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Impact of War
1914-1922 - Coggle Diagram
political
Lloyd George and Liberal Division:
- 1916 growing dissatisfaction with Asquith's
leadership led to his replacement by Lloyd George
- he became PM with strong conservative suport
- Liberals were divided into two factions
- Asquith's liberals
- supported new PM and wartime leadership
- impact: split permanently weakened liberal party
- conservatives gained increased dominance
1916 130/272 Lib MPs declared they would follow LG
as PM
refusal of conservatives to support Asquith was the cementing factor leading to liberal decline
LG only liberal MP on war cabinet
lib 1
con 5
lab 2
'Garden Suburb' LG advisors who stayed in downing street's garden
growing movement towards advisors not cabinet
Maurice debate led by Asquith claiming false propaganda about position of Britain in the western front
vote of no confidence - resulted 106 voting in favour of LG
influence of Labour:
- war experience gave Labour credibility
- TUs expanded during wartime
- Labour politicians sat on war coalition
- Henderson served in wartime govt
Labour Constitution 1918
- included Clause IV committing Labour to
common ownership
- transformed labour into national political
party and helped labour become main opposition to the Conservative's
1917 Stockholm conference
Henderson had been on state visit to Russia
LG said he could represent at Stockholm, BUT
france complained as they wanted harsh treatment
of Germany, so LG withdrew offer
Henderson resigned from war cabinet as a result
Fall of Lloyd George:
- Conservative dissatisfaction
- Political scandals including Honours Scandal
- Foreign Policy Problems, controversial eg. Chanak crisis 1922 which increased tensions with the Conservatives over handling
Carlton Club Meeting 1922:
Conservative MPs met and voted to end the coalition government
Without Conservative support, LG was forced to resign as PM.
conservatives demanded govt shake up after
shell crisis and Gallipoli campaign 1915 - failure in Turkey
LG charged up to 12,000 for a knighthood
Marconi scandal in 1913 revealed LG used his
political influence and knowledge to make large
profits from this company
impact of 1915 coalition:
- start of WW1 governed by Asquith's liberals
- military setbacks and criticism of govt leadership led to change
- Shell Crisis 1915 caused press to blame Asquith
- to strengthen war effort, Lloyd George set up coalition government 1915 with Liberal, Conservative and Labour representatives
- reduced traditional party divisions
- marked start of liberal decline
'4 day crisis'
early August, divisions in Liberal
handlings of war
feared conservative would outmanoeuvre them.
ATTITUDES TO WAR:
- liberal, Grey yes to war
ententes France and Russia
- con, patriotic and pro war
- lab, divided many supported but minority resistance
policies and problems of the coalition:
- post-war economic difficulties unemployment
industries struggling to adapt to post-war economy
- housing shortages - passed Housing and Town planning act in 1919 "homes fit for heroes"
- industrial unrest strikes continued
- irish conflict, escalated into war of independence in 1919-21, led to Anglo-Irish treaty 1921 creating Irish Free State
national debt £8000m by end of war
Addison housing minister
Housing and Town Planning Act 1919, by
1922 200,000 had been built
1922 shortages for 800,000 houses
Geddes Axe cut government spending,
leading to failures in making a land fit for heroes
1922 unemployment back to over 1m
inflation above real wages
1911 nat ins, only covered 3m workers
1920-21 extended to cover 12m
Lloyd George coalition and Bonar Law:
- although support for Lloyd George as PM, he relied heavily on Conservative support
- conservative leader Bonar Law
- in reality, conservative's held more MPs than liberals and Lloyd George relied heavily on
conservative support to remain in office
-
Coupon Election 1918:
- the 'coupon' was a letter of endorsement to
candidates who supported the coalition government
signed by Lloyd George and Bonar Law
- coalition conservatives won large numbers of seats
- coalition liberals also performed well
- Asquith's liberals suffered major losses
- confirmed Lloyd George as PM and deepended the split in the Liberal Party
Edward Grey foreign sec from 1905
liberals non-interventionist approach to foreign
policy
Grey was vague abt involvement in war, but said
yes in order to protect Europe from Germany
Henderson pro-war to protect lab from public opinion
MacDonald pacifist and resigned as lab leader in 1914
section of lab called 'no-conscription fellowship' and planned disruptive strikes to cause war disruption
social
patriotism and conscientious objectors:
- start of war Britian had strong patriotic enthusiasm
- many men volunteered in 1914
- by 1916 Military Conscription Act forced men
- some men refused due to religious, moral or political beliefs
- known as conscientious objectors
- many faced public hostility, imprisonment, forced labour
- their treatment brought questions as to civil liberty
1906-14 defence spending from £35-91m mostly on navy
pre-conscription 3m had volunteered
16,000 Conscientious Objectors
1914 700,000 soldiers
Nov 1918 - 6m 15% population in war
Jan 1916 LG finally accepted conscription was needed
50 liberals opposed in a vote - including Grey
cultural change:
- changing attitudes: experiences of disillusionment, grief, questioning authority,
- war challenged traditional Victorian attitudes of patriotism and heroism
- large numbers of soldiers returning home expected social reform and better living standards
DORA august 1914
ministry of munitions setup
conscription 18-42
pacifist in lab hoped LG would be anti-war
like he did with Boer war
he did not do this...
religiosity grew due to fear and hardship and loss
gender inequalities decreased
class shifts due to rationing, etc.
