churchill and his views in 1929 Flashcards
why was churchill out of office 1929-39
conservatives lost the general election in 1929. macdonald formed his national government in 1931 churchill was not invited to be apart of it
he was not invited back into the government until the war broke out in 1939
what was churchills previous reputation in 1929
- churchill was not liked by either the liberals and labour so would be a difficult person to be in a coalition government with
- labour often attacked churchill for his bitter attacks against the trade unions in the genral strike of 1926 and he even used troops against strikers
- he was responsible for the increased export prices
- he had a strong line against led gallipoli attacks in 1915 which made him unpopular
- he was blamed for high unemployment because returning to the gold standard Indian self government
- seemed to aligned himself with extreme right wing imperialists
what was churchills stance in mid 30s
churchill was not invited back into the government in mid 30s. the reasons for this centered around his speaking out on the danger posed by Germany and his belief that britain should rearm and needed greater air defence. he seemed to willing to risk war again when the public opinion was so against conflict
- this criticism seemed hypocritical as it was his defence cuts in 1920s that laid the basis for britains military weaknesses
- he seemed to ignore the economic realities of the 1930s - as unemployment was high
what were the problems in india
-there was widespread calls for independence from britain especially after british troops had fired on a crowd at amirtsar in 1919
- non violent but powerful civil disobedience campaign was led by gandhi
relience on repession to govern india gave britain poor reputation and alienated the support for british rule in india
why did churchill oppose british policy in india
churchill opposed british government moves towards change in india
he thought gandhi and indian nationalism would be content only with full independence concessions were a waste of time
- he thought independence would lead to conflicts between muslims and hindus
- he believed in the superiority of the white race and its destiny to rule
- he saw british power in controlling the empire
what was the abdicaion crisis
-the monarchy had been vital to encourage patrriotism and sacrifice during WW1
edward III succeeded the throne and wanted to marry mrs simpson
marrying an american who has been divorced at the time would be difficult for the public to accept
arch bishop of canterbury was concerned about marrying a divorced women
the cabinet did not give approval of the marriage so the government would have to resign
why did churchill support the king
churchill had sincere devotion to monarchy and saw his duty to support the king
he was unsympathetic to those respectable members of the establishment who seemed to oppose the kings happiness
churchill was in the minority and appeared old fashioned
What was Churchill atttitudes to Germany after 1933
-saw hitlers regime as dangerous
what was churchills attitude to germany after 1933
churchill saw the hitler regime as dangerous
- churchill had been a part of the government that had established the peace treaty with germany in 1919 and was worried that germany were going to break it
- he saw german rearmament as a threat, from 1934 he warned against germany developing power
- government response to germany rearming was to limit itthrough the anglo german naval treaty in 1935 but churchill thought this was weak
why did churchill not gain more support for his views about germany
- some thought germnay had been treated too harshly with the treaty of versaillse
- great deal of anti war feeling
- churchill seemed to be advocating initiating an arms race
- churchill was seen as putting possible war with germany before the needs of its own people
- seemed to be old fashioned
what was the munich agreement
1938 chamberlain agreed to the dismembering of the independent state of czechoslovakia making the german speaking part the sudentenland part of germany. britain had accepted hitlers annexation of autria
but the munich conference accepting Germany taking over the territory of people who were not germans
why did churchill oppose appeasement and the munich agreement
- thought chamberlain had giving into german demands
- come across as weak and were in danger of being dominated by germany
- to churchill it was a ‘defeat without war’
- germany was rearming at considerable speed`
what was churchills policy on Munich agreement
churchills views on appeasement seem correct. but his views that britain should have gone to war in 1939 seemed unrealistic
many people thought czechoslovakia was simply a far away country about which they knew nothing
rearmament had not really begun and there was no army ready to send to europe
if britain entered the war they would be facing german forces on their own and they have no possibilities of obtaining allies
military chiefs doubted the real strength of russia as an ally
what were the reasons for chamberlains resignation in 1940
- was difficult for chamberlain as he was a man of peace to then become war leader
- britain had not done well at fighting in norway against germany
- wavering support for chamberlain was seen in debate over norway in the house of common, when 40 conservative MPs voted against the government
- chamberlain was seriously ill at the time and it was accepted it was time for a change
what were the reasons for churchills support
- when the war broke out churchill gained support due to his criticisms about appeasement and his determination to pursue war
- halifax was the other candidate for pm but was involved with appeasement and made it clear he didnt want to accpet the post
- so left churchill to the role
- the german invasion of holland and belguim created a sense of urgency and indicated that britain needed a leader who understood war
