Britain During The Depression Flashcards
Why did heavy industry decline? (6)
Britain was in debt Lack of investment in modernising Welsh coal was expensive Oil replaced coal as fuel for ships Coal from Germany in reparations Iron, steel and coal cheaper from US and Poland
In what years did the Depression affect Britain? (1)
1929 to 1939
What was the Gold Standard? What problems did this cause? (1,2)
1925 - British pound linked to value of Gold
British goods appeared overpriced
Other countries did not buy goods
What started the Depression? (2)
The Wall Street Crash
29 October 1929
Why did the Depression affect Britain? (2)
Americans were not buying as much
High tariffs were imposed on imported goods
What is the phrase associated with the spread of the Depression? (1)
When America sneezes, the rest of the world catches cold
What did the 1930s become known as in Britain? (1)
The hungry thirties
Which areas were affected the most by the Depression? (4)
Wales, northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland
What heavy industries were Wales and northern England most reliant upon before WWI? (2)
Wales - Coal
Northern England - Textiles
What did Prime Minister MacDonald want to do during the Depression? (1)
Cut government spending
Who wanted to reduce government spending during the Depression? (1)
Prime Minister MacDonald
What did Mosley and Keynes want do do during the Depression? (1)
Invest money in creating jobs
Who wanted to invest in creating jobs during the Depression? (2)
Mosley and Keynes
What was the National Government? (3)
A group of the 3 main political parties
Set up in 1931
Try to deal with the economic crisis
How did the government try to deal with the economic crisis of the Depression? (2)
Set up the National Government in 1931
What fact supports the textile industry in northern England before 1914? (3)
The cotton mills of Lancaster had provided 65% of the world’s market
How bad was unemployment in Jarrow on Tyneside during the Depression? (1)
68% of people were unemployed
What were areas badly affected by the Depression called? (2)
Depressed areas
Black spots
How many people were unemployed in Rhonda in the 30s? (1)
Over 40%
How did the government restrict who could receive benefits during the Depression? (1)
The Means Test
Who investigated a family’s finances from 1931 to 1934? (2)
PACs - Public Assistance Committiees
When was the dole cut by 10%? (1)
1931
Who managed the dole from 1934? (2)
UAB - Unemployment Assistance Board
How did people’s health suffer from the Depression? (3)
Malnourished
Diseases like TB and scarlet fever
High infant mortality
What was self-help? (1)
People grew vegetables on allotments
What did women have to do during the Depression? (1)
Make ends meet
How did women reduce spending during the Depression? (4)
Cheap ingredients (rabbit instead of pork)
Skip meals
Repaired clothing
Cut their family’s hair
How did women increase their income during the Depression? (2)
Pawned valuable possessions (wedding rings)
Tried to get jobs in domestic services or retail
Why did people protest during the Depression? (2)
To persuade the government to help more
They had lots of free time
How did people respond to the government threatening to cut benefits in February 1935? Where? (1, 3)
Large scale marches
Rhonda, Aberdare, Pontypool
What was ransacked by a large group of women during the Depression? (2)
The Unemployment Assistance Board offices in Merthyr Tydfil
Who organised stay-down strikes in the 30s? Give an example. (2, 2)
The South Wales Miners Federation (The Fed)
Risca, 1934
What happened to several communists as a result of protests during the Depression? (2)
They were arrested and jailed
Who organised “hunger marches”? (2)
National Unemployed Workers’ Movement (NUWM)
When did 2500 people march to London from across the country? (1)
October 1932
What, and when, was the most famous “hunger march”? (3)
The Jarrow Crusade
From Tyneside to London
1936
What were the main forms of entertainment during the 30s? (4)
Sport (rugby, football, boxing)
Radio
Cinema
Miners Institutes
Why was entertainment so important in the 30s? (3)
People had spare time
Helped people to cope (escapism)
What sport was most popular with the working classes during the Depression? (1)
Boxing
How did boxing offer a way out of Depression poverty? (2)
Local clubs paid for fights
People aimed to become famous
Who was Tommy Farr? (3)
Welsh boxer from Tonypandy
“The man who almost beat Joe Louis” in 1938
What percentage of British families owned a radio by 1939?
Nearly 75%
How was the BBC important to the radio in the 30s? (4)
Set up in 1926
Aimed to inform and entertain
BBC Welsh Region in 1937 made programmes in Welsh
How many cinema tickets were selling each week by 1939? (1)
Nearly 23 million
How did children get cinema tickets? (1)
In return for collecting pop bottles
How many viewers did the television have by 1939? (1)
50 000
What was the television nicknamed during the Depression? (1)
The “cinema in the home”
What facilities did Miners Institutes have? (4)
Snooker tables
Darts
Libraries
Dance halls
Where were light industries situated? (2)
Midlands
South East England
What items were produced by new industries? (4)
Cars, consumer goods, aircraft, branded food
What powered old industries? (1)
Coal
What powered new industries? (1)
Electricity
When was the National Grid set up? (1)
1933
What improved in prosperous areas during the 1930s? (3)
Housing
Roads
Rail transport
How many houses were built in London between 1932 and 1935? (1)
3 million
How many people left Wales between 1921 and 1938? What percentage was from Monmouthshire and Glamorgan (1, 1)
440 000 people
85%
Who encouraged people to move to prosperous areas during the Depression? (1)
The Ministry of Labour
Who was one of the biggest employers of Welsh migrants? (2)
Morris motors
Cowley in Oxford
What problems did Welsh migrants have during the 1930s? (4)
Unwelcome
Low wages
Unskilled
Light industries could not employ everyone
When was the Special Areas Act brought in? (1)
1934
How much did the government policy to to encourage new industries to move to distressed areas? (1)
£2 million
Where was Treforest Trading Estate? (1)
Between Pontypridd and Cardiff
When was a new steelworks built in Ebbw Vale? (1)
1938
How many additional jobs were created by the Special Areas Act of 1934? (1)
12 000
What was the Special Areas Act of 1934? (2)
The government encouraged new industries to move to distressed areas
What did critics say the Special Areas Act was? (2)
A gesture to be seen doing something
Not actually trying to solve the problem
When did Britain come off the Gold Standard? What effects did this have?(1, 2)
1931
The value of the pound fell by 20%
British exports became affordable
