World War One had an impact on people’s everyday lives. Conscription was introduced and the role of women changed. Scotland suffered a high number of casualties.
The Defence of the Realm Act (DORA) became law on 8 August 1914. The Act authorised the government to do almost anything it thought was necessary to help the war effort and protect the country.
No one was allowed to:
At first, the public accepted the need for increased security and control over areas seen as vital to the war effort. However, as the war went on people objected to the way that DORA undermined their basic freedoms. Most people thought many of the rules were trivial and inconvenient.