Protest Flashcards

1
Q

When was the Suffragette protest?

A

1903 - 1914

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2
Q

What were the Suffragettes protesting for?

A

They wanted the right to vote in the general elections

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3
Q

When and what was the Cat and Mouse Act? [Suffragettes]

A

Women who became seriously ill from hunger strikes in prison would be sent home. Once they were better they would be re-arrested. This is because PM Asquith was embarrased by the mass hunger strikes.
The Cat and Mouse Act was introduced in 1913.

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4
Q

Who led the Suffragettes(WSPU)?

A

Emmeline, Cristabel and Sylvia Pankhurst

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5
Q

When and why was the Suffragettes set up?

A

The WSPU was set up in 1903. This is because some Suffragists(NUWSS) became impatient with the lack of progress via peaceful means. Therefore they formed the Suffragettes which used more militant tactics.

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6
Q

What was the Suffragette motto?

A

Deeds not words

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7
Q

When were the Suffragists set up and who led them?

A

1897 by Millicent Fawcett

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8
Q

What and when was ‘Black Friday’? [Suffragettes]

A

It was on the 18th November 1910 - Asquith abandoned the bill as a result the Suffragettes protested. However they were violently treated by the police after the Government instructed them to frighten and humiliate the Suffragettes.

  • 200 were assaulted by police
  • 2 women died
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9
Q

What were some of the Suffragette tactics?

A
  • Marches
  • Demonstrations
  • “Votes for Women” (Actually called ‘The Suffragette’) Newspaper
  • Window Smashing
  • Attacking property
  • Hunger strikes
  • Set post boxes alight
  • Burn homes of MPs
  • Pour acid onto MP golf courses
  • Interupt political meetings
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10
Q

How were the Suffragettes organised?

A

The WSPU had branches all over the country which allowed them to have meetings and so organise mass demonstartions.
However not all of the protest was organised. For example, bombing buildings, destroying letters and Emily Davison’s death were not planned. They were often carried out by individuals or small groups of people.

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11
Q

How did the authorities react to the Suffragettes?

A
  • Cat and Mouse Act 1913
  • Force feeding
  • “Black Friday”
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12
Q

What part did the media play in the Suffragette protest?

A

-Suffragettes had their own newpaper called “Votes for Women”
-Death of Emily Davison was used by the Suffragettes to create mass publicity for their cause. They portrayed Emily as a martyr
-Events of Black Friday and the Cat and Mouse Act were exploited by the Suffragettes to get sympathy from the public
-Media would often headline peaceful proccessions
-Media would turn against the Suffragettes when they used violent methods
THE TIMES - Completely against them

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13
Q

Were the Suffragettes successful?

A

1914 public opinion showed that the people were firmly against them. Furthermore the authorities would not work with them as they were seen as terrorists. They had to stop the protest when the First World War started and help with the war effort.
Some were given the right to vote in 1918 because of their work during the First World War.

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14
Q

When was the General Strike?

A

4th May to the 12th May 1926

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15
Q

What were the main causes of the General Strike?

A
  • Long term tensions in mining
  • A post-war industrial slump
  • Dispute between mine owners and unions over the Samuel Commission’s report [Owners wanted to increase the hours and reduce the pay]
  • Government called off negoitations with the TUC after workers on the Daily Mail refused to print anti-strike editorial
  • Tripe Alliance meant more unions would strike with the miners
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16
Q

Who were part of the Triple Alliance in the General Strike?

A

The miners, transport workers and railways

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17
Q

How many workers striked in the General Strike?

A

Over 2.5m in different industries

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18
Q

What was the motto of the General Strike?

A

Not a penny off the pay, not a minute on the day

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19
Q

Who led the General Strike?

A

The TUC (Trades Union Congress) led by JH Thomas

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20
Q

What events led to the General Strike?

A

31st July 1925 - “Red Friday”: Mine owners propsed further cut in wages and extra hours as a result of the pound returning to the gold standard[Made exports expensive]
Government stepped in as fear of revolutions [Communist revolution in Russia 1917]. Paid miners a subsidy for 9 months and had Herbert Samuel write a report on problems in the coal industry. During this time the Government prepared plans in case of a General Strike.
-March 1926 - “Samuel Report”: Reccommened hours stay but pay is cut. Both the owners and the miners reject the proposal.
-27th April - “Strike Organisation Commitee”: TUC plan for national strike hoping the fear of one would push the Government into a solution
-3 - 4th May - Daily Mail: They refuse to print anti-strike newspapers and so the Government cut negotiations with the TUC. This shocks the TUC and they order a General Strike despite no being prepared enough.

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21
Q

What were the tactics of the General Strike?

