Britain Transformed Unit 3- Society in Transition Flashcards
(66 cards)
1
Q
Why was there a decline in deference in 1918?
A
- The high death toll of British men(704,000) shook the confidence working classes had for upper class.
- Working and middle class men interacted more in the trenches further declining.
2
Q
Why was their a decline in upper classes?
A
- Death toll amongst upper classes was unproportionally high.
- In 1914, 261 sons of aristocrats died.
- Many families were forced to pay death duties in which land needed to be sold to pay for it.
- Led to 33% of those working the land now owned it.
3
Q
What Act gave greater equality and what did it result in.
A
- The Representation of The People Act 1918.
- Gave people the ability to improve living standards and wages. Many people had a surplus in inter-war years.
4
Q
How many home owners by the early 1920s?
A
- House owners increased from 750,000 in early 1920s to 3,250,000 by 1938.
- Were particularly evident through growth of suburbs and car ownership.
5
Q
What was the impact of the Second World War?
A
- The Social research organisation, Mass Observation, reported frequently how working class people pledged for equality.
- The frequent bombings at home led to people needing all social classes to work together.
- The 1945 election, saw both parties campaigning for more state intervention and Labour’s role of nationalisation saw the state involved in people’s lives.
6
Q
Why was there a decline in deference in the 1950s?
A
- The end to rationing in 1954 and relaxed consumer credit enabled the working class to enjoy prosperity that was previously so out of reach. People now started to question the class system and television shows and satirical humour started to do this.
7
Q
What was The Satire Boom?
A
- Late 1950s and early 60s.
- Popular satirical stage show “Beyond the fringe” was played in front of thousands.
- It was the first time British public had seen elite political figures being questioned by journalists which demonstrated change in perception of authority.
8
Q
What was the “British New Wave” and when?
What was their impact?
A
- Late 50s and early 60s.
- Novels about working class men and women reaching prosperity and had a lack of deference for his boss called “Saturday Night Sunday Morning” and indicated a decline in respect for the upper classes.
9
Q
What were some sex scandals in the 1960s?
A
- The satirical magazine “The Private Eye” was particularly important in revealing these.
- In 1963, they revealed John Profumo(Minister of War) was having a sexual affair with a 19 year old Soviet associated woman, Inavov.
- There was no evidence of this but blackmail opportunities.
- Politicians and royals had usually stayed away from press barons.
- The Profumo Scandal shocked the people and led to his resignation and party failing losing the 1964 election.
- Led to decline in deference.
10
Q
What were attitudes towards sex in the 1950s?
A
- The state intervening in private sexual behaviour, especially homosexuality was widely accepted. Sex immorality was widespread.
- Cases of venereal disease was high and prostitution flourished during WW2.
- A survey showed 1/5 of women had pre-marital sex born 1894-1904 while half had born between 1924-34.
- From 1930s was a growth in sex help books which sold 3 million copies by 1964.
- Sexual behaviour was changing.
11
Q
What were sexual attitudes in the 1960s?
What was the study on young people?
A
- Swinging sixties is often very misleading.
- Michael Schofield’s “The Sexual Behaviour of Young People” in 1965 uncovered that:
1 in 3 boys and 1 in 6 girls had engaged in sexual activity between sixteen and nineteen.
Nearly all relationships were established and not promiscuous.
12
Q
What encouraged the name “Swinging Sixties”
A
- Multiple partners was now widely accepted.
- The vibrant nightlife introduced more drug use and celebration of youth.
- Many provocative ideas such as US musical “Oh Calcutta” which ran 3,900 performances.
- Conservative newspapers like “The Times” showed how bands like The Rolling Stones created a generation gap and could no longer understand the young.
- However, attitudes about homosexuality, contraception and sex before marriage was similar to the 50s.
- The press did however often openly talk about sex in newspapers.
13
Q
What was The Lady Chatterley trial and its impact? When was it?
