1918-1929 Flashcards
give 2 facts on the effect of war based on human suffering
9% of all men under 45 were killed
3.5 million orphans and widows were widows
give 2 facts on the effect of war based on social change
broke down class divides
serious decline in housing due to fewer being built yet demand increasing
give 2 facts on the effect of war based on economic damage
income tax had risen dramatically to a standard rate of 30% by 1919
unemployment rose from 300,00 to over 1 million by 1920
give 2 facts on the effect of war based on political developments
laissez-faire government attitude had disappeared
liberal party decline and labour party increase
what was the representation of the people act 1918
universal male suffrage of males over 21
all women over 30 given the right to vote
men who served in the war could vote from the age of 19, those who didn’t serve were barred for 5 years of voting
redistribution of seats (increased working class voices)
who was PM after the war and what party was in power
Lloyd George
liberals
what was the result of the Coupon election in December 1918
the coalition won a majority and stayed in power for the next 4 years
why did the conservatives and Lloyd George’s national liberals want the coalition to continue after the war (4 reasons)
majority of conservatives wanted to carry on coalition
Lloyd George has gained a lot of power
Bonor Law (conservative leader) was no dynamic
both parties didn’t oppose eachother
summarise the results of the December general election 1918
conservative are largely united
commons represented all people
liberals still split over coalition
73 empty seats from Sinn Fein
why did Sinn Fein refuse to take up seats in the December 1918 general election
refused to swear to the queen
give 3 ways that Lloyd George handled foreign affairs successfully
attended lots of League of Nations meetings
Treaty of Versailles (union of allies)
increased Britain’s reputation amongst nations
give 3 ways that Lloyd George handled foreign affairs unsuccessfully
new colonisation= increased conflicts
Treaty of Versailles and League of Nations= less focus on domestic affairs
lack of trading between Germany
how involved was Britain in the Russian Revolution and how did Britain stop fighting there
Britain needed to intervene with the Bolshevik uprising
Dockers refused to load ammunition onto the ship (Jolly George) going to Poland
what was the Chanak crisis
British and French forces in Chanak, Turkey after the Turkish empire was dismantled after WW1, nationalist leader Mustafa Kamel wanted occupational forces out, settled with a treaty signed on the 11th October 1922
give 3 examples of conflict during Lloyd George’s reign (foreign affairs)
Iraq
Somao (Japanese attack)
Palestine
give 3 examples of social reforms that were passed under Lloyd George
Fishers’ Education act 1918
Addison’s Housing act 1919
Agriculture Act 1920
give details on Fisher’s education act 1918 (3)
raised the school leaving age from 12 to 14
increased grants to secondary schools to be built
more scholarships for grammar schools
give details on Addison’s housing act 1919
more low rent council houses built
70,000 houses a year aimed to be built
213,000 were built
give details on Agriculture act 1920
guarenteed prices for farmers and workers
wages were protected
what was the Geddes Axe 1922 about
the government aimed to cut £52 million out of spending (10%) due to the heavy debts from after WW1 and the falling economic trade
how many men were unemployed by 1920
700,000
what was the consequence of the Geddes axe 1922
housing subsides were ended
controlled wages for farmers ended
coal miners faced longer hours
why had relations between the British government and Ireland deteriated since 1914? (give 3 ways)
Easter risings (execution and arrest of the rebels)
rise of Sinn Fein (result of the Easter rising and they demanded full independant)
IRA formed (created by Sinn Fein)
what years was the war of independance (Anglo-Irish war)
1919-1921
who were the Black and Tans
ex-soldiers
they fought the IRA
their actions were condemned by the US, League of nations and the British press
what was the government of Ireland act 1920 about
Lloyd George passed this to partition the north from the south
Sinn Fein rejected it
Ulster step up its own parliament
what was the Anglo Irish treaty about
Sinn Fein (Collins) signed the second treaty to make Ireland a free state but northern Ireland a small territory of Britain
Ireland divided
this was unpopular with most of Sinn Fein and nationalists
Collins was murdered
Civil War in Southern Ireland between those for and against
why was Lloyd George criticised for the way he handled the Irish issue (4 ways)
blamed for using Black and Tans
claims he encouraged civil war in the south (persuading Collins to sign the treaty)
blamed for dividing Ireland
when was the Black and Tans deployed in the Irish-Anglo war
