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Modern History, Making Of Modern Britain 1950-70s > 45 Onwards > Flashcards

45 Onwards Flashcards

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1
Q

What was the name of the post war labour PM

A

Clement Atlee

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2
Q

What were the two main reasons which made the economic policies of the Labour government 1945-51 unpopular with the middle classes?

A

Nationalisation was ineffective and costly, austerity (high taxes and rationing) measures affected the standard of living in Britain.

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3
Q

What was the impact of the Korean War on rationing in Britain?

A

It prolonged rationing until 1954 whereas most other countries were already coming out of rationing, including Germany.

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4
Q

What was the impact of the Korean War on conscription in Britain?

A

The conscription period was extended to two years and continued.

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5
Q

What was the most negative impact of the extend of the welfare system introduced by the Labour government between 1945 to 1951?

A

The money spent on welfare system was significantly larger than expected. The government was not able to invest this money into industry.

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6
Q

Name two labour politicians who resigned from their positions within the cabinet over the issue of subscription charges.

A

Aunerin Bevan, Harold Wilson.

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7
Q

Why was labour government 1945-51 forced to introduce subscription charges?

A

The cost of NHS exceeded the expectation, Britain had huge expense of Korean War at the time.

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8
Q

What was the foreign event in the middle east which caused criticism of Labour government for lack of strength?

A

Nationalisation of Anglo-Iranian Oil Company.

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9
Q

Why did labour government decide to join the Korean War?

A

Wanted to show support for USA, they had anti-communist views, wanted to stop spread of communism in Asian colonies.

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10
Q

What was the importance of Liberal vote in 1951 elections?

A

Liberal Party could not afford to present candidates and most voters took strategic vote Conservative rather than allow labour to win constituency.

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11
Q

What was the average age of the politicians within Labour government 1945-51?

A

Over 60 and that’s including younger members of the cabinet.

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12
Q

What was the nature of divisions within Labour Party on the issue of defence spending and nuclear deterrent?

A

Subscription charges and nuclear disarmament.

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13
Q

Define term unliteral disarmament.

A

Removing all forms of nuclear weapons without waiting for other parties to agree to disarmament.

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14
Q

Name two consequences of the nationalisation in Labour Britain.

A

The government had to pay reparations to previous company owners increasing budget deficit, most industries became less efficient, neither class within society was fully happy with the effects

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15
Q

Which of the industries caused particularly fierce conflict of its nationalisation?

A

Steel industry.

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16
Q

Why can the result of the 1951 elections be seen as an oddity?

A

Labour won 48.8% of votes with Conservatives winning 48% but Labour secured less seats than Conservatives.

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17
Q

What happened to constituency borders in 1949 and what effect did it have on labour election result in 1951?

A

The constituency borders were redrawn to accommodate some of the population changes like urbanisation.

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18
Q

Why was the ending of Lend Lease unfavourable for Great Britain?

A

Britain wanted an extension of lend Lease with 0% rate but USA did not allow for this arrangement. Britain was instead offered a 3% loan which was considerably more costly.

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19
Q

What was Truman Doctrine and what was its effect for British foreign policy in Europe?

A

It was an American policy aimed to stop spread of communism across the world. It meant that Britain was involved in the conflict as a main ally of USA in Europe. As an example, Britain had to severe its relation with Poland and Czechoslovakia, enter Korean War.

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20
Q

What conflict on European continent between 1944 to 1947 caused British government to seek American support against communism in Europe?

A

Greek civil war

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21
Q

What was Marshall Aid?

A

A program of financial aid offered to countries fighting against the communism. Great Britain was one of the countries which received the biggest proportion of it.

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22
Q

Name successes of British foreign policy within period 1945 to 1964.

A

Established NATO, EFTA, Commission to divide Marshall Aid help, summits between USA and USSR, Test Ban Treaty 1963.

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23
Q

Name failures of British foreign policy within period of 1945 to 1964.

A

Withdrawal from Palestine, nationalisation of Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, Suez Crisis.

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24
Q

Name three reasons why Britain opted not to join EEC in 1950s

A

Britain just nationalised key industries so that government could have greater control over them and by joining EEC they would have to give them up, there were concerns about political sovereignty, the right to self-govern with supranational organisation like EEC having influence on politics, Britain wanted to retain its economic links to the Empire and Commonwealth, British wanted to find balance between involvement in Europe while maintaining special relationship with USA, there was no reason to believe that EEC will be a success.

