Britain 1851 - 1951: The Making of Modern Britain

Question 1

Causes of poverty

Answer 1

• Disability
• Illness
• Unemployment
• Death of the breadwinner
• Old age - too old to work
• Young - too young to work

Question 2

Attitudes to poverty

Answer 2

• Samuel Smiles - self help
• Laissez Faire
• Own fault for poverty - due to factors such as drunkenness and idleness
• Morally inferior

Question 3

New Liberalism

Answer 3

Put forward the idea that the government should intervene to help the poor. Provided inspiration for social reform.

Question 4

Old Liberalism

Answer 4

When the government allowed people to deal with issues by themselves and take account for their own actions.

Question 5

Who were the New Liberals?

Answer 5

• David Lloyd George
• Winston Churchill
• Herbert Asquith

Question 6

What did Liberals always argue

Answer 6

That Liberalism stood for individual freedom with the least possible involvement of the gov in the lives of ordinary people

Question 7

Statistics showing the levels of poverty in Britain

Answer 7

• 35% of London’s population at the time lived in extreme poverty
• Almost 30% of York population lived in extreme poverty

Question 8

What was the Poverty Line?

Answer 8

The Poverty Line was created by Rowntree which was the least amount of money that a family could survive on - 21 shillings and 8 dimes

Question 9

Why did Booth decide to investigate the poor?

Answer 9

• He doubted the socialists’ claims that a quarter of the population lived in extreme poverty

Question 10

What acts did Rowntree and David Lloyd George introduce?

Answer 10

The Old Age Pension Act of 1908 and the National Insurance Act of 1911

Question 11

What were the impact of the reports done by Booth and Rowntree?

Answer 11

They provided politicians with evidence to suggest that no matter how hard people tried, they could not lift themselves out of poverty

Question 12

Was the impact limited?

Answer 12

• Extension of the franchise meant that the parties had to tailor their policies to new voters
• Scared of agitation from the working classes
• Charles Booth’s stats were criticised because he and the people working for him decided on how they thought looked like was in poverty rather than use income stats - led to varying poverty line throughout his work

Question 13

What is the meaning of National Efficiancy?

Answer 13

How well a country operates

Question 14

Problems that the Boer War highlighted

Answer 14

• Britain had been defeated at first by an army of farmers
• This caused concern because
  tensions with Germany were increasing
• Highlighted all the health problems in Britain at the time

Question 15

Percentage of volunteers for Boer War turned away due to ill health?

Answer 15

25%
This figure even higher among volunteers from the industrial cities