1920
give 3 reasons why Lloyd George became more unpopular in the coalition leading to his downfall
became out of touch with the public (lost working class support)
he had ‘un-tory’ policies (Ireland and welfare reform)
honours scandal
why is the honours scandal classed as a factor for the downfall for Lloyd George
he paid people for his support
e.g. £10,000 for a knighthood
shows poor leadership
when was the Carlton club meeting held
October 1922
what happened at the Carlton Club meeting
backbench MP’s and junior ministers had had enough
Baldwin made an effective speech against Lloyd George
Bonor Law refused to help Lloyd George
187 to 87
Lloyd George resigned
how was 1921 a crisis year in terms of the economy and government cuts
government was in substantial debt
unemployment rose above 1 million between 1920-21
June 1921- 2 million unemployed
Geddes axe set to cut 12% of cuts
how was 1921 a crisis year in terms of the worsening relations in industry
‘red revolution feared’
70,000 workers on strike in Glasgow
86 million working days lost
how was 1921 a crisis year in terms of Bonor Law resigning
Lloyd George only had good relations with the conservatives as he had a good relationship with Bonor Law, so reduced the popularity of the coalition
what was the outcome of the general election of 1922
conservative won (345 seat majoirty)
who was the leader of the conservatives in 1922
Bonor Law
why was Bonor Law replaced as prime minister by Baldwin
Bonor Law died of throat cancer 7 months into office
Baldwin was a better option than lord Curzon
why did the conservative government of 1923 have so many problems (4 ways)
labour opposition had doubled from 63 to 142 in the 1922 general election
largely unfamiliar cabinet
Chamberlain and Birkenhead (leading heads) had formed another party, rather than join conservative coalitionist
lack of working class representation
why did Baldwin call an election in January 1924
over the issue of tariff reform
how long was Baldwin in power for (dates needed)
may 1923 to January 1924
why was the 1923 conservative government so short lived in term of the political context and background (3 reasons)
Baldwin was not a clear leader
labour and liberals were increasing in reputation
conservatives were divided over the three man coalition
why was the 1923 conservative government so short lived in terms of the personalities/people present
Baldwin was classed as boring
Baldwin was not the chosen leader of the conservative party, it was Bonor Law
Baldwin had experience in the iron industry
what was the result from the December 1923 general election
hung parliament
conservative lost its majority
labour won the the election
conservative- 258 seats
labour- 191 seats
when was the labour party founded
1900
why was Asquith (liberal) willing to give conditional liberal support to the labour party in 1924
it was a way to push the conservatives from power
he believed the liberals would be able to control the new government as it depended on liberal support to remain in office
give 3 reasons why the liberals declined in power
liberals split over the coalition
liberal values had been compromised by the government
the party always relied on the Irish nationalists but couldn’t anymore due to Sinn Fien boycotting the houses of parliament in 1922
give reasons why labour increased in power
working class support as they moved away from the liberals
strong trade union links
labour party had a good war record (played a part in the patriotic war effort)
who was the leader of the labour party from January- October 1924
MacDonald
give 3 aims that Macdoanld had for labour
working for world peace (especially between France and Germany) and supporting League of Nations
to show that labour can be a moderate party and to try and not get influenced by the left wing
deal with domestic problems such as the housing crisis
give 4 successes of the first labour party
attended lots of League of Nation meetings
Unemployment Insurance Act increased benefits
Agriculture Act 1924 ensured that the farm workers wages weren’t cut below a set minimum
Wheatley Housing Act 1924 (set a standard to build 521,000 houses
give 4 problems the first labour party faced
made a treaty with the USSR that was extremely unpopular with the conservatives and liberals as it showed that Britain was supporting communism (fear of communism
Campbell scandal
Zinoviev letter
MacDonald was a controversial man who was poor at delegating tasks to subordinates, talked behind MP’s backs and was a lonely man who was prone to depression
how long did the first labour government last for
January to October 1924
summarise what the Campbell case was
25th July 1924
in the newspaper (Worker’s weekly) Campbell published a letter calling for troops to refuse to act against striking workers
alleged for inciting mutiny
summarise what the Zinoviev letter scandal was about
