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Oxford world's classics (Oxford University Press)

Oxford world's classics

The ragged trousered philanthropists / Robert Tressell ; edited with an introduction and notes by Peter Miles.

The uses of literacy : aspects of working-class life with special references to publications and entertainments / Richard Haggart.

John Harvard library

ACLS Humanities E-Book.

Cannibals all!, or, Slaves without masters / by George Fitzhugh ; edited by C. Vann Woodward.

Ex. doc. / 46th Cong., 1st sess. House

Medical Heritage Library

State of labor in Europe, 1878 : reports from United States Consuls in the several countries of Europe on rates of wages, cost of living to the laborers, past and present rates, present condition of trade, business habits, and systems, amount of paper money in circulation, and its relative value to gold and silver : for the several consular districts, in response to a circular from the Department of State requesting information upon these subjects ; together with a letter from the Secretary of State transmitting these reports to the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

<p>An archive led film by Ken Loach with support from the BFI and Film 4 which looks at the expectation of a better life post-war using the words and testimony from people who had experience of the time. In black and white (regardless of whether the footage was originally in colour), the film is both a social history of Great Britain and a history of socialism. Memories of the 1930s are of poverty and of people having a diet of bread and jam. Doctors and nurses who were on the frontline of the war effort and poverty comment too. Education in politics was provided by the state for the armed forces so it was not surprising that there was a collective movement to change things for the better after VE day. William Beveridge, a Liberal, published a report 'Social Insurance and Allied Services' which looked at the five 'evils' of society (including unemployment and poverty) - this was the beginnings of the National Health Service (NHS). An election was called weeks after VE day with Labour gaining a landslide under Clement Attlee as the prime minister. They began by nationalising many industries (all this is amply illustrated by newsreels of the time). In 1946 a bill was proposed to establish a national health service as the alternative for working people was 'the panel'; a subscription insurance service usually only available to working people. For many, paying for health care was a struggle. Aneurin Bevan, Health Minister, nationalised all the hospitals which was not originally in the Labour party's manifesto. People reminisce about the early days of the NHS and how it revolutionised peoples' lives. In 1947 the government set up the National Transport Commission which was the beginning of the nationalisation of transport. This was followed by the nationalisation of coal. Investment did mean that safety was improved. Electricity, gas and water then all passed into public ownership. The Festival of Britain was considered to be a pinnacle in peoples' optimism. In 1979 Margaret Thatcher became prime minister with a mandate to change the labour market. Thatcher then began privatising the nationalised industries against a backdrop of labour unrest and communities being decimated by unemployment. Back into the near present - the film collects evidence that the National Health Service has been eroded by the marketisation of the services such as subcontracting of some of the services like cleaning and administration. This 'chapter' features many still photographs.  Returning to Attlee's speech, there is colour footage of people celebrating on VE day (some of this is repeated from the beginning and which gives us the title image or the DVD).</p>

The spirit of '45.

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The ragged trousered philanthropists / Robert Tressell ; edited with an introduction and notes by Peter Miles.

The uses of literacy : aspects of working-class life with special references to publications and entertainments / Richard Haggart.

Cannibals all!, or, Slaves without masters / by George Fitzhugh ; edited by C. Vann Woodward.

The spirit of '45.

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The ragged trousered philanthropists / Robert Tressell ; edited with an introduction and notes by Peter Miles.

The uses of literacy : aspects of working-class life with special references to publications and entertainments / Richard Haggart.

Cannibals all!, or, Slaves without masters / by George Fitzhugh ; edited by C. Vann Woodward.

The spirit of '45.

Stay in the know

Wellcome collectionWellcome Collection

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Wellcome collection