The Affluent Society 1951-1964 Flashcards

1
Q

What were the elements of the Post war Consensus ?

A

-Economic growth
-Trade Unions
-The Mixed Economy
-The Welfare State
-Social Equality

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2
Q

What did Britain expect from its Govt in 1951 ?

A

-People expected a ‘big state’ with involvement in their daily lives because that is what they are used to after WW2
-Decent standard of living and care into old age because they expected reward for the hardships suffered in the 30s and 40s

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3
Q

What is Keynesian economics ?

A

Low tax and high rate of spending to grow the economy

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4
Q

Why did the Conservatives win in 1951 ?

A

-Labour weaknesses (prescription charges)
-Conservative Strengths
-Spy Scandals

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5
Q

Was Britain in the 1950s very class conscious ?

A

Yes

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6
Q

Were Trade Unions still in its infancy during the 1950s ?

A

No

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7
Q

Did Britain become less religious (as measured by church attendance) in the 1950s ?

A

Yes

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8
Q

Was Britain more socially conservative in the 1950s ?

A

Yes

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9
Q

Was Britain overwhelmingly white ?

A

Yes

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10
Q

What Electoral system is used in Britain ?

A

Fist-Past-The-Post

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11
Q

How many seats does a party need to win in order to secure a majority ?

A

326 seats or more

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12
Q

What is Electoral Bias ?

A

is where a voting system fails to treat all parties equally

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13
Q

When was the Representation of the Peoples act ?

A

1948

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14
Q

What did the Representation of the Peoples act do ?

A

-you could only vote once
-Boundary changes

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15
Q

What was an impact of the Representation of the Peoples act ?

A

-Boundary changes meant some labour seats became marginal and now needed 2% more of the vote to gain the same number of seats.
-Decline of the Liberal Party which meant there was no protest vote

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16
Q

Who was prime Minister from 1951-1955 ?

A

Churchill

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17
Q

Who was PM from 1955-57 ?

A

Eden

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18
Q

What ultimately caused disaster for Anthony Eden as Prime Minister ?

A

The Suez Crisis in 1956

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19
Q

Did The Suez crisis cause tension between the USA and Britain ?

A

Yes - Britain as forced to withdraw their troops from Suez by the USA or else they would not be able to gain financial help from the World bank situated in the USA

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20
Q

Who was PM from 1957-1963 ?

A

Macmillan (Super Mac)

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21
Q

Who was PM from 1963-64 ?

A

Lord Alec Douglas Home

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22
Q

Why did people not like Home ?

A

-he was chosen because of the “old boy network”
-Was a wealthy aristocrat
-He was a lord but the cons managed rot get him a seat in the commons
-The cons party seemed trapped in a bygone age

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23
Q

Who was Rab Butler ?

A

He played a key role in the reorganisation of the Conservative Party. “The best prime minister the conservatives never had”

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24
Q

What was Harold Macmillan’s famous phrase ?

A

‘Never had it so good’

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25
Q

By 1958 How many people were travelling abroad for their holidays ?

A

2million

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26
Q

What were the consequences of the Rent Act under Macmillan ?

A

Rent rose considerably, difficult for tenants at the lower end of the scale to afford lease

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27
Q

Did the population living in poverty increase under Macmillan ?

A

Yes (from 8% to 14%)

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28
Q

What was the increase in wages in 1957 ?

A

Increased by £10

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29
Q

How many homes did macmillan housing scheme promise to build annually ?

A

300,000

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30
Q

How many elections were there in the 1950s ?

A

4

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31
Q

Which PM won a 100 seat majority ?

A

harold Macmillan

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32
Q

The post war consensus was names after which Economist ?

A

Keynes

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33
Q

What approach did the Post war consensus take towards trade unions ?

A

Accept the role of unions and consult regularly

34
Q

Who were the Teddy boys ?

A

-A Youth culture group linked with juvenile delinquency
-Wore Edwardian clothes

35
Q

Who were the Mods ?

A

-A Youth culture group who rode Scooters and wore Italian soots
-They had to look different

36
Q

Who were the Rockers ?

A

-A Youth culture group who wore heavy leather and rode motorcycles
-inspired by Marlon Brando

37
Q

How was teenage subculture associated with Violence ?

A

-March 1964 violence broke out between mods and rockers at Brighton beach
-59 teens arrested for throwing stones and carrying weapons etc

38
Q

In what Ways in which life for Women changed?

A

-Teachers and Civil servants were given equal pay
-growth of women in employment

39
Q

In which ways did life for women stay the same ?

A

-Womens wages remained at about 50.4% of mens
-1.2% of all women at university age went to university

40
Q

Why was there so much immigration into 1950s Britain ?

A

-Recruitment campaigns from British firms
-Shortage of labour in Britain
-Encouragement and support for immigrants
-opportunities for immigrants

41
Q

When were the Notting Hill Race Riots ?

A

1958

42
Q

What were deemed the reasons for the riot due to government inspection ?

A

-sexual Jealousy
-Housing
-Jobs

43
Q

How did the news and papers project the immigrants behaviour ?

A

-Full of alcohol, drugs and gambling
-no cleanliness (poor hygiene)
-wanted to steal Jobs and British white women

44
Q

What was the Facist group opposed to immigration ?

A

The White defence league and the Union movement

45
Q

Which political leader was known for his racism ?

A

Oswald Mosley

46
Q

What crisis in 1956 caused tensions ?

A

The Suez crisis

47
Q

What were the Bevanites ?

A

-Argued for state control over economy and society
-Strongly supported clause IV of the Labour constitution
-Supported the CND movement
-Belived Unions should have a more active role in the development of party policy

48
Q

What were the Gaitskellites ?

