The nations old ways of life and thought perished in the mud of Flanders. How valid is this view of the effects of the First World War on Britain?

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“The nation’s old ways of life and thought perished in the mud of Flanders”. How valid is this view of the effects of the First World War on Britain?

World War I took place between 1914 and 1918. It was the first example of total war, a military conflict in which nations mobilize all available resources in order to destroy another nation’s ability to engage in war. I intend to answer this question, by analysing various aspects of Britain in which the WWI had an impact on. Britain had a huge impact on the First World War, which saw many aspects of the nations which it makes up, change. My initial hypothesis is that this is a valid interpretation because I strongly believe that Britain changed considerably after the war.

Case Study 1 – Ways of Life

This quote from George Dangerfield, written in 1936, describes the alleged downfall of Britain prior to the war. He is arguing that the Liberal Party of England had been on a downfall before the world war had started, and how it would have worsened, with or without, the war.

It is almost certain, that the reason for the huge landslide in 1906 being an anomaly was because people were voting against years of Conservative ruling, not directly for the Liberals, who had never been in government in their long history. On the other hand, the election of 1910, was more representative and shared a decline to due problems which hadn’t been dealt with by the incumbent government.

The Liberals stood for supporting laissez-faire economic policies, social reform, personal liberty and also ensuring that the Crown and Church of England had less authority over governmental decisions. At the start of the First World War, Herbert Henry Asquith was Prime Minister, but it was David Lloyd George, who was leader of the coalition at the end of the horrific war.

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Paul Thompson wrote about the impact of the Liberal Party on society, in the following quote:

The mentioning of the Liberals giving a “deceptive illusion of strength”, explains how the Liberals were desperately attempting to give the impression

of them being solid and consistent, but Thompson’s account tells us that people were not convinced about the success of their government. The phrase, ‘political standpoint’, refers to the rivalry between the parties. Asquith and Lloyd George did not get on well at all.

The Liberals let down the British people by making a ...

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