Social developments 1914-1939

Question 1

regional differences between unemployment in the interwar years?

Answer 1

South + Midlands = prosperous eg St Albans (SE) only 3.9% unemployed
North + West, Wales = struggling eg Jarrow (NE) unemployment 68%, Merthyr Tydfil (S Wales) 62%

Question 2

where was unemployment a big problem?

Answer 2

staple industries

eg 1932 shipbuilding = 59.5%, iron + steel = 48.5% where as the national avg was 22.9%

Question 3

where did new industries take place + what were they?

Answer 3

SE + Midlands eg chemical, motor cars + other light industries

Question 4

where did Morris motors employ almost half its workforce from?

Answer 4

depressed areas in 1930s, as local supply of labour was exhausted

Question 5

how were some newer industries affect?

Answer 5

seasonal winter unemployment for example car production

Question 6

where did industry majorly decline in 1931-9 and what?

Answer 6

Wales
the coal industry
-4.9%

Question 7

what areas experienced the largest growth 1931-9?

Answer 7

SE -> 7.3%

E -> 10.6%

Question 8

what act was put in place to try stop the regional differences?

Answer 8

Special Areas Act 1934

Question 9

how did lower prices affect working class families?

Answer 9

more money to spend on household goods eg radios, it took up less of their budget eg in 1914 60%, 1938 35%, could spend more on newspapers + leisure eg cinema

Question 10

how many people did Rowntree find in ‘primary poverty’?

Answer 10

7%

Question 11

how had science changed?

Answer 11

• developing in radio + TV

- advent of electricity + internal combustion

Question 12

how had social trends changed?

Answer 12

• divorces increased eg 1936-40 7535 per year compared to 2848 in 1921-5
• avg number of births decreased 115.2 in 1931-5 compared to 190.7 in 1911-15

Question 13

how did media grow?

Answer 13

• 1939, 69% of the pop. over 16 read a daily national paper.
• a radio became a fixture in homes of all classes. no. of licences grew from 36,000 in 1922 to 34 mill in 1939
• commercial broadcasters dominated by BBC -> focused on light music, news, sports commentary

Question 14

how many cinemas were there in Glasgow, 1938?

Answer 14

104

80% of Glasgow’s jobless saw a film once a week

Question 15

why were cinemas popular?

Answer 15

tickets cheap, provided an escape for unemployed on cold afternoons.
they provided more accurate info about the condition of people

Question 16

why were there a larger market of fiction + non-fiction books in 1930s?

Answer 16

improving rates of literacy

Question 17

how many women had been employed at the start of the war?

Answer 17

5.7 mill

Question 18

what was the representation of the people act in 1918?

Answer 18

enfranchised women over the age of 30, if they were ratepayers or married to ratepayers occupying premises valued at £5 a year.

all man were enfranchised at the age of 21 + men aged 19-21 who had been in active service in the war also got the vote

Question 19

when did women receive the same terms as men with the vote?

Answer 19

1928

Question 20

what happened to women employment after the war?

Answer 20

forced out women of well-paid + skilled work, instead they returned to traditional occupations eg service or clerical work -> in 1918 1.25 mill women were 'in service'
- 2/3 of all work done by working class women was done from home a system know as 'domestic outwork'

Question 21

what was the sex disqualification act 1919?

Answer 21

preventing the barring from a career in law or the civil service on the basis of gender
- it gave women greater opportunities when applying for work

Question 22

what was the means test?

Answer 22

the local public assistance committee would investigate the families house to see whether they qualified for unemployment benefits for 26 weeks. all forms of income was taken into account.
controversial

Question 23

why were the unemployment inefficient?

Answer 23

it didn't provide enough for a minimum diet that was recommended by the ministry of health. 
for many families in these areas meat was a rarity
on avg far more working class women went hungry than men

Question 24

what was the result of large amounts of hunger in the north?

Answer 24

hunger marchers -> they sought to bring attention to the government of the scale of deprivation + poverty

Question 25

how much did working classes spend on food and wages?

Answer 25

1914 -> 76%

1938 -> 44%

Question 26

how many cinema tickets were sold in 1938?

Answer 26

1 billion

Question 27

how did homes improve?

Answer 27

hot + cold running water, electric heating, lighting, inside toilets + a small garden

Question 28

how did confidence for women increase?

Answer 28

income from war job
increase in women’s magazines
1939, 3 million copies sold

Question 29

how had attitudes changed?

Answer 29

• mass unemployment
• state had to get more involved to alleviate poverty + the management of the economy
• rise of extremism
• divorce rates increasing + birth rates fell