A
- 1960
- D.H Lawrence book “Lady Chatterley’s lover” which was a story about an upper class woman having a sexual affair with a working class groundsmen.
- Led to under the “Obscene Publications Act 1959” the publishers being prosecuted and led to the debate if the book was obscene.
- Case was won by Penguin(Publisher) and showed how public laws were outdated to the public and the start of the “permissive society”.
14
Q
What was The Sexual Offences Act and when?
A
- 1967
- The Homosexual Law Reform Society was created(HLRS). Followed a letter to reform the law signed by former PM Atlee and AJP Taylor.
- Was passed and also led to Abortion Act 1967 which legalised abortion up to 28 weeks.
- 85% of people still believed homosexuality should stay criminalised however homosexuality was legalised as long as it was not public.
15
Q
Who was Mary Whitehouse and when was she active?
A
- 1964
- Was a teacher with devout Christian values and launched a group called Clean Up TV.
- Grew widespread popularity and over 70 coaches were filled with campaigners to protest, especially against the BBC.
- Believed TV was poisoning the youth and not directing Christian values.
16
Q
What was the NVALA?
A
- 1965
- Co-founded by Mary Whitehouse who attracted police officers and MPs.
- Organisation opposed swearing, violence and sexual images on TV.
- NVALA attracted over 100,000 showing fears of moral decline from the older generation was vocalised.
17
Q
Why did Christianity decrease post WWII?
A
- Those who took a holy communion fell from 3 million to 2.5 million between 1935-45.
- It seemed church was only used for weddings and funerals.
- NVALA was made up of those from the north and especially in the sixties questioned London particularly.
- The NVALA made a lot of noise but did not have a large effect on TV
18
Q
What were the successes of the NVALA?
A
- Banned child pornography with the Protection of Children Act 1978.
- Banned Deep Throat which was a film about Christs sex life which was banned in Britain in 1976.
19
Q
What was The Festival of Light and when?
A
- 1971
- Was an organisation who’s aims were to prevent sexualisation of television and promote Christian teachings.
- The Festival attracted 100,000 people.
- Led by Malcolm Muggeridge and Lord Longford.
20
Q
What did the Representation of the People Act do for women?
A
- In 1918, the act gave women over the age of 30 the opportunity to vote if married to a local government register or property owner.
- So it was only the upper class and educated women however they compromised 43% of the vote(8.4 million) and by 1928 women over 21 could vote.
21
Q
What were employment opportunities for women in WWI?
What limited this?
A
- Was a massive development for women in the workplace as thousands of women worked in male dominated fields.
- By 1918, their was over 1 million women in metal and chemical industry alone.
- However agreement with Trade Unions in 1914 was that women could only occupy skilled jobs until the war was over and the women could not be paid higher than men did previously which led to employment levels returning to 1914 levels(5.7 million).
22
Q
What was “Woman’s work” and how many women were in this by 1918?
A
- Women’s work were jobs such as cleaners and maids.
- 1.25 million women were in these jobs by 1914 yet many women were keen in finding new employment opportunities.
- Clerical work was biggest growth in women’s employment with over 1 million women employed in 1921.
- Only opportunities was through light manufacturing in sweated work.
23
Q
What were middle class women’s employment opportunities 1918-31?
A
- The suffragette campaign resulted in The Representation of the People Act 1918 which benefitted M/C women.
- The Sex Disqualification Act 1919 stopped the prevention of women not being able to enter industries such as law and showed male attitudes were starting to shift.
- However, by 1931 84% of women in work were divorced, single or windowed showing many women still were expected to settle down.
24
Q
Who was Ivy Williams?
A
- She was the first woman to be called to the English Bar in 1922.
25
What were women's opportunities in politics?
- Faced prejudice in the interwar years and female MPs peaked in 1931 at 15.
- In parties they still gave women menial roles and only 9 women served at Labour MPs in the interwar period.
