Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
A New World Order (1945-1956) - Coggle Diagram
A New World Order
(1945-1956)
Britain between
the wars
Disputes between the coal miners and the mine owners led to the
General Strike
of
1926.
Unemployment
meant prolonged periods of
hardship
for the families of the miners.
The
areas
in the north of England, South Wales and central Scotland became
depressed
.
In the
south-east of England new light industries
such as chemicals, electrical goods and automobiles developed.
In 1931 the
Statute of Westminster
formalised the creation of the
British Commonwealth of Nations
.
This marked the
end of the British Empire
the recognition of equal status for all member states of the new organisation
normally referred to today as
The Commonwealth
The British Commonwealth of Nations is an intergovernmental organisation including fifty-four countries led by the United Kingdom.
1936
Neville Chamberlain (1869-1940), leader of the Conservative party, became prime minister.
King Edward VIII abdicated
to marry Wallis Simpson, a divorced American woman.
He was succeeded by his brother George VI ( ).
The Spanish Civil War broke out.
The 1930s brought about important
social transformations
the growth of population slowed down thanks to
birth-control practices
women
were more and
more independent
the
drift of the population
from south to north, which was a characteristic of the Industrial Revolution, was
reversed
fewer people lived in the centres of towns
new ‘
popular
’
newspapers
appeared, such as the ‘Daily News’, the ‘Daily Chronicle’, the ‘Daily Express’, and the ‘Daily Herald’
World War II
Poland fell in September 1939; Belgium, Holland and Norway fell in 1940; France surrendered in June 1940.
The Conservative
Winston Churchill
became prime minister in
1940
; he established a
War Cabinet
of five ministers to make important decisions.
In September
1939
Germany invaded Poland and the Second World War started.
REASONS FOR THE
GERMAN DEFEAT
Germany did not manage to get
control of the air
over the English Channel.
Hitler’s greatest mistake was his
decision to invade the USSR
in June
1941
.
The German army was destroyed by the
long Russian winter
and by
resistance in the sieges
of Leningrad, Moscow and Stalingrad, where it was forced to surrender in January 1943.
The
Russian Red Army
marched through Eastern Europe to liberate the invaded countries.
REASONS FOR THE
VICTORY OF THE ALLIES
American intervention
in 1941, following a Japanese air-attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
The
advance of Montgomery’s army in North Africa
(1942) proved disastrous for the German and Italian troops.
D-Day – D for Deliverance
On 6th June
1944
, the Allies touched down on the French coast in Normandy and liberated France.
In
1945
Germany surrendered.
President Truman ordered the dropping of the
atomic bomb
on the Japanese cities of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
.
THE CONSEQUENCES
OF THE WAR
The European empires were weakened
The French, the Dutch and the British had to abandon some of their colonies.
Britain withdrew from India, Burma, Ceylon, Malaya and Singapore.
Britain’s foreign trading position was weakened by the huge debts to pay for the war and extensive bomb damage.
The general election in July 1945 was won by the Labour Party.
The US opening
towards Europe
Britain received large US
loans but recovery was slow
huge foreign debt
the markets for goods in Europe were largely
non-existent
the currency was weak
The
US Marshall Aid Plan
(1947): the American
programme to help European countries recover economically and prevent the weaker ones from falling under Russian influence.
The
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
, known as
NATO
: an agreement of mutual defense with Western Europe.
The
United Nations Organisation
(
UN
, 1945) replaced the League of Nations.
Labour government policies
The
Welfare State
The new role of the government in looking after the interests and welfare of its citizens in such areas as
health, unemployment and pensions.
The government bought all the shares of the companies in these fields in exchange for government bonds.
Nationalisation
of power and natural resources, transport (airlines and railways) and credit (the Bank of England).
The Cold War
Competition and fear between the United States
and the Soviet Union was seen as a ‘
Cold War
’.
It dominated international affairs for decades
when major crises occurred:
the wars in
Korea
(1949-1953)
the
Vietnam War
(1957-1975)
Both the USA and the Soviet Union massively
built up
nuclear weapons.
1952
: the USA exploded the H-bomb ->
smaller in size than the Hiroshima atomic
bomb but 2500 times more powerful.
1953
: The Russians produced an H-bomb.
1957
: Britain carried out its first H-Bomb tests.
The Suez Crisis
CAUSES
1869 The Suez Canal had been built by the French to connect the Mediterranean Sea
with the Red Sea
1952 there was a revolution in Egypt and Britain agreed to withdraw from the Canal Zone
but kept its shares in the Canal
1956 President Nasser nationalised the British and French company that owned the Suez Canal
CONSEQUENCES
1956 British and French forces bombed and invaded Egypt
Condemnation from the United Nations and from the USA
The invaders forced to withdraw their troops by the United Nations
Britain no longer a world power and unable to manage international relations without US support
Elizabeth II
George VI died in February
1952
.
He was succeeded by his daughter
Elizabeth II
, crowned in
1953
.
The
general euphoria
for a ‘New Elizabethan Age’, was mingled with a sense of anguish and
rootlessness
, especially among the young.
Disillusionment
came at the realisation that Britain was a second-class power dependent on the USA.
Indian Independence
15th August 1947 India gained its independence from Britain
Split into two countries: India (mostly Hindu) and East and West Pakistan (mostly Muslim)
Mohandas Gandhi, the leader of the Indian independence movement, fasted in protest against partition in vain
Prime Minister Nehru began the modernisation of India, building factories, railroads and roads
1970 East Pakistan became the new state of Bangladesh
1948 Gandhi assassinated by a Hindu fanatic