Lecture 7: Post-War British Society – Never having it do good? Flashcards
1960s =
decade with a mythological status in popular memory, stereotyped impression of “swinging sixties”
Harold Macmillan
PM 1957-63 – “let’s be frank about it. Most of our people have never had it so good”
Economic Conditions:
Period of economic boom:
- Most importantly period of economic boom – booming global economy in 50s – became a decade remembered for affluence and consumption
- Economic upturn following end of Korean War – ensured 1950s remembered as a decade of affluence and consumption
- Unemployment rarely moved beyond 3% between 1945 and 1975
- Impact of new prosperity evident as it came after the restrictions of WW2 – came after rationing, shortages
- Peter Clarke – average weekly earnings rose by 50%
- 1964 – annual weekly rages rising at double rate of prices
- Tight labour market – almost everyone able to find a job
Rise in consumption:
- Rise in consumption – story of the 1950s = the spread of the TV, Queen’s coronation televised, event in which lots of people had first watched the TV, 27 million – national record, 1955 = over 4 million TV licences – at end of 1960s 9 out of 10 households had TV licence
- Leisure booming – cinema to tv
House Building:
- Increase in house building (both private and council)
- Important, 1951 election Conservatives promised new housing
- Houses in 1950s significant
- Houses presented as new and exciting – specific to the 1950s
Parallels to interwar period:
- Concerns about poverty and unemployment
- Concerns about new suburban living
- 1966 – TV drama ‘Cathy Come Home’ about homelessness – follows fortunes of fictional young family – raise awareness about homelessness
- JB Priestly – third England – lost soullessness and community
- Richard Hoggart – the uses of literacy – echoed Priestley’s concerns – spoke about Jukebox boys as not having the communities
- George Orwell – concerned about poverty
1960s – rediscovery of poverty:
- Relative poverty over absolute poverty
- Argued poverty not just economic issue but led to social deprivation
- Rediscovery because this was after the welfare state – raised doubts about how successful the welfare state was in dealing with poverty
- Poverty concentrated in those that were must vulnerable
1960s permissiveness:
- Permissive decade associated with legislation passed by labour government
- Permissive revolution doesn’t simply apply to legislative reform but also to changing social attitudes
Legislation: 1959 Obscene Publications Act
amended censorship laws
Legislation: 1961 Suicide Act
suicide decriminalised in 1961
Legislation: 1965 Murder (Abolition of the Death Penalty) Act
death penalty abolished in 1965
Legislation: 1965 First Race Relations Act
race relations acts
Legislation: 1967 Sexual Offences Act
only referred to men, important milestone in progressive attitudes, decriminalised (but did not legalise) homosexual acts in private
Legislation: 1967 Abortion Act
mothers mental health taken into account, abortions up to 20 weeks legal on mental grounds, previously only allowed abortions based on mother’s physical health
Legislation: 1967 Family Planning Act
- allowed doctors to give family planning advice and provide contraceptives
Legislation: 1968 Theatres Act
– amended censorship laws
Legislation: 1968 Representation of the People Act
lowered voting age from 21 to 18
Legislation: 1969 Divorce Reform Act
after 1969 consenting adults allowed to divorce on any grounds after 2 years, and after 5 years only one party needed to consent, number of divorces increased as a result
Young People:
- Assumed a different social and economic position
- Number of unmarried people rose by a million
- Economic conditions saw wage rise of adolescents by about 50%
- Concept of teenager – rise of school leaving act = 16 in 1969
- Era of the young – recognised by politicians e.g. voting age lowered – recognising young people being more important
- Voting age lowered to 18 in 1968 – young people seen as being important constituents
- New affluence and new techniques of mass marketing helped to define the image of the teenager
- Advertising addressed to teenagers
- New economic liberalisation of youth reflected by new subcultures – personal liberation from traditional morals especially regarding sexual behaviour
- Pop music = integral part of teenager’s lives, pop personalities