music also changed
effects of the trenches on soldiers:
- experience of trench warfare had profound
psychological and physical impacts on soldiers
- conditions in trenches included mud and disease, constant danger, artillery bombardment, poor sanitation
- many suffered from shell shock/PTSD
- understanding of psychological trauma was limited
trade unions and labour:
- union membership increased because workers
were needed for wartime production
- govt recognised unions to maintain industrial coorporation
- by end of war unions had millions of members
- labour gained influence, 1918 Clause IV
1915 Treasury Agreement
TU agreed non-strike agreements and dilution
of workforce
in return for guarunteed wages and condition improvements
LG negotiated out of General Strike in 1921
'triple alliance' had threatened by LG diffused situation
role of women:
- women needed to fill labour shortages
- worked in areas such as munitions factories, transport, agriculture, clerical work
- Women's land army essential to maintain agricultural production
- women in munitions were known as munitionettes
- helped strengthen argument for giving women the vote and rights etc.
- proved them as capable of skilled work
- expected to leave after war
1919 sex disqualification act meant women could
run to be MPs
Constance Markiewicz was first female MP
100,000 women in non-combat units of the forces
100,000 nurses on front line
200,000 in government departments
500,000 private clerical work
reform of franchise
- Representation of the People's act 1918
- all men 21+ and women 30+ meeting property
requirement
- 8 million women gained vote
- Parliament Qualification of Women Act 1918
meant women could stand for parliament
War Poets:
- Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, Rupert Brooke
- early war poetry expressed patriotism and honour
- later poets eg. Owen and Sassoon expressed brutality of trench warfare, disillusionment with war
- Owen's famous poem Dulche et Decorum criticised idea that is is glorious to die for ones country
Historians have argued most war poets were
positive and patriotic about the war, only a
minority revealed horrors.
Ireland
Easter Rising:
- armed rebellion by Irish Nationalists against
British Rule - in Dublin
- important leaders included Patrick Pearse and James Connolly and they proclaimed an independent Irish Republic
- Rebels seized the general post-office in Dublin and fighting lasted a week before British forces suppressed the rebellion
- British govt executed 15 leaders which transformed public opinion in Ireland
- sympathy for rebels increased and support grew for the Nationalist political party Sinn Fein
Rise of Sinn Fein:
- after 1916 Sinn Fein became main political
movement supporting Irish Independence
- in the 1918 general election Sinn Fein won large majority of Irish seats
- instead of taking seats in Westminster, they established their own parliament in Dublin; Dail Eireann
- this declared Ireland an independent republic
consequences of the treaty:
- treaty divided Irish Nationalists
- pro-treaty supported agreement
because it gave Ireland significant
independence
- anti-treaty opposed it because Ireland
was not fully independent
- division led to the Irish Civil War
1922-23
- treaty ended most of Britain's involvement
in Ireland but left unresolved tensions
with NI
- also marked the end of a major political
crisis.
background:
- pre-WW1 Ireland was politically unstable due
to the issue of home rule
- govt. passed Government of Ireland Act 1914
- this allowed limited self-governance but was suspended due to outbreak of war
- tensions remained between nationalists and unionists
- unionists in Ulster wanted to remain part of UK and Nationalists wanting independance
Anglo-Irish Treaty 1921:
- war ended with negotiations between Britain
and Irish Nationalists
- negotiations included Michael Collins
- created the Irish Free State
- Ireland became a self-governing dominion within the British Empire
- members of the Irish parliament had to swear loyalty to the British monarch
- NI could remain part of the United Kingdom
- NI chose to remain within the UK
Michael Collins pro-treaty
(shot in 1922 because of this)
Eamon De Valera anti-treaty
tension between factions in Nationalists about
whether a compromise is good enough
Irish War of Independence:
- conflict between Nationalists and Britain
- IRA used guerilla warfare including ambushes, assassinations, attacks on police
- key leader Michael Collins
British response was to deploy more forces
- included Black and Tans who were known for their brutal attacks which increased Irish hostility towards British rule
- conflict led to assassinations, reprisals, widespread violence
- eg. Bloody Sunday in 1920 Dublin
economic
Britain's wartime economy:
- focused on production of weapons, supplies,
and military equipment.
- government had unprecedented control through the Defence of the Realms Act 1914
- govt controlled industry, working hours and labour
- new govt departments included Ministry of Munitions led by LG.
- weapons production, factory output, labour organisation.
consequences:
- huge govt spending especially from US
- national debt increased significantly
- inflation - prices rose significantly
Housing and austerity:
- serious housing shortages post-war as house
building almost stopped
- Addison Act (Housing and Town Planning Act 1919 gave subsidies to local authorities
- govt introduced policies aiming to reduce spending
- aimed to reduce national debt, stabilise the economy yet it contributed to unemployment and social problems
Trade Unions and Post-war industrial issues
- war strengthened TUs as workers became more
organised and politically active
- union membership increased dramatically
- workers expected improvements after war because of their contribution to the war effort
- post-war economic issues led to major strikes and disputes
- coal-mining, transport, engineering
- workers demanded nationalisation, higher wages, better conditions
- govt attempted negotiation but also prepared for potential unrest
- confrontation occurred in 1921 known as Black Friday, when rail and transport unions failed to support striking minors
staple industries:
- faced serious issues post-war
- loss of export markets as other countries mobilised their own industry
- outdated technology
- falling demand global economic conditions reduced demand for staple goods
trade:
- pre-1914 britain was the world's leading trading nation
- war led to loss due to submarine warfare
- industrial markets lost
- stronger international competition - US/Germany