15.impact Of Liberal Is At Ion

A Sixties Social Revolution? British Society, 1959-1975 Lesson 13

The impact of reduced censorship and liberal social reform LO: To measure the impact of liberalisation of laws

Recap - Talking Points “The youth protests of the 1960s demonstrated that a new spirit of confrontation and violence had entered society.” Do you agree or disagree? What effect do you think the media had on radicalism? “Is it right to break the law to ‘protect the world’?”

Rock and Roll

Celebrity / Drugs

Vietnam and Devaluation

Race / Immigration

Industrial relations

1970: Wilson v Heath

Northern Ireland

Harold, Ted and Jim, 1964 - 1979 The events of 1964 to 1979 are chronicled in Harold, Ted and Jim: When the Modern Failed which describes the British desire for technology and advancement that was bogged down in a Wilson government beset with industrial conflict and decline.

Political Overview

Harold Wilson

The Economy

Education

Social Reform

Consumer Culture

Harold, Ted and Jim, 1964 - 1979 The events of 1964 to 1979 are chronicled in Harold, Ted and Jim: When the Modern Failed which describes the British desire for technology and advancement that was bogged down in a Wilson government beset with industrial conflict and decline.

Lindsay Anderson began his film career as a critic, passionately attacking British cinema of the 30s and 40s for being middle class and middle-brow. Believing film should be more socially and morally aware he began to make short documentary films focusing on aspects of British life which he felt were being neglected. Anderson soon became a leading light in the British New Wave movement making authentic films about the lives of ordinary working class people. During this time he would produce the gritty classic This Sporting Life and the film with which he is now synonymous, If... The latter was a scathing attack on the constraints imposed by class and the hypocrisy of British institutions – it became iconic for a generation of disaffected youth.

Activity 2

Key Profile: Roy Jenkins Born/Died Education Party For

Against

Murder (Abolition of the Death Penalty) Act 1965 Sexual Offences Act 1967 Abortion Act 1967 Divorce Reform Act 1969

When Gaitskell's arch-rival, Harold Wilson, took office in 1964, Lord Jenkins was rapidly promoted. From being in charge of aviation, a potential political hot potato, he made a name for himself as a radical home secretary. Abortion and homosexuality were legalised, divorce was made easier, and theatre censorship was abolished. He saw himself as a libertarian, a defender of individual rights against the state but, for decades to come, he would be blamed by right-wingers for society's many problems. He became Chancellor of the Exchequer following the devaluation of sterling and James Callaghan's resignation in 1967. He was an austere, some would say overprudent, Chancellor who tried to turn around Britain's sickly economy and refused to make big tax cuts.

Challenge your thinking Consider the following contradictions 1. 2.

3. 4. 5. 6.

Labour-saving devices in the home freed women from the drudgery of the kitchen, but also reinforced the female role as housewife. Increased education and access to higher education encouraged women to develop higher expectations, but made slow and difficult progress along career paths increasingly frustrating. The increased availability of jobs gave women greater independence, but added to their sense of guilt at leaving their families to work. Changes in fashion, hair and makeup appeared liberating but in many cases merely reinforced female stereotypes. Greater control over family planning liberated women from the burden of pregnancy but also reinforced their position as “sex-objects”. Changes in attitudes to marriage, for example easier divorce, combined freedom with a greater sense of insecurity.

Discuss these statements in pairs, decide which of the two contradictory statements was likely to affect women more. As a result of these changes were women likely to be more or less fulfilled?

Activity 4

Create a large spider diagram using the different headings from the textbook to show the factors which may have contributed to a liberal or “permissive” society. You should aim to analyse each of the factors and include key details as well as an explanation of the contribution of each.

Censorship

Other factors

Cinema

Literature

Influence of media Theatre

TV

“There is the need for the State to do less to restrict personal freedom. There is the need for the state to create a climate of opinion which is favourable to gaiety, tolerance and beauty, and unfavourable to restriction, to petty minded disapproval, to hypocrisy, and to a dreary, ugly pattern of life”.

Education and work

Influence of contraceptive pill

Drug culture etc

Abortion

Roy Jenkins 1959

Feminism Housewives?

Divorce Female insecurity

Challenges to traditional role of women

Homosexuality

Abolition of the death penalty

New Liberalising laws

Conclusions: How far was there a “permissive” society in sixties Britain? Read the excerpt about Timothy Leary. Is this evidence that a “permissive” society existed?

Examination Practice

Pick out phrases in both sources which provide a contrast of views. Don’t forget that ‘how far’ also requires you to look at the similarities (if any).

For “to what extent” you need to make a two-column table with examples on both sides. Decide where to cite evidence from the sources and in what order you will make you points. Point out differences in provenance, tone and language. Your argument should be balanced and lead to a supported conclusion.

Pick out phrases in both sources which provide a contrast of views. Don’t forget that ‘how far’ also requires you to look at the similarities (if any).

For “to what extent” you need to make a two-column table with examples on both sides. Decide where to cite evidence from the sources and in what order you will make you points. Point out differences in provenance, tone and language. Your argument should be balanced and lead to a supported conclusion.

Mark Scheme

Question 1

Question 2

Level Four: 10-12 Marks

Level Five: 22-24 Marks

“Responses will show secure and developed understanding of the extent of difference between the two sources and will use this in conjunction with own knowledge to demonstrate good understanding of the issue in context…”

“Answers will be well-focused and closely argued. The arguments will be supported by precisely selected evidence from the sources and own knowledge, incorporating well developed understanding of historical interpretations and debate.”

Example

Example

“Sources A and B differ fundamentally in their perception of the impact of the 1960s on young people. Source A suggests the 60s were a ‘defining decade’ and implies a sense of hedonism, where all things were possible for all young people. It does not discriminate. In essence, society was on the verge of a revolution. Source B differs sharply. It intimates that it was only a small “bunch of crackpots” not society in general that was seeking to overthrow the system. Whereas Source A is written in a positive, almost uncritical fashion, Source B is slightly reactionary and dismissive of the claims of Source A…”

“Source C highlights the fact that the 1960s did

see ‘an extraordinary challenge to accepted ways of life’, yet at the same time there was continuity with the past. Source A supports the former view that the 1960s was a brave new world. The Home Secretary Roy Jenkins even said that the permissive society was essentially the ‘civilised society’. Source B supports the latter view and suggests the 1960s was subject to a great deal of myth-making and in fact most of the public were relatively untouched by the antics of a “few crackpots”. Source C attempts to offer a balance between change and continuity and confirms Source B’s contention that the role of the media played a powerful role in hyping up the decade…