Chapter 1- Affluent society 1951-64

Question 1

What were Winston Churchill’s failures and successes?

Answer 1

Sucesses- gained reputation for leading war time Britain to victory

Failures- he felt he was above party politics which resulted in him being absent and day to day government often left with Anthony Eden.

Question 2

What were Anthony Eden’s ideas and failures?

Answer 2

Ideas- Aimed to prevent industrial issues

Failures- Attempted to move Macmillan from foreign office to treasury, Macmillan managed to delay this and this showed Eden was weak as a leader. Decision to take military action in the Suez exposed Britain’s financial weakness and soured relations with US.

Question 3

Who was Richard Austin Butler and what were his successes and failures?

Answer 3

Key member of Churchill’s government. introduced education act in the war.
Successes- convinced the party to accept a mixed economy where trade unions had a legitimate role to play. Adopted Keynesian economic policies and followed economic plans of labour government
Failures- adopted all these to suit conservative ideas, reducing taxes and who would claim benefits. never actually became prime minister.

Question 4

What is Butskellism?

Answer 4

Policies of R.A Butler were simmilar to Hugh Gaitskell, they had been devised by a Mr Butskell.

Question 5

What were the two main labour divisions in the 1950s?

Answer 5

Bevenites and the Gaitskellites.
Gaitskell were seen as being the right of the labour party and the Bevanites were the left side of labour.
split seriously harmed the effectiveness of labour’s opposition to the conservative government in 1950.

The left side wanted labour to be more socialists

Question 6

why did Macmillan Resign in 1963?

Answer 6

events happened that caused macmillan to weaken the grip on his government. (rejection from EEC in 1963)
he resigned in october 1963

Question 7

What were the reasons for the Conservative’s fall from power?

Answer 7

There were growing concerns over the economy after Britain was rejected from the EEC in 1963.
In 1962 Macmillan fired a third of his cabinet became known as ‘knight of long knives’. an attempt to strengthen the government however it only weakened it.
1963 Profumo scandal raised questions about possible leaks of cold war secrets, John Profumo was Macmillan’s secretary of state for war. Reinforced Conservative’s image of being old and out of date.
Macmillan had not prepared for anyone to succeed him which caused problems.

Question 8

What were the reasons for Post War boom?

Answer 8

• global economy booming
• huge expansion
• services and industries that ranged from financial to transport services grew.
• There was economic growth and low employment

Question 9

What were the effects of the Post-War boom?

Answer 9

• increase in overseas trade due to high levels of earnings from exports.
• by 1955 full employment reached only 200,000 unemployed (less than 1% of workforce)
• more jobs in industries relating to cars, steel and metal.
• rising wages

Question 10

How did wages rises and taxes decrease in 1950s Britain?

Answer 10

• a sustained increase in overseas trading after the war had given Britain a huge financial boost.
• A reduction in working hours in the 1950s led to more leisure time and greater spending on leisure activities
• Prices increased by 63% while weekly earnings rose 130%
• demand for unskilled workers and semi skilled workers led to increasing employment for young people
• wages for teenagers 50% higher in 1957-38
• tax cuts meant people could keep more money they earned. tax went from 47.5% down to 42.5% in 1955
• government made it easier to get credit from banks when in relaxed its higher purchase controls in 1954.
• first credit card introduced by Barclaycard in the end of the 1960s

Question 11

How did consumerism change in the 1950s?

Answer 11

• consumer spending increased by 115% in the 1950s
• rationing came to a end, wages were rising and tax was falling. Prices fell as productivity increased, helped by technological production processes which reduced costs.
• As demand for more consumer goods grew, prices fell allowing more people to buy these items. known as consumer cycle.
• TVs and cars and refrigerators now were basic requirements
• car ownership rose by 250% between 1951 and 1961

Question 12

How did housing change in the 1950s?

Answer 12

• rise of housing boosted consumer spending
• labour saving devices such as hoover and washing machine dealt with domestic chores
• fridges meant daily shopping for fresh food no longer necessary

Question 13

How did food change in the 1950s?

Answer 13

• end of rationing saw the rise of convenience foods, e.g frozen peas, instant desserts and boil in the bag curry.
• increase in ways people could eat out. Summer of 1953 first Wimpy burger bar opened.

Question 14

was everyone affluent in 1950s Britain?

Answer 14

• No
• still people without jobs who struggled to survive on their payments from the Welfare state
• value of pensions decrease as prices rose with inflation
• some people paid very low wages or were discriminated against because of gender and race and therefore were not able to enjoy consumerism

Question 15

How did shopping change in the 1950s?

