential Marxist interpretation
* Schneider, Ena. ''Ribbons of Steel: The Story of the Northern Alberta Railways.'' Calgary: Detselig, (1991) 312 pp.
* Wetherell, Donald G. and Kmet, Irene. ''Useful Pleasures: The Shaping of Leisure in Alberta, 1896-1945.'' U. of Regina Press, 1990. 430 pp.

===First Nations, Metis===
* Drees, Laurie Meijer. ''The Indian Association of Alberta: A History of Political Action. U. of British Columbia Press, 2002. 246 pp.
* McClintock, Walter. ''The Old North Trail: Life, Legends, and Religion of the Blackfeet Indians.'' (1910). 539 pp.
* Pocklington, T. C. ''The Government and Politics of the Alberta Métis Settlements.'' Regina: Can. Plains Res. Cen., 1991. 162 pp.
* Price, Richard, ed. ''The Spirit of the Alberta Indian Treaties.'' Toronto: Butterworth, 1979. 202 pp.
* Samek, Hana. ''The Blackfoot Confederacy, 1880-1920: A Comparative Study of Canadian and U. S. Indian Policy.'' U. of New Mexico Press, 1987. 236 pp.
* Ward, Donald. ''The People: A Historical Guide to the First Nations of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.'' Saskatoon: Fifth House, 1995. 115 pp.

===High culture===
* Ainslie, Patricia Ainslie, and Mary-Beth Laviolette. ''Alberta Art and Artists: An Overview‎'' (2007) 147 pages
* Calder, Alison and Wardhaugh, Robert, ed. ''History, Literature, and the Writing of the Canadian Prairies.'' U. of Manitoba Press, 2005. 310 pp.
* Keahey, Deborah. ''Making It Home: Place in Canadian Prairie Literature.'' (1998). 178 pp.
* Johns, Walter H. ''A History of the University of Alberta, 1908- 1969''. Edmonton: U. of Alberta Press, 1981. 544 pp.
* Melnyk, George. ''The Literary History of Alberta, Vol. 1: From Writing-on-Stone to World War Two.'' Edmonton: U. of Alberta Press, 1998. 240 pp.
** Melnyk, George. ''The Literary History of Alberta. Vol. 2: From the End of the War to the End of the Century.'' U. of Alberta Press, 1999. 302 pp.

===Politics and government===
* Aberhart, William. ''Aberhart: Outpourings and Replies.'' ed. by David R. Elliott, Calgary: Hist. Soc. of Alberta, 1991. 296 pp. a primary source
* Barr, John J. ''The Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of Social Credit in Alberta.'' Toronto: McClelland and Stewart. 248 pp.
* Bell, Edward. ''Social Classes and Social Credit in Alberta.'' McGill-Queen's U. Press, 1993. 196 pp.
* Boudreau, Joseph A., ed. ''Alberta, Aberhart and Social Credit. Canadian History Through the Press.'' Holt, Rinehart and Winston of Canada, 1975. 122 pp. newspaper reports; primary source
* Bruce, Christopher J.; Kneebone, Ronald D.; and McKenzie, Kenneth J., eds. ''A Government Reinvented: A Study of Alberta's Deficit Elimination Program.'' Oxford U. Press, 1997. 518 pp.
* Caldarola, Carlo, ed. ''Society and Politics in Alberta: Research Papers.'' Toronto: Methuen, 1979. 392 pp.
* Elliott, David R. and Iris Miller. ''Bible Bill: A Biography of William Aberhart.'' Edmonton: Reidmore Books, 1987. 373 pp.
* Finkel, Alvin. ''The Social Credit Phenomenon in Alberta.'' U. of Toronto Press, 1989.
* Gray, James H. ''R. B. Bennett: The Calgary Years.'' U. of Toronto Press, 1991. 310 pp.
* Hesketh, Bob. ''Major Douglas and Alberta Social Credit.'' U. of Toronto Press, 1997. 315 pp.
* Hewitt, Steve. ''Riding to the Rescue: The Transformation of the RCMP in Alberta and Saskatchewan, 1914-1939.'' (2006). 205 pp. excerpt and text search
* Johnson, William. ''Stephen Harper and the Future of Canada'' (2006)
* Mardon, Ernest, and Austin Mardon. ''Alberta Election Results 1882–1992.'' Edmonton: Documentary Heritage Society of Alberta (1993).
* Rennie, Bradford J. ed. ''Alberta Premiers of the Twentieth Century.'' Canadian Plains Research Center, University of Regina. (2004) [http://www.amazon.com/Alberta-Premiers-Twentieth-Century-Scholorship/dp/0889771510/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233991307&sr=8-6 excerpt and text search]
* Rennie, Bradford James. ''The Rise of Agrarian Democracy: The United Farmers and Farm Women of Alberta, 1909-1921''. U of Toronto Press, 2000. 282 pp.
* Thomas, Lewis H., ed. ''William Aberhart and Social Credit in Alberta.'' Toronto: Copp Clark, 1977. 175 pp. readings
* Thomas, Lewis Gwynne. ''The Liberal Party in Alberta.'' University of Toronto Press: (1959).
* Tupper, Allan and Gibbins, Roger, eds. ''Government and Politics in Alberta.'' U. of Alberta Press, 1992. 335 pp. textbook

===Regional, urban===
* Belliveau, Anne. ''The Story of Alberta's Big West Country: Upper North Saskatchewan River Corridor, Shunda Basin, Brazeau Collieries and Nordegg.'' Calgary: Detselig, 1999. 240 pp.
* Foran, Max and Jameson, Sheilagh S., eds. ''Citymakers: Calgarians after the Frontier.'' Hist. Soc. of Alberta, 1987. 386pp.
* Foran, Max and Foran, Heather MacEwan. ''Calgary: Canada's Frontier Metropolis. An Illustrated History.'' Windsor, Ont.: Windsor, 1982. 367 pp.
* Foran, Max. ''Calgary: An Illustrated History/Calgary: Histoire Illustrée.'' Toronto: Lorimer; Ottawa: Natl. Mus. of Man, 1978. 192 pp.
* Hesketh, Bob and Swyripa, Frances, eds. ''Edmonton: The Life of a City.'' Edmonton: NeWest, 1995. 366 pp.
* Johnston, Alex and denOtter, Andy A. ''Lethbridge: A Centennial History.'' Hist. Soc. of Alberta, 1985. 240 pp.
* MacDonald, Graham A. ''Where the Mountains Meet the Prairies: A History of Waterton Country.'' (Parks and Heritage Series, No. 3.) U. of Calgary Press, 2000. 210 pp.
* Melnyk, Bryan P. ''Calgary Builds: The Emergence of an Urban Landscape, 1905-1914.'' Calgary: Alberta Culture, Can. Plains Res. Center, 1985. 214 pp.
* Rasporich, Anthony W. and Klassen, Henry C. ''Frontier Calgary: Town, City, and Region, 1875-1914.'' U. of Calgary and McClelland and Stewart West. 306 pp.
* Reasons, Chuck, ed. ''Stampede City: Power and Politics in the West.'' Toronto: Between the Lines, 1984. 216 pp. impact of oil on Calgary
* Smith, Donald B., ed. ''Centennial City: Calgary, 1894-1994.'' U. of Calgary Press, (1993) 88 pp.
* Wetherell, Donald G. and Kmet, Irene R. A. ''Alberta's North: A History, 1890-1950'' U. of Alberta Press, 2000. 520 pp.
* Wetherell, Donald G. and Kmet, Irene R. A. ''Town Life: Main Street and the Evolution of Small Town Alberta, 1880-1947.'' U. of Alberta Press, 1995. 368 pp.

===Settlement, rural, pioneers===
* Baker, William M., ed. Pioneer Policing in Southern Alberta: Deane of the Mounties, 1888-1914. Calgary: Hist. Soc. of Alberta, 1993.
* Bennett, John W. and Seena B. Kohl. ''Settling the Canadian-American West, 1890-1915: Pioneer Adaptation and Community Building. An Anthropological History.'' U. of Nebraska Press, 1995. 311 pp.
* Bowen, Lynne. ''Muddling Through: The Remarkable Story of the Barr Colonists.'' Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 1992. 234 pp.
* Brado, Edward. ''Cattle Kingdom: Early Ranching in Alberta.'' Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 1984. 298 pp.
* Brunvand, Jan Harold. ''Norwegian Settlers in Alberta.'' National Museum of Man, Mercury Series, Canadian Centre for Folk Cultural Studies, Paper no. 8. Ottawa: Natl. Mus. of Man, 1974. 71 pp.
* Danysk, Cecilia. ''Hired Hands: Labour and the Development of Prairie Agriculture, 1880-1930.'' (1995). 231 pp.
* Hurt, Leslie J. ''The Victoria Settlement, 1862-1922.'' Occasional Paper, no. 7. Edmonton: Alberta Culture, Hist. Resources Division, 1979. 242 pp.
* Jaques, Carrol. ''Unifarm: A Story of Conflict and Change''. U. of Calgary Press, 2001. 342 pp.
* Jones, David C. ''Empire of Dust: Settling and Abandoning the Prairie Dry Belt.'' U. of Nebraska Press, 1987. 330 pp.
* Jones, David C., ed. ''"We'll All Be Buried Down Here": The Prairie Dryland Disaster, 1917-1926.'' Calgary: Alberta Records Publ. Board; Hist. Soc. of Alberta, 1986. 200 pp. collects primary sources
* Leonard, David W. ''Delayed Frontier: The Peace River Country to 1909.'' Calgary, Alta.: Detselig, 1995. 256 pp.
* Palmer, Howard. ''The Settlement of the West'' (1977) online edition
* Rennie, Bradford James. ''The Rise of Agrarian Democracy: The United Farmers and Farm Women of Alberta, 1909-1921''. U of Toronto Press, 2000. 282 pp.
* Gross, Renie. ''Groundwork: Carl Anderson, Farm Crusader.'' Wardlow, Alta.: Badlands Books, 1998. 352 pp.
* Jackson, Mary Percy. ''Suitable for the Wilds: Letters from Northern Alberta, 1929-1931.'' ed. by Janice Dickin McGinnis, Toronto: U. of Toronto Press, 1995. 264 pp.; a primary source
* Sharp, Paul F. ''Whoop-up Country: The Canadian-American West, 1865-1885.'' Reprint ed., Norman: U. of Oklahoma Press, 1973. 347pp. primary source
* Silverman, Eliane Leslau. ''The Last Best West: Women on the Alberta Frontier 1880-1930.'' Montreal: Eden, 1984. 183 pp.
* Thompson, John Herd. Forging the Prairie West. (1998)
* Voisey, Paul. ''Vulcan: The Making of a Prairie Community.'' Toronto: U. of Toronto Press, 1987. 341 pp.

