A Short History of the British People [antikvár]

INTRODUCTIONThis book is a revised and enlarged version of a "Lehrbrief" published in 1967 by the Hauptabteilung Fernstudium der Pädagogischen Hochschule, Potsdam. It was written to meet the demands of many teachers and students in the German Democratic Republic for more background material about the development of Britain and, in particular, of the British Labour movement. It is an attempt to explain the historical growth of some important features of British life. The Labour movement above all has a unique character which can only be understood by a study of its history.Each chapter, except the first introductory essay, is divided into sections, dealing with a particular historical epoch under these headings:A: Economic and Social DevelopmentsB: The State (including developments in central and local government, political parties of the ruling class, home and foreign policies)C: The People (including progressive and working-class organisations and ideas)In chapters after the second, the third section (C) is subdivided into these parts:a)Trade Unionsb)Co-operative Movementc)Political MovementsThis arrangement has been made to help the reader who wishes to trace the development of one aspect of British history at a time. The Co-operative Movement has been dealt with in its own separate sub-section because of the importance and size of this movement in Britain. It is recognised as one of the three wings of the Labour movement, but has been generally underestimated by historians. For the suggestions which led to the production of this study, I am indebted to my colleagues in the former Institut für Anglistik (now incorporated in the Sektion Slawistik/Anglistik) at the Pädagogische Hochschule, Potsdam, and to many teachers taking part in the correspondence courses in English. For their very helpful criticisms and suggestions I have to thank many friends and colleagues in Britain and the G. D. R., particularly Dr. L. Jones of the Karl Marx University, Leipzig, Dr. J. Mitchell of the Humboldt University, Berlin, and the publishers, whose thorough and knowledgeable advice has been most useful. To the compositors, struggling with a foreign language, I extend sympathy as well as thanks. Above all, for the firm but gentle push needed to keep me at work on this project, and for active help in many more ways, I am more than grateful to my wife.7