The 20th Century Flashcards
What was life like in early Britain in the early 20th century?
The early 20th century was a time of optimism. The nation, with its expansive Empire, well-admired navy, thriving industry and strong political institutions, was what is now known as a global ‘superpower’. It was also a time of social progress:
- financial help for the unemployed
- old-age pensions
- free school meals
- laws passed to improve safety in the workplace
- town planning rules tightened to prevent further development of slums
- better support given to mothers and children after divorce or separation
Local government became more democratic and a salary for Parliament (MPs) was introduced for the first time, making it easier for more people to take part in public life.
What was the trigger for the First World War?
On 28 June, 1914, Archduke Frank Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated - which led to a series of events leading to WWI (1914-18).
How was Britain involved in the First World War?
Britain was part of the Allied Powers, which included France, Russia, Japan, Belgium, Serbia - and later Greece, Italy, Romania, and the United States. The whole of the British Empire was involved in the conflict:
- 1million+ Indians fought on behalf of Britain in different countries, with aroun 40,000 killed;
- Men from the West Indies, Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Canada also fought with the British.
- 2million+ British casualties
The Allies fought against the Central Powers: Germany, Australia-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire and later Bulgaria.
One battle, the British attack on the Somme in July 1916, resulted in about 60,000 British casualties on the first day alone.
When did the First World War end?
WWI ended at 11am on 11th November 1918 with victory for Britain and its allies.
How did the partition of Ireland come about?
In 1913, the British government promised ‘Home Rule’ for Ireland. The proposal was to have a self-governing Ireland with its own parliament but still part of the UK. A Home Rule Bill was introduced but was opposed by the Protestants in the north of Ireland, who threatened to resist Home Rule by force.
The outbreak of WWI led the British government to postpone any changes in Ireland but Irish Nationalists were not willing to wait and in 1916 there was an uprising (the Easter Rising) against the British in Dublin. The leaders of the uprising were executed under military law. A guerilla war against the British army and the police in Ireland followed. In 1921 a peace treaty was signed and in 1922 Ireland became two countries. The six counties in the north which were mainly Protestant remained part of the UK as Northern Ireland. The rest of Ireland became the Irish Free State. It had its own government and became a republic in 1949.
What is referred to as ‘the Troubles’?
There were people in both parts of Ireland who disagreed with the split between the North and the South. They still wanted Ireland to be one independent country. Years of disagreement led to a terror campaign in Northern Ireland and elsewhere. This conflict between those wishing for full independence and those wishing to remain loyal to the British government is often referred to as ‘the Troubles’.
What happened worldwide in 1929?
In the 1920s, many people’s living conditions got better. There were improvements in public housing and new homes were built in many towns and cities. However, in 1929, the world entered the ‘Great Depression’ and some parts of the UK suffered mass unemployment. The effects of the 1930s were felt differently in different parts of the UK. The traditional heavy industries such as shipbuilding were badly affected but new industries - including automobile and aviation industries - developed. As prices generally fell, those in work had more money to spend. Car ownership doubled and many new houses were built.
It was also a time cultural blossoming, with writers such as Graham Greene and Evelyn Waugh. The economist John Maynard Keynes published influential new theories of economics. The BBC started radio broadcasts in 1922 and began the world’s first regular television broadcast service in 1936.
What were the key events of the Second World War?
1933: Adolf Hitler came into power in Germany.
Hitler occupied Austria and invaded Czechoslovakia.
1939: Hitler invaded Poland - Britain and France declared war.
Axis powers: Fascist Germany, Italy and the Empire of Japan
Allies: UK, France, Poland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the Union of South Africa
Hitler then took control of Belgium and the Netherlands.
1940: German forces defeated allied troops and advanced through France.
Winston Churchill became Prime Minister and Britain’s war leader.
British civilian volunteers helped the Navy to rescue more than 300,000 men from beaches around Dunkirk.
From the end of June 1940 until the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, Britain and the Empire stood almost alone against Nazi Germany.
1940: The Battle of Britain - won a crucial aerial battle against Germany over control of the air - used the Spitfire and the Hurricane.
The Blitz: German airforces bombed London and other cities, lots of damage especially in the East End of London.
At the same time the British were fighting the Axis: in Singapore the Japanese defeated the British and then occupied Burma, threatening India.
Dec 1941: the United States entered the war when the Japanese bombed its naval base at Pearl Harbour.
1941: Hitler attempted the largest invasion in history by attacking the Soviet Union - pivotal point in the war.
Allied forces gradually gained the upper hand, winning in North Africa and Italy. German losses in the Soviet Union, combined with the support of the Americans, meant the Allies were eventually strong enough to attack Hitler’s forces in Western Europe.
6 June 1944: D-Day: allied forces landed in Normandy and pressed on through France and into Germany.
May 1945: The Allies defeated Germany.
Aug 1945: War against Japan ended when the US dropped its newly developed atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The war was over.
Who was involved in the development of the atomic bomb?
Scientists led by New Zealand born Ernest Rutherford, working in Manchester and then Cambridge University, were the first to ‘split the atom’. Some British scientists went on to take part in the Manhattan Project in the US, which developed the atomic bomb.
Who is Alexander Fleming?
Alexander Fleming (1881-1955) was born in Scotland and he moved to London as a teenager and then later qualified as a doctor. He was researching influenza in 1928 when he discovered penicillin. This was then further developed into a useable drug by the scientists Howard Florey and Ernst Chain. By the 1940s it was in mass production. Fleming won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1945.
Who is Winston Churchill?
Winston Churchill (1874-1965) was the son of a politician and, before becoming a Conservative MP in 1900, was a soldier and journalist. In May 1940 he became Prime Minister. He refused to surrender to the Nazis and was an inspirational leader to the British people in a time of great hardship. He lost the general election in 1945 but returned as Prime Minister in 1951. He was an MP until he stood down at the 1964 General Election. Following his death in 1965, he was given a state funeral. He remains a much-admired figure to this day, and in 2002 was voted the greatest Briton of all time by the public.
‘I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, sweat and tears’.
‘We shall fight on the beaches,
We shall fight on the landing grounds,
We shall fight in the fields and in the streets,
We shall fight in the hills;
We shall never surrender.’
‘Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.’