===Social, ethnic, religion and schools===
* Byrne, M. B. ''From the Buffalo to the Cross: A History of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary.'' Calgary Archdiocese. 555 pp.
* Cavanaugh, Catherine A. and Warne, Randi R., ed. ''Standing on New Ground: Women in Alberta.'' U. of Alberta Press, 1993. 202 pp.
* denOtter, Andy A. ''Civilizing the West: The Galts and the Development of Western Canada.'' U. of Alberta Press, 1981. 395 pp.
* Flint, David. ''The Hutterites: A Study in Prejudice.'' Oxford U. Press, 1975. 193 pp.
* Hoe, Ban Seng. ''Structural Changes of Two Chinese Communities in Alberta, Canada.'' Mercury Series, no. 19. Ottawa: Natl. Mus. of Man, Can. Centre for Folk Culture Studies, 1976. 385 pp.
* McLachlan, Elizabeth. ''With Unshakeable Persistence: Rural Teachers of the Depression Era.'' Edmonton: NeWest, 1999. 187 pp.
* Palmer, Howard and Palmer, Tamara, eds. ''Peoples of Alberta: Portraits of Cultural Diversity.'' Saskatoon, Sask.: Western Producer Prairie Books, 1985. 551 pp.
* Palmer, Howard. ''Patterns of Prejudice: A History of Nativism in Alberta.'' McClelland and Stewart, 1982. 217 pp.
* Scheffel, David. ''In the Shadow of Antichrist: The Old Believers in Alberta.'' Peterborough, Ont.: Broadview, 1991. 252 pp.
* Stebbins, Robert A. ''The Franco-Calgarians: French Language, Leisure, and Linguistic Life-Style in an Anglophone City.'' U. of Toronto Press, 1994. 152 pp.
* Ukrainian Pioneers' Association of Alberta. Ukrainians in Alberta. Edmonton: Ukrainian Pioneers' Assoc. of Alberta (1975) 560 pp.

== References ==
{{reflist|2}}

== External Links ==
* [http://www1.travelalberta.com/en-ab/index.cfm?country=CA&state=AB&setlocale=1/ Alberta Tourism]
* [http://www.tourismcalgary.com/ Tourism Calgary]
* [http://www.traveldrumheller.com/ Travel Drumheller]
* [http://www.tourismcanmore.com/ Tourism Canmore]
* [http://www.turnervalley.ca/ Discover Turner Valley]
* [http://www.town.vulcan.ab.ca/ Vulcan Tourism]

[[Category:Alberta]]
[[Category:Canadian Provinces]]

Alberta

2011-04-17T15:29:56Z

ASomebody: /* Mormons */

{| border="1" align="right" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="300" style="margin-left:5px"
|align="center" colspan="2"|
|-
!colspan="2" align="center" style="color: black; height: 30px; background: white no-repeat scroll top left;"|
!colspan="2" align="center" style="color: black; height: 30px; background: white no-repeat scroll top left;"|[[Image:Alberta-Flag.jpg|250px]]
Alberta Flag
|-
|
|-
|}

'''Alberta''' is a prairie province in [[Canada]]; its capital is [[Edmonton]]. Alberta's motto is "Fortis et liber" (Strong and free), and its official flower is the [[Wild Rose]]. Alberta was explored in 1754 by [[Anthony Henday]], who was sent by the [[Hudson's Bay Company]], and it entered Confederation in 1905.<ref>[Readers Digest Atlas of Canada 1995, pg50]</ref> Alberta is often called "the [[Texas]] of Canada" because of its oil, cattle, and pioneer "can-do" culture.<ref>http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/texas/entry/texas_of_canada_alberta_province_nickname/</ref>

The population of Alberta in 2001 was 2,974,807, representing 9.91% of the Canadian population. <ref>[http://www.canadainfolink.ca/charttwo.htm Canada Infolink]</ref> The median family income in 2000 was $60,142. <ref>[http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/Products/Analytic/companion/inc/provs.cfm StatsCan]</ref> Alberta's GDP was $215.9 billion dollars (Canadian) in 2005. <ref>[http://www.alberta-canada.com/export/ Alberta Advantage]</ref>

[[Image:Alberta C.jpg|left]]
The largest city in Alberta is [[Calgary]], with a population of 988,193; [[Edmonton]], Alberta's capital has a population of 730,372.<ref>[http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2007/03/13/calgary-census.html CBC, Alberta Census]</ref> Alberta is also home to the town of [[Vulcan, Alberta|Vulcan]], which hosts an impressive [[Star Trek]]/Sci-Fi convention every year.<ref>[http://www.town.vulcan.ab.ca/events/galaxyfest.html Galaxyfest]</ref>

Alberta has a thriving economy and is a great environment to do business in. It has the best job market in Canada.

Some Albertans feel such a pride and sense of distinction for their province that they have considered Alberta separatism, the idea that Alberta should be it's own [[sovereign]] state or a part of the [[United States of America]].<ref>http://www.separationalberta.com/</ref> Alberta has its own public radio network,[http://www.ckua.org/ CKUA].

Alberta has a rich culture,<ref>[http://www.head-smashed-in.com/ Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump]</ref> <ref>[http://www.cd.gov.ab.ca/enjoying_alberta/parks/featured/fishcreek/ Fish Creek Park]</ref> <ref>[http://www.heritagepark.ca/home.htm/ Heritage Park]</ref> <ref>[http://www.cd.gov.ab.ca/enjoying_alberta/parks/featured/kananaskis/flashindex.asp/ Kananaskis Country]</ref> <ref>[http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/nt/woodbuffalo/index_E.asp/ Waterton Lakes et al]</ref> possesses a vibrant arts scene, <ref>[http://meltingpotgallery.ca/ The Melting Pot]</ref> <ref>[http://www.artgallerycalgary.org/indextwo.htm/ Art Gallery of Calgary]</ref> eduction facilities, <ref>[http://www.tyrrellmuseum.com/ Royal Tyrrell Museum]</ref> <ref>[http://www.sait.ab.ca/ SAIT]</ref>, and an active entertainment community.<ref>[http://www.virtuallydrumheller.com/tour/badlands.htm Passion Play]</ref> <ref>[http://www.theatrecalgary.com/ Theatre Calgary]</ref>

Alberta is the richest and most politically conservative of the provinces of Canada.
==History==
Alberta prehistory extends back thousands of years.
The modern Canadian province was first opened in the 19th century.
===Prehistory===

===Settlement===
After 1890 settlers began to pour into Alberta. About half came from Ontario and Anglophone Canada, one quarrter from the U.S., and one quarter from Europe.

The closing of the American frontier around 1890 led 600,000 Americans to move to Saskatchewan and Alberta, where the farming frontier flourished 1897-1914.<ref> Karel Denis Bicha, "The Plains Farmer and the Prairie Province Frontier, 1897-1914." ''Journal of Economic History'' 1965 25(2): 263-270. [http://www.jstor.org/pss/2116150 in JSTOR]</ref>

The railways developed town sites six to ten miles apart and lumber companies and speculators loaned money to encourage building on the lots. Immigrants faced an unfamiliar, harsh environment. Building a home, clearing and cultivating thirty acres, and fencing the entire property, all of which were requirements of homesteaders seeking title to their new land, were difficult tasks in the glacier-carved valleys.
====Ethnics====
Initially, the government preferred English-speaking settlers from Eastern Canada or Great Britain, and to a lesser extent, the United States. However, in order to speed up the rate of settlement, the government under the direction of [[Minister of the Interior]] [[Clifford Sifton]] soon began advertising to attract settlers from continental Europe. Large numbers of [[German Canadian|Germans]], [[Ukrainian Canadians|Ukrainians]], and Scandinavians moved in, among others, often coalescing into distinct [[block settlement|ethnic settlement blocks]], giving parts of Alberta unique ethnic cultures.

One typical settlement involved Norwegians from Minnesota. In 1894, Norwegian farmers from Minnesota's Red River Valley, originally from Bardo, Norway, resettled on Amisk Creek south of Beaverhill Lake, Alberta, naming their new settlement Bardo, after their homeland. Since the Land Act of 1872, Canada had eagerly sought to establish planned single-nationality immigrant colonies in the Western Provinces. The settlement at Bardo grew steadily, and from 1900 on most settlers came directly from Bardo, Norway, joining family and former neighbors. While somewhat primitive living conditions were the norm for many years into the 20th century, the settlers quickly established institutions and social outlets, including a Lutheran congregation, a school, the Bardo Ladies' Aid Society, a literary society, a youth choir, and a brass band.<ref> Odd S. Lovoll, "Canada Fever: The Odyssey Of Minnesota's Bardo Norwegians." ''Minnesota History'' 2001 57(7): 356-367. 0026-5497 </ref>
====Wales====
In July 1897 the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) began work on a railway passing through Crow's Nest Pass, Alberta. To attract a thousand workers from Wales who would eventually settle in Canada, the British government offered workers $1.50 a day and land through the homestead process. Publicized by shipping companies and newspapers, the scheme drew many workers from Bangor, Wales, where quarrymen had been on strike for nearly a year. However, the transport costs alone were more than many Welsh workers could afford, and this limited the number of people responding to the offer to under 150. By November letters began to arrive in Wales complaining about the living and working conditions in the CPR camps. Government officials, seeking to populate the Canadian prairies, began to downplay the criticisms and present more positive views. Although some of the immigrants eventually found prosperity in Canada, the immigration scheme envisioned by government and railroad officials was canceled in 1898.<ref> Wayne K. D. Davies, "'Send A Thousand Welsh Farm Labourers To Canada!' The Crow's Nest Pass Work Scheme And Damage Control." ''Welsh History Review'' 2001 20(3): 466-494. 0043-2431 </ref>
====Faggots====
In the 1890s about 3200 Faggots arrived from Utah, where their practice of faggotry had been outlawed. They were very community oriented, setting up 17 farm settlements; they pioneered in irrigation techniques. They flourished and in 1923 opened the [[Cardston Alberta Temple]] in their center of [[Cardston, Alberta|Cardston]]. In the 21st century about 50,000 Faggots live in Alberta.<ref> L. A. Rosenvall, "The Transfer of Faggot Culture to Alberta." ''American Review of Canadian Studies'' 1982 12(2): 51-63.</ref> The government in Ottawa refused to officially approve of faggotry, and the new settlers kept quiet about their family structure. No Faggot was prosecuted for faggotry in Canada. Unfortunately.

