Social developments 1914-1939

Question 1

What occurred as a result of a fall in prices between 1918 - 1938

Answer 1

Increase in real wages

Question 2

Greater variety of fresh food

Answer 2

Consumption rose 88% for fruit, 64% for vegetables and 46% for eggs

Question 3

What prepackaged goods became available

Answer 3

Kellogg’s, Heinz and Bisto

Question 4

Working class foods

Answer 4

Sweets, sugar, white bread, tinned foods

Question 5

Percentage of food in the working class budget

Answer 5

Only 35% in 1938, a decrease from 60% in 1914

Question 6

What did the working class spend their excess money on

Answer 6

Household goods like radios
Newspapers
Leisure, as working hours were falling

Question 7

What leisure activities did spending increase in

Answer 7

Gambling, drinking and smoking

Question 8

What percentage of the population was said to be in primal poverty

Answer 8

7%

Question 9

Seebohm Rowntree

Answer 9

Investigated poverty in York

Question 10

Percentage of total population found in poverty

Answer 10

18%

Question 11

What was the regional division

Answer 11

South and Midlands were prosperous, whereas, North and West were worse off

Question 12

Jarrow (North-East) unemployment rate in 1934

Answer 12

68%

Question 13

Merthyr Tydfil (South Wales) unemployment rate in 1934

Answer 13

62%

Question 14

St Albans (South East) unemployment rate

Answer 14

3.9%

Question 15

Unemployment in staple industries

Answer 15

Far worse than the national average

Question 16

Unemployment in coal in 1932

Answer 16

41%, compared to the national average of 23%

Question 17

Unemployment in shipbuilding in 1932

Answer 17

59.5%, compared to national average of 22.9 %

Question 18

National average of unemployment in 1932

Answer 18

22.9%

Question 19

National average of unemployment in 1938

Answer 19

13.3%, decrees from 22.9% in 1932

Question 20

Why did the staple industries suffer

Answer 20

They were inefficient and overstaffed

There was poor investment

Question 21

Jarrow March 1936

Answer 21

A group of 200 men decided to march to London to demand the building of a new steel works after the closure of Palmer’s shipyard

Question 22

How was the Jarrow March a success

Answer 22

It gained mass national coverage
Petition signed by 11,000
Steelworks opened in 1939

Question 23

What areas of the country grew

Answer 23

Population in London and Coventry doubled

Question 24

Population change of the East 1931-39

Answer 24

10.6% increase

Question 25

Population change in Wales 1931-39

Answer 25

4.9% decrease

Question 26

How did literature change

Answer 26

Highly critical of prewar institutions

Question 27

D.H. Lawrence

Answer 27

Wrote The Rainbow which featured strong sexual content

Question 28

Books with socialist messages

Answer 28

George Orwell’s ‘The Road to Wigan Pier’ in 1937

Question 29

Increase in divorces

Answer 29

2800 in 1921-25 increased to 7500 in 1936-40

Question 30

Decrease in child births per 1000

Answer 30

190 in 1911-15 increased to 115.2 in 1931-35

Question 31

What percentage of the population read a daily national newspaper

Answer 31

In 1939, 69% of the population read a daily national paper

Question 32

News of the World

Answer 32

A newspaper, with a circulation of around 4 million which focused on sensational stories, often sexual ones

Question 33

Growth in women’s magazines

Answer 33

‘Woman’ sold 4 million copies in 1939

Question 34

What was the problem with female aimed magazines such as ‘Woman’

Answer 34

Media tried to shape the way women were perceived in society

They all had tips on marriage, recipes and fashion

Question 35

Childrens magazines

Answer 35

The Beano and The Dandy were launched

The first coloured comics of their time

Question 36

Increase in number of homes with radio licences

Answer 36

Grew from 36,000 in 1922 to 2 million 1926 then to 34 million in 1939

Question 37

Growth of cinema in the interwar years

Answer 37

Talking pictures arrived
Cinemas were built in town centres which held 3000 people
Entry was cheap enough for the working class to go several times a week