U4 AOS1 -> WW1/ch2

Question 1

what the treatment of ‘every-day’ people and workers on the home front:

Answer 1

There is no tolerance of individual grievances and personal issues.

Question 2

what was the issue of decreasing worker’s rights?

Answer 2

The working people suffered considerably as a result of the war which quickly impact the Australian economy due to Australia’s export-dependent trade suffering from the decrease in exports to European countries, worsened by a lack of shipping to carry products abroad

Question 3

STATISTICS ON DECREASE OF WORKER POWER:

Answer 3

At the start of 1914, unemployment stood at 5.9% and by the end of the year it had nearly doubled to 11%

Question 4

what was the wage/employability of people during the war?

Answer 4

Many unemployed men volunteered for war service as the daily soldier’s wage of 5 shillings (6 shillings once abroad) was a good income for desperate people
For those still employed, the slow rate of increase in wages did not keep up with the rapid inflation of prices for basic commodities, causing further hardship and consequently resentment
Between 1914 and 1915, the purchasing power of workers decreased by 10% and continued to fall in subsequent years

Question 5

what was the reaction of worker protests during the war?

Answer 5

Historian Stuart Macintyre clarified that the protest actions of workers + trade unions was condemned by wealthy classes like the industrialists as worker action was viewed as pure selfishness during a national crisis which was adjacent to treason which Labor PM Billy Hughes agreed with as he strayed away from the traditional policy of his party

Question 6

what was the Great Strike of 1917?

Answer 6

In 1917, the NSW Railways in particular attempted to introduce a time-card system however workers perceived this as an invasive attempt to speed up and check on their work.Strike leaders condemned this as “Americanising the workforce” or ‘robotism.’
Hence, the railway workers went on strike and a state-wide strike quickly developed, closing down coal mines, port facilities and a no. of industries. This strike included around 100,000 workers

Question 7

what was the aftermath of the Great Strike 1917

Answer 7

The strike finished in September without success although workers had asserted their grievances and their right to the non-violent withdrawal of their labour. The government responded harshly to the strike as the unions involved were deregistered in order to make it illegal for them to continue any activities, their leaders were arrested, and workers were replaced with reliable volunteers including farmers and university students. Hughes punished the striking Waterside Workers’ Federation, making it illegal to interfere with loading of ships. Workers who had lost their jobs regarded their replacements as ‘scabs’ but admitted that the union movement had lost

Question 8

what was the emerging role of women in the workforce?

Answer 8

On the home front, some women were eventually able to enter the workforce. Like for instance, the 700 women worked at the Colonial Ammunition Company in Footscray, Melbourne, making bullets for the Lee Enfield 303 rifle.
However the no. of women in the workforce was far fewer than the other comparable countries at the time. Apart from sending physical comforts to soldiers, Australian women sent images from home could lift morale amidst the misery of the trenches and were volunteers in recruiting drives

Question 9

who was Vida Goldstein in the context of WW1?

Answer 9

Female activists like Vida Goldstein criticised imperialism, arguing that Australia joined the war automatically, being apart of the British empire. She and other intellectuals questioned whether was was the best way of solving international conflicts and suggests that internationalism could be a more peaceful approach
In 1915, Goldstein and Eleanor Moore founded 2 important organisations in Melbourne: the Sisterhood of International Peace and the Women’s Peace Army, these 2 groups later joined the broader organisation, The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, which is still operating today as a feminist-pacifist

Question 10

who is another feminist pacifist other than Vida Goldstein?

Answer 10

Eleanor Moore

Question 11

what were the Indigenous experiences on the home front:

Answer 11

In 1914, Aboriginal Australians were not allowed to join the Army however as the casualties mounted and volunteering decreased some Indigenous people were allowed to enlist especially after OCT 1917, but under special conditions.
The imprecise nature of war records means that the exact number of Indigenous soldiers cannot be determined but it is estimated that there were about 1,000 men

Question 12

what was life like after WW1 for Indigenous soldiers?

Answer 12

Many Indigenous servicemen returned to civilian life to experience an even greater degree of discriminatory government legislation. Those on reserves in VIC faced greater control from the Aborigines Protection Board under the Aborigines Act, 1915 (Vic) and additional regulations (1916). In NSW, the Protection Board began an aggressive children removal policy from 1909, with 1,427 children (about 1 in 10) removed between 1912 and 1938. Historian Richard Broome states that while Aboriginal servicemen fought for “freedom from tyranny” at Gallipoli and then in France, the Board increasingly controlled the lives of their families back home and those who applied for soldier settler blocks of land under a government scheme were often refused

Question 13

Historian Samual Furphy on a possible reason for Indigenous participation in WW2?

Answer 13

“it is likely that Aboriginal loyalty on the home front, like Aboriginal enlistment, was partly motivated by an expectation that demonstrating good citizenship might result in better treatment for Aboriginal people as citizens.”

Question 14

what was it like to be an ‘enemy alien’ on the Homefront?

Answer 14

Australian citizens whose names and backgrounds appeared ‘foreign’ were victimised, despite many living in AUS for a long time and being loyal to AUS not Germany. Within a week of the outbreak, the government required people with German or Austro-Hungarian backgrounds to register themselves
In OCT 1914, the War Precautions Act was passed and in 1916 a new law made ‘enemy aliens’ of people who, though born in Australia, had parents and grandparents of German or other ‘alien’ origin. In one extreme case, a Danish man was interned (imprisoned) for no reason, other than that his accent sounded ‘German’. By 1918, there were 7000 people interned, of whom 4500 were classified as ‘enemy aliens’.