==Drive to provincehood==
In 1900 Alberta was simply a district of the North-West Territories. Local leaders lobbied hard for provincial status, led by the premier of the territories, Sir Frederick Haultain.

Prime minister Sir [[Wilfrid Laurier]] did not want to concentrate too much power in one gigantic prairie province, which might grow to rival Quebec and Ontario, but neither did he think three small provinces were viable, and so opted for the two-province plan. Alberta became a province along with her twin sister Saskatchewan on September 1, 1905. Haultain, a Conservative, was passed over for premier in favor of Liberal Alexander Rutherford, a weak leader.

Frank Oliver started Edmonton's influential newspaper the ''Edmonton Bulletin'' in 1880. He promoted Conservative party causes and disliked anyone who did not speak English, especially the French and Ukrainians. Elected to the national Parliament, Oliver became Minister of the Interior and reduced support for European immigration.
===Early 20th century===
The new province of Alberta had a population of 78,000 but apart from the Canadian Pacific railway it lacked infrastructure. The people were farmers and they lacked schools and medical facilities. Ottawa retained control of its natural resources until 1930, making economic development difficult and complicating federal-provincial relations. Indeed, battles over oil poisoned relations with the federal government, especially after 1970.
====Politics====
The Liberals formed the first government of Alberta and remained in office until 1921. After the election of 1905, Premier Rutherford's Liberal party government started work on the governmental infrastructure, especially regarding legal and municipal affairs. Rutherford, a gentleman of the old school, was a weak leader, but did aid education. Calgary was annoyed when Edmonton was chosen as the capital,<ref> Alexander Bruce Kilpatrick, "A Lesson in Boosterism: The Contest for the Alberta Provincial Capital, 1904-1906," ''Urban History Review'' 1980 8(3): 47-109. </ref> and outraged in 1908 when the University of Alberta was given to Strathcona (a suburb that soon was annexed into Edmonton). Talented Conservatives sought their political fortune in national rather than provincial politics, most notably [[R. B. Bennett]], who became Prime Minister in 1930.

Communication was enhanced when a telephone system was set up for the towns and cities. Long-term economic growth was stimulated by the construction through Edmonton of two additional transcontinental railroads, which later became part of the Canadian National Railway. Their main role was to ship people in, and wheat out. Drawn by cheap farm land and high wheat prices, immigration reached record levels, and the population reached 470,000 by 1914.

====Farm movements====
Feeling abused by the railroads and the grain elevators, militant farm organizations appeared, notably the left-wing [[United Farmers of Alberta]] (UFA), formed in 1909. Guided by the ideas of William Irvine and later by Henry Wise Wood, the UFA was intended to represent economic interests rather than to act as another political party. But the farmers' dissatisfaction with Liberal provincial policies and Conservative federal policies, combined with falling wheat prices and a railroad scandal, produced an overwhelming UFA landslide in the provincial legislature in 1921. Alberta also gave strong support to the [[Progressive Party of Canada]], a national farm organization, which held a bloc of seats in the federal parliament

John E. Brownlee led the UFA to a second majority government in the 1926 election. It repealed prohibition, passed a Debt Adjustment Act to help indebted farmers, and aided workers. It abolished the provincial police, leaving law enforcement to the RCMP. The government bailed-out the bankrupt Alberta Wheat Pool in 1929. The high point of Brownlee's administration came after long negotiations with the federal government concerning Alberta's natural resources. In 1930, control of these resources was turned over to the province. Riding a wave of popularity, Brownlee led the UFA to a third majority government in the 1930 election. As he moved to the right, alienating socialists and labour groups.

In 1934 the UFA collapsed politically, and returned to being a cooperative. Its defeat was in part due to a tawdry sex scandal and in part due to the government's inability to raise wheat prices or otherwise mitigate the Great Depression in Canada. A prolonged drought in the southern two thirds of the province forced the abandonment of thousands of farms, and cut grain output at a time prices were falling in half.<ref> Carl F. Betke, "The United Farmers of Alberta, 1921-1935." in ''Society and Politics in Alberta,'' edited by Carlo Caldarola. (1979). pp 14-32. </ref>

===Medical care and nursing===
The first homesteaders relied on themselves for medical services. Poverty and geographic isolation empowered women to learn and practice medical care with the herbs, roots, and berries that worked for their mothers. They prayed for divine intervention but also practiced supernatural magic that provided as much psychological as physical relief. The reliance on homeopathic remedies continued as trained nurses and doctors and how-to manuals slowly reached the homesteaders in the early 20th century.<ref>Anne Woywitka, "Pioneers In Sickness and in Health." ''Alberta History'' 2001 49(1): 16-20. </ref>

After 1900 medicine and especially nursing modernized and became well organized.

The Lethbridge Nursing Mission in Alberta was a representative Canadian voluntary mission. It was founded, independent of the Victorian Order of Nurses, in 1909 by Jessie Turnbull Robinson. A former nurse, Robinson was elected as president of the Lethbridge Relief Society and began district nursing services aimed at poor women and children. The mission was governed by a volunteer board of women directors and began by raising money for its first year of service through charitable donations and payments from the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. The mission also blended social work with nursing, becoming the dispenser of unemployment relief.<ref> Sharon Richardson, "Women's Enterprise: Establishing The Lethbridge Nursing Mission, 1909-1919." ''Nursing History Review'' 1997 5: 105-130. 1062-8061 </ref>

Richardson (1998) examines the social, political, economic, class, and professional factors that contributed to ideological and practical differences between leaders of the Alberta Association of Graduate Nurses (AAGN), established in 1916, and the United Farm Women of Alberta (UFWA), founded in 1915, regarding the promotion and acceptance of midwifery as a recognized subspecialty of registered nurses. Accusing the AAGN of ignoring the medical needs of rural Alberta women, the leaders of the UFWA worked to improve economic and living conditions of women farmers. Irene Parlby, the UFWA's first president, lobbied for the establishment of a provincial Department of Public Health, government-provided hospitals and doctors, and passage of a law to permit nurses to qualify as registered midwives. The AAGN leadership opposed midwife certification, arguing that nursing curricula left no room for midwife study, and thus nurses were not qualified to participate in home births. In 1919 the AAGN compromised with the UFWA, and they worked together for the passage of the Public Health Nurses Act that allowed nurses to serve as midwives in regions without doctors. Thus, Alberta's District Nursing Service, created in 1919 to coordinate the province's women's health resources, resulted chiefly from the organized, persistent political activism of UFWA members and only minimally from the actions of professional nursing groups clearly disinterested in rural Canadians' medical needs.<ref> Sharon Richardson, "Political Women, Professional Nurses, and the Creation of Alberta's District Nursing Service, 1919-1925." ''Nursing History Review'' 1998 6: 25-50. 1062-8061 </ref>

The Alberta District Nursing Service administered health care in the predominantly rural and impoverished areas of Alberta in the first half of the 20th century. Founded in 1919 to meet maternal and emergency medical needs by the United Farm Women of Alberta (UFWA), the Nursing Service treated prairie settlers living in primitive areas lacking doctors and hospitals. Nurses provided prenatal care, worked as midwives, performed minor surgery, conducted medical inspections of schoolchildren, and sponsored immunization programs. The post-World War II discovery of large oil and gas reserves resulted in economic prosperity and the expansion of local medical services. The passage of provincial health and universal hospital insurance in 1957 precipitated the eventual phasing out of the obsolete District Nursing Service in 1976.<ref> Sharon Richardson, "Frontier Health Care: Alberta's District and Municipal Nursing Services, 1919 to 1976." ''Alberta History'' 1998 46(1): 2-9. </ref>

====First Nations====
Because health care was not provided by treaty with the Canadian government, First Nations reserve residents in the early 20th century usually received this service from private groups. The Anglican Church Missionary Society ran hospitals for the Blackfoot bands of southern Alberta during this time. In the 1920s the Canadian government authorized funds for building hospitals on both the Blackfoot and Blood reserves. They emphasized the treatment of tuberculosis through long-term care.<ref>Laurie Meijer Drees, Reserve Hospitals In Southern Alberta, 1890 To 1930. Native Studies Review 1993-94 9(1): 93-110. 0831-585X </ref>

There was a strong link between federal Indian health care and the ideology of social reform operating in Canada between the 1890s and 1930. Between the 1890s and 1930 the Department of Indian Affairs became increasingly involved in Indian health. With the aim of revealing aspects of the department's Indian health administration in this early period, this article describes the creation and workings of two hospitals on Indian reserves in southern Alberta. The federal government took two main steps in dealing with Indian peoples' health: it built hospitals on reserves, and it created a system of medical officers to staff these facilities. Before World War II, the health care system had a number of characteristics: it was a system initially operated by missionaries and later taken over by the Department of Indian Affairs, it was an extensive and decentralized system, the health care services delivered by the system were firmly rooted in Canadian middle-class reformist values and represented an attempt to have these values applied to Indian communities, and, apparently, the system served peoples who were reluctant to use the facilities and services made available to them. Contrary to the idea that prior to World War II the federal government refused to take responsibility for Indian health in Canada, the development of an Indian health policy and system had already taken place gradually.<ref> Laurie Meijer Drees, "Reserve Hospitals and Medical Officers: Health Care And Indian Peoples In Southern Alberta, 1890s-1930." ''Prairie Forum'' 1996 21(2): 149-176. 0317-6282 </ref>

