BIG CLASS N SOCIAL VALUES
1918-31
CLASS SYSTEM IN 1918
Rigid class structure, divided into:
o Industrial WC = manual labourers, skilled craftsmen, etc
o Lower-MC = semi-skilled clerical jobs, small business owners, etc
o Middle-class = professionals (e.g., doctors, lawyers, bankers, etc)
o Upper-class = inherited wealth + titled
Deference intact
Challenges:
o Suffragette movement → saw increasing violence within movement (e.g.,
arson + window-smashing) – women traditionally perceived as passive n
docile
o Trade union militancy → radical syndicalists threatened general strike in
1914
IMPACT OF WWI
Decline in deference:
o High death toll (>700,000) shook WC confidence of UC generals
o Interclass mixing in trenches
Decline in UC:
o Death disproportionately high for UC → in 1914, ~260 sons of aristocrats
died
o Death duties increased for fund WWI → decline in aristocratic wealth
(homes sold to National Trust, schools, hotels, etc)
o E.g., Duke of Portland → owned 8 houses in 1914: 4 by 1939
Greater equality – e.g., 1918 Rep. of People Act
ECONOMIC IMPACTS
In 1919, gov feared open revolt in industrial areas (e.g., Clydeside)
1926 General Strike → The Times (MC newspaper) called strikers “unpatriotic
class warriors”
1931-39
GREAT DEPRESSION
Undermined WC solidarity
o High unemployment → disillusionment with trade unions → decline in
membership
Growth of new jobs + affluence in Midland and S.E
1939-45
WARTIME EXPERIENCE
1918-31
CLASS SYSTEM IN 1918
Rigid class structure, divided into:
o Industrial WC = manual labourers, skilled craftsmen, etc
o Lower-MC = semi-skilled clerical jobs, small business owners, etc
o Middle-class = professionals (e.g., doctors, lawyers, bankers, etc)
o Upper-class = inherited wealth + titled
Deference intact
Challenges:
o Suffragette movement → saw increasing violence within movement (e.g.,
arson + window-smashing) – women traditionally perceived as passive n
docile
o Trade union militancy → radical syndicalists threatened general strike in
1914
IMPACT OF WWI
Decline in deference:
o High death toll (>700,000) shook WC confidence of UC generals
o Interclass mixing in trenches
Decline in UC:
o Death disproportionately high for UC → in 1914, ~260 sons of aristocrats
died
o Death duties increased for fund WWI → decline in aristocratic wealth
(homes sold to National Trust, schools, hotels, etc)
o E.g., Duke of Portland → owned 8 houses in 1914: 4 by 1939
Greater equality – e.g., 1918 Rep. of People Act
ECONOMIC IMPACTS
In 1919, gov feared open revolt in industrial areas (e.g., Clydeside)
1926 General Strike → The Times (MC newspaper) called strikers “unpatriotic
class warriors”
1931-39
GREAT DEPRESSION
Undermined WC solidarity
o High unemployment → disillusionment with trade unions → decline in
membership
Growth of new jobs + affluence in Midland and S.E
1939-45
WARTIME EXPERIENCE