Question 15

what was the impact of the War Precautions Act on ‘enemy aliens’?

Answer 15

Within a week of the outbreak, the government required people with German or Austro-Hungarian backgrounds to register themselves
In OCT 1914, the War Precautions Act was passed and in 1916 a new law made ‘enemy aliens’ of people who, though born in Australia, had parents and grandparents of German or other ‘alien’ origin.

Question 16

what was: The Nomenclature Act 1917 which was established in SA?

Answer 16

Suspicion of Germans was intense in SA, which had a higher proportion of citizens with German backgrounds.
One reaction by the South Australian Parliament was the Nomenclature Act which changed the names of 42 towns or districts. In SA, the German settler town of Hahndorf was renamed Yantaringa and German names were removed elsewhere from Australia’s maps and replaced with names of war heroes like Hamburg becoming Haig and replaced by names of battles

Question 17

How was returning servicemen economically integrated back into Australian society?

Answer 17

The government and the nation had to spend massive sums to organise the soldiers’ return to civilian life and employment. The returned soldiers were helped economically by returning to a booming economy as of the 170,000 repatriated soldiers only 13,000 failed to find work.

Question 18

How was returning servicemen socially integrated back into Australian society?

Answer 18

Socially, the return to civilian life was often difficult as returned soldiers came back to a changed society and were especially outraged by the pacifist protests of left-wing groups like in Brisbane where radicals marched carrying red flags and demanding that the War Precautions Act should be terminated and this was met with hundreds of returned soldiers who attacked the march with bayonets + clubs, and injured 19 people by rampaging and smashing shop windows as well

Question 19

what were some negative experiences of returning soldiers?

Answer 19

Despite public admiration for the Anzac legend, this did not extend to individual soldiers. Many soldiers found that, upon returning, their former employers were unwelcoming and hesitant to employ them. Some returned soldiers had physical injuries, some had psychological trauma, and some simply had a new spirit with daring and adventure, and a disregard for authority. Employers now had better-trained staff with up-to-date skills, and did not want to lose them. The Federal Government’s Repatriation Department embarked upon a scheme called Soldier Settlement.
A Royal Commission would later rule that this was, generally, a disastrous failure, primarily because it involved leasing parcels of land to a returned soldier for farming purposes. For young men who were now impatient with the dreary jobs of city life, this seemed a golden opportunity to become independent farmers. It was no such thing. The grants of land were often too small to be viable farms, or they consisted of poor land producing little. The returned soldiers were given little training in farming methods, and they lacked the finances to establish a workable farm. Admittedly, some returned soldiers did still manage to make their farms work profitably, but they were not the majority.
Men who had survived the horrors of the trenches, and who were arguably heroes, now faced failure, bankruptcy + hopelessness.
For Indigenous Australians, the situation was worse. Few succeeded in their application for a land grant.
The anger over this discriminatory+racist behaviour was one of the main inspirations for the Aboriginal activism later in the 20th century

Question 20

what was the original outlook on war and its benefit for AUS?

Answer 20

In 1914, AUS had been so eager to serve Britain that it committed its men and ships before the British government had asked for them. The first Anzac Day in 1916 arguably helped to develop a sense of national Australian identity separate to Britain.

Question 21

what did AUS shift towards after 1918?

Answer 21

US demanded and began to receive the status of a fully independent nation
AUS had it own seat at the Paris Peace Conference (1919-1920) which drew up the Treaty of Versailles and had an independent place in the League of Nations
Hughes even stated at the Paris Peace Conference that he was representing the 66,000 dead Australian soldiers rather than merely acting as an extension of Britain

Question 22

what were the DIFFERING historian perspectives on if AUS wanted greater independence following WW1?

Answer 22

Historians contest the idea that Australia perceived itself as a fully independent nation by this time as Henry Reynolds argues that Australia’s participation in WWI did not “[inaugurate] a new phase of national independence.” Instead, “Gallipoli served to lock Australia more firmly into the Imperial embrace.”
Following WW1, British values, education, literature and event the British accent were re-invigorated in AUS.
On the other hand, historian Kate Laing contends that “with its new independent status at the League of Nations, AUS came of age diplomatically. The war changed ideas about Australia’s place in the world and the shift from imperial dependency to independent representation on new international bodies helped to shape the image of Australia as an autonomous state.”

Question 23

what were the continuities during WW1?

Answer 23

Conscription remained only for service within Australia.
Women’s employment was wound back to pre-war levels as the soldiers started to return home. After 1918, unemployment increased again. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continued to be denied Australian citizenship.

Question 24

what were the changes during/after WW1?

Answer 24

• By the start of the 20th century, Australia had developed a reputation as a ‘working man’s paradise’, but war would shatter that image.
  -The Australian Government emerged with significantly greater powers than before.
  -The Australian Government took on the task of resettling returned soldiers and caring for the injured.
  -Australian citizens had experienced serious division and dispute over the matter of conscription.
  -A greater no. of women had experienced entering the paid workforce and earning an independent wage.
• The trade unions movement and labour rights had both been challenged and reduced during the war emergency.
• There was more employment during the war.
• Australia’s traditional loyalty to Britain was now tarnished to some degree by bitterness over bad leadership and disastrous defeats while under British command, notably at Gallipoli.
• The trade unions and their working-class members felt that they had been required to make the greatest sacrifices, compared with industrialists who profited from the war.
• Australia’s national identity was enhanced by the pride in the Anzac spirit and in fighting bravely beside the British.
• Indigenous people experienced increased opportunities for paid employment and won respect in these roles.