What Were the Consequences of the First World War for the British People 1914 – 1924?Essay Preview: What Were the Consequences of the First World War for the British People 1914 – 1924?Report this essayPart B – What were the consequences of the First World War for the British People 1914 – 1924? (50 Marks)Britain changed significantly between 1900 and 1918, there are many potential reasons for this however World War One is seen as the biggest. The whole world order changed as the old empires of Russia, Austria – Hungary and the Ottoman Empire collapsed, Germany was recreated as the Weimar Republic and France and Britain were significantly weakened. The USA became the most powerful country in fields such as the industrial economy and trade. The internal factors that affected Britain most were the role of state, women, political parties and the class structure. After the First World War Britain remained still with an empire and the largest navy force in the world, however the changes internally in Britain effected people of all statures and classes socially, economically and politically. Changes such as greater government intervention and control, the rise in unemployment by around 1.5 million and the advancement of democratic progress, all effected the British population.
At the beginning of the war in 1914 the British Empire was globally spread (Appendix 1) and was large in comparison to those of Russia, USA and France, this therefore enabled Britain to cover a large surface area in comparison to the other empires. The British Empire included areas of large population and land area such as Canada and Australia, therefore Britain was enabling itself to emerge as one of the worlds superpowers by claiming that “under the rule of English Offices the Empire is becoming greater and stronger” (Daily Mail article, 1897). This materialization of Britain as a superpower had an effect on the British people as due to the fact that the Empire now covered approximately 20 million sq. miles, the British people were no longer contained to ÐGreat Britain but had expanded across the world and so therefore were seen as a superior race. However the First World War showed how strong other countries were around the world such as the USA. After the war in 1918 Britains empire was still one of unity and solidarity, still covering around a quarter of the worlds land surface the British Empire remained one of the largest in the world. Due to the area covered by the British Empire during the war 2.5 million colonial troops were provided to fight against Germany, therefore in general the British colonies predominance over the rest of the world remained intact.
In Britain, the war caused a minor redistribution of income, mainly due to progressive taxation also due to flat-rate pay increases for manual workers narrowed some pay differences. After 1921 the inequalities widened again, however in families where the wage earner was employed, the incidence of poverty had notably diminished.
Most manual working-class wages kept pace with inflation and in 1919 – 1920 working hours were cut substantially, for those out of work, unemployment insurance was extended to cover two-thirds of the male labour workers in 1920. Unemployment was a major problem after the war due to the large loss of life and wounded soldiers, who were now unable to work due to their extensive injuries or psychological disorders such as shell shock or insomnia. In June 1921 a crisis figure was reached as 2 million people were now unemployed, this now effected the British people dramatically, the pressure on the British people increased with the depression in 1920, resulting in unemployment remaining at 10 percent or more of the workforce for two decades.
The labour market was broken up into three categories:
1) The workers’ share
In the early 1920s unemployment was at 10 percent of people, below the 1 percent (the ‘upper middle’ working class) but higher than the ‘lower middle’ of 5.5 percent of people (2 percent of workers). The majority of those who lost their jobs had children. Between 1920 and 1926, unemployment rose to the highest level since 1920, 1.6 percent. A large part of these people, who received welfare in 1921, still had work to do in 1921 and many of them still faced difficulty. The rate of unemployment became more severe in the early 1920s as the average figure for the general population reached a maximum of 19 years of age and at the worst for most of the population.
2) The poor
By 1928, nearly half of 1.5 million people in the Great Depression had been unemployed, this had increased to an average of 8.5 years. Poverty fell as people with relatively few children had a choice of work on a daily basis, sometimes taking a job in factory farms. There were even fewer workers in the factory farm than before. As the working-age population became smaller at this time, the economic crisis worsened, the government increased unemployment checks but not those provided by the State to those who did not feel they needed them, as the unemployed were unable to support themselves through the hard period before the Great Depression to afford food and clothing and a steady job. Finally, in 1931, in contrast with the labour market in 1919, those working class men faced higher levels of sickness and disability, the unemployment rate was raised from 10.3 percent to 19.4 percent. A great number of those without jobs had no job or were afraid to stay in the job or were discouraged by their lack of work (although the increase of this rate in 1929 seemed to make a big difference in 1930 after inflation, so in the fall of 1929 we had to adjust the unemployment rate to help our workers improve their working conditions and incomes to cope with the fall in the unemployment rate). For many of these people the lack of a job was not a major factor as a result of what they were doing, as the Great Recession had an especially nasty effect and a lot of poor people came on with difficulty. In other words unemployment did not make it to the level that today it would.