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25
What was the name of the crisis which had significant cost to British international prestige.
Suez Crisis.
26
What was an official and unofficial reason for resignation of Anthony Eden?
Officially Eden claimed his health declined, unofficially the failure of Suez Crisis forced him to resign.
27
What was the extent of military spend for Great Britain in period 1951 to 1964?
7%
28
In what year did Great Britain test its nuclear weapon?
1952
29
In what year did Great Britain test its hydrogen weapon?
1957
30
What was Blue Streak program and why was it cancelled?
Missile program, It proved to expensive for Britain to finish the development.
31
. Which British prime Minister championed the Nuclear Test Treaty Ban in 1963?
Harold McMillan
32
What was the impact of British government officially recognising Chinese government?
USA government was not happy about it and it did not allowed Britain to join ANZUS Pact between Australia, New Zealand and USA.
33
Which American and Soviet summit was interrupted by the crash of American spy plane U2 over Soviet Union?
1959 Camp David
34
Give at least two reasons why British Government decided to take aggressive action after nationalisation of Suez Canal.
Labour was heavily criticised for not taking action after nationalisation Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, personal conviction of Eden and his worries about Nasser.
35
What were the consequences of the Suez Crisis for Britain
Britain showed it cannot conduct its own foreign policy, British withdrawal likely caused backlash of French veto to our application to EEC, Britain lost an ally in Iraqi king Faisal who was murdered in 1958, Eden resigned and was replaced by Macmillan in 1957, Britain lost large amount of dollar reserves which caused economic crisis and weakened pound and relationship with USA suffered.
36
Name the reasons which forced British withdrawal from Suez Canal.
Britain was forced to buy oil from USA in dollars and USA purposely lifted prices, Britain could not criticise USSR for intervention in Hungary while at the same time exercising similar intervention in Egypt, United Nations applied a lot of pressure on Britain, other Arab countries sympathised with Egypt and USA openly criticised Britain.
37
Which of the British colonies gained independence between 1945 to 1964?
India(1947), Ceylon and Burma(1948), Malaysia nd Gold Coast(1957), Ghan, Nigeria and Cyprus(1960), Tanganika, Tanzania and Sierra Leone(1961), Uganda, Jamaica and Trynidad(1962), Kenya(1963), Malawi, Northern Rhodesia, Malta(1964), Gambia(1965)
38
How much percent of the globe was occupied by the British Empire at its largest?
20%
39
What was the original plan of the post-war government in regard to its colonies?
British government wanted to use the colonies as way of rebuilding its economic strength by: selling colonial products in dollars to rebuild dollar reserves (Malayan rubber, Gold Coast cocoa), selling British products in colonies, Colonial Development Corporation was supposed to start a number of profitable schemes (most like Groundnut Oil Scheme did not work at all), commonwealth together with colonies was supposed to provide counterbalance to emerging superpowers: USA and USSR.
40
Why is the period between 1945 to 1951 often described as a second colonial wave?
Increased economic activity in colonies brought larger numbers of British civil servants and military presence in colonies, in some of the colonies it even doubled.
41
What was the impact of the second colonial wave on British Empire
Most economic schemes were ineffective and they caused a lot of backlash from native population because often they disregarded traditional organisational or land-owning structure or farming methods, many colonies felt overrun by the British.
42
Name reasons why maintaining the colonial empire became increasingly difficult after 1951
Increasing pressure form United Nations and USA and USSR, growing independent movement and French experience of armed conflict in Algeria, want of peaceful dissolution to maintain economic and political links, the Empire became an extremely complicated structure with different levels of independence, Harold Macmillan and Ian Macleod wanted decolonisation, Britain was the last remaining colonial power, some historians stress the importance of public opinion but there is no significant evidence of this according to Sandbrook.
43
Define term decolonisation.
Withdrawal from previous colonies
44
Name three main tory personalities who had significant impact on decolonisation after 1951
Ian Macleod, Enoch Powell, Reginald Maudling, Harold Macmillan.
45
What was Macmillan’s attitude towards decolonisation?
He fully supported it
46
Name three main colonial conflicts Britain was involved in between 1951 to 1964.
Malaya, Cyprus and Kenya.
47
Name reasons why Britain applied for the EEC membership in 1961.
The British government hoped that entering EEC will give Britain access to new fast-growing market, this will give boost to export industry and grow production, competition will encourage efficiency and quality of products, encourage growth of British industry by associating Britain with buoyant EEC economy.
48
Why was Britain’s application turned down in 1963?
