economy 1914-1939

Question 1

when was the wall street crash?

Answer 1

1929

Question 2

what were the regional variations of unemployment like in Britain?

Answer 2

North of England, South Wales and parts of Scotland were worst hit. Eg Jarrow in county Durham, were 72% were unemployed

Question 3

when did Britain return to the gold standard and whose idea was it?

Answer 3

1925
Churchill

Question 4

why did Churchill want to return to the Gold Standard?

Answer 4

because the last time Britain was on it, they were doing well economically.
Churchill through it would restore the economy to pre-war strength
thought it would control inflation and create stability in British export industries.

Question 5

what was the problem with returning to the gold standard?

Answer 5

Churchill valued money to gold 10% too high, meaning that British exports became more expensive and uncompetitive
unemployment grew and wages fell in the staple industries

Question 6

ww1 economy
DORA

Answer 6

Defence of the Realm Act
formed basis of government intervention
allowed government to intervene and direct labour, conscription…
illiberal
done to improve economy

Question 7

ww1 economy
rationing

Answer 7

introduced due to dependence on imported food and shortages by 1916
The Ministry of Food was set up in 1916 to give subsidies to reduce bread prices and introduced voluntary rationing
full rationing was introduced in 1918 including sugar, meat and butter

Question 8

ww1 economy
mining

Answer 8

brought under government control after 1915 strike threatened production
price controls introduced and limited export licenses
a coal controller was introduced in 1917 to ensure supply
but coal mies remained in private hands
industrial relations remained poor
no real modernisation or innovation

Question 9

ww1 economy
shipping

Answer 9

Britain was the world leader
No immediate need for government intervention
1916, Ministry of Shipping set up
1917, 4 million tonnes of food was sunk by German U boats, overcome by convoy system
War loses caused construction boom
Britain would never recover to pre-war strength and dominance

Question 10

ww1 economy
railways

Answer 10

Quickly brought under state control
Highlighted inefficiencies
not nationalised after war, but did lead to structural changes
1921, there were 4 railway companies compared to 130 at the start of the war

Question 11

ww1 economy
munitions

Answer 11

1915 Shell Scandal revealed problems such as the War office using over 250 companies
250 new shell factories were built by the state
Profits were limited and prices were kept down
new technology
better standards of health and safety
nationalisation in areas such as pubs in munition producing areas.
more unskilled workers took jobs previously taken by skilled workers as engineers etc had been lost to the war effort
munitions factory profits were limited to prewar levels by 1/5
new Ministry of Munitions controlled buying and supplying of goods to munitions factories and its new shell factories
Ministry had £2 billion to fund its expansion of production

Question 12

ww1 economy
agriculture

Answer 12

Gov knew production increased due to high reliance on imports
Cultivation Production Act 1917, farmers could be forced to change land use
Corn Production Act guaranteed minimum price for grain and wage for labourers
Womens Land Army provided extra labour
daylight savings introduced
Gov aimed to persuade not force change

Question 13

was the Ministry of Munitions a success?

Answer 13

Yes
increased control kept prices down
Ministry controlled 20,000 munitions factories and the supply chain so the system was highly centralised and efficient
created new standards: health and safety, new technology, research into more advanced weapons
pubs nationalised in munition areas so gov can control opening times and strength of drinks

Question 14

how was world trade between 1929-1933?

Answer 14

It fell by 35%

Question 15

which industries were hit worst by the international downturn and why?

Answer 15

staple industries
had not modernised, techniques and machinery required a lot of manpower eg, a great deal of British coal continued to be cut by hand

Question 16

when did Britain return to the Gold Standard?

Answer 16

1925

Question 17

why did Britain return to the Gold Standard?

Answer 17

the economy was doing well last time Britain was on the Gold Standard, so Churchill, Chancellor of Exchequer thought that it would restore the economy to pre-war strength, control inflation and create stability for British export industries

Question 18

what was the problem with the Gold Standard?

Answer 18

Churchill valued pound against gold 10% too high

Question 19

what was the impact of the Gold Standard?

Answer 19

British exports became too expensive and uncompetitive.
Unemployment grew and wages fell in the staple industries
caused general strike
interest rates had to be kept high to encourage foreign investment in British banks, otherwise gold reserves would have been depleted but this discourages borrowing and prevented innovation
government had to limit spending so they did not go into defecit as it would destroy the confidence of foreign investors

Question 20

when was Britain taken off the Gold Standard?

Answer 20

1931 under the national government led by Ramsey-MacDonald

Question 21

how was the 1930s described?

Answer 21

decade of the devil

Question 22

how many people were unemployed in the early 1930s?

Answer 22

2.5 million

Question 23

what were the regional variations in unemployment in the 1930s?

Answer 23

worst hit areas were North England, South Wales

Question 24

give an example of an area that was badly hit by the depression

Answer 24

Jarrow, County Durham
72% unemployed

Question 25

why was the coal industry suffering so much after the first world war?

Answer 25

lack of investment in new technology- still suing pickaxes
british mines were old, with narrow winding passageways meaning high production costs
former prewar British markets had started to use other power sources such as electricity and oil
former customers had looked elsewhere for coal imports during the war
coal mine owners threatened to reduce miners wages

Question 26

describe the miners strike of 1919?

Answer 26

2.4 million workers went on strike
problems were worst in 2 industries under government control, particularly railways and mines
particulalry bad in nottinghamshire and derbyshire
government had to call on demobilised naval rating to ensure production continued

Question 27

describe the remit and conclusions of the Sankey and Samuel Commission in the 1920s?

Answer 27

tension increased between government and mine owners vs unions

Question 28

what did the Samuel Commission recommend?