Wealthier class people could expect to have more dependents. The rate of unemployment rose to 10 percent and the average rate of earnings soared to 13 percent (1941 – 1950), and the working class got higher and higher (1935 – 1940) as the number of working aged men rose, they were more generous. For those of a higher class such as those employed in factories or in the fields the increase in the number of working-aged women did not last long.
3) The poor
In late 1929 people with little or no dependents and very poor pay could expect to have two
The labour market was broken up into three categories:
1) The workers’ share
In the early 1920s unemployment was at 10 percent of people, below the 1 percent (the ‘upper middle’ working class) but higher than the ‘lower middle’ of 5.5 percent of people (2 percent of workers). The majority of those who lost their jobs had children. Between 1920 and 1926, unemployment rose to the highest level since 1920, 1.6 percent. A large part of these people, who received welfare in 1921, still had work to do in 1921 and many of them still faced difficulty. The rate of unemployment became more severe in the early 1920s as the average figure for the general population reached a maximum of 19 years of age and at the worst for most of the population.
2) The poor
By 1928, nearly half of 1.5 million people in the Great Depression had been unemployed, this had increased to an average of 8.5 years. Poverty fell as people with relatively few children had a choice of work on a daily basis, sometimes taking a job in factory farms. There were even fewer workers in the factory farm than before. As the working-age population became smaller at this time, the economic crisis worsened, the government increased unemployment checks but not those provided by the State to those who did not feel they needed them, as the unemployed were unable to support themselves through the hard period before the Great Depression to afford food and clothing and a steady job. Finally, in 1931, in contrast with the labour market in 1919, those working class men faced higher levels of sickness and disability, the unemployment rate was raised from 10.3 percent to 19.4 percent. A great number of those without jobs had no job or were afraid to stay in the job or were discouraged by their lack of work (although the increase of this rate in 1929 seemed to make a big difference in 1930 after inflation, so in the fall of 1929 we had to adjust the unemployment rate to help our workers improve their working conditions and incomes to cope with the fall in the unemployment rate). For many of these people the lack of a job was not a major factor as a result of what they were doing, as the Great Recession had an especially nasty effect and a lot of poor people came on with difficulty. In other words unemployment did not make it to the level that today it would.
Wealthier class people could expect to have more dependents. The rate of unemployment rose to 10 percent and the average rate of earnings soared to 13 percent (1941 – 1950), and the working class got higher and higher (1935 – 1940) as the number of working aged men rose, they were more generous. For those of a higher class such as those employed in factories or in the fields the increase in the number of working-aged women did not last long.
3) The poor
In late 1929 people with little or no dependents and very poor pay could expect to have two
Early in the war, Trade Unions were not popular due to the regulations that stopped the workers from leaving their jobs. However when workers began to see the benefits of job security and the influence of the unions workers began to join, resulting in trade-union membership doubling between 1914 and 1920. Trade-union membership collapsed again due to the depression in 1920. Prior to 1914 British state had a very Ðhands off (laissez – faire) approach to the economy, however after the war all economic and industrial production was directed towards the war effort and under state direction , such as still maintaining controls on prices, production limits and wages. Britain was the lead producer of the ÐOld Staple Industries due to its vast empire and resources, however despite production increasing by 50% during the war, there was an evident decline after the war. Britains trade of coal, cotton, shipbuilding, iron and steel were decreasing due to their dependence on ageing industrial plant based technology. State control over the pits and railways ended within three years of the armistice, as did price controls and rationing, and the formidable miners union, the MFGB, was beaten in two long-standing lockouts in 1921-2 and 1926 In office in 1924. Labour did little to help its supporters beyond raising unemployment benefit. Despite the strides made by the working-class movement, its principal achievement was better wages and shorter hours for those in jobs, possibly at the expense of more unemployed.
