Social Changes In 20th Century Britain

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The topic of interest that I have chosen for this assessment is the topic of social, economic and political changes that occurred in Britain during the 20th Century. 20th Century Britain had various political reforms and social changes due to the wars it as involved in during the 1900 hundreds e.g. The First World, The Second World and The Spanish Civil War. These wars had influences on the economy of 20th Century Britain that lead to new laws, economic reforms and a change in the social standings. Many working class families during this time were unsatisfied with the state of Britain and the labour forces. The actions of the people, the protests, the wars and the state of post war depression called for many reforms of the British system. …show more content…

Oxford 2002
• Carolyn Steedman, Landscape for a Good Woman, London 1986
• E.P.Thomas, The Making of the British Working Class, London 1963
• D.V.Glass, Social Mobility in Britain, London, 1953

Gender, Labour, War and the Empire
• Florence Underwood, WFL secretary to Samuel Hoare 26th of January 1939 (National Archives, (TNA) HO 45/17957
• Ray Strachey to Ellen Wilkinson 17th of February 1940
• Caroline Hasletts speech, ‘Women in War time industry), National Archive for Electrical Science and Technology, Caroline Haslett papers, 33/8.8
• WPC minutes, February 4th 1941, British Library of Political and Economic Science

War and Society in Britain 1899
• W.S. Churchill, The Aftermath, Macmillan 1941 edn.
• G. Thomas, Wartime Social Survey: Women at Work …show more content…

Broad and S. Fleming, Nella Last’s War (Sphere edn. 1983)
• Royal Commission of Equal Pay, Report, CMD 6957 (HMSO 1940)

Fighting for their Rights:
• Hester Eisenstein, Gender Shock: Practicing Feminism on Two Continents (Boston: Beacon Press, 1991)
• Anne Summers, “Feminism on Two Continents: The Women’s Movement in Australia and the United States,”, Melbourne 1994
• Ellen Carol DuBois. Harriot Stanton Blatch and the Winning of Woman Suffrage. New Haven 1997
• Cheryl R. Jorgensen-Earp. “The Transfiguring Sword”: The Just War of the Women’s Social and Political Union

Each of the four secondary sources provided with valuable overviews of the social and political changes revolving around women during this time period. They all had different views that allowed me to research this theme widely. Sources 2 and 4 gave me an insight into the suffrage movement and the driving desperation for equality while sources 1 and 2 gave me an overview of the changes as they happened during and after times of war. All four sources allowed me to explore the theme in various ways that contrasted with each other while also supporting each other.

Research Question: British Women’s contribution during The Second World War and The Spanish Civil

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