26
What were employment opportunities for women in WW2?
- Engaged in a wide range of military and civilian roles.
- By 1944, 80,000 women worked on farms.
- Had non combatant roles such as cooks, drivers, decoders and mechanics.
- Women saw better pay, new skills and confidence and overseas deployments gave new opportunities.
27
What were economic advancements for women between 1945-51?
- The government hoped social roles would go back to normal and offered women little opportunities for advancement.
- Women that were employed mostly remained in industries specifically for women as 86% of women in work were in industries such as nursing by 1951.
- Mass Observation found in 1948:
- A widespread desire to end work after marriage
- Need for extra income as the main motivation for working.
- Most women didn't define themselves by their work or part of their identity.
28
What were economic advancements for women between 1951-79?
- The end of the marriage bar meant by 1972 50% of married women retained their jobs.
- Until late 1950s, it was the norm for women to make 40% less than their male counterparts.
- The Equal Pay Act 1970 was the first legislation to address pay.
29
What was The Equal Pay Act and when?
- 1970
- Established equal pay for all.
30
What was The Sex Discrimination Act and when?
- 1975
- Ensured that fair employment practices were used and women had legal protection against discrimination in education and employment.
- However, women still faced discrimination and led to the second wave of feminism.
31
What was The Dagenham sewing machinists strike and when?
- 1968
- Management at Ford decided to pay female sewing machinists 15% less than males for the same job.
- Female machinists went on strike for three weeks and Barbara Castle stepped in and increased their wages by 7%.
- Was a big factor for the creation of Equal Pay Act 1970.
32
What were political advancements for women 1945-79?
- Women did not significantly advance in this period.
- Number of female MPs remained constant between 20 and 30 with dips in 1951 and 79.
- Thatcher was a victim of this as she constantly showed ability above male MPs yet struggled to climb.
33
What were the first recognitions of reform in divorce?
- In 1934, A.P Herbert pointed out the absurdities of divorce law. Such as:
- An unhappily married couple could not divorce unless violence or adultery had been committed. Meant couples had to provoke these.
- Herbert became an independent MP and introduced The Matrimonial Causes Act 1937 which allowed divorce if a partner had been unfaithful or desertion past 3 years.
- Had widespread public support and divorce petitions increased from 4,800 to 38,000 in 1951.
34
What was the effect of birth control and who opened the first clinic and when?
- Birth control was a question of public morality.
- In 1921, De Marie Stopes founded the first birth control clinic in London.
- Health workers who directed those to Stopes would be sacked.
- Faced lots of backlash in cities such as Salford and Cardiff but the Labour party 1927 backed the funding of birth control clinics.
- Stopes believed that sex should be enjoyable and not stuck in the cycle of pregnancy and advocated birth control for the working class believing those should only reproduce who contribute to society.
- Working class women not covered by The National Health insurance.
- Condoms and other items could be bought by 1930.
35
What were women's changes in self expression and what were flappers?
- Due to the high death rate in WWI(784k), many women lived single lives in the 1920s and growth in clerical work gave women a chance to join prosperity.
- Flappers were usually upper class women who wore shorter skirts, smoked and faced considerable backlash.
36
What was family life like during the great depression?
- Depression had a disproportionate impact on women as women would eat less due to children and men being the bread winners.
- Women in East London were commonly having up to 9 children. Poor families relied on unemployment relief which after 1934 became mean tested.
37
Why was there a isolation of 1950s housewife?
- Surveys in late 1950s, showed only 40% of women were content with their role as a housewife. The other 60% were bored and due to the growing consumer society, increased leisure and education opportunities women wanted change.
- Labour-saving devices were advertised to women and presented them as the decision maker in the house, but all aimed to please her husband.
38
What was the struggles for women(Feminist waves) 1968-79?
- Two waves of feminism. First was for political equality while the second was for women's liberal movement which concerned equal conditions such as:
- Birth control and reproductive rights
- Domestic violence
- Sexism
39
When was the contraceptive pill introduced and what was its effect?
