State Power, 1914-1980

When the state moved into daily life

You have seen power shift from the crown to Parliament, and then towards the people through the vote. The twentieth century added a new question: how much does the STATE itself do? ⭐ Between 1914 and 1980 the answer changed enormously. A government that once did little in daily life became one that ran hospitals, built homes and managed the economy. ⚠️ Two engines drove the change. Total WAR forced the state to control everything, and after it the WELFARE STATE made the government responsible for people from cradle to grave. Weigh both as you go.

A small state, and a big one

The scale of the change is clearest if you set the reach of government before the wars against its reach a few decades later.

Order the growth of the state

Put these stages in the growth of state power into order.

• The First World War forces controls such as rationing and conscription
• Some wartime controls are rolled back once peace returns
• The Second World War brings even more total control of daily life
• A wartime plan sets out a system to look after everyone
• After 1945 a health service and a welfare state are built

Why total war grew the state

Fighting a total war made the state much more powerful in daily life. Why?

• To win, the government had to control the economy, ration goods and conscript people, and doing so showed it COULD run daily life
• War made the government so rich it simply chose to spend more
• War removed the vote, so the state could do as it liked
• The monarch personally took over running the country

Words for the growing state

Five words that let you explain the growth, rather than just list what changed.

Spot the welfare state

Three of these were parts of the welfare state built after 1945. Choose the three.

• A health service free to use for everyone
• Council housing built by the state
• Benefits to support people from cradle to grave
• A return to the government doing almost nothing
• Healthcare only for those who could pay

From war to welfare

The welfare state did not appear from nowhere. It grew straight out of the experience of total war. The wars had shown that the state could organise almost anything, and they raised a powerful expectation that it should use that power for peace as well as for fighting. A wartime plan turned that mood into a programme, and the change of government in 1945 turned the programme into law. Emergency powers built for war became permanent provision for peace.

Match each part of the growing state

Find why the state really grew

A student explains why state power grew so much. Select the ONE sentence that judges it best.

• The state grew both because total war forced it to take control and because ideas and politics, above all after 1945, made that larger role permanent.
• The state grew purely by accident, with nobody deciding anything.
• The state grew only because the monarch demanded more power.
• The state did not really grow at all in this period.

A worked example: the emergency measure that stayed

Imagine a town that, during a flood, sets up an emergency service to help everyone cope. It is meant to be temporary. But people find it so useful that, once the flood is over, they vote to keep it and pay for it for good. What began as a crisis measure becomes a permanent part of how the town is run. Hold that idea. A power created for an emergency can become permanent when people decide it should stay, and the strongest account gives weight to both the emergency and the decision.

Complete the story of the state

The state sharing out scarce goods in wartime was _____. Compelling people into the forces was _____. The system providing care from cradle to grave was the _____. The wartime plan that named the social problems to tackle was the _____. The free health service set up in 1948 was the _____.

Judge what grew the state

Which is the soundest judgement on why state power grew so much between 1914 and 1980?

• Both: total war forced the state to take control, and ideas and politics after 1945 made the larger role permanent
• War alone, with no role for ideas or politics
• Ideas alone, with the wars playing no part
• Pure accident, with nobody choosing it

War, and ideas

The strongest answers weigh both forces, because neither total war nor politics built the modern state on its own.

Judge the growth like an examiner

You are marking three claims about the growth of state power. For each, choose the soundest judgement.

• An essay says war alone built the welfare state. Is that safe?
• An essay says the state had always been this big. Is that safe?
• An essay says the welfare state was just wartime rationing. Is that safe?

Write: why did state power grow

Why did the power of the state grow so much between 1914 and 1980? Weigh the role of war against the role of ideas and politics, and reach a judgement. This is written in English and is not auto-marked.

• Name two ways war grew the state
• Name two parts of the welfare state
• Say how war and ideas worked together
• Reach a supported judgement