ADV INFO - Social Developments 1914-1939 Flashcards
What was the unemployment rate in Jarrow in 1934
Jarrow (the North-East) had an unemployment rate of 68%,
what was the unemployment rate in Merthyr Tydfil in 1934
62%
what was the unemployment rate in St Albans
3.9%
what happened to the per cent of food taking up working-class families’ budgets
in 1914 it was 60%, in 1938 it was 35%
what is a prime example of household goods
radios
why was luxury clothing becoming more available
cheap mass-produced suits and dresses were particularly popular with the young
what food was becoming available
cheap chocolate, fish and chips
what did Orwell find about the situation when things became hard
when times were hard, it was found that members of the working classes often went without necessities, rather than missing out on these new luxuries
what did Rowntree find out
that 7% of the population were in ‘primary poverty’ and 18% of the population overall were in poverty
what did Rowntree’s 1936 report also find
that poverty and primary poverty disproportionately affected young children
what happened to children in the period
just over half of working-class children were born into poverty and this had a significant impact on their health and life chances.
how can the first world war be seen as a turning point in
the role of women in Britain
how did the first world war help women
they gained political rights at the end of the war; their role in employment was transformed during the war; they gained great social freedom, and the advance of labour-saving devices and falling family sizes changed their role within the family
how was the groundwork for the role of women changed before the war
female participation in the trade union movement and improvements in female education
what happened to female participation in trade union movements
there were 437,000 female members by 1914
how was education improved for females
the girls’ day school trust established 33 girls’ schools between 1872 and 1900, and universities created women’s colleges
what did women do during the war in the industry
they were drafted into factories to replace the men who went off to war and to help the war effort.
what were the statistics for women in factories
500,000 women worked in ammunition factories in July 1917 and 18,000 worked in the Women’s Land Army in 1918.
what new areas of work did women go into
the civil service and the professions
what were the statistics for women in new jobs
in 1917 there were almost 500,000 women working in local government and 60,000 in banking
where did women break down the barriers of where it was viewed that they were weaker than men
women were working in the steel industry, as plumbers and electricians and as doctors
what did the suffragettes do
they called off their campaign when war broke out
what did the suffrage movement do
set about supporting the war effort
what was the key factor to women gaining the vote
their efforts during the war
what did the conservatives hope female emancipation would do
mitigate the impact of enfranchising working-class men
what act was passed in 1918
the representation of the people act gave women aged 30 and over the vote in national elections
what act was passed in 1919
the sex disqualification removal act
what did the sex disqualification removal act do
it allowed women to stand as candidates for Parliamentary seats.
who were the first elected women
countess markievicz (a Sinn Feiner who therefore did not take her seat) and nancy pastor (US-born wife of the owner of the Observer newspaper Viscount Waldorf Astor)
what had happened to women by 1923
there were 4000 female magistrates, mayors, councillors or guardians
what happened in 1928 for women
women gained the vote at the age of 21, the same age as men
what happened in 1929 for women
Margaret Bondfield became the first female cabinet minister
what movements were there supporting women
Labour Women’s sections of Cooperative GUilds offered opportunities for listening to speakers and discussing the political issue. They also organised support for movements such as the Peace Ballot.
what other organisations emerged to widen women’s experiences and organisations
the women’s institute and women’s league of health and beauty
what act was passed in 1923
the matrimonial causes act
what did the matrimonial causes act do
it meant that wives did not need to prove cruelty, desertion or another ‘cause; as well as adultery as grounds for divorce. Grounds for divorce were further extended in 1927
what act was passed in 1924
the guardian of infants act
what did the guardian of infants act 1924 do
gave joint guardianship of children to both parents, rather than just the father. Custody that was in despite would be settled by the courts.
what act passed in 1926
the new English law of property
what did the new English law of property do
gave single women the right to hold and dispose of their property on the same terms as men
what act passed in 1935
the law reform act
what did the new law reform act do
equalised the rules regarding property for married women, giving them the same control of their property as single women
what had some wartime agreements done
they diluted some jobs to make them accessible to women
how did the wartime agreements about women end
by the restoration of pre-war practices (1919),
what did some women’s organisations do in response to the restoration of the pre-war practices act
they protested, but many women accepted the need to free up jobs for the returning men
what happened to women during the inter-war years
middle-class married women rarely worked but many working-class families with two incomes managed a good standard of living and could buy luxury goods
how did the employment of women compare in the UK and US
Britain had the same proportion of women employed as the USA in 1939 and far more than any other European country.
