ADV INFO Social Change 1886-1914 Flashcards
1
Q
what was trade union membership in 1888
A
they had about 750,000 members
2
Q
how much of the population was represented by a trade union
A
about 10% of all adult male workers in the economy
3
Q
what did traditional unions and new model unions focus on
A
defending the interests of their members (often defending them against the encroachment into their trade from unskilled workers)
4
Q
how were the new unions different
A
they were more political and influenced by socialist ideas. New unionism emerged in part because of improving trade conditions and was more prominent in industries that were starting to grow rapidly
5
Q
what was the unions’ growth also due to
A
terrible social conditions in which the new union members lived.
6
Q
what had the social conditions led to
A
they had started to diminish people’s belief in a system based on laissez-faire economics being able to produce a society for all
7
Q
what had the poor social condition politically changed
A
they had led to an increase in socialism and the call for greater government intervention
8
Q
what did the new unions want
A
fundamental changes to wealth and income distribution in favour of the low-paid workers
9
Q
when was the matchgirls’ strike
A
1888
10
Q
who was the leader of the matchgirls’ strike
A
Annie Besant
11
Q
who was Annie Besant
A
a member of the socialist party (SDF) and the fabian society
12
Q
why were new unions known as general unions
A
they admitted anyone within the industry, regardless of their job, and charged very low subscriptions
13
Q
what happened in the summer of 1888 for trade unions
A
a strike at Bryant and May match factory, women earning on average five shillings (25p) for a 70-hour week.
14
Q
what was the result of the Bryant and May match factory strike
A
it was successful and a matchgirls’ union was formed the following year with 800 members
15
Q
what happened in March 1889
A
gas workers’ and general labourers’ union was created and had 20,000 members by the end of the year
16
Q
what happened on the 14th of August 1889
A
the Great London dock trike
17
Q
how long did the Great London dock strike last
A
five weeks
18
Q
what were the statistics of the Great London dock strike
A
100,000 workers were on strike
19
Q
what did the strikers of the dock strike demand
A
6d. per hour
20
Q
who did the dockers gain the support of
A
within Britain and abroad (£30,000 raised by dockers in Australia)
21
Q
what was the result of the docker’s strike
A
in the same year, a seamen’s union and General Railwayworkers’ Union were also formed
22
Q
what happened in the 1890s for the unions
A
employers fought back
23
Q
what was created in the 1890s
A
the shipping federation was created to break the hold of the Dockers Union
24
Q
what happened in 1893
A
the national free labour association provided blackleg labour to the federation and other employers
25
what happened to the membership of the dockers' union
it fell from 56,000 in 1890 to 23,000 by 1892
26
what did the late 1880s and early 1890s see
a burst of activity from the new unions and rapid growth in the years 1888-91
27
how could it be seen that the new unions had a significant impact
the matchgirls and London dockers succeded in improving their pay and conditions
28
what did the mass increase in new union membership show
growing political consciousness among the working classes and a greater sense of working-class solidarity
29
what weakened the position of the workers and led to a retreat of the trade unions
the continuing depression of the 1890s
30
what did the continuing economic hardships do
meant that employers were blae to find workers willing to break strikes
31
what happened to the unions in the 1880s
their membership and popularity started to fall
32
what judgement happened in 1901
THE TAFF VALE JUDGEMENT
33
What caused the taff vale judgement
the amalgamated society of railway servants (ASRS) had asked for a wage increase for its members, as the Taff Vale Railway Company was making higher profits from the increased demand created by the Boer War
34
what did the Taff Vale company do
they refused to accept the unions' right to negotiate and brought in 'blackleg' labour from the national free labour association
35
what was the National Free Labour Association
set up in 1893 to offer non-union workers to employers to break strikes
36
what was the result of the Taff Vale companies' refusal
an injunction was put in place to stop the union picketing and they also sued the union for damages to compensate for lost revenue during the strike
37
what happened to the disagreement between the Taff Vale Companies
the case went to the House of Lords and the union suffered a complete defeat and was ordered to pay £23,000 in compensation and costs
38
what was the result of the taff vale judgement
it sent shockwaves across the union movement, as it brought into focus the risk of being bankrupted through strike action and seemed to remove the movement's most important weapons of collective bargaining, striking and picketing
39
what bill passed in 1906
the trade disputes act
40
who brought in the trade disputes act
the liberal government (based on a labour party bill)
41
what did the trade disputes act do
it overruled the Taff Vale decision, strengthening the union movement and leading to an increasing number supporting the Labour party, which now had a growing number of MPs
42
who was Walter Osborne
a member of ASRS
43
what did Walter Osborne do
objected to paying the political levy that went to the Labour Party.