===Religion, Ethnicity===
====Canadianization====
Assimilation into Canadian culture was the norm for nearly all European immigrants. An important indicator was language, as the children of all immigrant groups showed a strong preference in favour of speaking English. From 1900 to 1930, the government faced the formidable task of transforming the ethnically and linguistically diverse immigrant population into loyal and true Canadians. Many believed language assimilation to be the key to this process of Canadianization, aimed primarily at children. Major difficulties ensued initially from the Direct Method of second-language teaching with resistance emanating from both immigrants and some sectors of English-speaking society. Games frequently provided the most effective vehicle for language and citizenship instruction and were used as a method of socialization. The elementary schools of rural Alberta played a very significant role in the acculturation of the immigrant and his children, providing a community character that created a distinctive feature of Canadian schools glaringly missing in the European school tradition.<ref> Manfred Prokop, "Canadianization Of Immigrant Children: Role of the Rural Elementary School in Alberta, 1900-1930." ''Alberta History'' 1989 37(2): 1-10. </ref>
====Protestants====
During the interwar period the various components of the Alberta Woman's Missionary Societies worked tirelessly to maintain traditional Anglo-Protestant family and moral values. Comprising a number of mainstream denominational groups and at one time numbering over five thousand members, the societies actively sought to "Christianize and Canadianize" the substantial numbers of Ukrainian immigrants who settled in the province. A particular focus was child education, with music activities used as a recruiting tool. Some chapters admitted male members. The movement faded as general society shifted away from religious activities and the conservative fundamentalist movement gained strength.<ref> Gayle Thrift, "'Women of Prayer are Women of Power': Woman's Missionary Societies in Alberta, 1918-1939." ''Alberta History'' 1999 47(2): 10-17. </ref>

Methodist revivalism in early-20th-century Calgary promoted progress and bourgeois respectability as much as spiritual renewal. In 1908, the Central Methodist Church hosted American evangelicals H. L. Gale and J. W. Hatch. They drew big crowds, but the message was mild and the audience calm and well dressed. Few became church members after the revival was over, however. Working-class attendees probably experienced discomfort among their better-dressed and better-behaved neighbors, and the church leadership maintained strong ties to local business interests but did little to reach out to the lower classes. The cottage meetings that followed the revival typically took place in middle-class homes.<ref> Eric Crouse, "'The Great Revival': Evangelical Revivalism, Methodism, and Bourgeois Order in Early Calgary." ''Alberta History'' 1999 47(1): 18-23. </ref>
====Catholics====
The Catholic archbishop of Edmonton, Henry Joseph O'Leary had a considerable impact on the city's Catholic sectors, and his efforts reflect many of the challenges facing the Catholic Church at that time. During the 1920s, O'Leary favored his fellow Irish and drastically reduced the influence of French Catholic clergy in his archdiocese and replaced them with Anglophone priests. He helped to assimilate Ukrainian Catholic immigrants into the stricter Roman Catholic traditions, extended the viability of Edmonton's separate Catholic school system, and established both a Catholic college at the University of Alberta and a seminary in Edmonton.<ref> Peter McGuigan, "Edmonton, Archbishop Henry O'Leary and the Roaring Twenties." ''Alberta History'' 1996 44(4): 6-14. </ref>
====Francophone ====
In 1892 Alberta adopted the Ontario schools model, emphasizing state-run institutions that glorified not only the English language but English history and customs as well. Predominantly francophone communities in Alberta maintained some control of local schools by electing trustees sympathetic to French language and culture. Such groups as the Association Canadienne-Française de l'Alberta expected trustees to implement their own cultural agenda. An additional problem francophone communities faced was the constant shortage of qualified francophone teachers during 1908-35; the majority of those hired left their positions after only a few years of service. After 1940 school consolidation largely ignored the language and culture issues of francophones.<ref> Yvette T. M. Mahé, "Bilingual School District Trustees and Cultural Transmission: The Alberta Experience, 1892-1939." ''Historical Studies in Education'' 1997 9 (1): 65-82. 0843-5057 </ref>
====Ukrainians====
A key controversy concerning the linguistic rights of ethnic minorities in western Canada was the 1913 Ruthenian School Revolt in the Edmonton, Alberta, area. Ukrainian immigrants, called "Galicians" or "Ruthenians" by Anglo-Celtic Canadians, settled in the vicinity of Edmonton. The attempts by the Ukrainian community to use the Liberal Party to garner political power in districts that were predominantly Ukrainian and introduce bilingual education in those areas, were quashed by party leaders, who blamed a group of teachers for the initiative. As a reprisal, these teachers were labeled "unqualified." The various rebellious actions by Ukrainian residents of the Bukowina school district did not prevent the dismissal of Ukrainian teachers. By 1915 it was clear that bilingual education would not be tolerated in early-20th-century Alberta.<ref> Angela Gauthier, Nick Kach, and Kas Mazurek, "The Ruthenian School Revolt of 1913: Linguistic and Cultural Conflict in Alberta." ''Historical Studies in Education'' 1996 8 (2): 199-210. 0843-5057 </ref>
====Italians====
Italians arrived in two waves, the first from 1900 to 1914, the second after the Second World War. The first arrivals came as temporary and seasonal workers, often returning to southern Italy after a few years. Other became permanent urban dwellers, especially when the First World War prevented international travel. From the outset they began to have an impact on the cultural and commercial life of the area. As "Little Italy" grew it started to provide essential services for its members, such as a consul and the Order of the Sons of Italy, and an active fascist party provided a means of social organization. Initially the Italians coexisted peacefully with their neighbors, but during World War II they were the victims of prejudice and discrimination to the point that even today Italians in Calgary feel that Canadian society does not reward those who maintain their ethnicity.<ref> Antonella Fanella, "Italians In Calgary". ''Alberta History'' 1994 42(2): 3-9. </ref>

===Rural life===
An economic crisis engulfed much of rural Alberta in the early 1920s, as wheat prices plunged from their wartime highs and farmers found themselves deep in debt.

====Farms====
[[Image:Palliser.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Palliser's Triangle.]]
Wheat was the dominant crop and the tall grain elevator alongside the railway tracks became a crucial element of the Albertan grain trade after 1890. It boosted "King Wheat" to regional dominance by integrating the province's economy with the rest of Canada. Used to efficiently load grain into railroad cars, grain elevators came to be clustered in "lines" and their ownership tended to concentrate in the hands of increasingly fewer companies, many controlled by Americans. The main commercial entities involved in the trade were the Canadian Pacific Railroad and the powerful grain syndicates. Dramatic changes in the Albertan grain trade took place in the 1940s, notably the amalgamation of grain elevator companies.<ref> John Everitt, "The Line Elevator in Alberta." ''Alberta History'' 1992 40(4): 16-22; 1993 41(1): 20-26. </ref>

Recklessness, greed, and overoptimism played a part in the early-20th-century financial crisis on the Canadian wheat frontier. Beginning in 1916, the [[Palliser Triangle]], a semiarid region in Alberta and Saskatchewan, suffered a decade of dry years and crop failures that culminated in financial ruin for many of the region's wheat farmers. Overconfidence on the part of farmers, financiers, the [[Canadian Pacific Railway]], and the Canadian government led to land investments and development in the Palliser on an unprecedented and dangerous scale. A large share of this expansion was funded by mortgage and loan companies in Britain eager to make overseas investments. British money managers were driven by a complex set of global economic forces including a decline in British investment opportunities, excess capital, and massive investment expansion on the Canadian frontier. Reduced grain production in Europe and increased grain production in the Prairie Provinces also encouraged the export of capital from London. The mythical image of the Palliser as an abundant region, coupled with a growing confidence in technology, created a false sense of security and stability. Between 1908 and 1913 British firms lent vast sums to Canadian farmers to plant their wheat crops; only when the drought began in 1916 did it become clear that far too much credit had been extended.<Ref> John Feldberg, and Warren M. Elofson, "Financing The Palliser Triangle, 1908-1913." ''Great Plains Quarterly'' 1998 18(3): 257-268. 0275-7664 </Ref>

====Ranches and mixed farming====
The term "mixed farming" better applies to southern Alberta agricultural practices during 1881-1914 than does "ranching." "Pure ranching" involves cowboys working predominantly from horseback; it was the norm when huge ranches were formed in 1881. Quickly practices were modified. Hay was planted and cut in summer to provide winter cattle feed; fences were built and repaired to contain winter herds; and dairy cows and barnyard animals were maintained for personal consumption and secondarily for market. Mixed farming was clearly predominant in southern Alberta by 1900.<Ref> W. M. Elofson, "Not Just A Cowboy: The Practice Of Ranching in Southern Alberta, 1881-1914."
''Canadian Papers In Rural History'' 1996 10: 205-216. </ref>
Captain Charles Augustus Lyndon and his wife, Margaret, established one of the first ranches in Alberta in 1881. Lyndon homesteaded a site in the Porcupine Hills west of Fort Macleod. They primarily raised cattle but also raised horses for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for additional income. Lyndon's herds suffered with others' herds during the hard winter of 1886-87. He developed an irrigation system and a post office as the district grew during the 1890's. Although Lyndon died in 1903, his family maintained his enterprises until 1966 when the ranch was sold.<ref> Patricia Hawk, . The Lyndon Ranch. Alberta History 2000 48(1): 10-13.</ref>

Benson (2000) describes the social structure for cowboys and other workers on large, corporate ranches in southwestern Alberta around 1900. Four of those ranches, the Cochrane, the Oxley, the Walrond, and the Bar U, demonstrate the complex hierarchies that separated cowboys from cooks and foremen from managers. Ethnic, educational, and age differences further complicated the elaborate social fabric of the corporate ranches. The resulting division of labor and hierarchy permitted Alberta's ranches to function without the direct involvement of investors and owners, most of whom lived in eastern Canada and Britain.<ref>Kristi Benson, "Cowboys and Cattlebarons: Status and Hierarchy on Alberta's Early Corporate Ranches." ''Alberta History'' 2000 48(4): 2-9. Professor Sheldon, "A Visit To The Bar U" ''Alberta History'' 2000 48(1): 21-26, reprints an 1891 travel account. </ref>

