GB Theme 3

1918-39 - Why was there a decline in deference?

• The high death toll in WWI shook the confidence of the working class
• Classes mixed in air raid shelters
• The death toll in upper classes was disproportionately higher and they had to pay death duties for deceased family members

1918-39 - What led to greater equality?

• Representation of the People Act led to a democratic society
• Living standards improved in the interwar period
• Wages rose faster than prices

1918-39 - How much class conflict was there overall?

• There were fears of revolution (Russian Revolution) which didn't actually happen
• 1926 General Strike, working class strikers were replaced with the middle class
• Overall, no large-scale conflicts

World War Two - What did Mass Observation report?

• Working class wanted more equality
• Some historians argue there was a social revolution
• WW2 became known as the 'peoples' war' due to evacuation, homelessness, and rationing
• However, the evacuation of working class children to more affluent homes appeared to reinforce class prejudices instead of undermining them

The emergence of a liberal society 1951-79 - What was the satire boom?

• Began in the 1950s
• Type of comedy making fun of Britain's government, army or upper classes
• First time this ever happened
• Examples: 'That Was the Week That Was' or 'Under the Fringe'

The emergence of a liberal society 1951-79 - What was the British New Wave?

• A generation of filmmakers and writers
• They wrote novels about working class seeing the end of the working class world
• Alan Sillitoe's book 'Saturday Night Sunday Morning'

The emergence of a liberal society 1951-79 - What was the sex scandal that happened?

• 1963 Profumo Affair
• This was a key moment as it signified the decline in deference in society
• It showed that leaders also took part in seedy practices so they didn't deserve peoples' trust simply because of their position

The liberal society - What was the liberal society?

• Mid-60s
• Sexual revolution had taken place
• Changes in attitude towards homosexuality and abortion
• Roy Jenkins' civilised society

The liberal society - What were attitudes like towards sex?

• A popular view among foreigners was that the British were reserved
• However, STDs were increasing until the discovery of penicillin
• Books on sex were in demand
• 1 in 3 boys and 1 in 6 girls aged 16-19 have had sex

The liberal society - What legislation had Roy Jenkins passed?

• 1967 Sexual Offences act legalising homosexuality
• 1967 Abortion Act
• Neither of these were popular as there were still conservative attitudes

Opponents of the liberal society - what did some newspaper stories argue about sexual relationships?

They had bad consequences

Opponents of the liberal society - What did the Moors murders show about attitudes towards sexual relations?

• Myra Hindley and Ian Brady were convicted of killing 3 children in 1966
• The press focused on the fact they were unmarried but were in a sexual relationship

Opponents of the liberal society - What was the role of Mary Whitehouse?

In 1964, she set up Clean Up TV - Whitehouse was a devout christian who believed TV was corrupting. Her ideas were popular as 70 coaches full of campaigners arrived at the first meeting

Opponents of the liberal society - What was the NVALA?

The National Viewers And Listeners Association - it opposed sex, violence and swearing on TV

Overall change in class and social values

• Clear decline in deference for upper classes
• WW1 & WW2
• Profumo Affair
• Satire and New Wave
• Sexual revolution
• HOWEVER, many disagreed with Jenkins' changes, the NVALA was popular, and there were still conservative attitudes towards sex

Women in the 1910s - When did women get the vote?

1918

How did WW1 lead to the development of womens' rights?

• New employment opportunities when men fighting in the war had to be replaced
• Jobs in munition factories, transport etc.

What did the 1919 Sex Disqualification Removal Act do?

Made it illegal to exclude women from jobs in law or civil service

How was there still continuity in womens' role and status in this period?

• Voting age was unequal - women had to be 30 but men had to be 21
• Many women lost their jobs when demobilised soldiers returned from their jobs
• Continued barriers on equal pay and job opportunities

Women in the 1920s - what was the 1928 Representation of the People Act?

Gave women the same voting rights as men - they could both vote at 21

Why was there a boom in dance halls, cinemas and off the peg clothes?

There was more acceptability of single women and they had their own money to spend

Why was electricity beneficial for women?

It eased the burden at home

Birth control clinics

Married women finally had control over their fertility

Which university opened their degrees to women in 1919?

Oxford

When was unemployment benefit extended to wives?

