The Changing Lives of Young People
Children during World War Two
To save the younger generation from being reduced, the government organised a programme called evacuation. As well as children being evacuated, pregnant women and parents with young children were also evacuated out of towns and cities. However, not every child was evacuated. Many children who lived in inner cities were evacuated to the countryside. A large number of children were evacuated in 1939, but were then taken home again when not much bombing happened. Another wave of children were evacuated in 1940.
Was evacuation a sucess?
The results of evacuation
Many people belonging to the Conservative party didn't believe that child poverty was a minor issue or that it didn't exist. However, evacuation opened a door to the realisation of child poverty, as many of the evacuees who came from the inner cities were dirty, skinny and were possibly unwell (some evacuees didn't know how to use a toilet!). Evacuation exposing child poverty as a problem in Britain was partly a reason why Sir William Beveridge drew up ideas for his idea for a new Britain. After the war the new Labour government created the Welfare state, which would try and make Britain a more equal society. From Beveridge's proposals, children would stay in school until they were 15, and from then on either go to a grammar or a secondary modern school, or possibly get a job. Family allowances also made sure that families were not living in extreme poverty. Furthermore, the creation of the National Health Service meant children were able to have free healthcare and be generally healthier than the previous generation.
Children in the 1950s
Before the second world war, young people were usually expected to copy their parents in terms of style appearence and behaviour. However, during the 1950s, a number of things began to transform young people's lives:
Children in the 1960s
Things changed even more for teenagers during the 1960s!
Affluence and Consumer society
Many young people often left school and got a job when they were sixteen, and this meant that had money to spend (It was also really easy to find a job). The British economy was booming, and with war being completely over, teenagers indulged with money from their parents on the latest fashions, records and gadgets. London and other cities became places with shops selling the latest fashions and "up to date" gadgets. Teenagers became a massive market in industry, and out of these different types of clothes and music people began to develop their own styles such as being a "hippy" or a "punk". Famous fashion designers and models became known such as Mary Quant and Twiggy.
Music
From inspiration from immigrants and America, English bands such as The Rolling Stones, The Who and The Beatles began to form. However, their music was different to music of past generations. One song by the Rolling Stones was called "Satisfaction", which had explicit words obviously to do with sex. The Who smashed up their instruments on stage. The Beatles were described as "cool, hip and trendy" and many brought tickets to see their concerts. The older generation generally disaproved of this new music. Songs such as "Enoch Powell" by the Beatles and "Satisfaction" showed that society and the younger generation had became more liberal in their ideas and opinions. TV shows such as "Top of the Pops" and "Juke Box Jury" exhibited these new styles of music. This music was also a refreshing change to more wholesome songs on the radio. At first only illegal radio stations broadcasted new music, however in 1967 the BBC created Radio 1.
Health
This young generation of people had the benefit of living under the National Health Service. This meant they were healthier and grew up faster as a result, so they became sexually more mature at a younger age. With the new contraceptive pill and other types of contraception, young people were able to be promiscuous and enjoy having sex without worrying about the consequences of getting pregnant (however not all young people were desperate to have sex).
Rioting
Because of the American influence two groups of teenagers formed called "mods" and "rockers".
Education
In the 1960s, the school system changed. Currently, children would go through school and take the 11+ test, which would determine whether you went to a grammar school or the secondary modern. When you were sixteen you could get a job or stay on until university. The system was designed to mix rich and poor children. However, there were some problems with this system:
Universities
The majority of young people in the 1960s appeared to be going straight into work with not many qualifications rather than staying on to university. It was also difficult for people to get into the main universities such as Oxford and Cambridge, so the government tried to make more people go to university by doing the following things:
Protests
To save the younger generation from being reduced, the government organised a programme called evacuation. As well as children being evacuated, pregnant women and parents with young children were also evacuated out of towns and cities. However, not every child was evacuated. Many children who lived in inner cities were evacuated to the countryside. A large number of children were evacuated in 1939, but were then taken home again when not much bombing happened. Another wave of children were evacuated in 1940.
Was evacuation a sucess?
- Many children were evacuated to other parts of Britain, however the government did try and evacuate children overseas. This was stopped, however, when a boat was sunk by a German airplane, killing many children in the process.
- Some children enjoyed being evacuated as it seemed like an exciting adventure (some children in inner cities had never seen the countryside!). However, some children were very homesick and there were reports of people abusing their evacuees.
- People in the rural areas were shocked by the evacuees as they were usually from poor stricken areas and there were differing manners between people in the city and people in the countryside.
- Unfortunately some children enjoyed evacuation too much! Some children had got so used to country life and their carers that it was a shock when they had to return home when the war was over.
- A good thing about evacuation was that it gave children time away from their parent's influences, and they gained more independence and freedom.
- Rationing improved children's health.
