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History: Britain > Chapter 10: Economic Issues 1918-39 > Flashcards

Chapter 10: Economic Issues 1918-39 Flashcards

1
Q

What were some short-term economic consequences of WW1?

A

Prices rose 2.25 times during ww1
Exports fell by £24m during the war
Full employment during the war
Cheap goods from India & Japan
High demand for staple industries - coal, steel, engineering

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2
Q

What happened during the post-war boom?

A

Demobilised armed forces were re-integrated back into the economy
17,000 new agricultural smallholdings set up
Only around 500,000 unemployed
Exports stood at £1585m in 1920, more than double the value pre-war.

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3
Q

What were the long-term economic impacts of WW1?

A

Fall in world prices for primary products
Worldwide demand - British coal couldn’t keep up with Germany or Poland
Expansion of business - Not much reduction of costs or increased efficiency.
Decline in world trade - financial sector didn’t get the post-war growth of manufacturing exports

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4
Q

What were the staple industries?

A

Coal, Steel, Iron, Engineering, Textiles

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5
Q

Where were some places heavily reliant on the staple industries?

A

Lancashire - textiles (Cotton)
Birmingham - Engineering & mining
North-East & Clydeside - shipyards (engineering)
Sheffield - Steel

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6
Q

Why was the coal industry so important in the 1920s?

A

It was used as a fuel for basically all industry

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7
Q

Why were the staple industries such a huge part of the British economy?

A

They had been exported all across the world using the power of the British royal & merchant navies.

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8
Q

How did foreign competition affect the staple industries?

A

German & US technology was better - cheaper prices & protected themselves with tariffs

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9
Q

How did the ‘second industrial revolution’ countries affect the staple industries?

A

Countries like Italy & Japan rose to economic power, while Britain lagged behind on its modernisation

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10
Q

How did the increased importance of the financial sector affect the staple industries?

A

It made more money - greater emphasis placed upon it

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11
Q

What was the impact of the 1929 slump on the coal industry?

A

Sales fell due to new methods of home heating
Exports fell by 66%

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12
Q

What was the impact of the 1929 slump on the iron & steel industry?

A

Production declined by 4m tonnes 1913-1929

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13
Q

What was the impact of the 1929 slump on Shipbuilding?

A

Reduction in World trade meant less demand

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14
Q

What was the impact of the 1929 slump on Textiles?

A

India used to make up 50% of worldwide cotton exports, now only took up 20% by 1919

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15
Q

Why were the staple industries hit particularly hard by this economic slump?

A

They were led by exports

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16
Q

How were local communities affected by the 1929 slump?

A

Devastating unemployment was concentrated in areas - Lancashire had over 2000 textile factories.
Led to the Jarrow March 1936

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17
Q

Which industries prospered despite the economic slump?

A

Motor industry, electrical goods

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18
Q

Which sectors took part in the General Strike 1926?

A

Coal, Iron, Steel, Chemical, Newspapers ceased production
Ships weren’t loaded or unloaded
Transport stopped running

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19
Q

What were some long term causes of the general strike?

A

Need for worker’s support during ww1 & the post-war boom led to increased control over bosses
Increasing radicalism led by the Bolshevik revolution & elements of Syndicalism
Mainly led by the Coal industry - poor conditions, lack of investment

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20
Q

What were some medium term causes of the general strike?

A

Mines returned to private hands after the war (miners wanted nationalisation)
Coal exports declined
Owners tried to deal with costs by cutting wages
Black Friday 1921 - TUC under pressure not to betray miners again
Gold Standard made things more expensive

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21
Q

What was Black Friday in 1921?

A

The Triple Alliance pulled out of a strike with the miner’s federation - they were starved back after 3 months on strike

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22
Q

What were some short-term causes of the General Strike 1926?

A

Drastic fall in coal demand worldwide
War had prevented modernisation of the industry
Owners faced mine closure
Miners Federation led by a hardline syndicalist
Owner’s association similarly uncompromising

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23
Q

Who led the Miner’s Federation in 1926?

A

AJ Cook - A syndicalist

24
Q

Who led the Mine Owner’s Association in 1926?

A

Sir Evan William

25
Q

How did Baldwin avert a general strike in 1925?

A

Offered a temporry subsidy of £10m - gave him time to prepare

26
Q

In what ways was the government ready for a general strike?

A

Set up 11 areas with 88 sub districts to maintain supplied in the event of a strike
Armed forces ready to be used - 226,000 constables recruited
Leaders of the Communist party arrested

27
Q

In what ways was the TUC ready for the general strike?

A

Raised a strike fund of £2.5m
Generally wasn’t all that prepared

28
Q

What was the Samuel Commission report 1926?

A

A report that reccommended nationalisation of royalties, amalgamation and modernisation of mines
Cooperation between unions & employers
Main reccommendation to end the subsidy & reduce wages.
Both sides rejected it.

29
Q

In what ways were the Mine Owners to blame for the General Strike?

A

Under-investment during the war
Reacted to falling profits by cutting wages
Mine Owner’s association was bitter and unyielding

30
Q

In what ways were the Miner’s Federation to blame for the general strike?

A

Determined to protect their members from falling wages & poor conditions
Embittered and angry at other Unions
AJ Cook was militant and syndicalist

31
Q

In what ways was the TUC to blame for the general strike?

A

Increased militancy and syndicalism
Black Friday 1921 - felt obliged to help this time
Agreed to a General Strike after Miners locked out

32
Q

In what ways was the government to blame for the general strike?

A

Had nationalised the mines during the war - showed the alternative
Coal Miners Act 1920 improved conditions - perhaps raised expectations
1925 - Subsidy only delayed strike, not prevented it

33
Q

Why did the preparation of the government cause the General Strike to fail?