- Music = central
- New sexual freedom
- Some young people identified as part of a sub culture, e.g. teddy boys, hippies and mods and rockers
BUT: (NOT ALL POSITIVE CHANGES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE)
- Many within conservative adult world were not supportive of new idea of youth revolt
- Posed challenge to traditional morals
- Clash of mods and rockers in Brighton
- Increased crime rate, steepest amongst teenagers
- No radical change in values and behaviour – challenging popular image that is presented
- Vast majority still wanted to marry – and many wanted to remain virgins before marriage
- Youth culture prominent because of demographic shifts
- 4% of population went to university – no student experience
Women:
- New liberation for women
- Legal and political situation improved
- 1960s saw better economic position for women
- Economic position of women improved – move in to the workplace without stigma
- Increased pressure for reform in the 1960s
- 1970 Equal Pay Act – abolished differences in pay
- 1975 Sex Discrimination Act – illegal for employers to discriminate on grounds of gender
- In the home, new ideals were being put forward regarding relationship between husband and wife – symmetrical family – more equal relationship between husband and wife
- Women targeted by mass advertising – traditional role as manager of household
- Women could spend money in their own right – fashion and cosmetics
- Women able to assert increased sexual independence – sex increasingly seen as being something that could be more openly discussed and sexual explicitness’s in advertising
- Contraceptive Pill launched 1961 but only available for married women, freely available in 1967 to all women
- Family Planning Act and Abortion Act – legislation that helped women
- Loosing of strict sexual morality in society
- Lady Chatterley’s lover = landmark decision, evidence of permissive 60s – penguin books successful in overturning ban of the book – lifting of government-imposed censorship and public desire to read such material
BUT: (NOT ALL POSITIVE CHANGES FOR WOMEN)
- Adverts and products often focussed on female body – not a great development for women
- Lady Chatterley – female object of male desire – feminist criticism
- Traditional family more popular than ever – childbirth more common amongst women
- Marriage rates went up as did divorce rates
- People getting married younger
- Women targeted for advertising but mainly for the benefit of men – emphasis on body
- Even if women did gain greater freedom they were still restrained
Conclusion of 1960s:
- Economic boom = crucial
- For many = period of affluence
- Economy had massive effect on young people – fuelling youth culture and enabled women to move into the workplace
- Didn’t include everybody – not everybody welcomed developments
Harold Macmillian
Prime Minister 1957-63
“Lets be frank about it. Most of our people have never had it so good”
Economic Conditions:
Boom Years 1953-55; 1958-60
Unemployment rarely roe above 3% 1945-75
Nearly 250,000 houses built 1948
Conservatives promised 300,000 a year, achieved 1953-1958
1960, 14.2% families living in relative poverty
Leisure:
Cinema attendances peaked 1,635 million in 1946
764,000 TV licenses in 1951
4m in 1955
10m in 1960
Nearly half all homes had no bathroom in 1950
1960s Permissiveness
Most legislation passed under Harold Wilson - Labour MP 1964-70
When was the obscene publications act?
1959
When was the Suicide Act?
1961
When was the Murder Act?
1965
When was the First Relations Act?
1965
When was Sexual Offences Act?
1967
When was the Abortion Act?
1967
When was the Family Planning Act?
1967
When was the Second Race Relations Act?
1968
When was the Theatres Act?
1968
When was the Representation of the People Act?
1968
When was the Divorce Reform Act?
1969
Young People:
Number of unmarried people aged 15-24 rose by 1m between 1950-60
Real wages of adolescents rose by about 50%
1969: school leaving age raised to 16
Mods and Rockers clash in Brighton, 1964
1959: Ablemarle Committee: advertising addressed to teenagers
M. Schofield: The Sexual Behaviour of Young People (1965) - “Vast majority young people wanted to marry and expected faithfulness and that the majority wanted to marry virgins”
Acts relating to women:
1970 Equal Pay Act
1975 Sex Discrimination Act