Answer 28

small wage cuts but not longer hours

Question 29

what was the reaction and outcome of the samuel commission?

Answer 29

not acceptable to miners or employers so they made plasn to increase hours and reduce pay which
caused strike
owners fired strikers

Question 30

what did the sankey commission recommend?

Answer 30

nationalising the mines

Question 31

why was lloyd george criticised for ignoring the sankey commission?

Answer 31

looked like he was being influenced by the conservatives

Question 32

what was black friday in 1921?

Answer 32

destroyed the triple alliance of miners, transport workers and railwaymen created in 1914 to create to working class solidarity
miners fought alone for 3 months until the were driven back to work on worse terms than they started with -wage cut

Question 33

when was the general strike?

Answer 33

1926

Question 34

how long in the railwaymen and transport workers strike for in solidarity with the miners?

Answer 34

9 days until TUC called off strike

Question 35

what was the miner’s slogan to show what they wanted?

Answer 35

“not a minute on the day, not a penny on the pay”

Question 36

what happened in july 1925?

Answer 36

red friday
government propped up coal industry with 9 month subsidies

Question 37

how did the gold standard damage the coal industry?

Answer 37

made exports more expensive and weakened the position of the coal industry against foreign competitors

Question 38

how did the government reduce the impact of the strikes?

Answer 38

Organisation for the Maintenance of Supplies established to train volunteer strike breakers to help run transport
skeleton service run on the underground
up to 2400 trains were running during the strike
hyde park used as a centre for distributing milk across the country
military staff organised recovery plans

Question 39

how did the government respond to the strikes?

Answer 39

published in the British Gazelle ridiculing strikers and accusing them of trying to overturn the constitution

Question 40

how did the church respond to the general strike?

Answer 40

archbishop of canterbury appealed for a return to peace negotiations but the gov didn’t publish his broadcast

Question 41

what were the positives of the general strike for the government?

Answer 41

seen as a win for the government - TUC called off strike without achieving aims
successfully used OMS to react and send in troops and teams of volunteers to keep essential services operational
1927 trade disputes act banned sympathy strikes

Question 42

what were the negatives of the general strike for the government?

Answer 42

1925 gold standard and ignoring sankey commission caused the strike and rising unemployment
labour election in 1929 as many saw Churchill as an enemy of the working class in 1945 election
bringing in army was seen as an oppressive response

Question 43

what were the positives of the general strike for the strikers?

Answer 43

proved capable of organised something big- brought industries to a standstill
had sympathy from King George V who said ‘try living on their wages before you judge them’
relations between working and middle class were better due to OMS
coal sector boomed with productivity hitting 300 tonnes per month per annum by 1939
unions sprung up in new levels
strike discouraged employers from cutting wages

Question 44

what were the negatives of the general strike on the strikers?

Answer 44

baldwin painted unions in a bad light ‘ the general strike is a challenge to parliament and is the road to anarchy and ruin’
roman catholic church called striking a sin
called off strike wo meeting terms
miners didnt achieve terms- lost power and mine owners gained power
membership reduced in TUC 5.5 million in 1925 to 3.75 million in 1930
average number of strikers fell 1926 2.75 million 1927-1930 300,000

Question 45

what was the impact of the wall street crash?

Answer 45

loss of US markets and European trade
unemployment rose from 1 million to 3 million between 1929 and 1932
sharp rise in longer term unemployment
old and traditional industries took a long time to recover

Question 46

what was the means test?

Answer 46

introduced in 1931 to gauge the level of need in individual households was criticised for its percieved intrusiveness and lack of generosity

Question 47

how did the wall street crash contribute to depression in the 1930s?

Answer 47

america introduced high tariffs to protect domestic industry meaning the price of british goods went up causing the demand to fall
companies collapsed and wsc sped up the impact

Question 48

how did british heavy industry contribute to depression in the 1930s?

Answer 48

many markets sourced cheaper supplies elsewhere during the war
coal was replaced by gas and oil
general strike in 1926 negatively impacted the coal industry

Question 49

how did outdated methods contribute to depression in the 1930s?

Answer 49

british industry was labour intensive while other countries had innovative technology
mid 1920s coal cost 65p/tonne to produce in the USA and £1.56/tonne to produce in the uk
steel making plants were opening in USA germany and japan, and closing in the uk eg Ebbw Vale

Question 50

how did import duties contribute to depression in the 1930s?

Answer 50

tariffs reduced demand - british exports fell by 1/2 from 1929-1931
demand for shipbuilding fell as there were less goods being transported around the world - decline in invisible trade

Question 51

what was the state of unemployment in the 1930s?

Answer 51

rose from 6% to 15% 1929-1932
domestic market suffered
more businesses were bankrupt and unemployment rose
less spending and investment due to economic uncertainty

Question 52

how did spending change during depression in the 1930s?

Answer 52

even people who weren’t unemployed became more reluctant to spend and invest due to the uncertainty of the economy, causing more businesses to suffer

Question 53

how did the government respond to depression in the 1930s?

Answer 53

means test 1931
import duties act 1932

Question 54

what was the import duties act 1932?

Answer 54

introduced tariffs so people and companies would buy UK goods. Actually reduced amount of international trade and made depression worse
eg 33% tax on cars

Question 55

what health issues were there in the 1930s due to economic issues?

Answer 55

infant mortality rate in Jarrow was double that of the rest of Britain
epidemic of scarlet fever due to malnourishment
slums meant that diseases spread quickly

Question 56

what was the jarrow crusade?

Answer 56

people form jarrow marched to london demanding government action to create jobs and help the unemployed