Chapter 3 Flashcards
What was the festival of Britain
Was held a century after the great exhibition of 1851, this was intended to mark Britains recovery from the war and to look forward to the future celebrating new design, culture and industry
What was the baby boom
In the years after the end of the Second World War there was a rise in the number of babies born those born between 1946 and 1964 are usually seen as baby boomers. Children born in the baby boom would grow up in a very different society
What was Britains infrastructure like in 1951
Britains infrastructure was run and it badly needed modernising. There was a desperate need for housing development to replace war damage and to deal with the decay of housing stock that had been neglected for the previous decade
What improvements were there to living standards
Pre war slums were cleared and new towns were built such as Harlow in Essex and Kirby on the Merseyside. The new towns planned in the 40s such as Stevenage crawly and Corby grew rapidly
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How did things improve economically for people after 1952
Men’s weekly wage were going up 8.30 in 1951 15.35 in 1961, there were massive increases in private savings.
Home ownership increased helped by easy access to cheap mortgages, but people living in council houses and rented accommodation still outnumbered homeowners
What signs of affluence were there in the 50s
Surge in ownership of consumer goods: televisions, washing machines, refrigerators and new furniture bought on hire purchase.
Between 1957 and 1959 number of households owning a tv rose by 32 percent by 1960 there were 10m tvs in use. It was estimated 50% of the population watched television in the evenings.
What was hire purchase
A system whereby a buyer pays a deposit on an expensive item and then pays monthly installments, at the end the buyer can pay the remaining balance or return the item.
Why was the ownership of tvs so significant
Showed people had more time on there hands people were now exposed to the advertising industry that was an obvious sign of affluence. The queens corination was televised in 1953 and 56% of the population watched it
Why was the boom in car ownership so significant
Car ownership rose 25 percent between 1957 and 1959 creating greater demand for new roads to be built, including novelty of motorways, cars pushed housing developments outside city’s also changed people’s ability to go on holidays.
What happened to holidays in the 50s
60,000 people holidayed each week with butlins as people had both paid time off work and enough disposable income to be able to go on holiday, foreign holidays were enjoyed by less than 2%
What were class loyalty’s like in the 50s
Class loyalties were very strong when it came to general elections 65 percent of working class voted labour and 80% of middle class voted Tory
By the late 1950s what changes were there to conformism
There was a shift in attitudes beginning the breakdown of old social restrictions. The suez crisis of 1956 exposed blatant lying and manipulation by the goverment the rise of cnd from 1958 encouraged the tendency to challenge authority. Britain was becoming more individualist and less conformist.
What key events led to the shift from conformism
Suez 1956
Profumo affair
Satire boom 1960
What was the satire boom
By 1960 Peter cook, Dudley Moore, Jonathan miller and Alan bennet made a big impact with their satirical stage show beyond the fringe.
1961 magazine private eye rapidly established a following.
1962 tv show that was the week that was
This encouraged standing up to the goverment
What leader were the People of Britain calling for
Leader who earned Their position through their personal merit