A
  • They did not work
  • Large crowds formed to stop trams from running
  • Some buses were attacked
  • Local “Action Councils” set up to coordinate pickets and support the strikers
  • Pickets were used to prevent lorries from leaving the docks
  • Marches
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22
Q

What part did the media play in the General Strike?

A

TUC published the “British Worker” - stressed to the public that the dispute was only industrial and not a revolution
Government - The “British Gazette” edited by Churchil. It portrayed the strike as a revolutionary attempt to destroy British democracy and thr rule of law

23
Q

How did the authorities react to the Genreal Stike?

A

They were well organised as a result of the planning they made after “Red Friday”.

  • Middle class volunteers to keep services going as fear of Communism
  • Armoured vechiles to make sure supplies were still collected and delivered
  • Food convoys were given escorts
  • Lord Astbrury declared the strike illegal and that trade unions could be forced to pay compensation to employers who lost money during the strike
24
Q

What were the results of the General Strike?

A

TUC called off the General strike. Key reasons include;

  • TUC never wanted to strike to begin with
  • Possible compensation claims
  • Fear of violence
  • Hardship on workers
  • Feared losing controling [eg Action Councils slipping into control of militantss and Communists]
  • Little chance of winning as the Government were determined to break the strike.
25
Q

When was the Poll Tax protest?

A

31st March 1990

26
Q

Who was involved in the Poll Tax protest?

A

It was made up of a range of people from the British public. Examples include;

  • Students as they would have to pay more tax
  • Rich people opposed it on principle
  • Far-left groups such as Militants saw this as an opportunity to get working class people involved in politics and challenging the Government
27
Q

Why did the British people protest during the Poll Tax?

A

Margaret Thatcher introduced the Poll Tax in 1990 which was a regressive tax. This meant that everybody had to pay the same despite how much money they earned. It was found that 70% of the population would be worse off. Furthermore it was found that the Prime Minister herself would end up paying £2,300 less per year whereas a typical family in Suffolk would pay £640 more.

28
Q

Who led the Poll Tax protest?

A

The Anti-Poll Tax Union(APTU) was set up in April 1987, then the Anti-Poll Tax Federation was set up in Scotland to coordinate local APTUs. They coordinated demonstrations.

29
Q

What events led up to the Poll Tax Protest?

A

Protestors began organising themselves in 1987 when Margaret Thatcher annouced that the Poll Tax was a “flagship policy” of her new Government in June 1987.
Furthermore more APTUs were set up across the country when the Poll Tax was introduced in Scotland in July 1989. This allowed them to organise a protest for 31st March, day before the Poll Tax would be introduced into England and Wales.

30
Q

What tactics did the protestors use during the Poll Tax?

A
  • Peaceful demonstrations
  • Propaganda campaign: leaflets, posters, badges and stickers
  • Persuade local councils not to pay the tax
  • Mass non-payment [20% of the population had not paid any of the Poll Tax - August 1990]
  • 31st March: Protest became violent - armed themselves with scaffolding, buildings and cars were set on fire and shops were looted [Total of 400 arrests and £400,000 in damages]
31
Q

How did the authorities react to the Poll Tax Protest?

A

During the 31st March, the police argued that the protestors were aggressive from the start so they used force. For example, the police would use horse stampedes, ram protestors with cars and hit them with batons.
Furthermore they would arrest non payers. However they couldn’t arrest 18 million people!

32
Q

What part did the media play in the Poll Tax Protest?

A

They were firmly on the side on the authorities.
-Newspapers condemned the violence
-THE SUN even went as far as priniting pictures of the protestors wanted by the police
HOWEVER
-Newspapers sympathised with innocent protestors caught up in the chaos e.g. events on 31st March showed police brutality with protestors [Televised]
-For most people seeing such brutality and chaos made them want to solve the problem of the Poll Tax

33
Q

What were the results of the Poll Tax protest?

A

The authorities couldn’t deal with the mass non-payment, it was found that chasing non-payers was costly, ineffecitve and unpopular. For example, in June 1990, the courts in the Isle of Wight abandoned prosections of 1,800 Poll Tax refusers.
Furthermore in May 1990, the Conservatives fared badly losing control of many councils which made it clear to the Conservatives that they would lose the next general election with Thatcher’s policy - she was challeneged for the leadership of her party as a result
22nd November 1990 - Thatcher resigns

34
Q

When did Margaret Thatcher resign?

A

22nd November 1990

35
Q

When was the miners’ strike?

A

Started the 5th March 1984 in Yorkishire till March 3rd 1985 [Strike lasted 51 weeks before the miners gave up]

36
Q

Why were the miners protesting during the miners’ strike?

