chapter 3

Question 1

what is an area of infrastructure that needed development in the post war consensus?

Answer 1

-housing development which had been neglected in past decade

Question 2

give examples of new towns built to help growing population and lack of housing

Answer 2

-harlow in essex
-kirkby in merseyside

Question 3

what were good economic indicators in the early 1950s?

Answer 3

-growing ownership of private cars
-mens wages increasing (£8 in 1951 -> £15 in 1961)
-food rationing ended in 1954
-cheap mortgages

Question 4

what is the most notable indicator of the new affluence?

Answer 4

-consumer goods ownership
-1957 -> 1959, tv households rose by 32%
by 1960 there are 10 mil tv sets in use

Question 5

what are examples of consumer goods and what is the system they were bought on?

Answer 5

tvs, washing machines, fridges etc.
-hire purchase: monthly instalments/renting

Question 6

what was a positive impact of the rise of consumer goods?

Answer 6

leisure activites become more popular
-DIY & gardening. tv shows help provide info & tips for these things

Question 7

give statistics for car ownership during this time

Answer 7

rose by 25% between 57 and 59
between 1957 and 1963, 1200 miles of new main roads were completed

Question 8

what is a knock on effect of the increase of car ownership?

Answer 8

-increased demand for in country holiday & leisure areas
-Butlins had 60,000 people holidaying a week
-car ownership means people can live in suburbs further from city centres

Question 9

what was a huge social division during this period?

Answer 9

class division
65% of working class voted labour in 1951 and 80% of middle class voted tory
the establishment was a high class network of old money families involved in politics & any high paying professions

Question 10

what major political event brought a loss of deference and breaking down of social restrictions?

Answer 10

-suez crisis 1956
exposes blatant lying and gov. manipulation
-rise of CND 1958
-encourages challenging authority

Question 11

what was a major scandal in 1963 that increased the public to feel negative toward the government?

Answer 11

the profumo affair
defence secretary John Profumo was caught to be sleeping with Christine Keeler
keeler was also sleeping with a soviet spy ivanov so this raised security questions of cold war info

Question 12

what were other pop-culture events which heightened lack of gov support?

Answer 12

-satire boom in 1960s. eg. 1961 private eye
critiques gov figures and the establishment.. similar to nepo baby exposure today

Question 13

what was the argument against the establishment being in high positions?

Answer 13

need leaders who had earned positions from personal merit and understood the modern age they were living in
the class-ridden society had a lack of social mobility

Question 14

what was a group of literates in the 1950s with these views?

Answer 14

‘angry young men’ used arts to attack behaviour & attitudes of the ruling elites

Question 15

what was the position of women in the early 1950s?

Answer 15

housewifery. ideal woman was wife and mother
average marriage age was 21 and 75% of women were married
only 1 in 5 women worked in 1951

Question 16

how did families afford to have women that did not work?

Answer 16

-family allowance. paid to women to ensure they didnt need to work and full employment for men could remain

Question 17

what was the social belief toward women that worked?

Answer 17

-damaging to children
-trade unions didnt support working women as it was believed it would lower wages

Question 18

what was a positive impact of the consumer goods boom for housewives?

Answer 18

-easier lives, as not working in jobs did not equate to no work. constant chores and looking after the needs of the family.
washing machine and fridge ownership increased. means less time to hand wash all clothes and daily food shopping is not needed

Question 19

what was the main cause of social tensions and hatred during this era?

Answer 19

racial violence and attitudes against immigration
windrush generation from caribbean on 1948 encouraged further immigration from new commonwealth, but numbers outside of cities were still very small

Question 20

how many commonwealth immigrants were in britain by 1958?

Answer 20

210,000
population was 52 million
-numbers from india and pakistan beginning to rise

Question 21

what were the reasons of a rise in immigration toward britain?

Answer 21

-male workers wanting to provide for family in the caribbean
-london had many oppurtunities
-originally was encouraged by british gov as it was economically desirable

Question 22

where did british immigrants tend to go in the 1950s?

Answer 22

australia offered assistance with jobs, housing etc
steady flow toward north america

Question 23

what was the balance of inward and outward immigration by the 1960s?

Answer 23

inward: 1.25million
outward: 1.92million

Question 24

what were examples of tension toward non-white communities in the 1950s?

Answer 24

1958 notting hill riots
poor area with low QOL. increase of immigrant population meant tensions with job and housing acquisition and so white youths would violently target minorities in the area

Question 25

who was oswald mosley and what was his effect on the growing racial tensions?

Answer 25

-encouraged it. leader of New party which became British Union of Fascists/ Union movement
-encouraged riots and racial hatred

Question 26

what was the 1962 commonwealth immigrants act?

Answer 26

restrictions of immigration. only those with work permits could immigrate

Question 27

why did youth culture emerge in the 1950s?

Answer 27

youths had more time. boys no longer had to to national service after 1960, and labour saving devices meant girls didnt have to help with chores as much
baby boom meant increase in teenagers
teenagers having jobs meant having spending money

Question 28

how did teenagers having jobs increase youth culture

Answer 28

money to spend on fashion and music meant sub cultures could emerge
magazines and tv channels aimed at teenagers increased in quantity

Question 29

what were the three famous teenager subcultures?

Answer 29

teddy boys
mods
rockers

Question 30

what features defined teddy boys?

Answer 30

edwardian fashion/suits
racial violence and general rioting
created rising deliquency and crime

Question 31

what were the rockers inspired by?

Answer 31

rock music increase from america eg elvis presley

Question 32

what were the mods inspired & defined by?

Answer 32

‘sophisticated’ pop music
heavily modified mopeds

Question 33

how did the mods and rockers create concerning rises in violence?

Answer 33

clashes and rivalry between the subgenres
in brighton 1964 there was a two-day fighting/rioting
bit exaggerated by media as there was no knife violence

Question 34

what were examples of changing social attitudes in literature?

Answer 34

clockwork orange 1962
sapphire 1959
increased depictions of violence, sex and references to homosexuality

Question 35

how were the changing societal depictions recieved?

Answer 35

described as immoral and depraved. critiqued by social moral activist mary whitehouse
criticism from left wing and desire to keep britain as socially conservative