44
what happened to the Osborne case
it went to the House of Lords
45
what did the House of Lords rule on the Osborne Case
they ruled in Osborne's favour.
46
what happened as a result of the Osborne Judgement
this hit the Labour Party hard, but elicited a great deal of sympathy for the Labour party among the trade unionists
47
what overturned the Osborne Judgement
it was overturned by the Trade Union Act in 1913 and the majority of trade unionists voted in support of the political levy
48
what did the trade union movement remain divided between
moderates (lib-labbers) and radicals (socialists)
49
what did the period of 1908 to 1914 see
a wave of strikes and industrial unrest, with numerous large-scale strikes and associated outbreaks of violence between 1910 and 1914
50
what is an example of the strike violence
the killing of a miner in Tonypandy in 1910 and troops shooting dead two strikers who attacked a train in Llanelli in 1911
51
when were there a number of national strikes and what strikes were there
the first-ever national railway strike in 1911 and the first-ever national transport strike in 1912.
52
what happened in 1914
three of the biggest unions formed an agreement to take sympathetic action if ever one of them went on strike
53
what idea was gaining ground in 1910-14
syndicalism
54
what is syndicalism
a form of revolutionary socialism that aims to overthrow the capitalist system and replace it with a socialist system based on the trade union movement,
55
what happened to the total trade union membership
1908 - 2.48 million
| 1914 - 4.14 million
56
what happened to the number of stoppages (hundreds
1908 - 3.89
| 1913 - 14.59
57
what happened to the number of working days lost
1908 - 10.79 million
1912 - 40.89 million
1914 - 9.88 million
58
who wrote revolutionary unionism
E.J.B Allen
59
who was E.J.B Allen
a former member of the SDF
60
when did Allen write revolutionary unionism
1909
61
what did Revolutionary Unionism do
influenced the trade unionist Tom Mann (one of the leaders of the London Dock Strike of 1889, after which he had gone to Australia. He returned to England in 1910)
62
what did Tom Mann do
he became the champion of British syndicalists and aimed to work within existing union structures to unite the workers and bring about a general strike.
63
what did Tom Mann and Guy Bowman launch
a newspaper called the industrial syndicalist, as well as the industrial syndicalist education league
64
what events highlight the impact and influence of Syndicalism
- the aggressive tactics of the ASRS and South Wales Miners' Federation in 1911 and 1912
- the triple alliance
65
what was the triple alliance
the miners' federation, the national union of railwaymen and the national transport workers' federation,
66
what was the consequence of the 'open letter to British soldiers'
they were sentenced to up to nine months in prison for the incitement to mutiny; following support from the trade union movement they were released early
67
how could it be argued about the true impact of syndicalism
it was only really involved in a minority of the key strikes of this period. It is also dismissed because the majority of union leaders were moderate and only in the strikes in South Wales and Liverpool was there strong evidence of syndicalist involvement.
68
which two groups were pushing for female emancipation
```
the suffragist movement (the national society for women's suffrage)
the suffragettes (Women's social and political union, WSPU)
```
69
what were the suffragettes like
they were formed in 1903 and took a militant approach
70
what were the suffragists like
they dated back to the 1860s and pushed for reform, working within the law and society's conventions
71
who was the common enemy of both female suffrage groups
the anti-suffrage league
72
what proved to be a failure for emancipation
the 1884 reform bill.