Answer 15

• 1950s saw the rise of self service shops
• in 1947 only 10 self service shops in the whole of Britain by 1956 there were 3,000
• started with co-op in London in 1942 due to war time shortage of staff

Question 16

Why was there inflation in the 1950s?

Answer 16

The growth in wages was outstripping the rate of increase of production and this brought inflation.

Question 17

How did the conservative government deal with inflation in the 1950s?

Answer 17

Government controls had to be used to curb excessive inflation. Taxation remained high to control excessive spending that would lead to a increase in imports. Government issued ‘Stop-Go’ policies.

Question 18

What was ‘stop-go’ economics?

Answer 18

stop
imports exceeded and there was a balance of payments crisis
the government then controls high interest rates and there are wage freezes.
demand then falls
output decreases.
go
controls removed
increase in demands
rising imports
imports exceeded and balance of payments crisis

Question 19

How did class and ‘The establishment’ change in the 1950s?

Answer 19

• by late 1950s there were signs of a shift in attitudes binding at the gradual breakdown of old social restrictions
• The suez crisis of 1956 exposed lying and manipulation by the government
• rise of CND from 1958 encouraged the tendency to challenge authority
• Britain appeared to be becoming more a individualist and less conformist society

Question 20

What was the position of women in the 1950s?

Answer 20

• women primarily seen as housewives in the 1950s
• the average marriage age was 21 and 75% of all women were married
• only 1 in 5 women went out to work in 1951
• family allowance was paid to women to ensure they did not need to work, welfare state was based on nuclear family and that the male was in full employment.
• mortgages and bank loans were men’s names making women largely financially dependent on husbands
• trade unions tended to not support women as they believed they would lower wages
• lives improved by labour saving devices, between 1957 and 1959 number of households owning a washing machine and fridge went up by 54% and 58%

Question 21

What were attitudes to immigration and racial violence in the 1950s?

Answer 21

• The New Commonwealth followed in the wake of West Indians migrants who arrived on the Empire Windrush in 1948
• In 1958 210,000 Commonwealth immigrants had settled in Britain, 75% of them were male working to support families back home.
• public attitudes mixed, general feeling of tolerance and ‘getting along’ however there was still racism against immigrants.
• in 1950s Britain had received 676,000 immigrants seeking permanent residence while 1.3 million left for life abroad.
• the authorities regarded immigration as economically desirable and hoped tensions would ease over time

Question 22

What happened in the Notting Hill riots of 1958?

Answer 22

• end of August 1958 there were outbreaks of serious violence in Notting Hill, a area that had a large concentration of people from the caribbean.
• area was rundown and land lords exploited tenants with overcrowding and badly maintained housing.
• Violence was mostly whites attacking West Indians
• police unprepared and lacked experience in dealing with race riots

Question 23

What was the 1962 Common Wealth Immigrants Act?

Answer 23

limited number of people entering Britain from Common Wealth countries.
number of people coming from common wealth countries were limited by job opportunities, set quotas for different types of jobs.
if commonwealth immigrants were convicted of serious crimes they could be deported.

Question 24

What was the 1948 Nationality Act?

Answer 24

Granted United Kingdom citizenship to citizens of Britain’s colonies and former colonies.

Question 25

How did youth culture change in the 1950s?

Answer 25

• labour saving devices meant that girls did not need to help their mother so much at home
• national service ended in 1960
• this meant that young people had more free time than ever before
• post-war baby boom swelled the number of teenagers in Britain, about 10% of the population
• This made them more visible and economically important
• young people had more to buy records and fashion, helping them create their own culture
• by late 1950s there were magazines and TV programmes specifically aimed at teenagers
• in early 1950s Teddy Boys most obvious youth subculture.
• seen as a worrying phenomenon linked with juvenile delinquency and rising crime.
• by later 1950s they were replaced by rockers and mods.
• violence between the groups were vastly exaggerated

Question 26

Evidence that delinquency was a myth?

Answer 26

• Crime rose amongst all sections of society with violent crimes doubling from 6000 to 12,000 in 1950-1960s
• due to baby boom there were more young people so as there are more teenagers the crime rate will increase as there are more people to commit crimes

Question 27

Evidence that Juvenile Delinquency was a problem?

Answer 27

• statistics for juvenile delinquency crime rate rose from 1955-1961
• convictions doubled from 1955 and 1959
• Teddy boys blamed for inciting Notting Hill riots of 1958

Question 28

What were the economic impacts of the teenager?

