Industry, dole and hunger marches etc

Question 0

What area of britain had old industries?

Answer 0

West scotland,
North East england,
North West england,
South wales.

Question 1

Heavy industry

Answer 1

Industry producing coal, metal and machinery such as ships.

Question 2

What areas were new industries?

Answer 2

South East England,

Midlands.

Question 3

Why did demand for British coal fall & when?

Answer 3

After World War One

Britain were using old methods to reclaim coal whereas other countries such as America, Germany and Poland had invested in coal cutting machines, this meant that they could produce more coal than britain and at a cheaper price. Therefore competition increased.

1919 Treaty of versailles- as a part of germany’s payment, they had to supply france an belgium with coal= fall in demand.

Oil and electricity were replacing coal as main fuel for ships and industry= large decline in trade.

101

Question 4

Why did the textile industry decline& when?

Answer 4

Britains textile industry relied heavily on exports.

However,during WW1 little or no shipping was available to take cotton goods abroad. Therefore, other countries took over the markets from Britain e.g Japan.

Britain lost most of its market in India as it was beginning to produce its own textiles. Also, Indians boycotted British textiles as a part of their independence campaign.

Question 5

Iron and steel decline

Answer 5

Throughout the 1920s, the iron and steel industry were badly hit by foreign competition. Other countries such as Japan had larger steel plants and more up-to-date equipment= they could produce more metal more quickly.

Industrial disputes, such as the General Strike of 1926, made matters worse.

Question 6

Decline in shipbuilding?

Answer 6

Declined due to competition from Japan and Scandinavia.

There were too many, small uneconomical shipyards in britain which closed to become more efficient.

Question 7

What crippled the welsh economy?

Answer 7

The collapse of the post-war economic boom in 1929 increased competition from abroad.

The general strike of 1926.

Decline in the mining and steel industries.

The above meant that Wales was already suffering from the depression but in 1929 matters took a turn for the worst due to the Wall Street Crash.

Question 8

When was the wall street crash and how was britain affected?

Answer 8

October 1929

Many british industries depended on American loans and trade so when their economy crashed so did britains.

Turned the depression that Britain was already suffering into the Great Depression.

The existing problems were intensified: british exports that were already falling in the 1920s fell by half in the 1930s, while unemployment doubled.

Question 9

Unemployment statistic

Answer 9

In 1932 the Ministry of Labour published that 28.5% of the working population in Wales were unemployed.

Question 10

How were the ports of south wales affected?

Answer 10

They were hit hard by the decline of the coal trade.

Question 11

What areas were saved from the worst effects of the depression in wales and how?

Answer 11

There was a greater variety of work available in Cardiff and the coastal towns such as in the tourist industry.

Question 12

Describe the social effects of the depression on welsh communities

Answer 12

High unemployment which led to poverty as government assistance for the unemployed ( the dole) was very low.

Question 13

Describe the governments response to poverty.

Answer 13

The government was very unsure about how to cope with the worsening crisis and thought that it would sort itself out so they did very little.

They tried to cut costs which they did by cutting the benefits paid to the unemployed (the dole).

Question 14

How could a man without work claim benefit?

Answer 14

Under the unemployment insurance scheme. However, they were only allowed dole for the first 6 months of being unemployed.

Question 15

What did the government do to the dole and when?

Answer 15

In 1931 the dole was cut by 10% and means testing was introduced.

Question 16

Explain means testing

Answer 16

Means testing was an inquiry into someone’s income to determine their eligibility for a State benefit.

The means test was carried out by officials from the local authorities’s Public Assistance Committees (PACs) which was set up in 1930.

The unemployed claiming the benefit had to declare all savings and earnings everyone in their house owned. Their dole was reduced if they were found out to have any money or income. The test even looked at the value of things in the home that could be sold to raise cash.

The means test was extremely unpopular and humiliating for families to reveal their finances. It also had a strain in family life as older children who had a job were forced to pay more towards the family funds. Furthermore, the intrusiveness of the means test and the officials who carried it out were resented.

Question 17

What did the government due when they faced the problem of what to do when people who had been unemployed for more than 6 months had used up their dole?

Answer 17

To avoid bad publicity they passed the Unemployment Act of 1934 which set up the Unemployment Assistance Board (UAB).

The UAB were responsible for managing the means test and were ensuring that it was only paid for those in ‘desperate need’ who were ‘actively seeking work’.

The UAB also took over the running of the labour exchange where the unemployed signed on for their dole and looked for work. It setup training schemes and provided help to people who wanted to move to another area to find work. Older unemployed men were sometimes given allotments to grow veg or raise poultry or rabbits.

Question 18

Explain the NUWM

Answer 18

NUWM stood for the National Unemployed Workers’ Movement which was set up by members of the Communist part in 1921.

It organised protests against unemployment and the means test in the form of hunger marches, the most famous was the Jarrow Crusade in 1936 where 200 men marched to London to hand in a petition to the Prime Minister. These marches had little effect, however they did publicise the problems of the unemployed.

Question 19

Explain the Jarrow Crusade.

Answer 19

The most famous hunger march was the Jarrow Crusade of 1936.

By 1931, the towns local coal mines and steel works had closed. Then in 1934 Palmers, Jarrow’s shipyard and main employer closed too- 68% of Jarrow’s population were now unemployed.

In october 1936, 200 men marched a 25 day, 300 mile walk to London to present a petition to the president. Cameramen and press photographers marched with them and sympathisers fed and sheltered them.

When they arrived in London they asked the government why it could not give orders for naval ships to be built at Jarrow, but no answer was given.

The marchers returned home by train empty handed and the UAB officials in Jarrow docked their dole because the had not been available to work.

However, it raised public awareness of the effects of unemployment on working ppl.

Question 20

Explain the impact of the Depression on women.

Answer 20

Women were the most badly affected.

They had an inadequate diet as they often sacrificed their food for their husband and children. Consequently, they often became ill but could not afford medical care including medication.

They also took in extra washing or sewing to supplement their income.