UNIT 1

UNIT 1

1. EFFECTS OF THE DEPRESSION

   • value of british exports halved
     • put industrial areas in poverty
   • unemployment doubled to 20%
   • public spending cut, taxes raised
     • depressed the economy

2. HUNGER MARCHES

   • unemployed and workers in badly affected industries protested
   • regularly marched to london
   • organised by National Unemployed Workers' movement
   • tried to make a point that unemployed weren't lazy

3. UNEMPLOYMENT IN 1930'S

   • highest in coal, iron and steel, cotton and shipbuilding industries
   • 34.5% of miners were unemployed
   • unemployment was not spread equally
     • 80% new factories built in London
     • employment kept up in London

4. THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT

   • cut benefit rate by 10%
   • passed laws to help the unemployed

5. GOVERNMENT REACTION TO UNEMPLOYMENT

   • government in debt
   • depression made it hard to borrow money
   • made huge spending cuts e.g. cutting wages of workers by 10-15%

6. MEANS TEST

   • allowed officials to go to benefit claimers homes to see if they were poor enough
   • found out family savings and earnings of benefit claimers

7. EMPLOYMENT EXCHANGE

   • go at least once a week to register as looking for work and to collect money
   • those not on benefit had to go through means test to prove they were poor enough

8. PROBLEMS IN JARROW

   • had grown with the rise of shipbuilding but was in serious decline
   • Jarrow council decided to petition to parliament asking for new ships
   • ????