De Gaule was concerned with British relationship with United States, he was disappointed for example that Britain was offered Polaris missiles and France was not, He also felt that Britain was not able to compromise on status of some of its colonies and Commonwealth, although other member countries did not share his concerns.
49
How many elections took place between 1951 and 1964?
1951, 1955, 1959 and 1964. Four.
50
What was the popular name coined by the historians for the period of Conservative government between 1951 to 1964?
13 wasted years
51
Explain the meaning of the term Butskellism.
Term created from combining the names of RAB Butler, conservative chancellor of exchequer with Hugh Gaitskell a leader of Labour Party, describes a consensus in economic policies between two leading political parties.
52
What does the term stop-go stands for?
Term describing economic policies used by Conservative government in the period 1951-1964.
53
What actions of the government are associated with the go phase within the economy?
The government would lower the taxes and interest rates on loans to encourage more spending within economy and provide boost to the industry and secure better employment rates.
54
What actions of the government are associated with the stop phase of the economy?
The government would raise interest rates and increase taxes, it often would also use restriction in access to imported materials in order to control balance of trade.
55
What were the main challenges faced by the British economy during the period between 1951-1964?
Britain was increasingly less competitive than other European countries, British companies were not meeting the demand on domestic market, as the government tried to maintain high value of pound British products were more expensive than those from other countries, most money was invested abroad because people did want to risk investing in Britain with constantly changing interest rates, no long term investment or improvement was made in Britain, negative balance of trade.
56
Define term balance of trade
The difference between countries imports and exports.
57
What were the main downsides of using stop-go policies for British economy.
It offered no long-term economic strategy. It caused stagflation (stagnation and inflation) at the same time and discouraged long term investment due to volatility of interest rates. This meant British industry would be unlikely to modernise within this period. A lot of perceived affluence was based on credit rather than actual ownership.
58
How much was the overall wage rise achieved within the period of 1951 to 1964?
For the average male worker increase was from £8.30 in 1951 to £18.35 in 1964. Real wages (the purchasing power of earnings set against prices) rose by 2.2% 1951-55, 2.9% 1955-60 and 4% 1960-64.
59
What was the main criticism of implementing go phase during years 1958 and 1959?
Growing demands for products and their prices led to higher wages demands, met by government and this led to inflation. Thorneycroft wanted to implement stop phase byt was overwritten due to coming elections. He resigned in January 1958.
60
Define term stagflation.
A combination of inflation and stagnation at the same time. The industry is in decline and yet there is growing inflation creating worst of both worlds.
61
What was the percentage of yearly government spend on defence under Conservative government?
10%
62
In what year did the rationing end in Britain?
1954
63
What was the Conservative aim for the amount of houses build each year in 1950s?
300,000 houses a year
64
. Who was in charge of Housing Ministry between 1951 to 1954?
Harold MacMillan
65
Why was Britain in 1950s sometimes described as property owning democracy?
A society in which as many people as possible are encouraged to buy property, a principle that owning a property is an essential part of democracy.
66
What were the two main aims for the Keynesian economic policies?
The government should use its budget to invest in the economy and provide full employment. Budget deficit in this scenario was not a problem.
67
What year saw highest unemployment during the period of 1951 to 1964?
1959 with 621,000 and 1963 with 878,000 people.
68
What year saw the lowest unemployment during the period of 1951 to 1964?
1955 with 298,000 and 1956 with 297,000.
69
What evidence suggests that there was period of genuine affluence in British society in the period 1951 to 1964?
The was genuine rise in real wages and availability of credit meaning that people could afford more than ever before, on average wages rose 72% between 1951 to 1963, even the poorest within society had access to benefits previously not experienced, the number of cars rose from under 3 million to 7 million within the period and TV sets from 340,000 to 13 million. Working week was reduced from 48 hours to 42. Quality and access to housing hugely improved during the period and most people had access to so called mod cons like central heating, hot water and indoor toilet.
70
What evidence suggests there were limits to affluence during the period 1951 to 1964?
There was significant rise in number of unemployed towards the end of the period; most of the goods were bought using hire purchase calling to question actual purchasing power of middle and working classes. The government wanted to avoid strikes and so it gave in to trade unions wage demands meaning the unions became increasingly powerful.
71
What are the main criticisms of Macmillan’s economic policies?