When was abortion decriminalised?
- 1961
- Was only given out to married women as doctors believed it would promote promiscuous behaviour showing they believed they were defenders of public morality.
- By 1971, 1 million women were on the pill demonstrating its popularity and how women could now enjoy sex without chance of contraception. Also enabled them to focus on their work which led to more skilled workers.
- In 1971, 47% of women had a child by 25 while by 1981 it was 25%.
- In 1967, abortion was decriminalised. Helped stop the backstreet abortions as 149,000 by 1979.
40
What was the impact of the women's liberation movement?
- Due to the 1968 Dagenham sewing machine strike, led to a movement away from traditional values.
- In 1968, Barbara Castle refused to discuss the topic.
- Sheila Rowbotham organised the first women's conference in 1970.
- Number of women's groups went from 4 in 1970 to 50 to 1980.
41
What were the growing activism in 1970s?
- In 1970, protest groups staged demonstrations at the Miss World Beauty Contest, throwing flower bombs on the male judges.
- Germaine Greer wrote The Female Eunuch which argued men's control had led to women becoming trapped in gender roles which led to self loathing.
42
What were supports for victims of domestic violence?
- Early 70s led to creation of refugee centres for victims.
- Chiswick aid centre first one.
- Domestic violence was widespread yet no one seemed to address it until now.
- In 1976, The Domestic Violence and Matrimonial Proceedings Act were passed meaning the court could inject if domestic violence was proved.
43
What were attitudes towards immigration and minorities between 1918-39?
- In WWI, due to immigration over 1/3 of British army were made up of black and Asian men such as 1 million Indian men and half a million African.
- Was a push in white people stopping minorities in taking "British jobs".
- Seen as the superior race and philosophers believed they were barbaric and brutal. Also widespread nationalism believed they sabotaged the empire.
- Believed public services should be excluded.
44
Why was the colour bar in the 1920s still there even though it legally was?
- Lack of government action
- Widespread prejudice
- Unions and businesses working together to exclude minorities
45
What was The Alien Orders Act and when?
- 1920
- Required migrant workers(Aliens0 to register with police seeking work, go against this it could lead to deportation.
- There were many workers part of the British Empire yet their rights were ignored due to their race.
46
What was The Special Restrictions Act(Coloured Seaman Act) and when?
- 1925
- Act enforced minority seamen to prove their British citizenship or face deportation.
47
What were the discriminations of pay for minorities in 1920s and 30s?
- Asian Chefs were paid £5 a month while white chefs earned £20.
- Equally, unemployment was much higher in minorities as 80% of black and Asian men had been unemployed for a long period of time while only 30% of whites did.
- Racist attitudes continued especially n the depression.
48
What was the effect of The Communist Party of Britain in the 1920s?
- The CPGB played a significant part in tackling racism.
- Founded in 1921, had a large number of minorities however was seen a unattractive to most white workers.
- Organised a strike for Arab and Somali seamen in South Shields in 1930. While this was unsuccessful in showed how their was some support from whites in tackling racism.
49
What was the effect of racism in education and health?
Who was refused to university and what organisation did he set up.
- Racism was evident in these areas.
- Universities proved a big role in educating those in the British colonies with around 50 people from West Africa and 150 from Caribbean in top universities.
- However, these people were not expected to stay in Britain but be senior administrators for the empire abroad.
- Harold Moody(Jamaican) was refused to study medicine in 1904 and set up his own practice.
- He created the League of Coloured People in 1931 which worked to expose the colour bar, start campaigns for equal access to facilities such as healthcare.
50
What was the effect of WWII on minorities?
- Government recognised that minorities had played a crucial role and wanted to better their rights.
- Lots joined to escape rural poverty
51
How did the war expose ongoing racism in terms of immigration?
- Government encouraged white men from New Zealand and Australia in the war effort.
