User:Tes021/sandbox
Annotated Bibliography:
1)
London: A Social History, seems like it will be a very useful source for my assignment. I know that this book is a reliable source because it was published by Harvard University Press. This source has a wide range of information on London, but I think the most useful information it'll provide me is form the specific chapter on economic and governmental changes in London from 1890-1945. Since this was written as a history resource, the point of view is fairly neutral so I don't think that I have to be too cautious when using this source.
2)
An Economic History of London: 1800-1914 appears to be a source that will provide a lot of useful information for my addition to the wikipedia article. I know that this is a valid source because it was published by a well-known British multinational book publisher Routledge. The information that will be most useful to me form this source are the chapters that specifically focus on work, wealth, and living conditions for people in London during this time period. Again, since this source was written as a history resource, the point of view is fairly neutral.
Other potential sources: https://books.google.com/books?id=6051AgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=wwi+london&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCYQ6AEwAGoVChMIvb38_pzgyAIVxDU-Ch2AMwTV#v=onepage&q&f=false
Main topic: Economy during WWI and the Great Depression in London
Potential Edit:'
Prior to World War One, Britain was the world’s economic superpower (2). Despite its flourishing economy, Britain, “was not ready for the economic impact that the war would have” (2). While London remained fairly prosperous relative to the rest of Britain during the interwar years, their economy still experienced the inevitable decline. After the beginning of World War One in 1914, Britain experienced a massive financial crisis due to market panic (2). There were several reasons why London was able to remain relatively prosperous throughout the interwar years. One major reason was the significant amount of population growth London experienced during these years. In fact, London’s population increased from 7.25 million in 1911 to 8.73 million in 1939(1). Another major aspect that helped fuel the economy was the Pax Britannica, which brought business through an increase in shipping, imports, and even investments (1, page 327).
Obviously, London was faced with the huge economic demand of war. In fact, Britain spent over 3,251,000,000 euros from 1914-1918. (2). The government took action in order to raise money and revive the economy; Government officials raised direct taxes of property and income, took out large international loans, and increased the printing of money (2). And while these economic tactics were ultimately successful for all of Britain, London still had to endure rising unemployment and was forced to adapt its workforce. In fact, the unemployment rate for those workers who were covered by national insurance in London increased from 7 percent to 10 percent just from July to August of 1914 (3, page 25). A major reason why unemployment didn’t get too high during the interwar years was due to the significant increase of women in the workforce. While there was a relatively high number of women in the workforce prior to the war, the number continued to rise; “Women’s employment went from 23.6% of the working age population in 1914 to between 37.7% and 46.7% in 1918” (5). The largest employer of women was the munitions industries – which were primarily employed by women at the time. By 1917, the munition factories in Britain accounted for 80 percent of all weapons and shells used by the British Army. Despite the huge role women played in the maintenance of the economy, they still only received around two-thirds of the pay that men received for the same jobs (5). “At the end of the first world war the combination of pent-up consumer demand, high money income, a large volume of liquid or near-liquid assets and a backlog of investment fuelled a boom in economic activity which lasted roughly one year, from March 1919 to April 1920” (4). Page 8
London managed to escape the worst effects of the Great Depression – which spanned from 1929 until 1939. “Even in the dark days of the 1930s unemployment barely bit because London, unlike the industrial North, had never become dangerously over dependent on the Empire, but the Empire was in tact” (1, page 327). Despite the fact that most parts of the United Kingdom were facing rising unemployment rates and widespread poverty even as early as 1929, London only had an unemployment rate of 5.6 percent (6). The areas that were hit the hardest that were the ones that most reliant on heavy industry – such as Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales (7). London, on the other hand, had relatively little business in the heavy industry and was more involved in some of the light industries – such as chemicals, electrical goods and automobiles (7).
Sources:
1) London: A Social History, Roy Porter (Chapter 14 - Page 326)
2)http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zqhxvcw
4) http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/samples/cam031/89033212.pdf
5) http://www.marxist.com/women-in-the-first-world-war-britain.htm
7) http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/mwh/britain/depressionrev1.shtml
http://www.pbs.org/greatwar/historian/hist_braybon_01_women.html
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