James Topham
Winston Churchill 1929-1951 – A Gateway into Churchill – History Notes
– Page 6
Churchill before 1929 – An overview
Churchill came from an aristocratic family. (Born 30 November 1874)
Churchill’s grandfather was the Duke of Marlborough, and his father (Lord
Randolph Churchill) was a leading Conservative politician.
Churchill joined the British Army in 1895 and saw action in British India, the
Anglo-Sudan War and the Second Boer War.
He gained fame as a war correspondent.
In 1900, he was elected as a conservative MP but switched to the liberal party in
1904.
He rose through the political ranks quickly and became a minister (Under-
Secretary of State for the Colonial Office – A junior ministerial position that he
had requested) in 1905.
In 1908, Asquith appointed Churchill “President of the Board of Trade” making
him a member of cabinet.
In 1910, Churchill was promoted to Home Secretary (A role he held for just over
1 year until becoming first lord of the Admiralty).
In October 1911, Asquith appointed Churchill “First Lord of the Admiralty” (The
political head of the Royal Navy).
He helped introduce social reforms before 1914 and then played an important
role in the First world war until a failed attack on Turkey in 1915 led to his
resignation.
,In 1917, he was back in Government as minister for munitions.
He served in Lloyd George’s government form 1918-1922 as Minister of
munitions (1917-1919), Secretary of State for War and Air (1919-21), Secretary
of State for the Colonies (1921-1922)
On 6th November 1924, Churchill formally re-joined the conservative party and
became Chancellor of the Exchequer. As Chancellor he intended to pursue his
free trade principles in the form of laissez-faire economics.
,A controversial figure – An overview of Churchill’s controversies.
Many conservatives saw Churchill as someone who had betrayed his party by
leaving the conservatives and joining the liberals.
His support for the use of troops against striking miners in south Wales in 1910
made him unpopular with many in the Labour movement.
His support for the poorly planned attack on Constantinople in the 1915 Gallipoli
Landings made him widely distrusted both in British politics and the British army.
He was seen as an extreme opponent of communism because of his support for
a war against the new communist regime in Russia after 1917.
His decision to return Britain to the Gold Standard (a monetary system where the
country’s currency has a value directly linked to gold) in 1925 was criticised by
many economic experts as it made exports more expensive.
He was seen as an extreme opponent of trade unions because of his opposition
against the 1926 General Strike in 1926. (A coal miners strike opposing mine
owners from reducing wages for 1.2 million coal miners.
,Churchill’s political ideas – An overview
Churchill supported social reforms and believed the government had a duty to
help the poor. (One nation conservativism)
He was fiercely opposed to any threat to Britain including rebellion in Ireland. In
this case, he was opposed to both the Protestants in Ulster before 1914 (who
wanted to be part of the UK) and against the Irish who wanted independence.
He was a strong believer of the British Empire and was determined to defend it.
He supported the First World War, first by wanting to knock out Turkey with a
daring attack in 1915 (1915 Gallipoli landings) and then by British arms
production while minister of munitions in 1917-1918. Additionally, he served on
the western front (in person) in 1916.
He vehemently opposed communism, especially after the killing of the Russian
Tsar (Tsar Nicholas II) in 1918 and urged Britain, France and the US to send
forces against the Russian Revolution.
He was a royalist and opposed any threat to the monarchy or to the British
constitution. This was shown in the 1926 general strike which he opposed
because he believed it tried to use union power in a political way.
,Churchill’s personality – An overview
Churchill was outspoken, outwardly self-confident and often controversial.
He was very ambitious and enjoyed being in control.
He was a fantastic writer and orator and was admired for his writings and for his
speeches.
He loved the House of Commons and enjoyed debates.
He had a gift for encouraging strong friendships, but also had bitter enemies.
He had a wide variety of interests and enthusiasms.
,Great Britain 1929 - Gateway into Britain 1929 – History Notes – page 7
– An Overview
Britain in 1929
The British Empire
Britain was the head of an empire consisting of over 240 million people in 1929.
The empire was very important and many British people lived and worked in
many of the colonies, either in administration, education, farming, business or
church activities.
Some areas were self governing such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada and
South Africa.
In 1929, India only had self-government at this point.
Britain’s African possessions and its other colonies in Asia were ruled directly.
In 1929, Britain also completely controlled the Suez Canal and dominated Egypt
and therefore controlled global trade.
The Empire had helped Britain to win the First World War, but was very costly
and difficult to defend and Britain was beginning to be unable to afford it.
,Society
Britain has been deeply affected by the loss of over 750,000 men in the First
World War. There was a loss of faith in old values of patriotism and a deep
reluctance to go to war again.
As the suburbs grew and the importance of banking and financial services grew,
the economy began to slightly deindustrialise.
There was a rise in the relative wealth and influence of the middle classes as the
suburbs grew.
The War had resulted in social change with regard to the role of women who had
the vote on equal terms with men after 1928 and had much more freedom of
movement, dress, and way of life than had been true in the pervious century.
The rise of radio, cinema, popular press, the telephone and the use of cars
increased awareness of the wider world and improved communications.
,The state of British politics in 1929
At this point, the 2 main parties were the Conservative party and the Labour
Party. The Liberal party (who had been the dominant party before 1914, had
declined into a third, less significant party)
Labour, at this stage, was a relatively new party, representing working people.
The Labour party was birthed out of the trade unions in 1900. Support for the
Labour party increased during and after the First World War to become a
national party. The Labour party did not form a government until 1924 (which
lasted under a year) but they did win the 1929 election 5 years later in 1929.
In 1906, The conservative party had lost the 1906 general election to the Liberal
party badly until they joined a war time coalition with the Labour party and the
Liberal party in 1915. The conservative party was the major party in the
continuing wartime coalition from 1916-1922 under the Liberal Prime Minister
Lloyd George but ended the coalition agreement in 1922. After this, the
Conservative party was in power from 1922-1923 and from 1924-1929
The Liberal Party had been the great party of reform since 1859 and introduced
many important changes, including the beginnings of the modern welfare state
at the start of the 20th century. However, the party split during the First World
War and were overtaken by the Labour Party. They did not hold office in their
own right (without being part of a coalition) after 1915.
, The state of the economy in 1929
Britain had been a great industrial power in the 19 th century with textiles, iron
and steel, engineering, coal and chemical industries. During the 19 th Century
Britain was the leading economy and led almost every industry.
However, by 1929, its older industries such as textiles were on the decline due to
there being much less demand for Britain’s heavy industry products.
Unemployment had not fallen below a million in the 1920s and trade had been
hindered by the high price of the pound after the return to gold.
In October 1929, the collapse of the US stock market (known as the Wall Street
Crash) started the Great Depression (a global economic depression that lasted
for a decade until 1939. This period is referred to by some as “the Devil’s
Decade”)
