First War Affect British Society

The First World War, which was a global war centered in Europe, began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918. Britain went to war in August 1914 and lasted more than four years. British casualties totaled almost 2.5 million, which included over 700,000 killed (Johnson, 1994: 151). After the war, there was a problem about how far the war actually brought to Britain, which means how did the war affected Britain social by several changes is generally debated by people. As Dewey (1997: 45) said, the social, economic and political consequences of the war must be considered. On the whole, the First World War significantly affected Britain in internal legacy and external legacy. Specifically, the internal legacy including economic cost in war, the accelerated rate of depreciation of both industrial and commercial property, the altered position of the Labour Party and the decline of fertility was accelerated by war, while the external legacy including millions of deaths from war, the enormous changes of Britain in the international position and the balance of payments surplus in Britain was disappeared (Dewey, 1997: 46). The First World War made a very significant and lasting effect on British society, this essay is going to describe the most significant consequences brought by the war, and to demonstrate this assertion. Firstly, it will examine the economy by using mass unemployment and national debts as examples. Secondly, the social influences will be discussed from a factor, which is the effect given by the First World War to British women. Thirdly, the following essay will examine the changes of the Labour Party due to the First World War.

The first consequence, which was caused by the First World War, is about the economy of Britain in the interwar period. Having kinds of sections in economic effects, the following essay is going to discuss the unemployment and the change of position between creditor and debtor in Britain after the First World War. As

References:  Johnson, P. (1994). Twentieth-Century Britain: Economic, Social and Cultural Change. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.  Gerbino, G. F. (1925). New Means for the More Rapid Extinction of the British National Debt. The Economic Journal, 35(138), 233- 244.