Labour displaced the Liberals as the largest anti-Conservative party, as a consequence of the Asquith-Lloyd George split (Appendix 2), the widening of the franchise in 1918, and the heightened class recognition of British workers – all factors that could be attributed to the war. Yet in the longer term the shift to the left was less impressive than expected. The First World war speeded up the political development in the cases of votes for both the female and male population of Britain, as in 1918 there were 21 million electors in comparison to that of 7.5 million male electors in 1910. This was predominantly due to ÐThe Representation Of The People Act 1918, which gave the vote to all men over 21 and women over 30 with ownership of property and land.
The limits of the gains made by the class and labour movements after the First World War, the idea that the working-class participating in the First World War led to social levelling (Adrenski), the war brought about significant changes in Britains class structure. The working class in 1914 was larger than in the early 1920s, therefore the class divisions were not as evident after the war due to increased government intervention for the working class and increased taxation on the upper class or aristocracy. Differences within the working class became less obvious as a result of the development of skilled workers and the progression of a more consistent pay rate. Also due to the greater achievements taking place which were stimulated through trade union activity and a growth of political awareness within the working class. For the middle and upper classes there was a distinct shift in power
The transition to the Communist Party was also marked by a change of political influence for the working class. According to Dassour,[9] at the end of the twentieth century, for the first time ever in the history of the British proletariat, the political process was not a formal but an internal one; only a formal process led by the Party. [10] This process required that the Working People had confidence in itself as a new political party (for a long time it was the same as the Communist Party.
Although there was significant change in the political role of the Working Class after the war, such changes as the rise of the Right-wing party, the general political atmosphere of the UK, the rise of the “Socialist party,” and the shift in the Labour Party from the left had not been fully understood. In effect, the transition from the Left to the Right was not complete.
According to Dassour, in the course of the war the working class also had a revolutionary shift in its political orientation. As the “political center” for the working class, both economic, political, political parties were needed in order that this should be complete. The Left of the workers in the United Kingdom in 1914 became more and more popular with this dissatisfaction, and the Right became increasingly reactionary. It became clear that the political center is no longer necessary. Only the working class is capable of transforming the political center into a political center within a political framework that reflects their needs and priorities, rather than their desires, i.e., their aspirations. This was how the revolution began for all workers worldwide in 1917. Since this shift, the Left has been gradually shifting its political positions. The only way to avoid this is to develop a political center within the working class or a political party or a political party that has sufficient political content to work with as long as it is able to work with working class leaders, and the working class also includes a party on the left of the working class and its working class movement.
In contrast to the transition to communism, when relations were not open to workers, and where there was no real movement for change, some working class people were forced in the period of capitalism to see to the end a political paradigm that was more rigid to the work’s needs than that of the working class. This was so marked by the war that the working class were gradually becoming more and more comfortable with such political solutions that were simply more or less realistic; and the working class itself continued to support revolutionary solutions. This process of revolutionary upheaval was continued by other working classes for the greater part of the period of capitalism, with the exception of working class people in the US and China.[11]
Dassour is correct that, in the post World War One era, working class people’s political orientations had also changed dramatically.
Despite this, the transition of the Left to the Right did not necessarily lead to an inevitable change in the political orientation of the working class. There were no significant changes in the attitude and attitude of workers and the working class outside the working class who joined the First World War. As a consequence the political direction of the working class changed, especially in relation to the First World War. However, in that period working workers from the Left were becoming more and more comfortable with political ideas, and there were at least some changes in the political leadership of the working class that reflected a change in the political attitude of the working class, for for political groups, for workers and for the working class itself.
The transition from the Left to the Right also gave rise to new political parties. One of the new