Chapter 11 Flashcards
Social and cultural change (26 cards)
What percentage did unemployment remain at throughout the 1920s?
10-15%
What did the 1923 Matrimonial Causes Act legislate?
Women no longer had to prove cruelty, desertion or another ‘cause’ in addition to adultery to divorce her husband
What did the 1924 Guardianship of Infants Act legislate?
It gave guardianship of infant children to both parents jointly
What did the 1926 New English Law of Property legislate?
It allowed both married and single women to hold property on the same terms as men
What did the 1928 Representation of the People Act legislate?
It gave women over the age of 21 the vote
How many women were employed in domestic service as of 1931?
1.6 million women
What did the 1919 Sex Disqualification Act legislate?
Women could no longer be barred from a career in the law or the civil service on the basis of their gender
What was the ‘marriage bar’?
Female employees, particularly teachers, nurses and doctors were sacked as soon as they married
How many civil servants were expelled each year due to their marital status?
4%
How many women were adopted as parliamentary candidates by 1929?
69 by 1929
How many female MPs were there in 1924 and what percentage of parliament did they make up?
12 (roughly 1%)
Who was the first female cabinet minister?
Margaret Bondfield in the Second Labour government
How else did women play a key role in organisations outside of formal government?
The National Union for the Societies of Equal Citizenship lobbied parliament to give further legislative equality
What were the roles of Women’s Institutes?
Women could meet other women, organise charitable events, and hear speakers
How did new fashions reflect the new freedoms of women in work?
Elaborate dress disappeared, hems rose, waistlines dropped, jewellery became more prominent, hair was now cut short
What other changes in lifestyle reflected less social restraints of women?
Women were seen in public more, could wear makeup, could attend cinemas, and use birth control
What sorts of female magazines were in high circulation?
Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and Women’s Weekly which gave hints on fashion and cosmetics and advertised household appliances
What were some of the titles of magazines made accessible to children?
Adventure, The Rover and The Wizard
Why were cinemas the most popular medium of entertainment?
They were relatively cheap, were comfortable and quite luxurious
What did the 1927 Cinematograph Act change about cinemas?
It stated that 7.5% of films shown in the cinemas had to be British, out of a fear of Americanisation
What unexpected social change did cinemas cause?
It played an important role in distracting young people from heavy drinking and violence
What was the first major public corporation in twentieth-century Britain?
The British Broadcasting Corporation (1926) - independent of the government but under the Paymaster General
What did Lord Reith claim the purpose of the BBC was?
To ‘inform, education and entertain’
How much had the licenses of radios increased by from 1922 to the late 1930s?
It had risen from 36,000 in 1922 to over 8 million