1921

What was the Six Point Group?

Founded by Lady Rhondda to push for equality on 6 points: political, occupational, moral, social, economic and legal

What did the 1923 Matrimonial Causes Bill say?

A wife can petition for divorce on account of her husband's adultery

This decade saw the first…

Woman cabinet minister: Margaret Bondfield

Women in the 1930s - women in the Commons

Women quickly gained election to the Commons, however there were only a small handful at any given time

What are 3 organisations that advocated women's rights?

• The National Union of Societies for Equal Citizenship
• Women's trade unions
• The Women's Institute

Why was the Great Depression a less vibrant decade for women?

They were encouraged to go back to their homes as jobs for men were scarce

What does the BBC introduce in 1932?

Marriage bar - no longer employed married women

Who were 4 well-known women in the arts?

• Marie Rambert & Ninette de Valois were famous ballerinas
• Edith Piaf and Billie Holiday were well-known singers

Why was Amy Johnson significant?

She flew to Australia from Croydon airport in 1930 after making an emergency landing in the desert in a sandstorm, crashing the plane in India and getting lost among a tribe on a Pacific Island

What did the 1937 Matrimonial Causes Act say?

Extended the grounds for divorce, including willful desertion, cruelty, incurable insanity and habitual drunkenness

Women in the 1940s - How many women were employed in 1943?

7.25 million

Why was this arguably better than wartime employment for women in WW1?

• More women were working
• 1941 - The National Service act said all single women aged 20-40 were required to sign up for work
• Later expanded to include 50 year old and married women
• Many more of these women survived the postwar return of men to the workplace

What 2 organisations made sure women's services were being taken seriously?

Women's Land Army and the Women's Voluntary Service for Civil Defence

What still happened after the war?

Women were pushed back into their homes

Which university allowed women to get a degree in 1948?

Cambridge

When did the Trades Union Congress pledge itself to equal pay?

1941

How does the 1944 Education Act benefit women?

Leaving age was raised to 15 and the ban on women teachers marrying is lifted

When was family allowance introduced?

1945

What did the 1946 Royal Commission on Equal Pay say?

Recommended teachers, local government officers and civil servants receive equal pay

Continuity of the role and status of women in the 1940s

• Politicians used delaying tactics to sink the equal pay campaign
• Old prejudices about women's incapabilities in the workplace were still alive
• Beveridge believed welfare reforms could encourage motherhood
• 9 million housewives

Women in the 1950s - what was this period known as?

The decade of domesticity

Why?

Most women's lives revolved around the home as there were lots of new technologies to be taken advantage of during the consumer boom

Which job titles won the principle of equal pay during this period?

Teachers and civil servants

In this decade, there were the first women in which 3 job titles?

• Bank manager
• TV newsreader
• Managing director of an advertising agency

Who were Doris Lessing, Iris Murdoch and Rosalind Franklin and why were they significant?

Doris Lessing and Iris Murdoch made their debuts as novelists and Rosalind Franklin helped discover DNA

Women in the 1960s - What did the 60s see the re-kindling of?

Female radicalism

In terms of sexual freedom, what did this decade see?

Contraceptive pill in 1961 and legalised abortions in 1967

What did the 1964 Married Women's Property Act say?

Entitles a woman to keep half the savings she's saved with her husband

What event lead to the 1970 Equal Pay Act?

1968 Dagenham Ford strike

Women in the 1970s - What feminist books sold in their millions?

Germaine Greer's 'The Female Eunuch' and Kate Millet's 'Sexual Politics'

What did the 1975 Sex Discrimination Act say?

Illegal to discriminate against women in education, recruitment and advertising

What did the 1975 Employment Protection Act say?

Introduced statutory maternity provision and made it illegal to sack pregnant women

What did the 1970 Equal Pay Act say?

Equal pay for women

When was the first women's liberation march and how many took part in it?

1971 - 4000 women

When did contraception become free?

1974

What did the 1976 Equal Opportunities Commission say?

Oversaw the Sex Discrimination and Equal Pay acts

What did the 1976 Domestic Violence Act say?

Enables women to obtain a court order against a violent husband or partner

Why did women believe there was a glass ceiling?

They failed to reach the top jobs in their professions or organisations

How many Indian soldiers fought for Britain in WW1?

