Introduction
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Introduction This unit is about how and why British society changed in the years c.1955–c.1975. You will see that immigration and the liberalisation of society, often involving changes in the law, altered the face of British society. You will also see that the rate and extent of change varied in different parts of the country and between different social groups. People’s experiences differed from each other, depending on their personal situation and the social infl uences on them. Although there is a great deal of evidence of radical change in many aspects of life, many attitudes were slow to change and changed at a different pace in different parts of the country or for different sections of society. Part A of this book covers: • immigration • sex discrimination and the changing role of women • the liberalisation of society • the ‘swinging sixties’. For your controlled assessment in this unit, you will learn how to carry out an enquiry (Part A) and to analyse and evaluate representations of history (Part B). Later sections of this book cover the skills you will need to be successful in unit 4. Your Part A enquiry will focus in detail on one key question. In Part B you will focus on representations of history: how to analyse, compare and evaluate different views of the ‘swinging sixties’. BritSoc_PREL_03.indd 2 14/09/2010 17:36 Contents Change in British society 1955–75 Part A: Carry out a historical enquiry A1 Immigration 4 A2 Sex discrimination and the changing role of women 15 A3 The liberalisation of society 26 A4 The swinging sixties? 36 Enquiry and writing skills support 44 Part B: Representations of history ‘The swinging sixties’: an accurate description of Britain in the 1960s? 54 Understanding and analysing representations of history 60 Evaluating representations 67 ResultsPlus Maximise your marks 72 Glossary 79 BritSoc_PREL_03.indd 3 14/09/2010 17:36 Part A: Carry out a historical enquiry Part A Carry out a historical enquiry A1 Immigration 4 Learning outcomes Colonies: territories which were part of the British Empire. By the end of this topic, you should be able to: Commonwealth: after gaining • explain Britain's need for more workers after independence, some former British the Second World War, and the encouragement colonies joined this association. ‘New of immigration Commonwealth’ referred to the mainly • analyse the experience of immigrants in Britain non-white and developing areas of the from c.1955 to c.1975 British Commonwealth in Africa and Asia, • understand the role of the government in both and ‘Old Commonwealth’ to areas such as limiting immigration and in trying to improve Canada, Australia and New Zealand, race relations. which had gained independence earlier. A key feature of Britain since the Second World colonies served in the British armed forces during War has been the development of a multiracial the war. After the Second World War, the 1948 society. Immediately after the Second World British Nationality Act gave all 800 million people War some leading political fi gures from both in the Commonwealth the right to claim British the Conservative and Labour parties had spoken citizenship. This meant that they could come and proudly of Britain’s recent fi ght against the racism live in Britain – the ‘mother country’ – without of Nazi Germany. They said Britain was different. any visa requirements. There were no government Britain was unique. Britain was a place where controls or restrictions on immigration from the different races could live and work harmoniously Commonwealth until 1962. together. But was this really true? From the mid-1950s until 1961, around 30,000 Before the Second World War there were very few people a year were emigrating from the ‘New black and even fewer Asian people in Britain itself Commonwealth’ to Britain. although many black and Asian men from the The British Commonwealth: this map shows ‘Old’ Commonwealth countries and some of the ‘New’ Commonwealth countries which joined after 1945. Did you know? In 1950 there were only six Indian restaurants in the whole of Britain. Within one generation, by 1970, there would be 2,000 and curry was set to become Britain’s favourite meal! BritSoc-01-53_UnitA_04.indd 4 14/09/2010 17:09 Immigration Why was there so much immigration into Britain in the 1950s? • Recruitment campaigns • Shortage of labour: The most practical reason for post-war by British fi rms: There immigration was that, by the 1950s, Britain had a serious 5 were big recruitment shortage of labour. The government and many private campaigns for workers companies found some jobs very diffi cult to fi ll. Most of the in the National Health shortages were for low-paid and unskilled workers. Service, which had only recently been established, in 1948. Many textile fi rms in northern England recruited workers from India and Pakistan. London Transport actually went