3.6 Social&welfare Reforms 1880-1914 Flashcards
How long did Charles Booth’s investigation last
17 year s
What did booth believe
That most of the poor were in distress through circumstances out of their control
What did Booth conclude
The class system is the reason why people are poor and the attitude that people hold He concluded that around 30% of the population in London were living in poverty
Reliability of Booth’s findings
They were only based of observation - subjective and unreliable
Ungeneralisable - only done in London
Did not take into account income when defining poverty
What did rowntree do
He completed 3 surveys in York
Visited 11560 households and obtained information from 46754 (2/3 of the cities population)
What is Rowntree’s findings
He found 28% of the population were in obvious need and living in squalor
10% were living below the poverty line - primary poverty and 18% were living in secondary poverty
What did rowntree do
He worked out a minimum wage of 21 shillings
He drew the poverty line and found
Began to uncover the poverty cycle
Reliability of rowntree’s investigation
Helen bosanquet from COS claimed he over estimated level of poverty because he set the poverty line to higher
It was subjective at how he came up with primary and secondary poverty
Who are the key members of the Fabian society
George Bernard Shaw, HG Wells, Annie Besant, Ramsay MacDonald, Emmaline Pankhurst
What did the Fabian society do
They have a public meetings publish numerous pamphlets and
lobbied politicians on a wide range of topics
How did they prefer to bring about change
Through local government and trade unions
What did the Fabian society do in 1906
They lobbied for the introduction of a minimum wage in order to stop British companies trying to remain competitive by lowering wages
What did the Fabian society do in 1911
They wanted the creation of a universal health service that would enable the British to be sufficiently physically fit to defend and develop their empire
Why did the Fabian society support the Britain’s in the boer war
They believed that small nations had no place in a world of empires
When and where was the boer war
In 1901 in South Africa
Who was fighting in the boer war
The British and Dutch farmers (boers)
What did the boer war reveal about the poor
Recruits were unfit - 50%
2 out of 3 potential recruits did not pass the army medical examination
Due to poverty
Working people are physically weak
The success of the army depended on fit and healthy soldiers
What did the government do in response to what the boer war revealed
In 1983 they set up the interdepartmental committee on physical deterioration
They had 53 recommendations, medical inspection of children, free school meals, training in mothering skills
The committee overall suggested that phase of national deterioration are largely unfounded – no evidence
What was the ‘national efficiency’ campaign
Started by individuals
Some did it for the military some for economic reasons
The campaign focus peoples attention on the meeting improve conditions for the pool
The royal commission II
Set up in 1905 by the Conservative government
Visited 200 Poor Law Unions, 400 institutions took evidence from 450 witnesses and read and analyse 900 statements of written evidence
Produced two reports majority and minority report
There were 20 members
Strength of the royal commission II
Members had expertise
Visited over 400 unions
Practical solutions of minority report
both reports condemn the existing system of relieving poverty
Criticise the failure of central government to show that local board of guardians behaved in a uniform way when providing relief
Weakness of the royal commission II
Changes tended to be overlooked as the government did not feel compelled to act on I have a set of recommendations
Majority report encouraged negative attitudes of paupers – moral
The liberal government had already started their own program of reform
Second royal commission
Sidney and Beatrice Webb
Part of COS, joined the Fabian society were on the minority report
Set up schemes to help the unemployed find jobs
Set a legally enforceable minimum wage criteria
Helen Bosanquet
Main author of the majority report
Felt that the origin of poverty was moral and that gaurdians allowed too much relief
Her views encouraged negative attitudes of paupers
Founded work training programmes
Denounced the work of the Webb’s
