History GCSE- Protest in the 20th Century

Background to the General Strike

Tensions in the mining industry:

• Problems between the private owners of coal mines + the miners' unions--SAFETY & PAY
• Due to increasing overseas competition, owners cut wages and increased working hours to maintain profits.
• Miners went on strike
• Miners were oppossed by government who used the army + police to smash strikes
• Coal was essential to the economy-needed for heat and power

Miners, transport, workers, railwaymen

• Strikes were organised by different unions
• Triple Industrial Alliance (TIA) was  formed by the 3 main miners unions

-->Agreed to strike together and not settle until all 3 unions obtained satisfactory agreements

• WWI changed priorities making war effort Britain's main focus
• Government needed to ensure that coal production was continuously maintained at a high level
• Nationalised the industry-taking control of the mines and paying miners directly
• People liked that the government took control

-->Good pay + hours, make things fair

• Miners recommended the government should nationalise mining however they returned control of the mines to their owners
• In 1921 the miners went on strike and the TIA agreed to support them
• On Friday 15th April the leader of the railway union J.H Thomas refused to act --> Black Friday
• In 1925 the TIA threatened to strike forcing conservative government to give a nine month subsidy to private owners - prevent wage cuts -->'Red Friday' (31st July 1925)

The Samuel Commission's Report

• In April 1925 employers made it clear that they would reduce wages by 10% and increase hours from 7-8 a day after the subsidy
• The Samuel Commission suggested reforms, opposed extra working hours, but said miners should accept wage cuts --> miners rejected these recomendations saying 'not a penny off the pay not a minute on the day'

• It divided the country into regions with local headquarters and a communications network between London and local authorities
• Made stockpiles of resources including food and an emergency electricity supply
• Set up the Organisation for the Maintenance of Supplies (OMS) to recruit and train workers to act as strike breakers
• Tried to organise access to the media so the government could control what people heard about the strike
• Used the Emergency Powers Act (1920) to recruit special constables to help the police deal with the strike

After the miners announced 'not a penny off the pay not a minute on the day', mine owners closed all the pits to force the miners to accept the new conditions by causing real hardship.

• Unions were outraged
• Talks broke down between unions and government when print workers on the 'Daily Mail' refused to print an anti-strike editorial

The TUC called a general strike in support of the miners which began on 4th May 1926

• They wanted workers to come out in stages, with public health medical and food workers not striking, so lives weren't put at risk
• Over a million workers came out on strike on the first day

• Government produced a paper 'The British Gazette' attacking the General Strike as a threat to destroy laws + British Constitution
• Government had taken over newsprint supplies -->TUC (Trade Union Congress) paper was only 4 pages long
• Government ministers made frequent BBC broadcasts about the strike
• BBC refused to allow union leaders or leader of the Labour Party speak on the radio

-->One sided

-->Genral Strike was illegal

--> Archbishop of Canterbury also excluded

• In some areas, workers formed self-defence armies to control transport in their area + to prevent police interference and the activities of the OMS volunteers
• There were some clashes between police and strikers (Newcastle&Glasgow) but it was mainly peaceful
• In most areas both police & strikers didn't want to provoke violent outbursts
• However 5000 strikers were arrested for disorder, picketing or encouraging others to join the strike

• Held daily meetings to keep strikers & families in touch with news, and keep up their morale
• Meetings turned into social events --> sports, concerts, meals, picnics, hymns being sung
• Effort made to stop traffic moving
• Trams overturned
• Railways greased
• Trams derailed in Northumberland (driver ignored striker)
• Stopped volunteers that the government hired to do their job
• Had their own newspaper- 'The British Worker'

• Despite actions of the police and OMS the strike was successful and public transport came to a complete standstill
• However after 9 days the TUC called off the strike- Not successful
• By 11th May 1926, there was no sign that the government would give way
• When Sir Herbert Samuel offered to act as mediator, the TUC accepted
• He produced the Samuel Memorandum-Suggested a renewal of the subsidy to mine-owners to maintain wage levels in the short term, no wage reductios and the setting up of a National Wages Board
• On 12th May the TUC called off the strike hoping the Samuel Memorandum would be accepted (The Prime Minister had given no garuntees)
• The strike lasted unofficially until 14th May but miners refused to go back.
• Mine-owners refused to compromise so the coal strike lasted until December 1926
• In the end miners went back to longer hours and lower wages

Problems in the 19th Century:

• Very few rights i.e not allowed to have property --> Weak
• Representation- no woman representatives in parliament
• Image- seen as inferior to men
• Restricted to the roles of society-pinmoney and homemakers
• Don't have the vote
• Most people (women included) thought that politics should be left to men

Parliament:

• Executive power of the land
• Higher authority
• Make laws
• Democratic voice of people
• People could air their views on things
• Legitimate/Responsible

Women:

• Martyrs-Woman throws herself under King's horse-->Emily Davison 1930
• Engage in acts of terrorism:
• -->Burnt down houses
• -->Bombed post boxes
• -->Smashed windows
• -->Chained themselves to railings
• Arrested/beaten by the police
• Hunger strike

1. Petition

• Non-violent
• Doesn't succeed

2. Organisation that defends the rights of women

• Meetings
• Revolutionaries become bigger

3. Solidification

• Unite with eachother-plays/songs/art/poetry

4. Polarization

• Movement split between reformists(non-violent) and revolutionaries(violent)

