Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Breadth History > economy 1914-1939 > Flashcards

economy 1914-1939 Flashcards

1
Q

when was the wall street crash?

A

1929

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

what were the regional variations of unemployment like in Britain?

A

North of England, South Wales and parts of Scotland were worst hit. Eg Jarrow in county Durham, were 72% were unemployed

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

when did Britain return to the gold standard and whose idea was it?

A

1925
Churchill

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

why did Churchill want to return to the Gold Standard?

A

because the last time Britain was on it, they were doing well economically.
Churchill through it would restore the economy to pre-war strength
thought it would control inflation and create stability in British export industries.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

what was the problem with returning to the gold standard?

A

Churchill valued money to gold 10% too high, meaning that British exports became more expensive and uncompetitive
unemployment grew and wages fell in the staple industries

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

ww1 economy
DORA

A

Defence of the Realm Act
formed basis of government intervention
allowed government to intervene and direct labour, conscription…
illiberal
done to improve economy

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

ww1 economy
rationing

A

introduced due to dependence on imported food and shortages by 1916
The Ministry of Food was set up in 1916 to give subsidies to reduce bread prices and introduced voluntary rationing
full rationing was introduced in 1918 including sugar, meat and butter

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

ww1 economy
mining

A

brought under government control after 1915 strike threatened production
price controls introduced and limited export licenses
a coal controller was introduced in 1917 to ensure supply
but coal mies remained in private hands
industrial relations remained poor
no real modernisation or innovation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

ww1 economy
shipping

A

Britain was the world leader
No immediate need for government intervention
1916, Ministry of Shipping set up
1917, 4 million tonnes of food was sunk by German U boats, overcome by convoy system
War loses caused construction boom
Britain would never recover to pre-war strength and dominance

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

ww1 economy
railways

A

Quickly brought under state control
Highlighted inefficiencies
not nationalised after war, but did lead to structural changes
1921, there were 4 railway companies compared to 130 at the start of the war

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

ww1 economy
munitions

A

1915 Shell Scandal revealed problems such as the War office using over 250 companies
250 new shell factories were built by the state
Profits were limited and prices were kept down
new technology
better standards of health and safety
nationalisation in areas such as pubs in munition producing areas.
more unskilled workers took jobs previously taken by skilled workers as engineers etc had been lost to the war effort
munitions factory profits were limited to prewar levels by 1/5
new Ministry of Munitions controlled buying and supplying of goods to munitions factories and its new shell factories
Ministry had £2 billion to fund its expansion of production

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

ww1 economy
agriculture

A

Gov knew production increased due to high reliance on imports
Cultivation Production Act 1917, farmers could be forced to change land use
Corn Production Act guaranteed minimum price for grain and wage for labourers
Womens Land Army provided extra labour
daylight savings introduced
Gov aimed to persuade not force change

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

was the Ministry of Munitions a success?

A

Yes
increased control kept prices down
Ministry controlled 20,000 munitions factories and the supply chain so the system was highly centralised and efficient
created new standards: health and safety, new technology, research into more advanced weapons
pubs nationalised in munition areas so gov can control opening times and strength of drinks

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

how was world trade between 1929-1933?

A

It fell by 35%

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

which industries were hit worst by the international downturn and why?

A

staple industries
had not modernised, techniques and machinery required a lot of manpower eg, a great deal of British coal continued to be cut by hand

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

when did Britain return to the Gold Standard?

A

1925

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

why did Britain return to the Gold Standard?

A

the economy was doing well last time Britain was on the Gold Standard, so Churchill, Chancellor of Exchequer thought that it would restore the economy to pre-war strength, control inflation and create stability for British export industries

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

what was the problem with the Gold Standard?

A

Churchill valued pound against gold 10% too high

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

what was the impact of the Gold Standard?

A

British exports became too expensive and uncompetitive.
Unemployment grew and wages fell in the staple industries
caused general strike
interest rates had to be kept high to encourage foreign investment in British banks, otherwise gold reserves would have been depleted but this discourages borrowing and prevented innovation
government had to limit spending so they did not go into defecit as it would destroy the confidence of foreign investors

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

when was Britain taken off the Gold Standard?

A

1931 under the national government led by Ramsey-MacDonald

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

how was the 1930s described?

A

decade of the devil

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

how many people were unemployed in the early 1930s?

A

2.5 million

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

what were the regional variations in unemployment in the 1930s?

A

worst hit areas were North England, South Wales

24
Q

give an example of an area that was badly hit by the depression

A

Jarrow, County Durham
72% unemployed

25
Q

why was the coal industry suffering so much after the first world war?

A

lack of investment in new technology- still suing pickaxes
british mines were old, with narrow winding passageways meaning high production costs
former prewar British markets had started to use other power sources such as electricity and oil
former customers had looked elsewhere for coal imports during the war
coal mine owners threatened to reduce miners wages

26
Q

describe the miners strike of 1919?

A

2.4 million workers went on strike
problems were worst in 2 industries under government control, particularly railways and mines
particulalry bad in nottinghamshire and derbyshire
government had to call on demobilised naval rating to ensure production continued

27
Q

describe the remit and conclusions of the Sankey and Samuel Commission in the 1920s?

A

tension increased between government and mine owners vs unions

28
Q

what did the Samuel Commission recommend?

