Source C states that the coal industry was in problems after the First World War as there was now foreign competition, and that machinery was backward and there was serious under investment in the coal industry. This totally agrees with sources A and B. It goes on to state that once British coal was an important export, but was now deteriorating. This source was written in the 1960s, but totally agrees with the other sources of different dates, as their facts are the same and give the same point of view, that the British Coal was failing.
3. Source D is of article which is clearly one sided to the government, its job would be to increase support for the government and would have come from one of its propaganda departments; the article is about the OMS. Source D states that the OMS (Organisation for the maintenance of Supplies), needs volunteers to keep England going and gives the impression that the miners want to stop England functioning and do not want higher pay and better working conditions. They are on the side of the Government, as they are appealing for OMS volunteers. The article was published on April the 17th 1926, a month before the actual strike took place. This article states that the government were not involved, but clearly were as they were setting up alternative ways to sort out the strike. If the government was setting up the OMS then they clearly were not going to negotiate or give in they, were going to fight and on their own terms. If the OMS wanted volunteers then they must have had jobs for them to do already and were near ready for a strike. They were preparing for a strike. This was a big factor in why the strike took place a month after this article was published, as the government was near ready and just needed volunteers. This article would also have angered the TUC and the miners as they thought they were going to negotiate once the nine months or money ran out.
Source E is a picture of a dog next to a TUC and miner’s gramophone, this picture would have come from the government and would have been produced to gain support for the government. This picture symbolises the governments defiance against the miners, as the government is the British bulldog, and behind it is the gramophone which is playing “Not a penny off the day; Not a minute on the day”, the miner’s slogan. This picture is showing that the government is not going to give in or back down they are going to be defiant to the miners and the TUC. This picture was printed in April 1926, and again if the government was printing this propaganda in a daily newspaper, the TUC and miners would be infuriated as this was stating that negotiations were not going to happen. In April the government was just getting ready its propaganda machine. The dog is listening to the miner’s with his back turned to them.
Source F is showing us how much support there was for the miners, this ballot result shows an overwhelming majority of support for the miners. With this support the TUC were going to help the miners. This did not greatly affect the date of the strike as the TUC waited for the money to run out then started negotiations. The attitude of the government is one off a ruthless attack on the miners, the miner’s attitude is a more passive and they would like to compromise.
4. Source G is of a poster about the general strike. One of the government’s ways of beating the strike was to get the general public on their side; they thought if they won the public’s support they miners would give in quicker. The poster seems as if it is talking directly at you or the public, as it says “Message from the Prime Minister”. Anyone reading this would have thought it was somehow talking to them. It is saying that the government is being attacked; somehow inferring that a war is going on with the England and the miners who just want higher pay and better safety. This is blatant propaganda which is accusing the miner’s of treason, even though they have not committed no such act, and love England. It goes on to say that the general public should join the side of the government as they are doing their best. Somehow the miners and TUC, some of who have been disillusioned by the First World War are attacking the government, England and are going to take away everybody’s rights, for example freedom of speech and their civil liberties for example the right to vote. The poster tells us that we have appointed Parliament to look after us and that is what they are doing. Finally the poster tells of how this strike will ruin our lives and will turn England into anarchy and ruin. Throughout the whole of the General Strike the government made the miners and TUC out to be enemies of the people and a group of maniacs who wanted to destroy England, “Starve London” and cause anarchy in the whole of Great Britain. Also the government used papers, posters and the BBC to convince people that they should back them not the miners. People thought that daily papers and the BBC would not be one sided and would give a fair and accurate account of the truth, but they were wrong as the government applied pressure on these types of medium to only give the government’s view of the story. The government have already made preparations for the strike and very good defences, such as the OMS, stockpiles, propaganda and people (mainly students) who could take over some jobs of the workers, such as driving buses. Not once were the miners given any sympathy for their plight or given any truth and were not able to stand up for themselves as they could not get onto the radio or newspapers. Source H gives the impression that the General Strike is a revolution and again is not showing the full side of the story. It makes up feel angry at the miners as they want to disturb the peace and want a revolution, not peaceful negotiations for better safety. The attitude of the government is one off a ruthless attack on the miners, the miner’s attitude is a more passive and they would like to compromise. All of these factors allowed the Prime Minister to control the start of the strike and defeat it faster.
- In source C we can clearly see how miners and their families lived and worked. They were underpaid, overworked and they had to bring their own tools and nearly all miners brought their young children to work. The Sankey commission stated that the mines should be nationalised, but the government did not follow this advice and returned the mines back to private owners, much to the disgust of the miners. With private owners in control of the mines they decreased wages and increased hours as all they wanted were profits and did not care about working conditions. They reinvested little money into the mines. After Black Friday the owners were not scared of the unions as they are divided and have weak leaders in control.
During the nine month subsidiary the unions do little to prepare, but the government buy the time they need and start putting out propaganda. They control the press and the BBC radio, which people think is telling the truth, but actually the government is controlling and is saying what they want it to say. For example when the Archbishop of Canterbury tried to give his opinion of the Strike and tell the public why miners were striking, he was not allowed to speak on the radio. The government find it vital to win over the minds of the general public and have a paper put out to print lies and give an extremely bad and almost evil view of the miners and TUC. It said things like the TUC tried to starve London and that the police were amazing in stopping them. The British Worker (the TUC paper) is less damming on the government; the government are going in for the kill and are the British Worker is less argumentative. The government is printing many posters, either showing them as strong a proud or the miners as angry and evil people, as in source J, the government is showing A.J. Cook one of the miner leader as a smug angry person, who wants to stop parliament. The government keeping saying that the miners want revolution and anarchy and keeping attacking and the TUC attack the government very little.
Karel KUMAR 10s History ESSAY