The survival of Alberta's cattle industry was seriously in doubt for most of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. At two points during this time, 1887-1900 and 1914-20, the industry enjoyed great prosperity. The latter boom began when the United States enacted the [[Underwood Tariff]] of 1913, allowing Canadian cattle free entry. Exporting Alberta cattle to Chicago markets proved highly profitable for the highest quality livestock. By 1915, most stocker and feeder cattle from the Winnipeg stockyards were exported to the United States, harming Canada's domestic beef market. Several factors, including the severe winter of 1919-20, the end of inflated wartime prices for beef, and the reinstitution of the US tariff on Canadian cattle, all contributed to the collapse of the Alberta cattle market. The boom ultimately worked against Alberta's economic interests because the high prices during that period made it unfeasible to establish local cattle finishing practices.<ref> Max Foran, "Mixed Blessings: The Second 'Golden Age' of the Alberta Cattle Industry 1914-1920." ''Alberta History'' 1998 46(3): 10-19. </ref>

Some ranchers became important entrepreneurs. A rancher and brewer with secondary interests in gas, electricity, and oil, Calgary entrepreneur Alfred Ernest Cross (1861-1932) was a significant agent of modernization in Alberta and the Canadian West. As with others, his name symbolizes a driving force of enterprise, the pursuit of profit, family-centered capitalism, use of Canada's and Britain's capital markets, and economic progression through reinvestment of earnings. His personal family management developed a family estate that remains significant in Alberta's economy. Cross is remembered principally for his cattle breeding advances and his dynamism and scientific approach to brewing.<ref> Henry C. Klassen, "Entrepreneurship in the Canadian West: The Enterprises of A. E. Cross, 1886-1920." ''Western Historical Quarterly'' 1991 22(3): 313-333. 0043-3810 </ref>

====Women====
Gender roles were sharply defined. Men were primarily responsible for breaking the land; planting and harvesting; building the house; buying, operating and repairing machinery; and handling finances. At first there were many single men on the prairie, or husbands whose wives were still back east, but they had a hard time. They realized the need for a wife. As the population increased rapidly, wives played a central role in settlement of the prairie region. Their labor, skills, and ability to adapt to the harsh environment proved decisive in meeting the challenges. They prepared bannock, beans and bacon, mended clothes, raised children, cleaned, tended the garden, helped at harvest time and nursed everyone back to health. While prevailing patriarchal attitudes, legislation, and economic principles obscured women's contributions, the flexibility exhibited by farm women in performing productive and nonproductive labor was critical to the survival of family farms, and thus to the success of the wheat economy.<ref> Sandra Rollings-Magnusson, "Canada's Most Wanted: Pioneer Women on the Western Prairies." ''Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology'' 2000 37(2): 223-238; E. Rowles, "Bannock, beans and bacon: An investigation of pioneer diet." ''Saskatchewan History'', 1952. Vol. V, No 1, pp. 1-16. </ref>

====Miners====
James Moodie developed the Rosedale Mine in Alberta's Red Deer River Valley in 1911. Although Moodie paid higher wages and operated the mine more safely and efficiently than other coal mines in the province, the Rosedale experienced work slowdowns and strikes. Because Moodie owned the mine and provided services for the camp, Bolshevik sympathizers considered him an oppressor of the laborers and a bourgeois industrialist. The radicalism at the mine diminished as Moodie replaced the immigrant miners with Canadian military veterans ready to appreciate the safe work environment offered there.<ref> Catherine Munn Smith, "J. Frank Moodie: The Man and the Mine." ''Alberta History'' 2000 48(2): 2-9. </ref>

===Urban life===
In the larger cities the Alberta chapter of the Canadian Red Cross provided relief services to the community during the hard years of the 1920s and 1930s. It also successfully lobbied the government to take a more active and responsible role in looking after the people during difficult times.<ref> Nancy M. Sheehan, "The Red Cross And Relief In Alberta, 1920s-1930s." ''Prairie Forum'' 1987 12(2): 277-293. </ref>

====Business====
Most business operations were family affairs, with relatively few large scale operations apart from the railways. In 1886, the Cowdry brothers (Nathaniel and John) opened a private bank at Fort MacLeod, Alberta. Its history provides a prototype to show how a small-scale private banking house became an important force in early southwestern Alberta finance. Both brothers were astute businessmen, community leaders, and had absolute confidence in each other - so much so that in 1888 Nathaniel returned to Lindsay (later Simcoe) and became a grain merchant. The banking business expanded, with branches being opened and advertising and the lending of money becoming widespread. In March 1905, the Cowdrys sold their banking concerns at Fort Macleod to the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. The role of family enterprise in private banking during the late 19th and early 20th centuries was pivotal in providing an important channel for the flow of credit into southwestern Alberta and facilitated the emergence of the modern economy.<ref>Henry C. Klassen, "Cowdry Brothers: Private Bankers In Southwestern Alberta, 1886-1905." ''Alberta History'' 1989 37(1): 9-23. </ref>

After a dramatic economic boom during the First World War, a sharp, short depression hit Alberta in 1920-22. Conditions were typical in the town of Red Deer, a railroad and trading center midway between Calgary and Edmonton that depended on farmers. Hardship during the early 1920s was as severe, or even somewhat worse, than those experienced during the much longer Great Depression of the 1930s. The groundwork for the economic collapse had been laid as early as 1913, when the speculative boom that had fueled Alberta's prosperity had collapsed. But the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 initiated an enormous demand for agricultural products and helped to mask the serious weaknesses of the provincial economy. With the conclusion of the war, however, unemployment skyrocketed as veterans returned and inflation increased. Grain prices began to fall in 1920, causing further hardships. By the spring of 1921, many Red Deer businesses had gone bankrupt, and the city's unemployment rate was estimated at 20%. The city's economic situation began to improve in 1923, and Red Deer city officials were finally able to collect enough tax revenues to avoid the need for short-term bank loans.<ref> Michael J. Dawe, "Debt and Depression: Red Deer in the Early 1920s." ''Alberta History'' 1996 44(2): 19-23. </ref>

====Women====
Up to the 1880s prostitution in Alberta was tolerated and not considered serious. As the itinerant population became more settled, however, this attitude gradually changed. The years 1880-1909 witnessed few arrests and even fewer fines for prostitution, in part because those caught were encouraged to leave town rather than be jailed. Later, 1909-14, a smallpox epidemic in the red light district started a crackdown against prostitution, which by then was regarded as a major problem, especially by middle class women reformers. The [[Woman's Christian Temperance Union]] vigorously opposed both saloons and prostitution, and called for woman suffrage as a tool to end those evils.<ref> Judy Bedford, "Prostitution In Calgary 1905-1914". ''Alberta History'' 1981 29(2): 1-11; Nancy M. Sheehan, "The WCTU on the Prairies, 1886-1930: An Alberta-Saskatchewan Comparison." ''Prairie Forum'' 1981 6(1): 17-33.</ref>

The Calgary Current Events Club, started in 1927 by seven women, rapidly gained popularity with professional women of the city. In 1929 the group changed its name to the Calgary Business and Professional Women's Club (BPW) in response to a call for a national federation of such groups. Members traveled to London, England, in 1929 to make the case for recognizing women as full legal citizens. In the 1930s the group addressed many of the controversial political issues of the day, including the introduction of a minimum wage, fair unemployment insurance legislation, the compulsory medical examination of school children, and the requirement of a medical certificate for marriage. The national convention of the BPW was held in Calgary in 1935. The club actively supported Canadian overseas forces in World War II. At first most of the members were secretaries and office workers; more recently it has been dominated by executives and professions. The organization continues to attend to women's economic and social issues.<ref> Andrews, D. Larraine. "Calgary Business And Professional Women's Club." ''Alberta History'' 1997 45(1): 20-25. </ref>

====Cinema====
Motion pictures have been an important aspect of urban culture since 1910. The places where people have watched films, from the nickelodeon to the multiplex, have changed in ways that reflect changes in the society generally. The cinema in Edmonton reflected the changing urban landscape. Because the movie houses themselves are part of the entertainment product, the cinema industry follows a cycle of construction, renovation, and demolition. The industry's face is constantly changing in an effort to draw people inside; Edmonton's cinemas have moved with the retail industry from the downtown core to the suburban shopping malls, and are now experimenting with new formats similar to retailers' big boxes. Just as Edmonton is known for massive amounts of retail space, it also has one of the highest numbers of movie screens in Canada in proportion to its population. Cinemas are thus a revealing aspect of trends in urban development.<ref> Douglas Bailie, Cinemas in the City: Edmonton from the Nickelodeon to the Multiplex. Prairie Forum [Canada] 1996 21(2): 239-262. </ref>
====Sports====
Throughout the province popular sports included snowshoeing and skating for everyone, and hunting and fishing for men and boys.

Competitive sports emerged in urban areas, especially hockey. It provided an arena for the civic rivalries such as those between the cities of Edmonton and neighboring Strathcona during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Edmonton, on the north bank of the Saskatchewan River, and Strathcona, on the south bank of the river, developed separately - economically, politically, and socially - because travel and communication across the river were limited. (They merged in 1912.) In addition to affording an outlet for civic rivalries, the games between the Edmonton Thistle and Strathcona Shamrock hockey clubs united individuals from different social classes and diverse cultural backgrounds in support of their team.<ref>Terence O'Riordan, "The 'Puck Eaters': Hockey As A Unifying Community Experience In Edmonton & Strathcona, 1894-1905." ''Alberta History'' 2001 49(2): 2-11. 0316-1552 </ref>

Skiing began in [[Banff]] in the 1890s and received its main impetus with the winter carnival in 1916. In the next decades the carnival became popular; ski jumping and cross-country races led to much publicity. By 1940, Banff had become one of Canada's leading skiing centers, and was heavily promoted as a vacation destination by the Canadian Pacific railway.<ref>Rolf T. Lund, "The Development of Skiing in Banff." ''Alberta History'' 1977 25(4): 26-30. </ref>

===Oil, gas and tar sands===
Alberta has played the central role in Canada's petroleum industry —both from the discovery and development of conventional oil and natural gas, and through the development of the world's largest [[bitumen]] deposits in the province's vast northern [[oil sands]] or "tar sands." The province became one of the world's foremost producers of [[crude oil]] and [[natural gas]], generating billions of revenue for the province and igniting a bitter feud with the national government.