73
why did the 1884 reform bill fail
it became clear that the PM, Gladstone, did not support the amendment; in 1892 he overtly stated that he did to and would not support the female franchise on ideological grounds
74
what did the suffragists fail to do
convert the Liberals at the time of the Reform Bill and in the following years the tactic of getting MPs to pass ap private member's bill also failed
75
what was the view of some Liberal MPs
they did support female suffrage and the majority of Liberals had voted for female suffrage on various occasions between 1867 and 1886
76
what did the Liberals grant to women
they gave single women the vote in local government elections and allowed women to join schools boards - key steps for women into the public domain and toward the franchise
77
when did the Conservatives seem to warm to the idea of female enfranchisement
after the Reform Act of 1884 (this was possibly motivated by the fact that they hoped middle-class women would vote for them)
78
what did the highly important Conservative organisation, the Primrose League, do
they catered for women who were attracted by the opportunity to brush shoulders with the upper classes
79
what was the view of the primrose league
they did not support female suffrage but did not prevent its members from doing so
80
what did the Liberal suffragists do
split over home rule
81
What did the suffragist movement split over in the 1880s
over whether to stick to a non-party approach.
82
when was the NSWS (suffragists) restructured
in 1888
83
what did the NSWS do
it allowed groups affiliated with political parties to join
84
who feared that the non-political organisations would be swamped by the much more numerous political organisation
Millicent Fawcett and Lydia Becker
85
why were almost all the political groups joining the NSWS being Liberal
because the groups linked to the Conservative Primrose League weren't allowed to affiliate with other organisations
86
What did Fawcett and Becker create
a breakaway group that did not follow the new rules.
87
when was the WSPU (suffragettes set up )
in October 1903
88
who set up the WSPU
Emmeline Pankhurst
89
what caused the creation of the WSPU
a socialist meeting hall was built in Pankhurt's husband's memory, and when the ILP branch that used the hall refused to allow women, Emmeline decided that something different was needed
90
Why did the WSPU stand out from other groups
it was willing to use confrontation and violence
91
what was Black Friday
in 1910, Ada Wright was assaulted by the police
92
why did women feel empowered
by the precedent of militant action leading to the extension of the franchise in 1832 and 1867
93
what tactics did the suffragettes use
window breaking and arson (including Lloyd George's country house)
94
what did the suffragette's tactic seem to prove
more shock value than a way of attracting support
95
what created sympathy for the suffragettes
the hunger strikes and the forced feeding, which created such outrage that it was dropped as a policy by the government, providing a propaganda coup
96
what happened in June 1913
when Emily Davison attempted to pin a suffragette rosette on the King's horse and grabbed its reins. The horse fell and Davison received fatal head injuries. The cause now had a martyr and her funeral was attended by huge crowds
97
when was the cat and mouse act
1913
98
what did the cat and mouse act do
the release of prisoners who were too ill from hunger striking just to re-arrest them.
99
what was the first phase of the WSPU's action
May 1906 - June 1908 - confronting parliament and ministers, campaigning at by-elections
100
what was the second phase of the WSPU's action
June 1908 - Jan 1910 - window breaking, technical offences, hunger strikes
101
what was the third phase of the WSPU's action
Nov 1911 - Aug 1914 - Window breaking on a larger scale, mass hunger strikes, arson attacks, attacks on property
102
what did the anti-suffrage league have
both men's and women's sections - by April 1912 it had over 10,000 members and 235 branches
103
what did the anti-suffrage league do
it lobbied MPs, used constitutional methods and remained clear of party affiliation. It received support from the times and other national and regional papers.
104
what did the anti-suffrage league argue
- that many women did not really want the vote
- 'biological' arguments about women being less rational and more emotional and so unfit to vote, as well as being weaker and therefore incapable of fighting to defend the country like men
- that women should remain in the domestic sphere and men in the public sphere
105
which was the only party in 1914 to support female suffrage
the Labour party
106
what did the militant tactics of the WSPU do
it created anger among some
107
what did the action of the authorities do
actions like the 'cat and mouse act' evoked sympathy for the movement
108
what continued in the period 1886-1914
rapid urbanisation
109
what was the ratio of urban to the rural population
3:1 (it had been 1:1 in the 1850s)
110
what continued to fall despite the end of the depression
employment opportunities in agriculture
111
where was work increasingly available
urban wages were higher than rural ones
112
what did towns and cities offer
higher wages than rural areas
113
what was passed in 1875
the public health act
114
what was the public health act an example of
attitudes towards public health had taken a leap forward
115
what happened to the population of the UK
1881 - 34,940,000
| 1921 - 47,170,000
116
what happened to the population of manchester during the period
1881 - 502,000
| 1921 - 730,000
117
what had towns become more efficient at doing by 1900
suppling water services and municipal gas
118
what were there chronic shortages in
accommodation, in particular near the factories
119
what had a lack of planning and transport led to
the working classes living in the smoke around the factories in overcrowded conditions
120
when were the housing of the working classes acts
1890 and 1900
121
what did the housing of the working classes act do
compelled local authorities to demolish unhealthy housing (owners of slum housing could be compelled to sell it to the council) and provide other accommodation for those made homeless
122
what did the 1890 housing of the working classes act do
it made loans to build new houses easier to obtain, but both acts failed to deal with strategic planning of the expanding towns
123
what was published in 1898
To-morrow: a peaceful path to real reform
124
who wrote To-morrow in 1898
Ebenezer Howard
125
what did Ebenezer Howard say in 1898
he campaigned for overall town planning and his book offered a vision of towns with no slums and fresh air, but still all the opportunities of other towns
126
what was founded in 1903 following the ideas of Ebenezer Howard
Letchworth Garden City
127
what was Howard's main idea
the three magnets diagram kept industry and residential areas separate.
