power and the people- part 4, 20C, equality and righs Flashcards
Women's Rights, Workers' Rights, Minority Rights
what were the 3 women groups fighting for female suffrage
- National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS)
- The Women’s Freedom League
- Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU)
describe the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS)
- Millicent Fawcett created this in 1897- known as the suffragists
- believed in peaceful methods (meetings, letters, posters)
- wanted to be seen as kind and gentle to persuade men to give them the vote
describe The Women’s Freedom League
- created in 1907
- members did not believe in violent tactics
- mostly pacifists
- also campaigned for equal pay for women
describe the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU)
- created by Emmeline Pankhurst- was part of the NUWSS but decided more action needed to be taken
- formed the WSPU in 1903 with her daughters- called the Suffragettes
- believed in ‘deeds not words’
what were the similarities between all women’s suffrage groups
- middle-class women
- wanted the vote for women
differences between suffraGISTS and suffraGETTES
- SUFFRAGISTS- NUWSS, peaceful methods
- SUFFRAGETTES- WSPU, militant methods
as the suffragettes thought that change was taking too long, they used more militant tactics- what were these
- heckling MPs during speeches
- demonstrations outside the House of Commons
- chaining themselves to railings
- 1912 stone-throwing campaign: over 200 suffragettes arrested
- arson attacks and blowing up buildings
which suffragette gained a martyr
Emily Wilding Davison
why did Emily Wilding Davison gain a suffragette martyr
in 1913 at the Epsom Derby- she ran in front of the King’s horse and got trampled and died (was trying to stick a suffragette rosette on the king’s horse)- however no one knows if she meant to kill herself or not as she bought a train ticket home
how did women behave in prison if arrested
they would starve themselves until they nearly died to prove how much they wanted the vote
how did the government respond to women starving themselves in prison
- ‘the cat and mouse act’
- they couldn’t these women die as they had influential husbands or fathers and didn’t want to create martyrs
- women were initially force-fed but this was seen as too dangerous as it could lead to disabilities or death
what was the cat and mouse act
- Prisoners (Temporary Discharge for Ill Health) Act in 1913
- act said that women should be released when they became too weak due to starvation in prison- once they were well enough they would be rearrested and returned to prison
why did many people not support the suffragettes
- they thought that they held back women’s suffrage because their violence made them look irrational and unbalanced- a good reason for not having the vote
- a women’s place was in the home
- politics was a man’s world and women were unsuited to it; Prime Minister Herbert Asquith believed this and blocked moves to give women the vote
how did WW1 help women get the vote
- women ran family businesses and worked in the stressful war environment- this showed they could make clear-headed decisions
- by working on farms, in factories and on the front line as nurses, women showed they could do the same jobs as men- they became known as the ‘angel of the factory’
- women proved they could so war work and still look after their children and homes
what were the governments actions towards universal suffrage
- due to women working in factories in the war, they felt some women deserved the vote
- Feb 1918, the Representation of the People Act gave the vote to all men over 21 and to women over 30 with the property qualifications
- after the war, women had to leave the workplace and make way for the men returning from war
- women continued to campaign for the vote- in 1928 women were given the vote on equal terms with men
in the 1960s the Women’s Movement was born, what did this demand
- equal pay with men
- more women in higher education
- 24 hour child care
- free contraception and abortion on demand
what year was the Divorce Reform Act, what did it state
1969- allowed women to divorce their husbands and claim any property owned in the divorce settlement
what year was the Equal Pay Act, what did it state
1970- gave women the right to be paid the same as men for the same work
what year was the Sex Discrimination Act, what did it state
1975- gave women the rights and protection in the workplace
what were the 3 causes of the General Strike in 1926
impact of the First World war, technology, mine owners and the unions
how did the impact of the first world war cause the General Strike in 1926
- in the war, Britain’s output had been high with lots of people working in industry.
- coal mines had been nationalised, but were returned to private owners afterwards. after 1918 there was a fall in demand for coal.
- mine owners had to either close insufficient mines or introduce new automatic machinery that would mean fewer men were needed.
how did technology cause the General Strike in 1926
- British coal mining struggled further because mines in countries like Germany and the USA had more modern equipment and lower costs.
- British mines could not compete so the unions called for the mines to be re-nationalised
how did mine owners and the unions cause the General Strike in 1926
- 15 April 1921 (Black Friday)- mine owners announced longer working hours but a drop in wages
- the miners decided to strike, but without the support of the other big unions they had to go back to work or lose their jobs
what happened in 1925 to the price of coal, what did this cause for the workers
- price of coal fell and miners faced a further wage cut
- fearing a general strike with the miners backed by other big unions, the government subsidised the coal industry
in April 1926, what happened to the government’s subsidies
they ran out and the miners didn’t want a pay cut
on what date did the TUC agree to strike, how long did it last
- started on the 3 May 1926- Britain’s first General strike began and lasted 9 days
what were the government actions during the first General Strike, 1926
- the army and university students took over essential jobs in industry
- used own newspaper the British Gazette as propaganda to turn the public against the strike
- the army stopped the violent clashes between the strikers and government
what were the TUC actions during the first General Strike, 1926
- strikers travelled to picket other industries and at times clashed violently with the police
- used their newspaper The British Worker to explain reasons for the strike
- set up funds to feed the families of strikers to help keep the strike going
when did the first General Strike end
12th May 1926
why did the first General Strike fail
the government won as the unions ran out of money and the Labour party did not support the strike
due to the first General Strike failing, what did the workers have to do
return to work for lower wages and longer hours
what did the Trade Disputes and Trade Unions Act in 1927 do
stopped unions joining together to strike or pay funds to a political party
after WW2 society changed, what happened to the industries and trade unions
- industries were all nationalised
- Trade union membership increased when labour government amended Trade Disputes and trade Union Act.