- Mid 1940s the government rejected an offer for 2,000 Jamaican workers to carry out war work.
- Some Caribbean workers were refused work due to cultural differences and promotions for minorities were rare.
52
What was New Commonwealth Immigration and what act encouraged it?
- Due to significant labour shortages, it opened opportunities for migrants.
- The British Nationality Act 1948 created a legal right for those from British colonies to enter the UK.
- Led to waves of migration such as the SS Empire Windrush in June 1948, bringing 492 Jamaicans to Britain.
53
What did Caribbean and Indian and Pakistan immigration increase to from 1939 to 1949?
- Caribbean increased from 8,600 in 1939 to 133,000 in 1949.
- Indian and Pakistan increased from 9,300 to 64,000.
54
What was the difference between New and Old Commonwealth?
- Old included predominantly white migrants from Canada and NZ.
- New included the black and Asian population.
55
What were examples of opportunities for migrants in the 1950s?
- Entertainment business such as DJ Mooksang opening nightclubs in London.
- Found employment in public services such as NHS recruiting 3,000 Caribbean nurses between 1948 and 1954.
56
What was the effect of the colour bar in terms of employment in the 1950s?
- Unions, employers and the government worked together to limit opportunities for minorities.
- 95% of workers at Ford in the UK were white which was also similar with transport workers.
57
What were the Notting Hill riots and when?
- 1958
- Was the most notorious mass violence against black people in 1950s.
- Over several nights 300-700 white men armed with knives and bats beat the residents of Notting Hill in which the police did little to stop the attacks.
58
What was the Commonwealth Immigration Act(Earlier one) and when?
- 1962
- Designed to end large scale immigration and prevent a multi cultural society.
- Could only enter the country on two conditions:
- Had a job waiting for them
- They had specific skills in which the British economy required.
59
What was the Commonwealth Immigration Act(Later one) and when?
- 1968
- Tightened the rules further.
- Spouses of migrants over 18 were denied entry.
- Children with one parent in Britain denied entry.
- Had to have a connection to Britain.
60
What was The Immigration Act and when?
- 1971
- Partial- In which most were from old commonwealth rather than new.
- Non Partial- Were those born outside UK with no grandparents born in UK.
- Non Partials were tightly monitored while white partials could go as they please.
61
What was the support on the Immigration Acts of 1960s and 70s?
- In 1962, was up to 76% by 1971 was 59%. Showed support for immigration was still low but showed some decrease.
62
What did New Commonwealth increase from in 1956 to 1961?
- 1956 was 46,000 by 1961 it was 136,400.
63
Who was Roy Jenkins and what did he argue for multi-culturalism?
- Jenkins was Labour politician who spoke in 1966 arguing:
- Rejected cultural assimilation and believed that immigrants were under no obligation to adopt British culture.
- All should fight for equality.
- Darcus Howe and the Black Panthers were especially effective in improving rights.
64
What was the white backlash to the improved rights and race relation acts?
- Enoch Powell's "River of Blood" speech argued that race relation laws should be tougher.
- He argued that minorities had better rights than white people and were now strangers in their own country.
- Was sacked by Conservative yet 74% of Britons agreed with him which led to 1,000 dock workers protesting in his honour.
65
What were the 3 race relations acts?
- Race Relation Act 1965- This outlawed the colour bar and you could not deny service based on someone's race and outlawed racial hatred. However, the act did nothing in discrimination in housing.
- Race Relation Act 1968- Extended the 1965 provision by outlawing racial discrimination in housing and employment. Also promote multi-culturalism.
- Race Relation Act 1976- Led to further bans on racial discrimination. Indirect discrimination was outlawed.
66
What was The Notting Hill Carnival and when?
- 1976
- Carnival was for minorities and celebrating their culture.
- Yet the police tried fiercely to stop the carnival in which Darcus Howe performed a citizens arrest on a police officer.