128
what was passed in 1909
the housing and town planning act
129
who passed the housing and town planning act
the liberal government
130
what did the housing and town planning act 1909 do
it allowed local authorities to carry out town planning schemes to avoid the piecemeal building,
131
what was the issue with the housing and town planning act
it was not compulsory so only one major scheme started before 1914
132
where was there clear growth in the industry
the service industry
133
which businesses became a staple of British retail
Lipton, Boots and Sainsbury's
134
who did Lipton and Sainsbury tailor their products to
the middle classes
135
what happened to food prices
they dropped in the last part of the 19th century meaning that the working class gained access to this greater range of quality food products
136
what new shops emerged during the period
penny bazaars
137
what were penny bazaars
shops that had a penny price limit on their goods
138
what is a famous penny bazaar
marks and spencer
139
what is an example of the new focus on consumers
Lever Brothers appealed to customers through advertising campaigns
140
what was a vital cornerstone to the British economy
financial services
141
what dominated banking
the city of London
142
what did the London stock exchange provide
the opportunity for businessmen to float their companies and raise income through selling shares
143
what flourished during the period
Blackpool and other seaside resorts as people went on days out (the introduction of bank holidays in 1871 was significant here) and took short breaks.
144
how many people visited Blackpool in 1913
4 million
145
when were bank holidays introduced
1871
146
what did the working-class love during the period
watching football
147
what was founded in 1888
the football league
148
how many people attended the FA cup final in 1901
100,000 people
149
what other leisure activities were there for the working masses
watching and betting on horse and dog racing
150
what are the examples of inequality and poverty in this period
the rise of the labour party and growth of trade unions, the new political ideology of new liberalism and the debate over national efficiency
151
what are the examples of improving living standards
Falling prices led to improvements in real wages and standards of living. The growth of retail and leisure industries, in particular those aimed at the working classes, would also suggest that standards of living were increasing. Reforms in public health and social reforms will have also helped the standards of living for many.
152
what were the two key surveys during the period on the amount of poverty
Charles Booth in London and Seebohm Rowntree in York
153
what was Charles booth's survey called
Life and Labour in London
154
when was life and labour in London released
1889
155
what did Booth find
- 30% of London's population lived below the poverty line.
- 8.5% lived in primary poverty, unable to afford basics of food, clothes and housing
- 22% lived in secondary poverty, makings ends meet but at a minimal level
156
when was Rowntree's survey of york
1899
157
what did the survey of York find?
- 28% of the population were living in poverty
| - poverty was caused by low wages, lack of regular work, ill health, old ages and large families
158
what did the two reports do
significantly undermined traditional attitudes towards poverty, as they demonstrated that 'thrift' and other victorian remedies for poverty were not possible for almost a third of Britain's population
159
what happened to prices during the period
starting with an index of 100 in 1880-84
76 in 1895-99
102 in 1910-13
160
what was agriculture during this period
the hardest hit and lowest paying of all industries
161
what happened to agriculture
even it saw a growth in incomes year on year, which suggests that standards of living were increasing
162
what is the overall assessment of wealth in Britain?
it was more prosperous than ever, but wealth was very unevenly spread
163
what per cent of Britain remained poor
30%
