3.6 Social and Welfare reforms Flashcards
What time period does Social and Welfare reforms cover?
1880-1914
Why did Booth have an interest in the Poor?
He did not agree with the COS that poverty was a fault instead he believed that it was a failure of the Capitalist system.
What was Booth’s investigation into the Poor?
The investigation was intended to last 3 years but it lasted 17. The team that worked on it were mostly University lectured.
The investigation split the population into 6 classes from A to H. Class A were the very dregs of society and the bottom 0.9%. All the way to class H who were upper middle class and made up 17.8% of the population.
What were Booth’s findings? How reliable were they?
Booth received criticism as his work was observational only and he did not take into account income when defining poverty.
Social survey method was rejected by Helen Bosanquet.
What was Rowntree’s view on society?
He believed that healthy contented workers and championed for a minimum wage.
What were Rowntree’s enquiries?
Rowntree conducted three surveys of Poverty in York that provided a wealth of statistical knowledge.
His aim was to find out the number of people living in poverty and the nature of that poverty.
Altogether 11,560 households were visited.
What were some of Rowntree’s findings?
28% of the population of York were in need and squalor.
He also worked out a minimum necessary wage of 21 shillings a day.
10% York were living in “primary poverty” (below the poverty line)
18% of York was in “secondary poverty” (these people were teetering on the brink of poverty).
The birth of children caused poverty for people.
How reliable were Rowntree’s findings?
Helen Bosanquet suggested that Rowntree overestimated the level of poverty.
Rowntree recognised it was only based on observation..
The way he arrived at primary or secondary poverty may have been subjective.
What did Rowntree find overall?
30% of a total urban population were living in poverty.
What was the objective of Fabian Society?
It had the objective of advancing the the principles of socialism in a non-confrontational way.
Who were the most prominent members of the Fabian society?
George Bernard Shaw, H.G Wells, Annie Besant, Ramsay Mcdonald, Emmeline Pankhurst.
What did the Fabian Society do?
The Fabian society held meetings, handed out pamphlets, held meetings and lobbied with politicians about Poor Law reform to international alliances.
Targeted trade unions.
-They rejected violent upheaval as a way to protest
What were two major actions by the Fabian society?
1906- Fabians lobbied for a minimum wages to stop businesses from lowering wages to become more competitive.
1911- Lobbied for a national health service that would enable the British Empire to be strong.
What was the Fabian’s society opinion on the Boer War?
They supported the Boer War as they believed that small nations had no place in a world of Empires.
They also believed that without an empire they were not able to get a national health system.
What was the Boer War?
It was a war between the British and Empire and south African farmers as Britain wanted to expand their empire.
Why was the Boer War seen as controversial for Britain?
They burnt down the homes of many women and kids.
They were then re located concentration camps.
Emily Hobhouse revealed how treacherous the conditions were.
What did the Boer War reveal about the Poor?
What investigation does this link to?
Boer War revealed that the recruits were unfit.
In some industrial areas it was believed that 2/3 did not pass the medical examinations.
The investigation of Booth and Rowntree confirmed this was due to poverty.
What did the Government do when aware of the Boer Medical crisis?
What did they propose?
In 1903 the government set up a commission “interdepartmental committee on physical deterioration.
The committee made 53 recommendations:
To offer free school meals
Medical inspections of children in schools.
Free school meals to the poor.
What did non-government do in response to the Boer War?
People claimed they were involved in the boer for economic and military reasons.
How were the fabians involved in the labour party?
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