The Borderlands of the American and Canadian Wests: Essays on Regional History of the Forty-ninth Parallel

Part 5: Crossing the Medicine Line in the Twentieth Century

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 [First Page] [241], (1) Lines: 0 to 1 ——— 6.0pt PgV ——— Normal Page PgEnds: TEX [241], (1) Part 5: Crossing the Medicine Line in the Twentieth Century The essays in part 3 examined various aspects of how the border, or medicine line, was crossed for purposes of sanctuary in the nineteenth century. The borderlands continued to be a refuge in the twentieth century, but as the three essays and one addendum here show, it was now characterized by more of a United States–Canada flow of people fleeing from policies or laws with which they disagreed. One such policy was the Volstead Act, which from 1919 to 1933 became the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibiting the “manufacture, sale, or transportation” of alcoholic beverages. Prohibition stimulated the alcoholic beverage, smuggling , and tourist economies along both U.S. borders, although most of what has been written on the subject deals with the Mexican side, especially its impact on the development of Tijuana. In chapter 14, however, historian Stephen Moore analyzes how Prohibition became a boon for tourism in southern British Columbia, as Americans in the Pacific Northwest sought freedom to drink across the border, becoming “refugees from Volstead.” The 1920s also witnessed the transboundary development of white supremacy groups in western Canada. It was during that decade that the Ku Klux Klan enjoyed a significant resurgence in the United States, with new local Klan groups sprouting in the Pacific Northwest. Some Klan leaders sought refuge in western Canada to export and practice their beliefs safely there. In chapter 15 Eckard Toy traces the history of this phenomenon and provides comparative analysis of the Klan and other racist Far Right groups in the American and Canadian Wests. Taking refuge in Canada became even more popular during America’s war in Vietnam. An estimated 125,000 Americans—first draft dodgers 242 | Crossing the Medicine Line 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 [242], Lines: ——— 14.0pt ——— Normal * PgEnds: [242], (estimated at 60,000 individuals, sometimes called “Skeedaddlers”) and later war deserters, and often with their wives, girlfriends, or other friends—fled across the border in the 1960s and 1970s to create the largest political exodus in U.S. history. Canada, especially during the Pierre Trudeau government (1968–1979), was generally receptive to these Americans. Prime Minister Trudeau gave the war resisters his “complete sympathy” and stated that Canada in those years should be a “refuge from militarism.” And when President Jimmy Carter granted amnesty to the draft dodgers in 1977, roughly half of those who fled the United States chose to remain in Canada. Although there has been a wealth of literature generated on the topic of fleeing to Canada during the war, little has specifically addressed the question of war resisters who fled to the Canadian West. Renée Kasinsky, however, conducted research on draft dodgers and deserters in British Columbia in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and her essay here offers an illustrative snapshot from that period. She examined, among other things, the class and social background of the resisters, how being a refugee affected their lives in Canada, the kind of material and psychological support they received from British Columbians, and if the resisters were able to assimilate successfully into Canadian life. Readers interested in this topic should also be aware of the film Northwest Passages (created by the Center for Northwest Studies and Micromedia Productions out of Bellingham, Washington), which investigates the underground railroad that helped American draft dodgers get into Canada during the Vietnam War. Finally, I have added a brief addendum at the end of this section that addresses early twenty-first-century patterns of seeking refuge across the medicine line—in a more literal sense of its meaning—in western Canada. It addresses how medical marijuana users from the United States have fled to British Columbia at a time when laws against such practices were stiffened in the United States but relaxed in Canada. For Further Reading On Prohibition in the Borderlands On Far Right Extremist Groups in the Borderlands Region [3.137.183...