A

-Against clause IV of the labour party
-Against nationalisation
-In favour of maintaining a independent nuclear deterrent
-Wanted elected MPs to have the deciding vote on party policy not the trade unions

49
Q

Why was the Labour Party unable to challenge the Conservative Party 1959 ?

A

-Divisions between Bevanites and Gaitskellites
-The joining of the EEC
-The 1959 election

50
Q

What was the 1959 outcome for labour ?

A

-Lost 19 seats
-idealogical divisions over CND and clause IV
-Policy mistakes
-election campaign was weakly run

51
Q

What did Macmillans name change from “super Mac” to ?

A

Mac the Knife

52
Q

What was the importance of John Vassal during Macmillan’s premiership ?

A

-He was a civil servant who spied for the Soviets
-There were rumours that the cons tried to protect him
-Vassal was blackmailed for being Gay
-The journalists who blackmailed vassal were imprisoned
-Fleet Street turned against the MP(Loss of media support)

53
Q

What was the significance of Kim Philby under Macmillan ?

A

-Philby was a senior official at the foreign office and had been passing info to the USSR and recruiting spies for them
-He fled to Russia in 1963 to avoid punishment
-Philby was under suspicion In the 1950s and Macmillan defended him (caused him to look like he had poor judgement)

54
Q

Why was the Argyll divorce significant under Macmillan ?

A

-Duke of Argyll filled for divorce on the grounds of adultery
-A list of 88 names were read in court and the denece secretary said he may have been in the photos used in court.
-Scandal in the cabinet

55
Q

What was the Profumo Affair under Macmillan ?

A

-John Profumo’s liaison with Christine Keeler causes govt problems due to her suspected links of prostituition in the Russian embassy.
–Profumo rumoured to have given her information
-Caused damage to the cons through association

56
Q

What was the 1962 “Night of the Long Knives”

A

-Cabinet re-shuffle where 1/3 was replaced due to the result of the Orpington.
-Macmillan was seen as brutal and irresponsible.
-Was named “Mac the knife”

57
Q

What kind of conditions did many immigrants find themselves living in ?

A

Overcrowded and substandard accommodation

58
Q

What slogan was chalked on walls and later adopted as the slogan for the National Front (a far right party) ?

A

“Keep Britain White”

59
Q

Why did some highly educated immigrants have to take on low skilled jobs ?

A

As Britain often didn’t recognise their qualifications

60
Q

What was the 1957 Government worried about ?

A

“white flight”

61
Q

What year did Mosley stand for election in Kensington North ?

A

1959

62
Q

What activities did Teddy boy gangs do towards immigrants ?

A

“Black burying” and chalked “Keep Britain White” on walls

63
Q

When did the Windrush arrive in Britain ?

A

1948

64
Q

What was the Commonwealth immigration act of 1962 ?

A

only those with work permits (which were typically high skilled workers such as doctors) were permitted entry

65
Q

Did emigration exceed immigration in then 50s ?

A

Yes

66
Q

What were the consequences of the 1958 Race Riots ?

A
  • “exemplary sentencing”
    -Increase in immigration to the Caribbean
    -The Salmon report
    -The Commonwealth immigrants act 1962
    -Notting Hill Carnival began 1959
67
Q

What was the Salmon Report ?

A

An enquiry which concluded that sexual jealousy, poor pay, living conditions and Teddy Boys were the main causes for the riots.

68
Q

When was the murder of a young immigrant called Kelso Cochrane ?

A

1959

69
Q

Why was the 1950s classed as the “easy Years” ?

A

Due to the post war boom everything was becoming better but also it isn’t hard to make everything better than Britain during the war

70
Q

What was the Schumann Plan ?

A

-Named after French foreign minister
-set out proposals for a coal and steel community
-would bond together historic enemies (France and Germany)
-Increase economic growth

71
Q

What was the Treaty of Rome ?

A

-Created the EEC
-Established a common market and a customs union

72
Q

Why did De Gaulle veto Britains application to the EEC in 1963 ?

A

-France wanted to remain dominant of the EEC and knew if Britain joined that would change
-Thought Britain was going to be used as a gateway to the USA

73
Q

What was the “Wind of change” speech in 1960 ?

A

-Harold Macmillan’s response to decolonisation which he spoke in SA
-Was directed at the SA govt because of the apartheid.
-Discriminated their government as it was a white minority govt over a black majority.

74
Q

What was Macmillan’s attitude towards decolonisation ?

A

-He thought that the days of the empire were over as it would be hypocritical to keep an empire after the war
-Believed nationalisation among the colonies was necessary
-wanted to maintain close trade links with the colonies

75
Q

What was a moral problem of empire ?

A

Fought for freedom in the war made it no longer acceptable

76
Q

What was a political problem, of empire ?

A

Many countries were volatile with growing national consciousness and the Independent uprisings would be hard to control.

77
Q

What was an economic problem of empire ?

A

Britain was in debt to its colonies (£45million) and could not afford to be a colonial power.

78
Q

What happened in Kenya 1963?

A

Kenya gained independence

79
Q

What was the Mau Mau uprising ?

A

kenya was a divided state with white settlers, asians and the Luo, Kikuyu, and Masai tribes
-1952 the Kikuyu began a guerrilla uprising to gain independence
-11,000 mau mau killed, 32 settlers killed and 80,000 mau mau detained
-Re education camps
-Britian was heavily criticised for this

80
Q

What was the Anglo-American relationship like between 51 and 64 ?

A

-Prime ministers and Presidents had a close relationship
-Certain events weakend their relationships surrounding the Cold War
-Britain was the weaker power

81
Q

Why did Britain create EFTA ?

A

As their own alternative to the EEC but EFTA fails