The results of evacuation
Many people belonging to the Conservative party didn't believe that child poverty was a minor issue or that it didn't exist. However, evacuation opened a door to the realisation of child poverty, as many of the evacuees who came from the inner cities were dirty, skinny and were possibly unwell (some evacuees didn't know how to use a toilet!). Evacuation exposing child poverty as a problem in Britain was partly a reason why Sir William Beveridge drew up ideas for his idea for a new Britain. After the war the new Labour government created the Welfare state, which would try and make Britain a more equal society. From Beveridge's proposals, children would stay in school until they were 15, and from then on either go to a grammar or a secondary modern school, or possibly get a job. Family allowances also made sure that families were not living in extreme poverty. Furthermore, the creation of the National Health Service meant children were able to have free healthcare and be generally healthier than the previous generation.
Children in the 1950s
Before the second world war, young people were usually expected to copy their parents in terms of style appearence and behaviour. However, during the 1950s, a number of things began to transform young people's lives:
- TV - The first TVs were manufactured in the 1950s so then people could watch the Queen's coronation. However, TV would play a vital part in changing young people's lives as people could express their ideas and make them more known in the world.
- Immigration - This doesn't seem like an obvious one, but immigration played a big part in changing young people's lives. There was a big influence from American clothes and films. On movie involving James Dean encouraged teenagers to be rebels! Immigrants also brought interesting types of music with them such as reggae, and coffee shops were places where teenagers and their friends could hang out.
Children in the 1960s
Things changed even more for teenagers during the 1960s!
Affluence and Consumer society
Many young people often left school and got a job when they were sixteen, and this meant that had money to spend (It was also really easy to find a job). The British economy was booming, and with war being completely over, teenagers indulged with money from their parents on the latest fashions, records and gadgets. London and other cities became places with shops selling the latest fashions and "up to date" gadgets. Teenagers became a massive market in industry, and out of these different types of clothes and music people began to develop their own styles such as being a "hippy" or a "punk". Famous fashion designers and models became known such as Mary Quant and Twiggy.
Music
From inspiration from immigrants and America, English bands such as The Rolling Stones, The Who and The Beatles began to form. However, their music was different to music of past generations. One song by the Rolling Stones was called "Satisfaction", which had explicit words obviously to do with sex. The Who smashed up their instruments on stage. The Beatles were described as "cool, hip and trendy" and many brought tickets to see their concerts. The older generation generally disaproved of this new music. Songs such as "Enoch Powell" by the Beatles and "Satisfaction" showed that society and the younger generation had became more liberal in their ideas and opinions. TV shows such as "Top of the Pops" and "Juke Box Jury" exhibited these new styles of music. This music was also a refreshing change to more wholesome songs on the radio. At first only illegal radio stations broadcasted new music, however in 1967 the BBC created Radio 1.
Health
This young generation of people had the benefit of living under the National Health Service. This meant they were healthier and grew up faster as a result, so they became sexually more mature at a younger age. With the new contraceptive pill and other types of contraception, young people were able to be promiscuous and enjoy having sex without worrying about the consequences of getting pregnant (however not all young people were desperate to have sex).
Rioting
Because of the American influence two groups of teenagers formed called "mods" and "rockers".
- Mods usually dressed smartly and road around on scooters.
- Rockers wore leather jackets and drove around on motorbikes.
Education
In the 1960s, the school system changed. Currently, children would go through school and take the 11+ test, which would determine whether you went to a grammar school or the secondary modern. When you were sixteen you could get a job or stay on until university. The system was designed to mix rich and poor children. However, there were some problems with this system:
- The government realised that some upper class parents could afford private tutors to make their child pass the test, which was considered unfair as poorer children couldn't do this.
- Grammar schools had better qualified teachers and better conditions, and children who went to them usually went to have good jobs such as becoming a doctor or a civil servant. Teachers at secondary moderns were usually worse and the children got a worse start off in life.
Universities
The majority of young people in the 1960s appeared to be going straight into work with not many qualifications rather than staying on to university. It was also difficult for people to get into the main universities such as Oxford and Cambridge, so the government tried to make more people go to university by doing the following things:
- New Universities - Many new universities were built in towns.
- Vocational courses - These were unlike the traditional subjects like History or maths, they were usually pratical subjects like resistant materials or textiles.
- Art Colleges - These aimed to try and attract students from poorer backgrounds, and offered subjects like studying art and design.
- Student grant - To encourage poorer students to go to univerisity, the government gave poor students some money which they could spend on accomodation and other aspects of university life.
Protests
- There were various hippy movements which took place in Hyde Park during the 1960s. The hippies campaigned for Nuclear disarmament, World peace and the legalisation of canabis.
- At universities, there were many demonstrations. At the London School of Economics, one of the professors apparently supported arptheid in South Africa, so there were protests by the students to sack him. There were also protests at Birmingham University against Enoch Powell's "Rivers of Blood" speech.
- In London, there was a massive protest against the Vietnam War. It was believed that many young people supported socialist or communist organisations (some people also believed that some young people were working as spies for the Soviet union, however that was part of the general paranoia of the Cold War).