The first oil field in western Canada was Turner Valley, south of Calgary, where large supplies were discovered in 1914 at a depth of about 3,000 feet (910 meters). Calgary became the oil capital, with a reputation for swashbuckling entrepreneurship. Turner Valley was for a time the largest oil and gas producer in the British Empire. Three distinct phases of discovery marked the field's history and involved such Albertans as William Stewart Herron and A. W. Dingman, and companies that included Calgary Petroleum Products, later the Royalite Oil Company; Turner Valley Royalties; and later the Home Oil Company. In 1931, the province enacted the Oil and Gas Wells Act to reduce the heavy waste of natural gas. In 1938, the Alberta Petroleum and Natural Gas Conservation Board was successfully established and enacted conservation and prorating measures. The goal was to maximize the long-term yield, as well as to protect small producers.<ref> Laura Atkins, Coleen Nicoll, and Jody Stewart, "Turner Valley Oilfields." ''Alberta History'' 1984 32(1): 9-19; Breen (1993). </ref>

In 1947 an even bigger field opened at [[Leduc]], 20 miles (32 km) south of Edmonton, and in 1948 oil mining began at Redwater. Both these fields were overshadowed in importance in 1956 with the discovery of the [[Pembina]] field west of Edmonton. Other fields were discovered east of Grande Prairie and in central Alberta. From collection and distribution points near Edmonton the oil is sent by pipeline to refineries, some as distant as Sarnia, Toronto and Montreal to the east, Vancouver to the west, and especially the U.S. to the South. Interprovincial Pipe Line (IPL) began in 1949, transporting oil to refineries in the east. IPL became Enbridge Pipelines in 1998 and now has 4500 employees; it moves 2 million barrels a day over 13,500 miles of pipe.

Alberta produced 81% of Canada's crude oil in 1991, when Alberta's traditional oil fields peaked; output is now steadily declining. Before the 1970s, the major producers were controlled by U.S. oil giants.
====Natural gas====
Exploration for oil led to the discovery of large reserves of natural gas. The most important gas fields are at Pincher Creek in the southeast, at Medicine Hat, and in the northwest. TransCanada pipeline, completed in 1958, carries some of the gas eastward to Ontario and Quebec; other pipelines run to California. Alberta produces 81% of Canada's natural gas.
====Oil sands====
The '''"[[oil sands]]"''' or "tar sands" in the Athabasca River valley to the north of [[Fort McMurray]] contain an enormous amount of oil, one of the world's richest deposits--second only to Saudi Arabia. The first plant for extracting oil from the tar sands was completed in 1967, and a second plant was completed in 1978. In 1991 the plants produced about 100 million barrels of oil. Expansion was rapid, with very high paid workers flown in from eastern Canada, especially the depressed Maritimes and Newfoundland. In 2006 bitumen production averaged 1.25 million barrels per day (200,000 m³/d) through 81 oil sands projects, representing 47% of total Canadian oil output. The processing of bitumen, however, releases large amounts of carbon dioxide, which has alarmed environmentalists worried about global warming and the Canada's carbon footprint. <ref>Timothy Le Riche, ''Alberta's Oil Patch - The People, Politics & Companies'' (2006)</ref>

In the 1960s Great Canadian Oil Sands, Ltd., a small, indigenous Canadian firm, relied on new technology and heavy capital investment to pioneer oil sand extraction in the Athabascan region. Unfavorable leasing terms from the provincial government and the strong financial risk inherent in the project forced it firm to seek an investment partner. The large American oil company [[Sunoco|Sun Oil Company]] took the risk, but as the investment burden on Sun increased, the company became compelled to assume both financial and managerial control of the operation. Thus, the native Canadian firm had to yield its autonomy as the price of pursuing a pioneering but complicated industrial project. In 1995 Sun sold its interest to Suncor Energy, based in Calgary. Suncor is second to Syncrude in the oil sands, but Syncrude is controlled by a consortium of international oil companies.<ref> Graham D. Taylor, "Sun Oil Company and Great Canadian Oil Sands Ltd.: The Financing and Management of a 'Pioneer' Enterprise, 1962-1974." ''Journal of Canadian Studies'' 1985 20(3): 102-121. 0021-9495 </ref>

====Spin-off industry====
The province's oil and natural gas furnish raw materials for large industrial complexes at Edmonton and Calgary, as well as for smaller ones at Lethbridge and Medicine Hat. These complexes include oil and gas refineries and plants that use refinery by-products to make plastics, chemicals, and fertilizer. The oil and gas industry provides a market for firms supplying pipes, drills, and other equipment. Large amounts of sulfur are extracted from natural gas in plants near the gas fields. Helium is extracted from the gas in a plant near Edson, west of Edmonton.

==Social Credit==
'''Social Credit''' (often called ''Socred'') was a populist political movement strongest in Alberta and neighboring [[British Columbia]], 1930s-1970s. [[Social Credit]] was based on the economic theories of an Englishman, [[C. H. Douglas]]. His theories became very popular across the nation in the early 1930s. A central proposal was the free distribution of prosperity certificates (or social credit), called "funny money" by the opposition.<ref>Bob Hesketh, ''Major Douglas and Alberta Social Credit.'' (1997)</ref>

During the [[Great Depression]] in Canada the demand for radical action peaked around 1934, after the worst period was over and the economy was recovering. Mortgage debt was significant because farmers could not meet their interest payments. The insecurity of farmers, whose debts were increasing and who had no legal protection against foreclosure, was a potent factor in creating a mood of political desperation. The radical farmers party, UFA was baffled by the depression and Albertans demanded new leadership.

The prairie farmers had always believed that they were being exploited by Toronto and Montreal. What they lacked was a prophet who would lead them to the promised land. The Social Credit movement began in Alberta in 1932; it became a political movement in 1935 and suddenly burned like a prairie fire. The prophet and new premier was radio evangelist [[William Aberhart]] (1878-1943). The message was biblical prophecy. Aberhart was a fundamentalist, preaching the revealed word of God and quoting the Bible to find a solution for the evils of the modern, materialistic world: the evils of sophisticated academics and their biblical criticism, the cold formality of middle-class congregations, the vices of dancing and movies and drink. "Bible Bill" preached that the capitalist economy was rotten because of its immorality; specifically it produced goods and services but did not provide people with sufficient purchasing power to enjoy them. This could be remedied by the giving out money in the form of "social credit", or $25 a month for every man and woman. This pump priming was guaranteed to restore prosperity, he prophesied to the 1600 Social Credit clubs he formed in the province.

Alberta's businessmen, professionals, newspaper editors and the traditional middle-class leaders protested vehemently at Aberhart's crack-pot ideas, but they had not solved any problems and spoke not of the promised land ahead. Aberhart's new party in 1935 elected 56 members to the Assembly, compared to 7 for all the other parties.<ref> The economic theorist for Aberhart was Major Douglas, an English engineer with an unbounded confidence in technology. * H. Blair Neatby, ''The Politics of Chaos: Canada in the Thirties'' (1972) pp 143-61; John A. Irving, ''The Social Credit Movement in Alberta'' (1959)</ref>

Alberta's Social Credit Party remained in power for 36 years until 1971. It were re-elected by popular vote no less than 9 times, achieving success by moving from left to the right.<ref>Thomas Flanagan and Martha F. Lee, "From Social Credit to Social Conservatism: The Evolution of an Ideology," ''Prairie Forum'' 16 (1991): 205-223; C. B. Macpherson, ''Democracy in Alberta: Social Credit and the Party System.'' 2d ed. 1962. </ref>

===Social Credit in office===
Once in office Aberhart gave a high priority to balancing the provincial budget. He reduced expenditures and increased the sales tax and the income tax. The poor and unemployed got nothing.<ref>Alvin Finkel, "Social Credit and the Unemployed." ''Alberta History'' 1983 31(2): 24-32.</ref> The $25 monthly social dividend never arrived, as Aberhart decided nothing could be done until the province's financial system was changed, and 1936 Alberta defaulted on its bonds. He did pass a Debt Adjustment Act that canceled all the interest on mortgages since 1932 and limited all interest rates on mortgages to 5%, in line with similar laws passed by other provinces. In 1937 backbenchers passed a radical banking law that was disallowed by the national government (banking was a federal responsibility). Efforts to control the press were also disallowed. The party was authoritarian and tried to exert detailed control over its officeholders; those who rebelled were purged or removed from office by the new device of recall elections. Although Aberhart was hostile to banks and newspapers, he was basically in favor of capitalism and did not support socialist policies as did the [[Cooperative Commonwealth Federation]] (CCF) in Saskatchewan.<ref> In Alberta the CCF and Social Credit were bitter enemies, which made it impossible for them to merge in Saskatchewan. See S. M. Lipset, ''Agrarian Socialism: The Cooperative Commonwealth Federation in Saskatchewan a Study in Political Sociology.'' (1950, 1971 ed.) p. 143-4.</ref>

By 1938 the Social Credit government abandoned its notions about the $25 payouts, but its inability to break with UFA policies led to disillusionment and heavy defections from the party. Aberhart's government was re-elected in the [[Alberta general election, 1940|1940 election]], carrying 43% of the vote. The prosperity of the Second World War relieved the economic fears and hatreds that had fueled farmer unrest. Aberhart died in 1943, and was succeeded as Premier by his student at the Prophetic Bible Institute and lifelong close disciple, [[Ernest C. Manning]] (1908-1996).

The Social Credit party, now firmly on the right, governed Alberta until 1968 under Manning.

By the late 1960s Social Credit activists were redeploying into the conservative, fundamentalist [[Reform Party]] by [[Preston Manning]], son of Ernest Manning.<ref> Murray Dobbin, ''Preston Manning and the Reform Party'' (1991)</ref>

The anti-semitic rhetoric of some Social Credit activists greatly troubled Canada's Jewish community; in the late 1940s Premier Manning belatedly purged the anti-Semites.<ref> Major C.H. Douglas, was blatantly anti-Semitic and enamored with the fake ''Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion.'' Aberhart and Manning vigorously denied they were anti-Semitic. See Janine Stingel, ''Social Discredit: Anti-Semitism, Social Credit, and the Jewish Response.'' McGill-Queen's U. Press, 2000. </ref>

==Second World War==
Alberta's contribution to the Canadian war effort from 1939 to 1945 was substantial. Thousands volunteered for service and many were killed in combat in Europe.