Answer 28

• pocket money would be 10 shillings a week, this made clothing sales boom in the 50s
• As there were more teenagers they had more economic importance
• new marketing group for teenagers, consumer boom was actively encouraged

Question 29

What were the social impacts of the teenager?

Answer 29

• Films began to reflect the emergence of the teenager with films like Rebel Without a Cause depicting juvenile delinquency

Question 30

What was Britain’s position after WW2?

Answer 30

• left Britain badly damaged and burdened with massive debts
• in 1947 Britain’s ambassador in Washington had to inform Americans that Britain faced bankruptcy and had to withdraw from commitments in Greece, Turkey and Palestine.
• in 1947 independence was granted to India and Pakistan making the start of Britain’s retreat from ‘the empire’

Question 31

Why did Britain want to join the EEC in 1950s?

Answer 31

• realised Britain’s days as a Great Power were over
• EFTA could never be the force the EEC became
• the weakness of the commonwealth
• EFTA did not help promote British trade
• The suez crisis was proof the UK was not a great power anymore
• Macmillian wanted to restore the special relationship with the Americans fearing that if the EEC developed a strong political bloc US would prefer to deal with Germany than Britain
• when JFK became president in 1961 he pressured Macmillian to join EEC
• Britain and America wanted to avoid a independent Europe led by de Gaulle as they believed a ‘Third Force’ Europe could turn away from NATO.

Question 32

Why didn’t Britain join ECSC?

Answer 32

• few politicians or journalist in favour of Britain taking up leadership role in Europe
• left tended to be suspicious of the free market principles behind the common market
• right tended to regard the preservation of traditional race links as more important than Europe.
• Assumption Britain was still a great world power
• Britain wanted to balance involvement in Europe and maintain ‘special relationship’ with US.

Question 33

Why was Macmillian’s application to join the EEC rejected?

Answer 33

• vetoed by General de Gaulle in 1963
• France wanted to lead Europe, if Britain was allowed in Britain would also want to lead Europe.
• he wanted Europe to be strong and independent from American influence.
• wanted french language and culture to flourish
• de Gaulle was interested in persuing détente by developing by developing a independent French force and by making friends with the Russians.
• plenty of opposition in the Conservative government to the application and Labour party also against it.
• France did not own nuclear weapons and Britain wanted to offer them to her. However Britain relied on America for nuclear weapons. At Rambouillet meeting in October 1962 Macmillian offered France Polaris missiles from the Americans however the last thing de Gaulle wanted was help from the US. gave him further excuse to veto the application.

Question 34

What happened in the Suez in 1956?

Answer 34

• suez canal main artery connecting trade routes from mediterranean through the indian ocean and beyond
• vital route for oil shipments
• The US and Britain planned to invest in the Aswan Dam but pulled out in 1956, in response Nasser announced the nasalisation of the Suez
• Britain, France and Israel forced planned to invade Egypt, British and French forces would then intervene.
• The intervention would enforce peace on Egypt and Israel and they would seize control over the Suez canal zone
• caused a storm of political protest in Britain, public opinion was split
• The us opposed action, Britain was not strong enough to stand up to American pressure

Question 35

How did decolonisation take place in the 1950s?

Answer 35

• 1947 Britain decided to retreat from India
• pressures of colonial independence movements became harder to contain
• British forces found themselves fighting against national independence no vents in Malaya, Kenya and Cyprus
• In early 1950’s Britain’s rulers believed they could manage a gradual transition from the Empire to the New Commonwealth.
• However nobody had any idea of the sudden rush to independence waiting to happen

Question 36

What was the Mau Mau rebellion and how significant was it in changing British foreign policy?

Answer 36

• revolt in Kenya against British colonial rule after 1945
• Mau Mau fighters were accused of vomiting atrocities however revelations about the brutal treatment of captives at the Hola prison camp badly damaged Britain’s reputation.
• struggle to contain the rebellion had already demonstrated the problems with Britain’s colonial policies.
• After suez British policy makers began to reconsider the pace of decolonisation
• in 1957 Ghana gained independence, Nigeria and Cyprus also gained independence in 1960
• shift in British policy was signalled by Macmillan’s famous ‘winds of change’ speech

Question 37

What was Macmillan’s ‘winds of change’ speech?

Answer 37

• before the 1960s the aim of Britain’s imperial policy was to defeat nationalist revolts and maintain control over Britain’s African colonies
• Macmillan’s speech at Cape Town described the ‘wind of change’ blowing through the whole African continent symbolising a change of policy
• he called for decolonisation and the recognition of independence movements