1.3 million

How many of these fought on the Western Front?

138,000

In WW2, how many merchant seamen came from the sub-continent?

60,000

Who were the 'Lascars'?

Bengali men who formed small communities during inter-war years

Where did they work and what did they face?

Scottish collieries, racial prejudice

What were the government's stance on immigration?

• No clear rules on immigration
• However, they were still disapproving
• They feared the impact of black faces in white Britain

What occurred in 1919?

A spate of race riots

What did the British Nationality Act 1948 say?

800 million people in the British Empire could migrate to the UK without a visa. This was done to encourage gaps to be filled in skilled/unskilled jobs, like for the NHS and London transport

What ship brought immigrants from the Caribbean to the UK?

Windrush

In the 1950s, what was the stance on immigration?

Against it - as mass immigration continued, so did racial prejudice and violence

What places saw riots and why?

West London, Birmingham and Nottingham. They feared the arrival of a black community

Why did the government suddenly stop encouraging immigration from the Commonwealth?

There was political pressure - three pieces of legislation were passed in 10 years making non-white immigration harder

When did the Notting Hill riots take place?

1958

What happened in the riots?

• 600 white males tried to batter their way into black homes
• Police struggled to keep black and white mobs apart while petrol bombs were thrown, causing fires
• The white ringleaders were sent to prison

Under Lord Salmon, what did Macmillan set up?

An enquiry into reasons for this outrage

1953, 1956, 1961 rises in immigrants

1953 - 3000 per year
1956 - 46,800 per year
1961 - 136,400 per year

What was the consequence of these rises?

The Salmon Report - recommended no restrictions on immigration

However, the Commonwealth Immigrations act was passed in 1962. Why?

As a result of public sentiment that new arrivals should 'return to their own countries' and that 'no more of them should come to this country'.

What did the 1962 Commonwealth Immigrants Act say?

Required immigrants to have a job before they arrived, possess special skills or who'd meet the 'labour needs' of the country

What did the 1965 Race Relations Act do?

Prohibited discrimination in places such as employment and housing and set up the Race Relations Board and Community Relations Commission

What did Roy Jenkins believe in?

Multi-culturalism

Why did Enoch Powell begin campaigning for tighter immigration controls?

Kenyan and Ugandan refugees arrived after the 1968 Commonwealth Immigrations act

What did he say in his Rivers of Blood speech?

Like the Roman, he saw 'the River Tiber foaming with blood' - he had visions of Britain being sundered by racial conflict if immigration continued

What were reactions to this speech?

It was condemned by all political sides and Heath thought he should be sacked from the shadow cabinet. This ended any possibility of holding his high office again. However, it made him popular with some working class groups like the London Dockers

The Commonwealth Immigrants act was passed as a consequence of this speech - what did it say?

Immigrants over 17 are denied entry, and they had to have a 'substantial connection' to the UK - by birth of ancestry

What did the 1971 Immigration Act say?

Introduced partial and non-partial categories (holders of work permits or those with parents and grandparents born in the UK)

How many non-white residents lived in the UK in 1945 compared to 1970?

1945 - low thousands
1970 - 1.4 million

Despite tight Conservative restrictions, how many immigrants came to Britain in the period 1968-75?

83,000

What event in 1972 led to an increase of African-Asians entering the UK?

Idi Amin expelled 80,000 from Uganda

What did the 1976 Commission for Racial Equality say?

Tackled racial discrimination

Why was Viv Anderson (the footballer) significant?

In 1978, he became the first black footballer to be selected for the England team and went on to win 30 cups

In the 1980s, what were the two prongs of immigration policy?

One - strict controls on immigrant entry
Two - protect the rights of ethnic minorities

Why were these prongs criticised?

They gave conflicting signals on the place of immigrant communities and their children in society

Why were work permits harder to get?

Manufacturing declined

Why was this bad for immigration?

Only those with specialist skills could get permits, so those who immigrated to the UK were New Zealanders, Americans, Australians, South Africans and South Asians entering medical professions

Why were there riots in Brixton, Liverpool and the Midlands?

1981 - youths believed that the police were targeting more young black men in the belief it would stop street crime

What did the Scarman Report find?

'Racial disadvantage is a fact of current British life'