Britain 7- The social and cultural impact of war Flashcards
During the war , how many women entered the workforce?
Around a million
By 1918, how much of the workforce did women make up?
1/3
What year was the sex disqualification act and what did it do?
1919, women no longer had the right to be barred from a career in the law or the civil service on the basis of their gender
What did the sec disqualification act open up to women?
Careers in the civil service, local govt and jury service
What changed culturally for women by the end of the war?
Fashions, with shorter skirts and hairstyles
When was the representation of the people act and what did it mean?
1918
-all men over the age of 21 became entitled to vote
- men over the age of 19 who had seen active service got the right
-women over 30 with property could vote
Why did the miners strike (1921) take place?
-govt refused to nationalise the coal mines
-mine owners cut wages and lengthened hours in order to compete with foreign coal imports
- high levels of unemployment also allowed mine owners to increase wages as the workers had no where else to go
Why were the govt concerned about the miners’ strike of 1921?
A National miners strike occurred and it seemed like it could escalate into a general strike as railway men and transport workers backed the miners.
How did the govt deal with the miners strike?
DLG intervened personally and managed to split the potential alliance. On Black Friday, railway mean and transport workers backed down and miners went on strike alone. They were forced to accept pay cuts.
What were miners forced to accept after the miners strike of 1921?
Pay cuts that left their wages 20% lower than in 1914
What cultural changes occurred during the war?
Stuffier aspects of Victorian society loosened through increased social mobility and changes in women’s political and social positions, challenged assumption of western and European superiority + strengthen ideas of anti-imperialism and anti-colonialism, artists embraces modernism
What cultural aspects didn’t change as a result of the war?
Class divisions remained but with a common bond of suffering due to loss in the war
What did the 1916 conscription act mean?
Meant that men had the right to claim exemption form military service.
What were men called who claimed exemptions from military service?
Conscientious objectors
Give the 3 reasons for being a conscientious objector and an example
Religious reasons (e.g. quakers who believed in pacifism), political reasons (activists of the left saw WWI as an imperialist war)
Moral reasons (some felt it wrong to kill)
What was the process of for a CO claiming exemption form military service?
A CO had to go to a local tribunal to give his reasons and if they were not accepted he would be sent to the Front.
What did some COs agree to do instead of fighting and how many?
10,000 out of 16,000 agreed to do some work for the govt like driving ambulances but those who didn’t want to be involved ‘absolutists’ were imprisoned
What dangers did soldiers experience in the trenches?
Poison gas, shrapnel and shells
Why were the living conditions in trenched appalling?
Mid, live, rats, rotten corpses, poor sanitation
What long term effects of the war did the soldiers face?
Shell shock, mental trauma, disfigurement, loss of limbs
what did the no. of women in transport rise from and to 1914-18?
18,000 -> 117,000
what were working conditions like for women?
work in munitions factories dirty and dangerous. many killed or injured in shell factory explosions and more than 100 died from diseases contracted through handling poisonous chemicals
what were the effects of women’s work on their family lives?
often worked long hours which disrupted family life and put relationships under strain (however war work better payed than domestic)
what were the limitations of social change brought by women’s war-time employment?
still srong emphasis on women’s traditional roles. they were portrayed as responsible for ‘keeping the home fires bruning’ for bringing up the children and nursing the wounded
how did the Church’s role change post-war?
greater public role. 1000s of chaplains needed to cater for the religious eeds of teh vast armies and churchmen in demand to, for example, carry out burial services. however, some found it hard to justify the slaughter on th Western front or to recomcile this with faith in God (religious beliefs undermined)
how many volunteered to fight in total?
2.5 million
what was the impact of war on children?
-their educations were disrupted as teachers were conscripted
-300,000 lost their fathers and 1000s grew up in single parent households as a result of war
give an example of a war time author
Wilfred Owen
how did women contribute in terms of fighting?
joined the women auxillary army corps or the womens royal navy service