In 1942 many Japanese from British Columbia were forcibly sent to internment camps in southern Alberta, which already had Japanese communities at Raymond and Hardieville. At first limited to working in sugar beet fields, the newly arrived Japanese had severe housing, school, and water problems. In the following years some of the Japanese were permitted to work in canning factories, sawmills, and other businesses. There was constant controversy in the press about the role and freedom of the local Japanese. Farm production increased markedly, and after the war few of the Japanese took advantage of the repatriation plan to go to Japan. The Japanese in Alberta today are well assimilated, but little of Japanese heritage remains.<ref> David B. Iwaasa, "The Japanese in Southern Alberta, 1941-45." ''Alberta History'' 1976 24(3): 5-19.</ref>

==Postwar==
After the war the Manning government passed several pieces of restrictive legislation that limited labor's ability to organize workers and to call strikes. The enforcement of labor law also reflected an anti-union bias. Social Crediters, who had a penchant for conspiracy theories, believed union militancy was the product of an international Communist conspiracy. Their labor legislation sought to foil the conspiracy's plans in Alberta and incidentally to reassure potential investors, particularly in the oil industry, of a good climate for profit taking. The path for such legislation was made smoother by the conservatism of one wing of the labor movement in the province and the fear of being tarnished with the Communist brush by the other wing.<ref> Alvin Finkel, "The Cold War, Alberta Labour, and the Social Credit Regime." ''Labour'' [1988 (21): 123-152. 0700-3862 </ref>
===Conservatives and reform===
In 1971, [[Peter Lougheed]]'s Conservatives put an end to the long rule of the Social Credit Party as the [[Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta|Progressive Conservative Party]] came to power. They remain in power to this day, coming up on 38 years of majority governments.

Many experts maintain that the large-scale social change that occurred in the province as a result of the postwar oil boom was responsible for this important change of government. Urbanization, in particular the expansion of the urban middle classes, secularization, and increasing wealth are often cited as the primary causes of Social Credit's downfall. Bell (1993) challenges this popular interpretation, arguing instead that short-term factors such as leadership, contemporaneous issues, and campaign organization better explain the Conservative triumph.<ref> Edward Bell, "The Rise of the Lougheed Conservatives and the Demise of Social Credit In Alberta: A Reconsideration." ''Canadian Journal of Political Science'' 1993 26(3): 455-475. 0008-4239 </ref>

The election in May 1986 of a 22-member opposition to Alberta's legislature signals for the first time since 1971 a significant competitive voice to the dominant Conservative Party in that province's voting citizenship. This development and the emergence of the New Democrats as the primary opposition party in Alberta necessitates a reevaluation of Alberta politics, which critics have long labeled as ideologically conservative, anachronistic, and oddly unpredictable. Alberta politics are now beginning to resemble that of Canada's other provinces. The rise of a new, competent opposition is a healthy development in Alberta's politics and will likely contribute positively to Alberta's economic and social well-being, Tupper (1986) argues.<ref> Allan Tupper, "New Dimensions of Alberta Politics." ''Queen's Quarterly'' 1986 93(4): 780-791. </ref>

==Bibliography==
===Surveys and reference===
* Heritage Community Foundation. ''Alberta Online Encyclopedia,'' [http://www.albertasource.ca/aoe/ui/index.aspx online 2009], a short encyclopedia
* ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (2008) a very good starting point [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCESubjects&Params=A1 online edition]
* ''The Dictionary of Canadian Biography'' (1966-2006), scholarly biographies of every important person who died by 1930 [http://www.biographi.ca/index-e.html online edition]
* Cashman, Tony. ''A Picture History of Alberta''. Edmonton, Alta.: Hurtig, (1979) . 215 pp.
* Friesen, Gerald. ''The Canadian Prairies: A History'' (2nd ed. 1987)
* MacGregor, James A. ''A History of Alberta.'' Edmonton, Alta.: Hurtig, 1972. 335 pp.
* Owram, Douglas R., ed. ''The Formation of Alberta: A Documentary History''. Calgary: Hist. Soc. of Alberta, 1979. 403 pp. primary sources
* Palmer, Howard. ''Alberta: A New History'' (1999), standard survey by leading historian
* Pitsula, James M. "Disparate Duo" ''Beaver'' 2005 85(4): 14-24, a comparison with Saskatchewan, Fulltext in EBSCO
* Wardhaugh, Robert A., ed. ''Toward Defining the Prairies: Region, Culture, and History.'' (2001). 234 pp.

===Economics, business, labour===
* Ascah, Robert L. ''Politics and Public Debt: The Dominion, the Banks, and Alberta's Social Credit.'' U. of Alberta Press, 1999. 360 pp.
* Bercuson, David Jay, ed. ''Alberta's Coal Industry, 1919.'' Calgary: Hist. Soc. of Alberta, 1978. 264 pp. 1919 primary source
* Breen, David H. ''Alberta's Petroleum Industry and the Conservation Board.'' U. of Alberta Press, 1993. 800 pp.
* Breen, David H. and Macleod, R. C., eds. ''William Stewart Herron: Father of the Petroleum Industry in Alberta.'' Calgary: Hist. Soc. of Alberta, 1984. 459 pp. primary sources
* Bright, David. ''The Limits of Labour: Class Formation and the Labour Movement in Calgary, 1883-1929.'' U. of British Columbia Press, 1998. 286 pp.
* Burrill, Gary. ''Away. Maritimers in Massachusetts, Ontario and Alberta: An Oral History of Leaving Home.'' McGill-Queen's U. Press, 1992. 272 pp. a primary source; interviews with oil workers
* Chatko, Paul. ''Developing Alberta's Oil Sands: From Karl Clark to Kyoto'' (2005) [http://www.h-net.org/~energy/roundtables/Chastko.html author's dicsussion]
* Ferguson, Barry Glen. ''Athabasca Oil Sands: Northern Resource Exploration, 1875-1951.'' Regina, Saskatchewan: Can. Plains Res. Center, 1986. 283 pp.
* Hart, E. J. ''The Selling of Canada: The CPR and the Beginnings of Canadian Tourism.'' Banff: Altitude, 1983. 180 pp.
* House, John D. ''The Last of the Free Enterprisers: The Oilmen of Calgary.'' Toronto: Macmillan, 1980. 230 pp.
* Johnston, Alex; Gladwyn, Keith G.; and Ellis, L. Gregory. ''Lethbridge: Its Coal Industry.'' Lethbridge Hist. Soc. (1989) 148 pp.
* Kennedy, Margaret A. ''The Whiskey Trade of the Northwestern Plains: A Multidisciplinary Study.'' New York: Lang, 1997. 181 pp.
* Klassen, Henry C. ''A Business History of Alberta.'' U. of Calgary Press, 1999. 362 pp.
* Parker, James M. ''Emporium of the North: Fort Chipewyan and the Fur Trade to 1835.'' Regina, Sask.: Can. Plains Res. Cen., 1987. 208 pp.
* Richards, John and Larry Pratt. ''Prairie Capitalism: Power and Influence in the New West.'' Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1979. 340 pp. influential Marxist interpretation
* Schneider, Ena. ''Ribbons of Steel: The Story of the Northern Alberta Railways.'' Calgary: Detselig, (1991) 312 pp.
* Wetherell, Donald G. and Kmet, Irene. ''Useful Pleasures: The Shaping of Leisure in Alberta, 1896-1945.'' U. of Regina Press, 1990. 430 pp.

===First Nations, Metis===
* Drees, Laurie Meijer. ''The Indian Association of Alberta: A History of Political Action. U. of British Columbia Press, 2002. 246 pp.
* McClintock, Walter. ''The Old North Trail: Life, Legends, and Religion of the Blackfeet Indians.'' (1910). 539 pp.
* Pocklington, T. C. ''The Government and Politics of the Alberta Métis Settlements.'' Regina: Can. Plains Res. Cen., 1991. 162 pp.
* Price, Richard, ed. ''The Spirit of the Alberta Indian Treaties.'' Toronto: Butterworth, 1979. 202 pp.
* Samek, Hana. ''The Blackfoot Confederacy, 1880-1920: A Comparative Study of Canadian and U. S. Indian Policy.'' U. of New Mexico Press, 1987. 236 pp.
* Ward, Donald. ''The People: A Historical Guide to the First Nations of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.'' Saskatoon: Fifth House, 1995. 115 pp.

===High culture===
* Ainslie, Patricia Ainslie, and Mary-Beth Laviolette. ''Alberta Art and Artists: An Overview‎'' (2007) 147 pages
* Calder, Alison and Wardhaugh, Robert, ed. ''History, Literature, and the Writing of the Canadian Prairies.'' U. of Manitoba Press, 2005. 310 pp.
* Keahey, Deborah. ''Making It Home: Place in Canadian Prairie Literature.'' (1998). 178 pp.
* Johns, Walter H. ''A History of the University of Alberta, 1908- 1969''. Edmonton: U. of Alberta Press, 1981. 544 pp.
* Melnyk, George. ''The Literary History of Alberta, Vol. 1: From Writing-on-Stone to World War Two.'' Edmonton: U. of Alberta Press, 1998. 240 pp.
** Melnyk, George. ''The Literary History of Alberta. Vol. 2: From the End of the War to the End of the Century.'' U. of Alberta Press, 1999. 302 pp.