5. Non-violent

• Resistance-Civil disobedience
• Marches
• Heckling
• Meetings

6. Confrontation

• Violence
• Demonstrations

National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies(NUWSS)

-->Believed in peaceful protest & working with men to get what they want

Leader: Millicent Fawcett

Methods:

• Leaflets
• Letters
• Petitions
• Peaceful demonstrations

Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU)

-->Organising events to get publicity

Leader: Emmeline Pankhurst

Motto: 'Deeds not words'

Methods:

• Disrupting political meetings
• Chaining themselves to railings
• Destroying property

• WSPU dropped leaflets from airships
• Suffragettes newspaper 'Votes For Women' sold in the streets with leaflets
• Women staged 'publicity stunts'-Raised public awareness and advertised meetings
• WSPU and NUWSS attracted over 3000 to march in London 'Mud March'
• October 1906-Members of WSPU protested in House of Commons-->Some arrested, sent to prison, chained themselves to railings outside Downing Street 
• June 1908-WSPU marched to Hyde Park with over 300,000 protesters

• Found it difficult to deal with protests without upsetting public opinion
• Some people of the govt supported the cause & wanted to introduce a reform but it was withdrawn or altered each time
• Banned all women from Liberal meetings
• Treated women as criminals in prison(not allowing them to speak)

• Women wanted to be treated as political prisoners rather than criminals. The government refused so they went on hunger strikes
• Authorities began to force feed(pushing a tube down the throat feeding watery gruel into the stomach)
• Many vomitted after
• The food occasionally went to the lungs causing serious health problems

--> They succeeded in getting what they wanted

• Passed in 1913
• Allowed authorities to release hunger-strikers while they recovered and re-arrest them when they were better
• Showed government strength in using its powers to make laws to foil protest and blunt the hunger strike weapon

• Friday 18th November-Over 300 women went to parliament to protest
• Police were instructed by the government to frighten and humiliate the suffragettes
• There were accusations of violent & sexual assult
• 29 women complained of assult by police
• The result- Hundereds of suffragettes were now prepared to break windows and go to prison
• From 1911, suffragettes began a window breaking campaign & the destruction of golfing greens--> designed to generate publicity

• 1910-Asquith agreed to work with the WSPU and NUWSS to produce a Conciliation Bill exending the right to vote to women
• WSPU agreed to a political true and stopped its violent protests
• Progress was being made
• Liberals thought that women would vote for Conservatives so the Conciliation Bill was abandoned

Suffragettes-->Violent methods

Suffragists-->Non-Violent methods

• August 1914-WSPU protests were suspended due to the outbreak of war with Germany
• WSPU encouraged its members to support the war effort despite being without the vote
• Government released all WSPU criminals so they could help with the war effort
• NUWSS followed but didn't support the war as much as most WSPU leaders
• Women showed they were capable of doing 'men's work'
• They made a huge contribution to Britain winning the war
• Was partly successful because only women over 30 and women who owned their own property got the vote in 1918

• Not all suffrage groups supported the war
• Tensions in the suffrage leadership
• Emmeline+Christabel Pankhurst helped to recruit young men to serve in the war
• Sylvia Pankhurst strongly opposed war-was a socialist & pacifist. In 1913 she left the WSPU to form the East London Federation for Working Class Women-felt WSPU was too focused on middle-class
• Syliva Pankhurst wanted all women to have the vote
• Christabel wanted to appeal to more prosperous members of society-WSPU relied heavily on monet supplied by wealthy women
• Christabel argues for a limited suffrage that gave votes to women with money+property

Positives:

• Change the image of women(men, women, government)
• Win the vote in 1918 for women over 30
• Win in 1923-extend voting franchise
• Win all votes in 1928
• Prove they are just as good as men in the world of work
• Violent tactics work
• -->Gained publicity
• -->Made the government listen to them
• -->Made them more publicly known
• -->Changed views

Negatives:

• Campaign takes nearly 30 years
• Cat&Mouse Act
• Black Friday
• Government betray women regularly
• Many men + government have a negative view on women
• Campaign dwarfed by achievements of WW1
• Casualties-not all at once
• Other problems take precidence
• -->Ireland
• -->Economy
• -->Communism
• -->Division between working and middle class

• In the 1970s the National Union of Miners(NUM) held a number of successful strikes that brought down the Conservative Government
• 1979-Margaret Thatcher got to power and said pits in the UK should be shut down
• Arthur Scargill(leader of the NUM) led the miners on a strike for a year to try and stop the pits being closed
• In the end the miners lost the dispute

What was the 'Poll Tax'?

• Introduced by the Conservative Government in Scotland in 1989 and then England and Wales in 1990
• A new system of raising money to pay for local government services( refuse collection, maintenance of roads)
• Replaced the old rates system

Why was it introduced?

• Many Conservatives felt every taxpayer should pay an equal amount
• Nicholas Ridley(minister in charge of poll tax) said: 'Why should a Duke pay more than a dustman?'
• Some felt the old rates system had been unfair
• Mrs Thatcher's advisers suggested there would be 38 million poll-tax payers compared with 14 million rate payers so charges for local services would be easily spread