Unseen Prose: AO3 Context Flashcards
How did the end of WWII impact the world?
- Marked the end of the British empire: Decolonisation
- The class system became less rigid, socialist ideas evolved.
- Communist influence increased in East Asia (CCP in China)
- The rise of two new superpowers: The Soviet Union, the USA.
- Millions of people were dead and millions were homeless.
When did WWII end?
The summer of 1945
How did the end of WWII impact Britain (1945-1955)?
- UK was more nationalistic following the war.
- More than 1/4 of the UK’s national wealth had been consumed: Britain was in severe war debt.
- The Labour Party came into power.
- Mass immigration from former British colonies created a multi-cultural society.
How did the second world war shape British politics (1945-55)?
In spring 1945, the Labour Party withdrew from the wartime coalition government, in an effort to oust Winston Churchill, forcing a general election. Following a landslide victory, Labour held more than 60% of the seats in the House of Commons and formed a new government on 26 July 1945 under Clement Attlee.
What changes did the Labour party make to British society (1945-55)?
- Introduction of the National Health Service, which meant free healthcare for all, regardless of economic background (1948).
- Public services were nationalised: Railways, post offices, gas and electricity.
- The Welfare State was introduced - Social security payments for the poor.
Why was Britain becoming a more multi-cultural society from 1945-55?
- SS Empire Windrush brought nearly 500 Carribeans to England - open invitation to those who had fought in the war as British soldiers.
- People also came from the West-Indies and India and Pakistan, post-independence.
British Nationality Act 1948
- Allowed the 800,000,000 subjects in the British Empire to live and work in the United Kingdom without needing a visa,
- This migration was initially encouraged to help fill gaps in the UK labour market for both skilled and unskilled jobs, including in public services such as the newly created National Health Service and London Transport.
When did India gain Independence?
In 1947, which in turn led to the partitioning of India and Pakistan.
How did WWII impact America (1945-1955)?
- American joined the war late, in 1941, and profited greatly through producing/selling military equipment.
- Industialisation/Capitalism were thriving: Some argue WWII lifted America out of the Great Depression.
- The USA established itself as a ‘golbal superpower’.
- The war had a unifying effect.
- Increased social mobility: Chance for WC men to get an education if they had fought in WWII.
- American Dream reinforced.
How did WWII have a unifying effect in American society in the 40s and 50s?
It resulted in widespread patriotism and faith in America which continued until the social upheval of the 60s. Alongside this there was a real fear that communism would overrun the world, which was seen as fundemetally at odds with democracy, freedom, and self-sufficiency. The American people were thus united against a ‘common enemy’.
Why did America’s sense of national identity change from 1945-55?
Because refugees and immigrants started to pour into America - from Irish/Polish communities.
What was ‘The Second Red Scare’/McCarthyism?
Increased and widespread fear of communist espionage, that occured after the second world war. It is named after its best known advocate - Senator Joseph McCarthy.
Communist Control Act of 1954
Prevented members of the communist party in America from holding office in labor unions and other labor organizations.
How were Asian-Americans affected by the ‘Second Red Scare’?
Asian Americans, came under increasing suspicion by both American civilians and government officials of being Communist sympathizers. Some American politicians saw the prospect of American-educated Chinese students bringing their knowledge back to “Red China” as an unacceptable threat to American national security.
Ethel and Julius Rosenberg (1953)
- Julius Rosenberg and Ethel Rosenberg were an American couple who were accused of spying for the Soviet Union.
- Convicted of espionage in 1951, they were executed by the federal government of the United States in 1953.
- Becoming the first American civilians to be executed for such charges and the first to receive that penalty during peacetime.
When did the Cold War begin?
March 1947
What views emerged in American society in the 50s as a result of increased immigration?
- Anti-semetism
- Anti-Communism
- Xenophobia
- Fear of those living in ways which diverged from the norm
The first phase of The Cold War
- Began shortly after the end of WWII in 1945.
- The US and the USSR competed for influence in Latin America, the Middle East, and the decolonizing states of Africa, Asia, and Oceania.
- Key Events include: The Berlin blockade, the Korean War, and the Chinese Communist Revolution.
- The undelying threat of nuclear disaster was ever present in peoples minds.
NATO
The United States and its allies created the NATO military alliance in 1949 in the apprehension of a Soviet attack and termed their global policy against Soviet influence containment.
1962 Cuban Missile Crisis
A direct and dangerous confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War and was the moment when the two superpowers came closest to nuclear conflict.
Berlin Blockade 1945-49
During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies’ railway, road, and canal access to the sectors of Berlin under Western control, becuase they wanted Western allies to withdraw the newly introduced Deutsche Mark from West Berlin.
What was ‘White Flight’?
People from white middle-class backrounds ‘fled’ racially mixed urban inner city areas to more homogenously ‘white’ suburban/exurban regions. This was primarily observed during the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s in cities such as Cleveland, Detroit, Kansas City and Oakland.
Why were areas with large minority ethnic populations often deteriorating and overcrouded in the 50s?
Business practices such as redlining, mortgage discrimination, and racially restrictive covenants.
Jim Crow Laws
- Laws that enforced racial segregation in the South between the end of Reconstruction in 1877 and the beginning of the civil rights movement in the 1950s.
- Black people couldn’t use the same public facilities as white people, live in many of the same towns or go to the same schools.
- Interracial marriage was illegal, and most Black people couldn’t vote because they were unable to pass voter literacy tests.
