AS History₇₀₄₁

This option provides for the study of a transformative period of British history, during which democratically elected government faced a series of challenges, both internally and externally and British society underwent fundamental change. It develops concepts such as reform and retrenchment, patriotism and pacifism, social status and cultural values. It also encourages students to reflect on the process of economic and social change and the impact of that change for both governments and the people.

Society in Crisis, 1906–1929

The Liberal crisis, 1906–1914

• The Liberal governments: the 1906 election; New Liberalism; the influence of Campbell-Bannerman, Asquith, Lloyd George and Churchill; the position of Labour and the Conservatives
• The state of the economy: staples; 'new' industries; agriculture; trade and invisible earnings; economic concerns and external competition
• Social issues: class division; poverty; changes in taxation; the 'People's Budget'; Liberal social and welfare reforms; reasons for legislation and its effect
• Challenges and crises: the constitutional crisis; the issue of female emancipation; Irish Home Rule; industrial unrest

The impact of war, 1914–1922

• Politics in wartime: the 1915 coalition; Lloyd George and Bonar Law; Liberal division; the influence of the Labour Party and the 1918 constitution; the 1918 election and the Lloyd George coalition; policies, problems and Lloyd George's fall
• Economic issues: Britain's wartime economy; housing and austerity; trade unions; post-war industrial problems; the position of the staple industries and trade
• Social and cultural impact of war: role of women; reform of the franchise; unions and Labour; cultural change; issues of patriotism; conscientious objection; effect of trenches on soldiers; the war poets
• Ireland: the Easter Rising; the war of independence and the Anglo-Irish Treaty

The search for stability, 1922–1929

• Political developments: the decline of the Liberals; the 1923 election; the first Labour government: aims, reforms, international relations and collapse; the Conservative resurgence and government; the roles of Baldwin, Churchill and Chamberlain
• Economic issues: post-war re-adjustment and return to Gold Standard; the problems of the coal mines; industrial disputes and the General Strike
• Social and cultural change: unemployment and regional division; the post-war role of women; the growth of the media including newspapers and cinema; the cultural reaction to war
• The 1929 election: the franchise extension and 'flapper vote'; the new Labour government; MacDonald and Snowden and their aims; the state of Britain by 1929