A

small wage cuts but not longer hours

29
Q

what was the reaction and outcome of the samuel commission?

A

not acceptable to miners or employers so they made plasn to increase hours and reduce pay which
caused strike
owners fired strikers

30
Q

what did the sankey commission recommend?

A

nationalising the mines

31
Q

why was lloyd george criticised for ignoring the sankey commission?

A

looked like he was being influenced by the conservatives

32
Q

what was black friday in 1921?

A

destroyed the triple alliance of miners, transport workers and railwaymen created in 1914 to create to working class solidarity
miners fought alone for 3 months until the were driven back to work on worse terms than they started with -wage cut

33
Q

when was the general strike?

A

1926

34
Q

how long in the railwaymen and transport workers strike for in solidarity with the miners?

A

9 days until TUC called off strike

35
Q

what was the miner’s slogan to show what they wanted?

A

“not a minute on the day, not a penny on the pay”

36
Q

what happened in july 1925?

A

red friday
government propped up coal industry with 9 month subsidies

37
Q

how did the gold standard damage the coal industry?

A

made exports more expensive and weakened the position of the coal industry against foreign competitors

38
Q

how did the government reduce the impact of the strikes?

A

Organisation for the Maintenance of Supplies established to train volunteer strike breakers to help run transport
skeleton service run on the underground
up to 2400 trains were running during the strike
hyde park used as a centre for distributing milk across the country
military staff organised recovery plans

39
Q

how did the government respond to the strikes?

A

published in the British Gazelle ridiculing strikers and accusing them of trying to overturn the constitution

40
Q

how did the church respond to the general strike?

A

archbishop of canterbury appealed for a return to peace negotiations but the gov didn’t publish his broadcast

41
Q

what were the positives of the general strike for the government?

A

seen as a win for the government - TUC called off strike without achieving aims
successfully used OMS to react and send in troops and teams of volunteers to keep essential services operational
1927 trade disputes act banned sympathy strikes

42
Q

what were the negatives of the general strike for the government?

A

1925 gold standard and ignoring sankey commission caused the strike and rising unemployment
labour election in 1929 as many saw Churchill as an enemy of the working class in 1945 election
bringing in army was seen as an oppressive response

43
Q

what were the positives of the general strike for the strikers?

A

proved capable of organised something big- brought industries to a standstill
had sympathy from King George V who said ‘try living on their wages before you judge them’
relations between working and middle class were better due to OMS
coal sector boomed with productivity hitting 300 tonnes per month per annum by 1939
unions sprung up in new levels
strike discouraged employers from cutting wages

44
Q

what were the negatives of the general strike on the strikers?

A

baldwin painted unions in a bad light ‘ the general strike is a challenge to parliament and is the road to anarchy and ruin’
roman catholic church called striking a sin
called off strike wo meeting terms
miners didnt achieve terms- lost power and mine owners gained power
membership reduced in TUC 5.5 million in 1925 to 3.75 million in 1930
average number of strikers fell 1926 2.75 million 1927-1930 300,000

45
Q

what was the impact of the wall street crash?

A

loss of US markets and European trade
unemployment rose from 1 million to 3 million between 1929 and 1932
sharp rise in longer term unemployment
old and traditional industries took a long time to recover

46
Q

what was the means test?

A

introduced in 1931 to gauge the level of need in individual households was criticised for its percieved intrusiveness and lack of generosity

47
Q

how did the wall street crash contribute to depression in the 1930s?

A

america introduced high tariffs to protect domestic industry meaning the price of british goods went up causing the demand to fall
companies collapsed and wsc sped up the impact

48
Q

how did british heavy industry contribute to depression in the 1930s?

A

many markets sourced cheaper supplies elsewhere during the war
coal was replaced by gas and oil
general strike in 1926 negatively impacted the coal industry

49
Q

how did outdated methods contribute to depression in the 1930s?

A

british industry was labour intensive while other countries had innovative technology
mid 1920s coal cost 65p/tonne to produce in the USA and £1.56/tonne to produce in the uk
steel making plants were opening in USA germany and japan, and closing in the uk eg Ebbw Vale

50
Q

how did import duties contribute to depression in the 1930s?

A

tariffs reduced demand - british exports fell by 1/2 from 1929-1931
demand for shipbuilding fell as there were less goods being transported around the world - decline in invisible trade

51
Q

what was the state of unemployment in the 1930s?

A

rose from 6% to 15% 1929-1932
domestic market suffered
more businesses were bankrupt and unemployment rose
less spending and investment due to economic uncertainty

52
Q

how did spending change during depression in the 1930s?

A

even people who weren’t unemployed became more reluctant to spend and invest due to the uncertainty of the economy, causing more businesses to suffer

53
Q

how did the government respond to depression in the 1930s?

A

means test 1931
import duties act 1932

54
Q

what was the import duties act 1932?

A

introduced tariffs so people and companies would buy UK goods. Actually reduced amount of international trade and made depression worse
eg 33% tax on cars

55
Q

what health issues were there in the 1930s due to economic issues?

A

infant mortality rate in Jarrow was double that of the rest of Britain
epidemic of scarlet fever due to malnourishment
slums meant that diseases spread quickly

56
Q

what was the jarrow crusade?

A

people form jarrow marched to london demanding government action to create jobs and help the unemployed

57
Q
A

Breadth History (20 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions