At odds : gambling and Canadians, 1919-1969 / Suzanne Morton.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Morton, Suzanne, 1961- author.

Series:

Heritage

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Gambling--Canada--History--20th century.

Gambling.

Gambling--Social aspects--Canada.

Gambling--Moral and ethical aspects--Canada.

Gambling--Government policy--Canada.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (297 pages, 12 unnumbered pages of plates) : illustrations, photographs

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Toronto, [Ontario] ; Buffalo, [New York] ; London, [England] : University of Toronto Press, 2003.

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

Using a rich variety of historical sources, Suzanne Morton traces the history of gambling regulation in five Canadian provinces - Nova Scotia, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, and B.C. - from the First World War to the federal legalization in 1969. This regulatory legislation, designed to control gambling, ended a long period of paradox and pretence during which gambling was common, but still illegal.Morton skilfully shows the relationship between gambling and the wider social mores of the time, as evinced by labour, governance, and the regulation of 'vice.' Her focus on the ways in which race, class, and gender structured the meaning of gambling underpins and illuminates the historical data she presents. She shows, for example, as "Old Canada" (the Protestant, Anglo-Celtic establishment) declined in influence, gambling took on a less deviant connotation - a process that continued as charity became secularized and gambling became a lucrative fundraising activity eventually linked to the welfare state.At Odds is the first Canadian historical examination of gambling, a complex topic which is still met by moral ambivalence, legal proscription, and volatile opinion. This highly original study will be of interest to the undergraduate history or social science student, but will also hold the attention of a more general reader.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface

Introduction

Part One: Critics and Gamblers

1. The Critics' Views, 1919-1969: The Economic, Moral, and Social Costs of Gambling

2. For Richer, for Poorer: Gambling, 1919-1945

Part Two: Masculine, Feminine, Other

3. Gambling, Respectable Masculinity, and Male Sporting Culture

4. Bingo, Women, and the Critics

5. Gambling 'Others': Race, Ethnicity, and Religion

Part Three: Reaction and Reform, 1945-1969

6. Professional Gambling and Organized Crime under Scrutiny

7. Redefining the Public Interest: Gambling, Charity, and the Welfare State

Conclusion

Notes

References

Illustration Credits

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-4426-5895-9

1-4426-2100-1

OCLC:

1013940554