Where did women remain in employment
Largely low skilled jobs and were paid on average half as much as men
how did the appearance of women change after the first world war
they adopted shorter haircuts such as the bob, shingle and Eton crop
what clothes were designed to give women a more boyish figure
the lighter fabrics used for clothing (often the new artificial ones, such as rayon and nylon)
what was the new style of the 1930s
a more glamourous and groomed look
what social conventions were relaxed
dating and women smoking in public was relaxed
what things remained a taboo subject
sex and birth control
what was steadily increasing during the period
the number of women having premarital sex
what did books and magazines try to do
promote sexual enjoyment for both partners
who is an example of a remarkable woman who showed that there were no limits to what women could do
the pilot Amy Johnson who flew solo to Australia in 1930
what did the working classes struggle to do during the period
stay in regular employment, especially during the depression
what was there a wider variety of
fresh food available (consumption rose by 88% for fruit, 64% for vegetables and 46% for eggs) and new branded pre-packaged goods become available (e.g. Kelloggs, Heinz and Bisto)
what was the working class strongly drawn to
the new cheap foods, including sweets, sugar, white bread, processed and tinned foods and savoury snacks such as crisps
what did food start to demand less off
a working-class families budget in 1914 it was 60%, in 1938, 35%
what was the national average for unemployment
1929 - 9.9%
1932 - 22.9%
1936 - 12.5%
what was the unemployment for shipbuilding
1929 - 23.2%
1932 - 59.5%
1936 - 30.6%
what was the unemployment for coal
1929 - 18.2%
1932 - 41.2%
1936 - 25%
what is the cycle of unemployment
stable industries inefficient -> profits fell -> poor level of investment -> industry did not improve
where was palmer’s shipyard closed
Jarrow
what did unemployment reach after palmers shipyard shut
70%
what was the Jarrow march
a group of 200 men decided to march to London (300 miles away) to highlight their plight and demand the building of a new steelworks
who supported the Jarrow march
the local MP Ellen Wilkinson
who gave support to the Jarrow men
the unemployment assistance board
what was wrong with the assistance given to the Jarrow workers
it proved to be inadequate
what eventually happened in Jarrow
a shipbreaking yard did open in 1938 and steelwork in 1939
what did the government fail to do?
they did little beyond the 1935 special areas act to stimulate movements from people who were seeking work
what industries took hold in the southeast and the midlands
chemicals, motor cars and other light industries
what happened to populations in the south
in London and Coventry, it doubled, in Oxford, it grew by a third and Slough and Luton also saw a notable growth
who hired a large amount of its workforce from depressed areas?
Morris Motors
why did Morris Motors hire from depressed areas?
the local supply of labour was exhausted
where were there high levels of seasonal employment
seasides towns such as Blackpool
where did employment tend to be lower during the winter
car production
what played a key role in interwar literature
stark realism and hatred of war
which writers were famous for writing anti-war literature
Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen
what was written in the 1920s and 30s critical of
prewar institutions e.g. P.G Wodehouse’s series of books about Bertie Wooster
what socialist books were written in the 1930s
J.b. Priestly - English Journey of 1934
G Orwell - The Road to Wigan Pier (1937)
who were members of the Bloomsbury set
JM Keynes, Virginia Woolf, Leonard Woolf and E.M. Forster
what happened to the number of divorces
1921-25 - 2848
1936-40 - 7535
what happened to the number of births
they reduced for both married and unmarried women
what played an enormous part in British society
newspapers
what are the statistics for newspapers
in 1939, 69% of the population over 16 years old read a daily national paper
what per cent of people read the national Sunday paper
82%
what was the most notable biggest selling magazines
Woman, which sold 3 million copies in 1939
what coloured comics launched in the 1930s
the Dandy and the Beano
what was a fixture of all classes’ homes
the radio
what happened to the number of people with a radio license
1922 - 36,000
1926 - 2,000,000
1939 - 34,000,000
how many people listened to the evening programmes
up to 10 million
what was popularly broadcast
test match cricket, Wimbledon and football at Wembley
what grew enormously in the 1920s
cinema
who were the stars of silent films
Greta Garbo, Rudolph Valentino, Jon Gilbert and Mary Pickford
what was the usual capacity of cinemas
10,000
what was the benefit of entry fees being cheap at the cinema
working classes could go several times a week