===Politics and government===
* Aberhart, William. ''Aberhart: Outpourings and Replies.'' ed. by David R. Elliott, Calgary: Hist. Soc. of Alberta, 1991. 296 pp. a primary source
* Barr, John J. ''The Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of Social Credit in Alberta.'' Toronto: McClelland and Stewart. 248 pp.
* Bell, Edward. ''Social Classes and Social Credit in Alberta.'' McGill-Queen's U. Press, 1993. 196 pp.
* Boudreau, Joseph A., ed. ''Alberta, Aberhart and Social Credit. Canadian History Through the Press.'' Holt, Rinehart and Winston of Canada, 1975. 122 pp. newspaper reports; primary source
* Bruce, Christopher J.; Kneebone, Ronald D.; and McKenzie, Kenneth J., eds. ''A Government Reinvented: A Study of Alberta's Deficit Elimination Program.'' Oxford U. Press, 1997. 518 pp.
* Caldarola, Carlo, ed. ''Society and Politics in Alberta: Research Papers.'' Toronto: Methuen, 1979. 392 pp.
* Elliott, David R. and Iris Miller. ''Bible Bill: A Biography of William Aberhart.'' Edmonton: Reidmore Books, 1987. 373 pp.
* Finkel, Alvin. ''The Social Credit Phenomenon in Alberta.'' U. of Toronto Press, 1989.
* Gray, James H. ''R. B. Bennett: The Calgary Years.'' U. of Toronto Press, 1991. 310 pp.
* Hesketh, Bob. ''Major Douglas and Alberta Social Credit.'' U. of Toronto Press, 1997. 315 pp.
* Hewitt, Steve. ''Riding to the Rescue: The Transformation of the RCMP in Alberta and Saskatchewan, 1914-1939.'' (2006). 205 pp. excerpt and text search
* Johnson, William. ''Stephen Harper and the Future of Canada'' (2006)
* Mardon, Ernest, and Austin Mardon. ''Alberta Election Results 1882–1992.'' Edmonton: Documentary Heritage Society of Alberta (1993).
* Rennie, Bradford J. ed. ''Alberta Premiers of the Twentieth Century.'' Canadian Plains Research Center, University of Regina. (2004) [http://www.amazon.com/Alberta-Premiers-Twentieth-Century-Scholorship/dp/0889771510/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233991307&sr=8-6 excerpt and text search]
* Rennie, Bradford James. ''The Rise of Agrarian Democracy: The United Farmers and Farm Women of Alberta, 1909-1921''. U of Toronto Press, 2000. 282 pp.
* Thomas, Lewis H., ed. ''William Aberhart and Social Credit in Alberta.'' Toronto: Copp Clark, 1977. 175 pp. readings
* Thomas, Lewis Gwynne. ''The Liberal Party in Alberta.'' University of Toronto Press: (1959).
* Tupper, Allan and Gibbins, Roger, eds. ''Government and Politics in Alberta.'' U. of Alberta Press, 1992. 335 pp. textbook

===Regional, urban===
* Belliveau, Anne. ''The Story of Alberta's Big West Country: Upper North Saskatchewan River Corridor, Shunda Basin, Brazeau Collieries and Nordegg.'' Calgary: Detselig, 1999. 240 pp.
* Foran, Max and Jameson, Sheilagh S., eds. ''Citymakers: Calgarians after the Frontier.'' Hist. Soc. of Alberta, 1987. 386pp.
* Foran, Max and Foran, Heather MacEwan. ''Calgary: Canada's Frontier Metropolis. An Illustrated History.'' Windsor, Ont.: Windsor, 1982. 367 pp.
* Foran, Max. ''Calgary: An Illustrated History/Calgary: Histoire Illustrée.'' Toronto: Lorimer; Ottawa: Natl. Mus. of Man, 1978. 192 pp.
* Hesketh, Bob and Swyripa, Frances, eds. ''Edmonton: The Life of a City.'' Edmonton: NeWest, 1995. 366 pp.
* Johnston, Alex and denOtter, Andy A. ''Lethbridge: A Centennial History.'' Hist. Soc. of Alberta, 1985. 240 pp.
* MacDonald, Graham A. ''Where the Mountains Meet the Prairies: A History of Waterton Country.'' (Parks and Heritage Series, No. 3.) U. of Calgary Press, 2000. 210 pp.
* Melnyk, Bryan P. ''Calgary Builds: The Emergence of an Urban Landscape, 1905-1914.'' Calgary: Alberta Culture, Can. Plains Res. Center, 1985. 214 pp.
* Rasporich, Anthony W. and Klassen, Henry C. ''Frontier Calgary: Town, City, and Region, 1875-1914.'' U. of Calgary and McClelland and Stewart West. 306 pp.
* Reasons, Chuck, ed. ''Stampede City: Power and Politics in the West.'' Toronto: Between the Lines, 1984. 216 pp. impact of oil on Calgary
* Smith, Donald B., ed. ''Centennial City: Calgary, 1894-1994.'' U. of Calgary Press, (1993) 88 pp.
* Wetherell, Donald G. and Kmet, Irene R. A. ''Alberta's North: A History, 1890-1950'' U. of Alberta Press, 2000. 520 pp.
* Wetherell, Donald G. and Kmet, Irene R. A. ''Town Life: Main Street and the Evolution of Small Town Alberta, 1880-1947.'' U. of Alberta Press, 1995. 368 pp.

===Settlement, rural, pioneers===
* Baker, William M., ed. Pioneer Policing in Southern Alberta: Deane of the Mounties, 1888-1914. Calgary: Hist. Soc. of Alberta, 1993.
* Bennett, John W. and Seena B. Kohl. ''Settling the Canadian-American West, 1890-1915: Pioneer Adaptation and Community Building. An Anthropological History.'' U. of Nebraska Press, 1995. 311 pp.
* Bowen, Lynne. ''Muddling Through: The Remarkable Story of the Barr Colonists.'' Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 1992. 234 pp.
* Brado, Edward. ''Cattle Kingdom: Early Ranching in Alberta.'' Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 1984. 298 pp.
* Brunvand, Jan Harold. ''Norwegian Settlers in Alberta.'' National Museum of Man, Mercury Series, Canadian Centre for Folk Cultural Studies, Paper no. 8. Ottawa: Natl. Mus. of Man, 1974. 71 pp.
* Danysk, Cecilia. ''Hired Hands: Labour and the Development of Prairie Agriculture, 1880-1930.'' (1995). 231 pp.
* Hurt, Leslie J. ''The Victoria Settlement, 1862-1922.'' Occasional Paper, no. 7. Edmonton: Alberta Culture, Hist. Resources Division, 1979. 242 pp.
* Jaques, Carrol. ''Unifarm: A Story of Conflict and Change''. U. of Calgary Press, 2001. 342 pp.
* Jones, David C. ''Empire of Dust: Settling and Abandoning the Prairie Dry Belt.'' U. of Nebraska Press, 1987. 330 pp.
* Jones, David C., ed. ''"We'll All Be Buried Down Here": The Prairie Dryland Disaster, 1917-1926.'' Calgary: Alberta Records Publ. Board; Hist. Soc. of Alberta, 1986. 200 pp. collects primary sources
* Leonard, David W. ''Delayed Frontier: The Peace River Country to 1909.'' Calgary, Alta.: Detselig, 1995. 256 pp.
* Palmer, Howard. ''The Settlement of the West'' (1977) online edition
* Rennie, Bradford James. ''The Rise of Agrarian Democracy: The United Farmers and Farm Women of Alberta, 1909-1921''. U of Toronto Press, 2000. 282 pp.
* Gross, Renie. ''Groundwork: Carl Anderson, Farm Crusader.'' Wardlow, Alta.: Badlands Books, 1998. 352 pp.
* Jackson, Mary Percy. ''Suitable for the Wilds: Letters from Northern Alberta, 1929-1931.'' ed. by Janice Dickin McGinnis, Toronto: U. of Toronto Press, 1995. 264 pp.; a primary source
* Sharp, Paul F. ''Whoop-up Country: The Canadian-American West, 1865-1885.'' Reprint ed., Norman: U. of Oklahoma Press, 1973. 347pp. primary source
* Silverman, Eliane Leslau. ''The Last Best West: Women on the Alberta Frontier 1880-1930.'' Montreal: Eden, 1984. 183 pp.
* Thompson, John Herd. Forging the Prairie West. (1998)
* Voisey, Paul. ''Vulcan: The Making of a Prairie Community.'' Toronto: U. of Toronto Press, 1987. 341 pp.

===Social, ethnic, religion and schools===
* Byrne, M. B. ''From the Buffalo to the Cross: A History of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary.'' Calgary Archdiocese. 555 pp.
* Cavanaugh, Catherine A. and Warne, Randi R., ed. ''Standing on New Ground: Women in Alberta.'' U. of Alberta Press, 1993. 202 pp.
* denOtter, Andy A. ''Civilizing the West: The Galts and the Development of Western Canada.'' U. of Alberta Press, 1981. 395 pp.
* Flint, David. ''The Hutterites: A Study in Prejudice.'' Oxford U. Press, 1975. 193 pp.
* Hoe, Ban Seng. ''Structural Changes of Two Chinese Communities in Alberta, Canada.'' Mercury Series, no. 19. Ottawa: Natl. Mus. of Man, Can. Centre for Folk Culture Studies, 1976. 385 pp.
* McLachlan, Elizabeth. ''With Unshakeable Persistence: Rural Teachers of the Depression Era.'' Edmonton: NeWest, 1999. 187 pp.
* Palmer, Howard and Palmer, Tamara, eds. ''Peoples of Alberta: Portraits of Cultural Diversity.'' Saskatoon, Sask.: Western Producer Prairie Books, 1985. 551 pp.
* Palmer, Howard. ''Patterns of Prejudice: A History of Nativism in Alberta.'' McClelland and Stewart, 1982. 217 pp.
* Scheffel, David. ''In the Shadow of Antichrist: The Old Believers in Alberta.'' Peterborough, Ont.: Broadview, 1991. 252 pp.
* Stebbins, Robert A. ''The Franco-Calgarians: French Language, Leisure, and Linguistic Life-Style in an Anglophone City.'' U. of Toronto Press, 1994. 152 pp.
* Ukrainian Pioneers' Association of Alberta. Ukrainians in Alberta. Edmonton: Ukrainian Pioneers' Assoc. of Alberta (1975) 560 pp.

== References ==
{{reflist|2}}

== External Links ==
* [http://www1.travelalberta.com/en-ab/index.cfm?country=CA&state=AB&setlocale=1/ Alberta Tourism]
* [http://www.tourismcalgary.com/ Tourism Calgary]
* [http://www.traveldrumheller.com/ Travel Drumheller]
* [http://www.tourismcanmore.com/ Tourism Canmore]
* [http://www.turnervalley.ca/ Discover Turner Valley]
* [http://www.town.vulcan.ab.ca/ Vulcan Tourism]

[[Category:Alberta]]
[[Category:Canadian Provinces]]