- due to increased membership wages dropped whilst prices increased
what happened in 1972 and 1974 to the National Union of Miners
they voted for coal strikes which led to a three day week
in 1974, what did the new Labour government bring for the workers
regular wage increase
in the late 20th century how did the government take action to limit the Trade unions power that they gained after WW2
- gave employers more power to fire striking employees
- 1984- miners strike- government introduces Trade Union Act making it harder to strike legally
- 1985- Miners strike ends- government has control over trade unions
after WW2, Britain’s empire began to shrink and they needed people to work in low paid and unskilled jobs- where did they find these people
from Commonwealth countries
what did the 1948 British Nationality Act state
gave all people from the Commonwealth a chance to move to Britain- they could gain full British Citizenship
how did the British government attract people to come to the country in 1948
- gave interest-free loans so that immigrants could afford the cost of travelling by ship
- recruitment fairs in Jamaica helped people secure a job in Britain before leaving their homes
when did the Windrush ship dock at London, how many people were on it from the Caribbean
- 22nd June, 1948
- 492
what was the social experience of immigrants in Britain
- the first wave of immigrants were mostly young black men, they clashed with groups of young white men
- in the areas that immigrants had moved to there was segregation
what was the immigrant experience of employment in Britain
- many immigrants were forced to do low paid, unskilled work as their qualifications weren’t recognised
- doctors arrived from the Indian subcontinent and worked in the New National Health service
- many Asian immigrants started their own businesses in their communities
what was the immigrant experience with housing in Britain
- many white people moved out of areas that immigrants moved to- this was known as ‘white flight’
- many landlords and even housing associations tried to stop black and Asian people renting their houses
when were the Notting Hill riots
1958
what happened at the Notting Hill riots
- tension rose between white residents and immigrants
- people fought each other
what did the Commonwealth Immigrants Act in 1962 state
- immigrants need to apply for a work voucher to come to Britain; they can only get one if their skills are in demand
what did the Commonwealth Immigrants Act of 1968 state
- even those from the commonwealth who hold a British passport cannot come to Britain unless they have a parent or grandparent who was born in or a citizen of the UK
- possibly introduced out of fear that 200,000 Asians living in Kenya might come to Britain to escape discrimination, due to policy of Africanisation being introduced in Kenya
what did the Immigration Act of 1971 state
- immigrants can only get temporary work permits also encourages voluntary repatriation- the government will help people move back to their country of origin and change their citizenship back
who was Enoch Powell
- he was a politician, who was part of the conservative party and a very outspoken about immigration
- he gave a speech in 1968 known as the “Rivers of Blood”
what impact did Powell’s policies have
- he gained a lot of support, especially from the working class
- supporters of ‘Powellism’ believed that white people were superior to non-white people, even those born in Britain
- Powellism encouraged the politics of the National front, a group who wanted all non-white people to return to their family’s country of origin
what did the government’s Race Relations Act of 1965 state
- prevented racial discrimination in housing and employment ; no criminal convictions were ever brought before the Race Relations Board
what was the Commonwealth Immigrants Act of 1968 aim
to help the integration of immigrant communities
what did the Race Relations Act of 1976 state
- that discrimination meant any practice that out another group at a disadvantage
- replaced race Relations Board with more powerful commission for Racial Equality
when were the Brixton Riots
1981
what were the economic causes of riots in the late 1970s
- there was recessions in the late 1970s and this economic hardship hit black communities the hardest with high unemployment, poor housing and higher crime rates
what were the political causes of riots in the late 1970s
- in 1977 the Battle of Lewisham was caused by a National Front march through the borough of Lewisham, which was predominantly a black area
- the national front was convinced that black people were more likely to be involved in crime and this made them even more against multi-cultural societies
what were the social causes of riots in the late 1970s
- a new law allowed the police to stop and search anyone they suspected was about to commit a crime- known as the ‘sus law’
- many people saw this as a racial profiling and felt that more black people were being stopped because of their skin colour
how many people were stopped within 6 days in Brixton under the ‘sus law’
1000 people and it increased tension as young black men felt attacked in their own community
on what date did the Brixton Riots start, why
10th April 1981 and started due to rumours of police brutality and the arrest of a young black man.
how many days did the black community fight the police in 1981
- 3 days
- they set fire to cars and buildings too
what did Lord Scarman report state after he investigated the police in 1981
that there was institutional racism after the murder of Stephen Lawrence- a racially motivated attack in 1993
what did the Scarman report end/create (4 things)
- no Institutional racism in the metropolitan police service
- suggested making racially prejudiced behaviour an offence
- ended the sus law
- led to the creation of the police complaints authority