A

In March 1984, the National Coal Board led by Ian McGregor announced the closure of 20 pits with 20,000 miners losing their jobs. The National Union of Mineworkers began a national strike despite not even giving their members a chance to vote for one.

37
Q

Why did the miners feel they could succeed with the miners’ strike 1984?

A

The Conservative governement had to agree to the strikers’ demands to end the miner’s stike of 1972 and 1974. However this resulted in them losing power.
However once re-elected in 1979, they passed laws reducing the power of the unions as they were determined not to let them win again.

38
Q

Who led the miners’ strike?

A

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) led by Arthur Scargill [A man who strongly opposed Margaret Thatcher and her government’s policies]

39
Q

How many miners’ had striked by the 12th March 1984?

A

Around half of Britain’s 187,000 miners

40
Q

What tactics did the protestors use during the miners’ strike?

A

Arthur Scargill and the rest of the NUM knew that for the strike to work they would need to get all of the miners’ to strike in order to stop the production of coal. Therefore their tactics were focused on PERSUADING other miners to join the protest.

  • Picketing
  • Intimidation
  • Supporting striking miners [Women Against Pit Closures, fundrasing, posters, leaflets etc]
41
Q

Was the miners’ strike organised?

A

They were organised in their tactics however failed to hold a national ballot. As a result, 28th September 1984, the High Court ruled the strike unlawful. The NUM was fined £200,000 which was seized by the court when they refused to pay. As a result, they couldn’t afford the strike or be able to provide strikers with some income.
This fault led to the beginning of the end.

42
Q

How did the authorities react to the miners’ strike?

A

They were determined not to be defeated like in 1972 and 1974 so it was important for them to keep the working mines open, and keep the power stations supplied with fuel. So they focused on supporting miners who wanted to work and getting public support.

  • Media campaign [Speeches condemning any violence/intimidation&newspapers carried stories of intimidation]
  • Anti-picketing [Police to stop them and “flying pickets”, high courts made mass pickets illegal]
  • Withdrawing support by cutting benefits for miners when the strike was deemed illegal and using the NCB to offer cash payments to miners who worked the 4 weeks before Christmas
43
Q

What part did the media play in the miners’ strike?

A

The strike dominated headlines. Popular newspapers such as THE SUN and THE DAILY were anti-strike.

  • Television cameras and phtographers were usually behind the police lines and not with the miners [Biased]
  • Media reported intimidation made by miners
  • “Battle of Orgreave” portrayed as the miners were to blame for the violence when it was actually the police to blame. Later shown there were twice as many miner injuries than police.
44
Q

When was the “Battle of Orgreave”?

A

18th June 1984

45
Q

What were the results of the miners’ strike?

A

By Christmas 1984 many families were at breaking point as a result of them strike being deemed illegal [No financial support from NUM]
By January 1985 many miners began returning to work
In the end, the miners voted to return to work together than be forced back in dribs and drabs.
ACHIEVED NONE OF THEIR AIMS

46
Q

Approximately how many miners returned to work 5th March 1985?

A

100,000

47
Q

What happens May 5th during the General strike?

A

The government attempts to take control of the media and publishes the British gazette. The government also sends warships to Newcastle and recruits 226,000 special policemen.

48
Q

What happens May 6th of the General Strike?

A

Middle class volunteers get some services running such as buses and trains, and the electricity working.
A few buses are set on fire
Fights between police and protestors break out in Glasgow and London
PM Stanley Baldwin declares the strike an attack on British democracy.

49
Q

What happens May 7th of the General Strike?

A

Government calls the army to London. It seizes all supplies of paper which hinders the publication of the TUC paper, the British worker.

TUC are embarrassed when Russian trade unionists send a large donation and it is sent back

50
Q

What happens May 8th of the General Strike?

A

Number of volunteers increase.
Army escorts food lorries from the London docks.
Secretly, JH Thomas speaks with the mine owners.
Violence between police and protestors continues.

51
Q

What happens May 9th in the General Strike?

A

The Roman Catholic Church declares the strike ‘a sin’.

52
Q

What happens May 10th of the General Strike?

A

Some textile workers join the strike.
Strikers in Northumberland detail the Flying Scotsman train.
Baldwin declares that Britain is ‘threatened with a revolution’, and the government arrests 374 communists.

53
Q

What happens May 11th of the General Strike?

A

The TUC calls off the strike. The strikers are taken by surprise but drift back to work.

A.J.Cook(leader of the miners’ union) and the miners were horrified by TUC giving in. Strikes for another 7 months until funds were exhausted and they accepted the owner’s terms of longer hours and less pay