The policies were mainly focused on improving standard of living rather that creating economic growth and rise in production, there fore did not resolve some of the key issues experienced by British economy, for example GDP in Britain rose only by 2.3% between 1951 to 1964 whereas in France it rose by 4.3%, 5.1% in Germany and 5.6% in Italy.
72
What is deflation?
Deflation is a process where prices of consumer goods and services fall and money increases in value. Longer periods of deflation can lead to higher unemployment, a decrease in demand, and a reduction in economic activity.
73
Which of the industries was growing during the period of 1951 to 1964?
Services
74
. How much did Rab Butler cut the taxes in his ‘give away’ budget?
2.5p of standard rate and a penny of lower income taxes, together with higher tax allowances and lower purchase tax in 1955 and even more in 1959. This translate into 145 million less in the budget of the country. In 1959 tax cuts exceeded £370 million.
75
What was the British share of the world trade in 1950?
25%
76
How much did percentage of world trade fall by 1962?
By 10% to 15%
77
What happened to average productivity of the British workers in comparison to German workers?
British worker’s productivity rose by 25% whereas German workers productivity rose by 59% by 1960.
78
What were the three two fastest growing economies within the period 1951 to 1964?
West Germany and Japan.
79
. Define term run on the pound.
A term describing rapid fall in the value of the pound in international currency markets, especially in relation to US dollar. A situation where investors and traders quickly begin to sell their assets to limit losses, causing the price of the pound to decline rapidly.
80
Give examples of when run on the pound between 1951 to 1964 took place.
1957 following Suez Crisis.
81
When did the British government have to ask for the first loan from monetary fund?
1961 and the government had to introduce pay pause to avoid rise in inflation.
82
What was Beeching Report and what did it cause?
It was a report into program of cutting public spending, it led to reduction in British railways by 30%, closing many smaller stations and living some rural areas isolated.
83
When did festival of British take place?
It took place in 1951 and it was designed to mark British recovery from war, and show off developments in design, industry and culture.
84
What year did ITV launch?
1955
85
How much did the ownership of TV sets rise between 1957 to 1960?
TV ownership rose by 32%.
86
How much did the car ownership rise between 1957 to 1960?
Rose by 25%
87
What was the impact of rise in sales of car ownership on British public?
Car travel made new leisure and holiday activities possible for example Butlins and Blackpool, it also led to rise of suburbs as now people were able to commute to work, it led to development of the road and motorway system across UK.
88
What does the CND stand for?
Campaign for nuclear disarmament
89
. Define term establishment.
Network of social and political elites.
90
What was the name of two political scandals during Conservative government?
Profumo affair,
91
What were the consequences of the scandals to the Conservative government?
It led to first open criticism of the government by the press, rise of criticism and satire leading to creation of programs like That was the week that was and newspapers like Private Eye, it validated claims that establishment was blocking talent from outside its sphere and tried to hide its own mistakes.
92
What was the Night of Long Knives and why did it undermine the position of Macmillan?
It was a major cabinet reshuffle which took place in July of 1962. It was extremely poorly executed and haphazard living a lot of confusion and discontent among politicians and public. It exposed Macmillan as political opportunist not prepared to take responsibility for government mistakes.
93
What was the name of the satirical magazine established in 1961?
Private eye
94
What was the name of the satirical political program which debuted on BBC in 1962?
That was the week that was.
95
What was the percentage of married women within British society?
75% of women in Britain were married in 1950s
96
In what ways did the lives of women during 1950s improve?
New labour saving divices like vacuum cleaners, washing machines and refrigerators meant that women had more time allowing so to go to work. The washing machine ownership rose by 54% and refrigerators by 58%
97
In what ways did the lives of women worsened during the period of 1950s?
married women were expected to resign so they are ablet ot take the role of homemakers and mothers, women were paid less that men and were not considered to be able to perform certain jobs, they were not able to apply for mortgage and hold an account.
98
How did the lives of teenagers change during 1950s?
Teenagers had more free time and disposable income, they became an important target group for TV and advertisement, a group of Teddy boys and later Mods and Rockers developed, headphones meant that youngsters had more freedom in music choices.
99
How much the ownership of washing machines increase between 1957 to 1960?
54%
100
What industries achieved Equal Pay for women by 1960?
Teaching and civil service
101
When did the Notting Hill riots take place?
1958.

Modern History, Making Of Modern Britain 1950-70s (1 decks)

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