to the Caribbean to search for staff. In 1956 alone, for example, 140 staff were employed by London Transport from a recruiting offi ce set up in Barbados. London Transport itself became widely recognised as making a signifi cant contribution to race relations. Many black immigrants soon gained management jobs. Source A: London Transport offi cials in Barbados in 1954 recruiting staff for buses and trains. • Opportunities for immigrants: Many viewed • Encouragement and support for working in Britain, the ‘mother country’, as immigrants: Some migrating to Britain an opportunity to earn good wages. Most were given an interest-free loan from their earlier immigrants were male and aimed own government for travel costs. London to work in Britain for a short period while Transport provided hostels for many of the sending money back to their families, before immigrants it recruited. returning back ‘home’ themselves. Activities Follow up your enquiry 1. What do you understand by the term ‘mother Research the signifi cance of a ship called the country’? Windrush for immigration to Britain after the 2. Look at Source A. Can you think of three hopes Second World War. and three fears the young black men in the picture may have had about emigrating to Britain? BritSoc-01-53_UnitA_04.indd 5 14/09/2010 17:09 Part A: Carry out a historical enquiry The experience of immigrants 1955–1975 But for many immigrants, Britain was not as welcoming as they had expected. Those migrating 6 to Britain often settled in the poorer inner-city areas of cities such as London, Birmingham and Bradford. Increasingly these districts became areas with relatively high immigrant populations – such as Brixton in south London, Handsworth in Birmingham and Toxteth in Liverpool. Often, the white people in these areas began to move out to other parts of the city. By 1957 the government was concerned at what was described as ‘white-fl ight’ and ‘segregation’ in some of Britain’s major towns and cities. Tensions started to develop within these mainly white working-class communities. Some trade unions complained about immigrants taking jobs from whites by accepting work at lower wages. Some politicians and some of the British public Source B: A sign reading no Irish, no blacks, no dogs’ argued that, instead of coming to Britain to work, displayed in a British guest house window in the early 1960s. many were coming to Britain simply to receive generous welfare benefi ts. Tensions also developed • By the late 1950s, many young white working- about education and housing. class ‘Teddy Boys’ were beginning to attack black immigrants who they thought were taking However, the experiences of many immigrants ‘their women’ and graffi ti appeared such as were often very different. ‘Keep Britain white’. • Some were highly educated but were forced to • Some newspapers published sensationalised take on low-skilled employment. This was often and exaggerated reports about the supposed because their qualifi cations were not recognised lack of cleanliness, criminal activities and in Britain. sexual practices of immigrants in Britain. • Many found themselves sharing overcrowded The increasing numbers of Asian immigrants and substandard accommodation. settling in Britain faced additional problems. • ‘No coloureds’ and ‘No blacks’ could often • They often spoke a different language and be seen on signs for accommodation or in understood little English, which meant that advertisements for job vacancies. fi nding work was diffi cult. There were some other social reasons which • They often practised very different religious also increased racial mistrust. Many of the early customs, such as arranged marriages and immigrants were young men without their fasting. This meant that they were excluded families with them in Britain. from many social activities, such as those which involved alcohol. • A culture of drinking in bars and clubs with modern music, gambling, drug-taking and These circumstances meant Asian immigrants were prostitution began to develop among immigrants. more likely to try to set up their own businesses, and often bought cheaper property in rundown areas and then rented it out to later immigrants. BritSoc-01-53_UnitA_04.indd 6 14/09/2010 17:09 Immigration In the Notting Hill area of west London a strong Activities Caribbean community had developed. There was, however, widespread poverty in both the white Culture and the ‘new’ Caribbean households. The situation was also made worse in the area by a number of Housing Employment landlords who had evicted long-term white residents 7 from properties and then re-let the same property to newly arrived immigrants at much higher rents. Factors affecting Over a period of almost two weeks in August 1958 immigrants in Notting Hill, hundreds of young, white men with chains, knives, iron bars and petrol bombs attacked groups of black immigrants and their homes with chants such as ‘niggers out’.