The Depression - Government Handling

Question 1

how did unemployment provisions in Britain compare to those in other countries

Answer 1

they were far more generous

Question 2

What did George Orwell say was the key reason why there was no social unrest

Answer 2

the limited level of assistance

Question 3

How did the government support unemployment

Answer 3

the dole scheme

Question 4

What did Stevenson and Cook argue in ‘Britain in the Depression’

Answer 4

the dole scheme enabled the unemployed to afford the necessities of life and this helped to defuse popular discontent

Question 5

what actually happened to those who were unemployed

Answer 5

few starved to death. The dole did exactly as it had intended

Question 6

What was the right to receive unemployment benefit determined by

Answer 6

the controversial means test carried out by the Public Assistance Committee (PAC).

Question 7

What was the issue with the means test

Answer 7

it was intrusive

Question 8

when was the Unemployment act and what did it do

Answer 8

1934

it separated dole and insurance benefits as well as reversing the 10 per cent cut in the dole.

Question 9

who looked after workers who had used up their insurance benefits

Answer 9

the Unemployment Assistance Board Act (UAB) in 1936

Question 10

why was the UAB good

Answer 10

it was more sympathetic than the PACs and set up training schemes for the workers

Question 11

what is cheap money

Answer 11

where interest rates were at 2%

Question 12

what did the introduction of cheap money encourage

Answer 12

the expansion of the price house building industry

Question 13

what was the issue with the special areas act

Answer 13

it only provided aid to the most depressed areas and despite high levels of unemployment many of the old areas did not qualify

Question 14

what was the issue with the special areas act

Answer 14

it was short-sighted

Question 15

what limited the success of the special areas act

Answer 15

the limited level of investment

Question 16

which areas were identified in the special areas act

Answer 16

south wales, Tyneside, West Cumberland, Scotland

Question 17

which new projects did the special areas act to invest in

Answer 17

it invested in projects like the new steelworks in Ebbw Vale

Question 18

What was introduced in the 1930s as a useful bargaining tool in negotiations

Answer 18

tariffs

Question 19

Give an example of a bilateral trade agreement

Answer 19

Ottowa Agreements in 1932

Question 20

What was the tariff introduced to protect British steel and when was it introduced

Answer 20

1932, a 33.33% tariff was imposed against foreign competition

Question 21

name a new steelwork that was introduced

Answer 21

the knee at Corby in Northamptonshire

Question 22

what reduced the effectiveness of the 1930s tariff policy

Answer 22

retaliatory tariffs by foreign competitors

Question 23

when was the import duties act

Answer 23

1932

Question 24

what helped to maintain international confidence and helped to avert a banking crisis

Answer 24

the cutting of public sector wages and unemployment benefit

Question 25

What was the issue with JM Keynes expansionary programme

Answer 25

his masterpiece ‘the general theory of employment, interest and money’ until 1936, meaning his plan for expansion came in too late

Question 26

who criticised the government cutting their spending and cutting wages

Answer 26

JM Keynes

Question 27

what did Keynes argue that the government should have done

Answer 27

increase investment and set up public works schemes

Question 28

Who wrote British Society 1914-45

Answer 28

John Stevenson

Question 29

what did John Stevenson say

Answer 29

in spite of the problems of the traditional sectors, the inter-war years were marked by substantial economic growth representing a significant improvement on the Edwardian era and in comparison to most other European countries

Question 30

how many houses did local councils build

Answer 30

500,000

Question 31

When was the British shipping assistance act?

Answer 31

1935

Question 32

what did the British shipping assistance act 1935 do

Answer 32

provided government loans to build new ships and helped to support that industry

Question 33

what did the government establish marketing boards for

Answer 33

milk, bacon and potatoes

Question 34

what did the government do for farmers

Answer 34

provided guaranteed prices for farmers and provided subsidies for livestock formers and sugar beet producers

Question 35

what was the unemployment level in Jarrow on Tyneside

Answer 35

72%

Question 36

why was unemployment so high in Jarrow

Answer 36

Palmers shipyard closed

Question 37

where was there high unemployment because of the shutting of cold mines

Answer 37

Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales

Question 38

what did Rowntree say in his 1941 study of York

Answer 38

fewer people in poverty than in 1899

Question 39

What was unemployment in Merthyr Tydfil

Answer 39

62%

Question 40

how did JB Priestly describe the south

Answer 40

Vibrant with culture

Question 41

When were holidays with pay introduced

Answer 41

1938

Question 42

when did Butlins open and where

Answer 42

1937 in Skegness

Question 43

what were the statistics of cinema in Liverpool in 1937

Answer 43

40% had gone once a week

Question 44

what was the unemployment percentage in the motor vehicle industry

Answer 44

20% in 1932

Question 45

what was the unemployment percentage in shipbuilding

Answer 45

62.2%

Question 46

Who described a descent into extreme poverty in Liverpool

Answer 46

Helen Forrester

Question 47

what do unemployment in vehicles end up at in 1937

Answer 47

4.8%

Question 48

what did unemployment fall to in shipbuilding by 1937

Answer 48

23.8%