2. Life during the Depression

Question 1

Key Word: Hunger March

Answer 1

A March in protest of poverty and unemployment, marches began in autumn of 1931

Question 2

Key Word: Coalition government

Answer 2

a government that several political parties co-operate.

national government was the name given to the conservative/labour coalition government of the 1930s

Question 3

Key word: domestic service

Answer 3

Working in others homes. e.g. cooking and cleaning

Question 4

What was the dole?

Answer 4

The name of payments created by the Unemployment act of 1929 for unemployed workers while they looked for jobs.
39 weeks of benefits

Question 5

What did people think of the dole?

Answer 5

some thought it would be too expensive as unemployment increased and discourage people to look for work.

Question 6

What was the means test?

Answer 6

Introduced in 1931 to reduce amount of dole paid. Before you could receive the dole your house had to be inspected to check possessions and savings. If a house hold had any other incomes, reductions were made to the weekly payment. max payment varied area to area. carried out by PAC (Public assistant committees)

Question 7

Why were people against the means test

Answer 7

• Strain on family life
• Thought gov cared more about saving money than helping
• invasion of privacy
• Didn’t like sending relatives away
• humiliating
• made it more difficult to get on the dole
• some local authorities applied test harshly, some refused yo carry it out
• lead to dramatic fall of living standards of the unemployed.

Question 8

How did the unemployment rates change during The Depression?

Answer 8

rose to 2.5 mil in 1933, 25% of the workforce

Question 9

What areas were worst hit by unemployment?

Answer 9

Areas of heavy industry (mainly coal, iron, steel, shipbuilding) in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and North England

Question 10

Why was Jarrow hit badly?

Answer 10

Already struggling due to dependence shipbuilding industry, When Palmers shipyard closed unemployment rose to 68%

Question 11

cycle of unemployment

Answer 11

demands for goods in Britain decreased causing businesses to close and more unemployment

Question 12

How much was the dole

Answer 12

not enough to cover basic necessities (clothing, food etc) and was cut by 10% in 1931

Question 13

what was the average max a family could earn on the dole

Answer 13

2 adults and 3 children £1.46/week, was raised to £1.80/week in 1936
below average age of £3

Question 14

what was the Jarrow march

Answer 14

hunger march 1936, from Jarrow to London. 200 men led by Mayor MP Ellen Wilkinson. 450km
Received support form public, none in London or by government.

Question 15

Causes of the Jarrow march

Answer 15

worst affected during depression, most unemployed or reliant on Palmers shipyard (closed in 1933), malnutrition and poor health wide spread. unemployment 80%

Question 16

Why did the National Unemployed Workers Movement object to the Jarrow march

Answer 16

They didn’t like the non-political nature

Question 17

Achievements of the Jarrow March

Answer 17

petition represented in House of Commons, men returned heroes, police praised for organisation and behaviour, supported by public, changed public image of hunger marches

Question 18

Limitations of Jarrow march

Answer 18

March and petition did not cause government to act, Prime minister, Stanley Baldwin, ignored petition.

Question 19

Rhondda march 1932

Answer 19

area of 16 mining communities hit by depression. Oct 1932nation iwde hunger marhc aiming to converge in London. 375 of 2500 from Rhondda, presented petition demanding abolition of means test and 10% cut of dole. police confiscated petition.

Question 20

Rhondda march 1936

Answer 20

Another march from Rhondda, 504 marchers and backed by labour party, achieved llittle

Question 21

what was the poverty levels in York

Answer 21

1936, 30% unemployed and 70% living below poverty line.

Question 22

How were diets effected by ‘making ends meet’

Answer 22

cheap food - more likely to suffer form malnutrition, in 1936 4.5 mil had inadequate diets, 5 mil on top of that suffered from some form of deficiency, 1/10 of population (including 1/5 children) undernourished. mainly ate bread, margarine, sugar, potato, little meat and veg

Question 23

How were women effected by the depression

Answer 23

often first to be laid off, number in domestic service went up, national insurance only covered worker so not covered for medical treatment, usually put children first (food medical bills etc.)

Question 24

how were children effected by the depression?

Answer 24

poor diet increased infant mortality rate, during 30’s for every rich child dead, there were 8 dead from poor families, poor children much more likely to get sick (bronchitis, pneumonia etc)

Question 25

How were unemployed supported in other ways than the government

Answer 25

women made credit mechanisms for food, rent etc;
rallied together in crisis e.g. child birth;
came down harshly when someone broke unwritten rules;
clubs set up funded by church and mayor funds

Question 26

Central advisory council for unemployed workers

Answer 26

created in 1932 by British Institute of Adult education and led to increase of educational programmes for adults

Question 27

how many people left wales during the depression

Answer 27

between 1921-38, 440,000 left to find work

Question 28

Where were welsh people encouraged to settle

Answer 28

in towns like Oxford and Coventry, light engineering and car manufacturing areas saw influx of the welsh

Question 29

How was welsh language and culture impacted by the depresseion

Answer 29

saw significant decrease as many people left wales in search for work

Question 30

Importance of radio

Answer 30

provided distraction from the depression, 1939, 9 mil liscence holders, 75% owned a radio, BBC broadcasted school programmes, plays, music, comedy, news and sport

Question 31

when did cinema start to become more popular

Answer 31

1927 when first film with sound produced

Question 32

cinema statistics

Answer 32

over 320 in 1934, 20 in Cardiff;
1936, 1000 mil admissions;
1937, 40% of liverpool went at least once a week;
first welsh talkie in1935

Question 33

famous Hollywood people

Answer 33

Clark Gabe, Greta Garbo, Errol Flynn

Question 34

what areas of the UK had growing prosperity and high standard of living

Answer 34

mainly England and midlands. Areas with growing industries (motor vehicles, electrical goods)

Question 35

How did the light industry grow

Answer 35

electricity began replacing coal which powered new industries, 1938 9mil supplied with electricity, gov encouraged these industries with grants and turning land into industrial estates

Question 36

how did light industries effect employment

Answer 36

they were smaller and employed less people and were replacing industries that employed a lot of people

Question 37

Special Areas Act 1934 & 1936

Answer 37

offered grants of £2 mil to comapnies that would move to special areas (worst hit areas of unemployment).
1936 offered cuts to rent and taxes to businesses

Question 38

impacts of the special areas acts

Answer 38

44.000 encouraged to move to other towns; 30,000 men put on retraining courses; £8.4 mil spent; 121 new firms set up; creating 14,900 jobs

Question 39

Treforest Industrial estate

Answer 39

established in June 1936 in South Wales. non-profit organisation aiming to provide alternate forms of employment to coal and steel industry. 1937, 3 small factories built employing 69. gov infested in estate and employed on the estate reached 16000