DORA
What term describes a war that mobilises every level of society, not just the armed forces?
Total War
Define propaganda and give an example.
Propaganda is biased, distorted, or false information used to promote a political cause or point of view.
1916 British recruitment poster urging women to work in munitions factories.
What specific German military tactic from 1917 triggered Britain's food crisis?
Unrestricted U-boat warfare targeting merchant ships bringing food to Britain
Which social class of women experienced paid employment for the first time in their lives because of the war?
Upper- and middle-class women
What Act, passed one week after war was declared, gave the government sweeping control over the population and economy?
The Defence of the Realm Act (DORA) 8 August 1914
According to DORA, what specifically was banned from being spread "by word of mouth or in writing"?
Reports likely to cause disaffection or alarm among the forces or the civilian population
Why did the government initially prefer voluntary rationing over compulsory rationing?
Compulsory rationing risked public resentment, and the government worried Germany would treat it as proof its U-boat campaign was working
Why did most of women's wartime employment gains disappear after the war ended?
Returning servicemen reclaimed their old jobs, and many felt they needed to "protect" their jobs from women
How many times was DORA amended over the course of the war?
The Defence of the Realm Act (DORA) was amended six times because World War I evolved into a "total war" requiring deeper state control over society and the economy.
Explain the difference in how propaganda and censorship control information.
Propaganda actively spreads biased or false information to shape opinion.
Censorship works by blocking access to information altogether.
What happened on the home front in 1917 to make it "the worst year of the war"
Worsening food and fuel shortages, growing queues (which became a "national institution"), hoarding, and food riots, all magnified by rumour and panic
What shifted during the war which eventually led to women gaining the vote in December 1917?
Their contribution to the war effort convinced a largely male Parliament that women had earned a fuller place in society
Name two of the odd everyday things DORA banned.
Flying kites, lighting bonfires, whistling in the street
Why might the government have chosen to report the Battle of the Somme as a "victory" despite it causing Britain's worst single-day casualties in history?
To maintain public morale and support for the war, avoid the "disaffection or alarm" banned under DORA, and prevent the enemy from being encouraged by news of British losses.
Journalists who reported negatively from the front were "threatened with execution."
Who was benefited from compulsory rationing?
Poorer households were guaranteed an equal share of food for everyone regardless of income, whereas under voluntary rationing wealthier households could simply buy more
The Representation of the People Act 1918 gave the vote to men over 21 but only to women over 30. Why the government deliberately set the female threshold so much higher than the male one?
To prevent women from outnumbering men in the electorate. Since huge male war losses meant women already outnumbered men in the population, a lower voting age for women could have made them the majority of voters.