Chapter 3 - Social Developments

Question 1

What was the baby boom

Answer 1

Rise in the number of babies born in the years after the war

Question 2

What happened to make living standards increase

Answer 2

In 1951 Britain’s infrastructure rundown and desperate need for housing developments pre-war slums cleared and towns built increase in car ownership men’s weekly wage increased from £8.30 in 1951 15.35 and 61 farmers did well economically due to the state subsidies homeownership increased helped by easy access to cheap mortgages

Question 3

What was the most obvious sign of affluence

Answer 3

Said in ownership of consumer goods example televisions at washing machines refrigerators and furniture this was helped by higher purchase

Question 4

What caused such affluence in Britain

Answer 4

Advertising industry ITV created in 1955 and people were able to see consumer goods in between programs

Question 5

What were the developments in TV

Answer 5

1957 to 59 the number of households owning a TV rose by 32% by 1960 there were 10 million TV sets and use 50% of population watched TV in the evening TV became more popular than radio

Question 6

What hobbies were developed in the post war prosperity and why

Answer 6

People had more time and money to develop hobbies such as DIY and gardening

Question 7

Effects of car ownership

Answer 7

25% ownership increase between 1957 and 59 created a greater demand for roads to be built including the motorway in 1950 8K travel which change holiday and leisure destination is e.g. Butlins housing developments post outside towns and cities

Question 8

Where class loyalty is strong and why

Answer 8

Yes in general actions in the 1951 election 65% of working-class voted labour 80% of middle-class voted Conservative

Question 9

Why were there gradual breakdowns of social restrictions

Answer 9

Series crisis in 1956 exposed lying and manipulation by the government the rise of CND From 1958 encouraged tendency to challenge authority Britain became more individualistic and less conformist the Siete less willing to follow the lead of establishment

Question 10

What was the position of women in the 50s

Answer 10

The ideal woman in the 50s was a wife and mother the average age of marriage was 21 and 75% of all women were married one in five women went to work women were given family allowance so that they did not need to work the welfare state at this time was first on full employment for men

Question 11

How did the position of women change by 1964

Answer 11

Trade unions did not support women working as they believed it would lower wages for those women that did work there were some improvements mainly for middle-class women equal pay for teachers act 1952 and for civil servant’s 1954 domestic life was also improved as households owning a washing machine rose by 54% and refrigerator by 58% nevertheless second wave feminism was beginning in the US and would spread to Britain by the later 1960s

Question 12

What were the attitudes towards Commonwealth and why did this cause the social tension

Answer 12

Attitudes towards the new Commonwealth were enthusiastic but they caused social tension as aN influx of immigrants arrived starting in 1958 about 250,000 immigrants arrived in Britain. Hi 1958 210,000 common wealth immigrants have settled in Britain the authorities regarded immigration as economically desirable as they could fill the lower wage jobs that nobody wanted however this caused racial tensions in the 50s

Question 13

What were Nigger hunts

Answer 13

White youth gangs in Nottingham in 1958 went on what they called nigger hunts after pub brawls and in Notting Hill riots broke out the same year because Notting Hill had a large concentration of immigrants from the Caribbean as landlords exploited tenants with overcrowded housing

Question 14

Who was Oswald Mosley and what did he do

Answer 14

He was a Conservative MP that set up that British union of Fascists he tried to stand in the 1959 election as a union movement candidate

Question 15

What did the racial violence resulting

Answer 15

The Commonwealth immigration act 1962 to live a strongly oppose the legislation as they were reluctant to use legislation towards immigrants from countries with historic British lines

Question 16

What was the emergence of the teenager and youth culture and why did this happen

Answer 16

There was a youth culture because they’ve had more time girls are no longer had to help their mothers at home and boys no longer had to take part in the national service after 1960 they were called the teenager because they dressed differently to their parents listened to new music went to coffee bars and it was the baby boom that increased the number of teenagers a survey in 1959 estimated that there was 5 million teenagers in Britain about 10% of the population increase in amount meant that they had more visible economical important young people had money which meant they could buy their own music and fashion and thus creating their own culture changes in technology like the radio help spread the culture through magazines and TV programmes

Question 17

What were Teddy boys

Answer 17

In the early 1950s the teddy boys were the most obvious youth subculture there derived from Edwardian fashion long courts in our trousers males and challenged social order they were a wolverine problem because of their link with juvenile and delinquency however by the late 1950s they were replaced by the mods and rockers rock ‘n’ roll which Britain in 1955 with the lives of Elvis Presley

Question 18

What where mods and rockers

Answer 18

Rockers road motorcycles wall leather and listen to rock ‘n’ roll mods road scooters were smart suits and preferred sophisticated pop music there were numerous clashes between the mugs and lockers in the early 1960s but larger scale I’ll be in in the south coast holiday resort of Claxton market and Brighton in 1964 the public responded with moral panic exaggerating the violent

Question 19

What were the changing social attitudes and tensions

Answer 19

The rising tensions were often reflected in popular film and television programmes such as clockwork Orange and gang violence