Social class Flashcards
How many men died in WW1?
12.9% of men in the army in general died, but 20.7% of Old Etonians died as most served as officers which had a high mortality rate; in 1914 alone 6 peers, 16 baronets, 6 knights, and 261 aristocrat sons died.
How did WW1 help to break down class barriers between soldiers?
Life in trenches meant more interaction between working and middle class on a more even basis (shared dangers and little comforts). Led to decline in deference
How did death duties affect the upper class?
Estates worth 2M upwards were subject to an increase in death duties; elder sons oft had to sell their land or stately homes to pay these- sold 1/4 of all land in England 1918-20
How did income tax affect the upper class?
Income tax for incomes of over £2,500:
1914: 2%
1925: 57%
How did the upper class afford death duties and income tax?
Sold houses to National Trust- 1937 Country House Scheme- families could live rent-free in homes for 2 generations if they transferred ownership or opened home to public at least 60 days/year
How successful was the Country House Scheme 1937?
Millions paid to visit- helped preserve landed elite; ultimate goal for most rich people was the country house lifestyle
- In terms of culture, what helped the decline of the upper class?
- Due to their gradual decline in wealth, what did the upper class lose?
- Satire boom undermined deference
2. Prestige
What accelerated the political death of the aristocracy?
- Rise of Labour (Middle/Working class MPs)
- Parliament Act 1911- Lords could delay but not block laws
- 1958 onwards, hereditary peers increasingly replaced by ‘life-peers’ (nominated MPs)
- Statistics of the political decline of the aristocracy
2. Evidence that the political decline in the upper class was not absolute
1 - 40% of MPs r wealthy landowners in 1910; 5% by 1945
- 39/40 Lord Lieutenants r aristocrats in 1910; 15/46 by ‘70
2- Rise of new upper class- no real decline in elitism in politics before 51- Macmillan’s govt had 40 Old Etonian cabinet MPs
In the 1920s, commentators feared class conflict could lead to a revolution. How credible were these fears?
Very little class conflict except during the General Strike, but there was an underlying fear of the power of workers and unions due to the Russian Revolution
Evidence that class conflict was unlikely in the 1920s?
- Mid-to late ’20s strikes were in decline
- Tories continued to enjoy widespread working- and middle-class support in general elections
- Great Depression undermined working-class solidarity. TU membership rapidly declined due to unemployment.
How was there arguably greater equality in Britain after WW1?
- More democratic society- 1918 ROPA
- People in work could improve their living standards in the interwar years and even in the worst years of the depression prices fell faster than wages
Many felt more =. They had surplus income and could aspire to more affluent lifestyles than their parents.
Home ownership as an indication of improving living standards in the interwar years
Growth in the construction of houses for owners:
- No. owner-occupiers rose from 750,000 in the early 1920s to 3.25M by 1938.
During WW2, what in particular helped to erode class divisions?
- Evacuation
- Experience of the Blitz + potential homelessness
- Hardships of rationing
What did research done by Mass Observation suggest about the reality of the breaking down of class division?
Very little social change occurred- class distinctions remained and were sometimes reinforced by war experiences eg evacuation of inner city kids to affulent rural homes reinforced class prejudices.