4 days before the 29th October 1924 general election
a ridiculous forged letter suppousedly from Zinoviev to the British communist party urging them to support labour
summarise the 29th October 1924 general election
conservative party won with a first past the post
conservative had 10% increase in votes from the Dec 1923 general election
give 4 examples of Baldwin’s policies
to keep the conservative party united
to preserve peace both at home and abroad by the coalition
to avoid controversial issues
to incorporate labour into the mainstream of politics
give 4 factors of new conservatism
combined efficiency
national unity
encourage the labour party
moderate social reform
who was the Chancellor of the Exchequer for the conservatives in 1924
Churchill
why did Baldwin appoint Churchill as the Chancellor of the Exchquer for the conservative in 1924
Churchill was for free trade so by appointing him it showed the free traders in the conservative party more representation
give 3 policies of Churchill as the Chancellor of the Exchequer
worked hard to reduce debt
Ten Year rule (no war for the next 10 years) so insisted in cutting spending on the war
Gold Standard returned in 1925
why did Churchill return back to the Gold Standard in 1925 (2 reasons)
increased the value of money and worth of pound (now $4.87)
listened to financial advisors
who was the minister of health during the conservative reign in 1924
Neville Chamberlain
summarise Neville Chamberlain as a minister of health
proposed a 4 year plan
22/25 acts were passed
give 2 examples of acts passed during the reign of Neville Chamberlain as minister of health
The Widows, Orphans and Old Age pension Act of 1925
gave pensions to widows, orphans and displaced children and reduced the age to which pensions were paid (65)
Old Poor Law 1834 was diminished
what changes did he make to taxes/ rates
local taxes went to education, public health, slum clearance, town and county planning
received money from central government in the form of a block grant based on size and particular needs
when was the central electricity board set up
1926
why was the central electricity board set up
to rationalise the national supply of electricity which was handicapped by high costs, many local generating stations and varying frequencies
give a statistic about the national grid
covered the country with pylons, linking 130 generating stations to 630 local plants
when was the BBC set up
1927
what was the Franchise Act 1928
the voting age for women was brought into line with that for men (21) and the residence qualification for all was set at 3 months
this increased the electorate from about 22 million to about 29 million
give 3 successes in foreign policy under Chamberlain
Kellogg-Briand Pact 1928 in which 65 countries outlawed war (April 1928)
still supported league of nations
1926- dominions were declared independent only accepting a common monarch
give 3 failures in foreign policy under Chamberlain
refused to accept the Geneva Protocol
British now opposed to war (threat of war against France and Germany)
huge debts and lack of dominions help in war
give 4 changes to the position of women in the 1920s
January 1918- representation of people act (abolished property qualification act)
1923- 8 female MPs
divorce law 1923 (made cheating a reason for divorce)
Sex discrimination act 1920 (illegal for women to be denied a range of professions)
what was the Flapper Act 1928
the act gave parliamentary vote to women on equal conditions to men, enfranchising women between the ages of 21 and 30
when was the Flapper Act passed
March 1928
give 4 problems for the conservatives in the late 1920
the general strike 1926
party was divided
suffered a series of by election defeats (1927)
the lack of effective and imaginative conservative policies to deal with unemployment
what were the positives of labour’s policies in the 1929 general election (3 ways)
promised public housing and new roads
increased wages would create more spending
move away from communism
give 2 negatives of labour’s policies in the 1929 general election
didn’t suggest nationalism
prevention to help poor by left wing local council
who won the 1929 general election and give a statistic
labour
up 151 seats from prior general election
give 5 successes from the conservatives during their reign from October 1924-1929
22/25 acts passed by the minister of health (e.g. Women, Orphan and pension act and the demolishing of the Poor Law)
Unemployment Insurance Act 1925
Central Electricity Board was set up in 1926
Representation of the people act 1928
Locarno Treaty 1925
give 5 negatives from the conservatives during their reign from October 1924-1925
unemployment had risen (1924- 1.229 million and in 1929- 1.344 million)
decrease in heavy industry
1927- 6 by-elections had failed
low demand for coal and staple industries
out-of date equipment in industries
