Evaluating the Prime Ministers of the 20th Century. Major figures and events in the fight for Civil Rights in the USA

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British Politics 1945-90

Clement Attlee 1945-1951

  • Labour party leader for 20 years
  • Introduced the National Health Service, nationalised one fifth of the British economy, and granted independence to India.
  • After Labour's defeat in the general election of 1951, Attlee's effectiveness dramatically declined, his authority broken by factional fighting within the party. He resigned as leader in 1955

Winston Churchill 1951-1955

  • His refusal to surrender to Nazi Germany inspired the country. He worked tirelessly throughout the war, building strong relations with US President Roosevelt while maintaining a sometimes difficult alliance with the Soviet Union.
  • It seemed as if Winston Churchill did in actual fact not do that much in his times of being Prime Minister from 1951-1955 however he most known for what he did when he became Prime Minister for the first time in 1940, for example his attitude to world war 2.

Harold Macmillan 1955-1963

  • When Harold Macmillan became prime minister in 1957, following the disastrous Suez Crisis, he set himself six objectives. The first of these, his top priority, was "to restore the confidence of the people in the government and themselves.
  • Repaired relations with the United States.
  • In 1962, the government's unpopularity led Macmillan to abruptly dismiss six cabinet members, an event which became known as the 'night of the long knives'.

Alec Douglas-Home 1963-1964

  • He was not considered to be everyone’s natural choice for Prime Minister because he came across as being too reserved and some felt that he had little in common with the majority of the people in the UK.
  • He was only there for a year and lost in the October 1963 election by just 5 seats.

Harold Wilson 1964-1970 and 1974-1976

  • He first served as Prime Minister in the 60’s, during a period of low unemployment and relative economy prosperity, In his second spell most western countries were starting to have economic crisis of their own.
  • While he did not challenge the Party constitution's stated dedication to nationalization head-on, he took little action to pursue it.
  • In his first period in office he made legal changes in many social areas, including the liberalization of, censorship, homosexuality, divorce, immigration and abortion.  Aswell as the abortion of capital punishment.
  • Overall, Wilson is seen to have managed a number of difficult political issues with considerable tactical skill.
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Edward Heath 1970-1974

  • Edward Heath has generally not been judged kindly as a prime minister. Nevertheless in many ways it would be difficult to deny his excellent leadership qualities. Rational, organised, conscientious and extremely hard working.
  • Almost immediately, Heath applied for Britain to enter the European union and was succesfull.
  • After unsuccessful coalition talks between Heath and Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe, Heath resigned as Prime Minister and was succeeded by Harold Wilson.

James Callagham 1976-1979

  • He was a Baptist.
  • He had held all four of the great offices of state: chancellor of the exchequer from 1964 ...

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