A

Baldwin prepared a year before after using a subsidy to prevent it
Helped to organise volunteers to fill in for workers
British Gazette newspaper set up to communicate with the public
TUC was generally unprepared in comparison

34
Q

Why did the TUC cause the general strike to fail?

A

Unclear of their aim - generally against a strike
TUC could not get a public hearing through the BBC
TUC pulled their backing on the 12 May

35
Q

Why did the public cause the general strike to fail?

A

The middle classes rallied behind the government - volunteered to fill for the workers
Worker front was far from united - a lot had already gone back to work even before strike was called off
Government fully controlled the public mood

36
Q

What was the result of the general strike for the TUC?

A

They had reduced influence
Strike days saw a reduction - 162m lost in 1926, 960,000 lost in 1934

37
Q

What was the result of the general strike for the miners?

A

They went back to work after months of protest - lower pay than before

38
Q

What was the result of the general strike for industrial relations?

A

Mond-Turner talks actually improved industrial relations - GS showed need for communication

39
Q

What was the North-South Divide?

A

The idea that the unemployment was far worse in the North of England - 68% unemployment in Jarrow, 53% in Blackburn, 6% in London.
60% of all national unemployment was in 6 northern counties.

40
Q

What is some evidence to suggest the Great Depression had great impact on Britain?

A

1932 - 2.8m unemployed. Never went below 1m until ww2.
Long term regional unemployment
Reduction in trade
Reduction in manufacturing output
Reduction in the financial sector
Increased divide between the rich & the poor

41
Q

What is some evidence to suggest the great depression didn’t have a huge impact on Britain?

A

Some fringe political upheaval, no huge support
Problems in the staple industries weren’t new
Unemployment & poverty concentrated, not nationwide
1938 armament helped to relieve the issues

42
Q

How was the impact of the depression limited?

A

Cost of living fell
Expansion of housing provided more work
Low interest rates made mortgages easier to get
New Industries such as cars made more jobs
Rearmament saw a huge increase in employment

43
Q

What causes the consistent unemployment of the 1930s?

A

Wall Street Crash
Structural unemployment due to issues with the staple industries
Rise in real wages - British goods overpriced
Lack of mobility & flexibility in the workforce - low-skilled workers couldn’t find new jobs, reluctant to move
Failures of the new industries - couldn’t create enough jobs

44
Q

What is some evidence to show that unemployment was a huge problem for Britain in the 1930s?

A

Stats show insured workers, not their families - Suffering from poverty could have been abt 6m
Means test was humiliating and degrading
Psychological damage - depression for whole communities
Poor diet caused malnutrition & disease
Towns & cities became desolate

45
Q

What is some evidence to show that unemployment wasn’t a huge problem for Britain in the 1930s?

A

Regional differences - South was okay
Prices fell
Health of those in depressed areas not actually worse than those not
Benefits comparatively quite high
Little support for extremist parties

46
Q

What were some areas of government policy during the depression?

A

Balancing the budget
Devaluation of the pound
Protectionism
Direct help for affected areas
Rationalisation
Cheap Money
Rearmament (1938 onwards)

47
Q

What was the effect of balacing the budget during the depression?

A

Public servant wages cut
Unemployment benefit cut by 10% - means test introduced
Maintained international confidence, but deepened the depression further by increasing unemployment by reducing available expenditure

48
Q

What was the effect of the abandonment of the Gold Standard in 1931?

A

£ was devalued to $3.40
Exports cheaper - staple industries more competitive
Bank of England reduced interest rates
Ultimately limited effect, since every other country did it too and introduced tariffs as well.

49
Q

What was the effect of Protectionism during the depression?

A

Imposed 50% duty on cutlery, pottery, cotton and woolen goods in 1931.
Extended to other imports like steel in 1932.
Helped to avoid fluctuations in the value of the pound, but tariffs were largely ignored by dominions and world trade was restricted, as some industries needed to import materials.

50
Q

What was the effect of Direct Help during the depression?

A

Some areas helped, such as Ebbw Vale.
£9.5 million put towards shipbuilding - Queen Mary & Queen Elizabeth built
However, many areas didn’t qualify, and those that did often got meagre amounts - £2m to cover Tyneside, Clydeside, S. Wales, and W. Cumberland.

51
Q

What was the effect of managing production during the depression?

A

Coal industry - mines amalgamated & 1938 Act nationalised royalties
Coal production increased by 34m tonnes 1933-37
Steel production increased 3m tonnes 1930-39
However, no modernisation in agriculture, cotton still suffered, and much less investment in older industries as opposed to new ones

52
Q

What was the effect of cheap money during the depression?

A

Encouraged people to borrow & invest
Provided cheap mortgages
However, only stimulated demand for middle classes - not available to the unemployed

53
Q

What was the effect of rearmament 1938 onwards?

A

Stimulated the economy with government orders - reduced unemployment
Increase in demand for Iron, Steel, engineering, and food production
However, firms weren’t necessarily becoming more efficient, just hiring more bodies.

54
Q

What was the effect of national government policies towards education & the young in the 1930s?

A

Leaving age rose in 1939
Class sizes fell, but attendance didn’t.
More higher entrants for secondary schools

55
Q

What was the effect of national government policies towards transport in the 1930s?

A

Speed limits reintroduced
Road signs introduced
London Transport continued to be under one administrative body

56
Q

What was the effect of national government policy towards work conditions in the 1930s?

A

Factories saw better conditions due to an act of 1937
Shop worker hours were restricted
Holidays with pay were encouraged, but not enforced

57
Q

What was the effect of national government social policy on quality of life in the 1930s?

A

People got increased consumer protection, and it became easier to buy on credit.
Only the middle classes saw a genuine improvement in living standards.

History: Britain (7 decks)

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