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Modern Britain 1900-Present - Coggle Diagram
Modern Britain 1900-Present
Women's Suffrage
The groups
Suffragists (NUWSS)
Led by Millicent Fawcett and formed in 1897
Methods of protest
They sent letter and made posters
They used newspapers to get support
They organised rallies and marches
Attended meeting of political parties
They had 50,000 fee-paying members
By 1906 400 MPs supported women getting the vote. However the laws that were proposed always got stopped
Mostly Middle class women
Suffragettes (WSPU)
Formed by Emmeline Pankhurst in 1903
They believed the Suffragists were going nowhere
Methods of protests
They were very militant
Disrupted political meetings and chained themselves to Downing Street.
They went hunger strike when they were arrested. This led to the government passing the Cat and Mouse act in 1913 which meant that they could be released if they were too weak and rearrested when they were healthy enough
Smashed windows, attacked politicians and committed arson
Emily Davidson stepped in front of the King's Horse at the derby which made her a martyr in 1913
Women's Freedom league(WFL)
Formed in 1907
wanted change without militancy
Campaigned for equal pay
Opposition and Government's response
There was opposition to Women's suffrage
The Mother's Union
Largest women's group that opposed women's suffrage
Arguments against women suffrage
some believed that women were too emotional for politics
That only wealthy women would get the vote
some beleieved that women would develop their careers and megelct their famileis
Women did not fight in wars and so people said they should not get the vote
The suffragettes where critised for being too militant
After the war that proved women could make good decisions the government passed the 1918 Representation of the People act which gave all men over 21 the ability to vote as well as women over 21 who owned property and all women over 30
The General Strike of 1926
Causes
In WW1 the coal mines had been nationalised and lots of coal was needed but afterwards the war the production decreased and the mines were returned to private owners and so the inefficient coal mines were closed
Technology in other countires that meant cost were lower for mining coal and so they undercut british prices
In 1921, the mine owners increased hours but decreased wages which caused the miners to strike but they did not have enough support and so they collapsed
Events
The Government decided to subsides the miners' wages for a year in 1925 to delay industrial action after pay cuts but then in 1926 they began the strike and the TUC called the only general strike which caused Britain to grind to a halt
the Government had used the delay to prepare for the strike and had recruit volunteers and trained special constables for the strike as well as bring the army in to work
The strikers were originally peaceful and the government brought middle-class students in to work
Some of the strikers became violent and the government began to make a newspaper to produce propaganda
Funds were set up for strikers to feed their family and the government brought armed cars with machine guns to prevent any violent clashes in the cities
After 9 days the strike ended and the TUC negotiated and ran out of money and was unable to continue striking but the miners refused to be involved
The Strike ended for everyone but the miners
the miners returened to work becasue of starvation
the defeat meant that union membership fell and the government passed the Trade disputes and Trade Unions 1927 meant unions could not join to strike. led to the decline of TUs until after WW2
Trade Unions and the government
Post WW2
The TUs had a positive relationship after WW2 and the Trades dispute and trade unions act was amended
The TUs had gained political power and in the coal miners had striked in 1972 and 74 and brought down the conservative government
The Winter of discontent showed the power the TUs had and made people feel more angry about everything
Margaret Thatcher was elected in 1979 and aimed to reduce union power
The end of TUs power
Coal began to b stockpiled at power stations and other sources of power was being used
1984 the government wanted to close the unproductive mines and Arthur Scargill who is the leader of the Miners decided to strike and the strikes continued 1984-85
However Thatcher refused to relent and the miners were forced to return to work and this enabled the government to marginalise the TUC
Unions began to lose power and was caused by the belief that Scargill could bring down the government
the Experience of Immigrants in Britain
Why they came
They came after WW2
Th government gave citizenship to those who wanted to come and help rebuild the country and fill job vacancies
How they were treated
Immigrants sometimes clashed with young white men and there was also segregation
many were forced to do unskilled low paid jobs because their qualifications were not recognised
There was white flight where white people left areas with immigrants
Racial tensions
The government was worried about the racial tension in Britain and both immigrants and the Working class were angry
Enoch Powell (conservative MP) gave a hate speech which helped to fuel the tension and showed some peoples view
Powellism and the national front wanted immigrants to be removed from the country
Government actions
The Government passed several laws that were supposed to ease tensions
1965 Race relations Act - prevented racial discrimination in housing and employment but was not properly enforced
1968 Commonwealth Immigrants Act - to help the integration of immigrant communities
1976 Race Relations Act - Extended the definition of discrimination to any practice that disadvantaged another group adn the race relations board was replaced by the Commission of Racial Equity which had much greater power
The Scarman report
This was a report that looked into racial discrimination in the Met police that found there was none but this was not the case.
Did suggest making racial prejudiced behaviour an offense and the creation of the Police Complaints Authority which did help improve relation between the police
The Death of Steven Lawrence in 1993 did show the failure of the Met police to act properly
The Police where using stop and search powers on black people which angered them and many felt unfairly targeted which they were
The Brixton riots 1981
the riots showed the tension in London and the country at the time