Britain Booklet 4 - Unionism and cooperation 1785-1870

Question 1

What year did the london printers petition for an increase in wages and how many signatures did they get?

Answer 1

-1793
-539 signatures

Question 2

What years were there major strikes by cotton spinners in Lancashire?

Answer 2

1810 and again in 1818

Question 3

In what year was a general trades union established?

Answer 3

1834

Question 4

What does the ASE stand for?

Answer 4

the Amalgamated Society of Engineers

Question 5

When was the ASE founded?

Answer 5

1851

Question 6

Who led the ASE?

Answer 6

William Allan

Question 7

What was the membership of the ASE?

Answer 7

12,000

Question 8

The ASE had branches all over the country from where to where?

Answer 8

From Lancashire to Scotland

Question 9

What approach did the ASE adopt?

Answer 9

a rigid administrative system to ensure maintained organization

Question 10

What did the ASCJ stand for?

Answer 10

The Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners

Question 11

When was the ASCJ founded?

Answer 11

1860

Question 12

What did the membership of the ASCJ increase by and in the space of how many years?

Answer 12

from 1,000 to 10,000 in the space of 8 years

Question 13

When was the TUC founded?

Answer 13

at a meeting in June 1868

Question 14

At the meeting that founded the TUC how many delegates attended and how many members of unions did they represent?

Answer 14

34 delegates representing more than 118,000 members of unions

Question 15

What was the working week like before the 1833 Factory Act?

Answer 15

It was 6 days long with 14 hour working days being common

Question 16

What was the scale of the early trade unions?

Answer 16

small, local, focused on the protection of skilled workers

Question 17

What method did early trade unions sometimes practice? And what did this method entail?

Answer 17

the ‘closed shop’ method which meant jobs were only given to members of a union

Question 18

What were two reasons the Grand National failed?

Answer 18

-lack of funding and finances
-employers increasingly used ‘the Document’ which was a piece of paper workers were expected to sign which renounced their commitment to any union

Question 19

What years was New Lanark in operation?

Answer 19

1799-1828

Question 20

Who was New Lanark operated by?

Answer 20

Robert Owen

Question 21

In New Lanark what was the working day reduced to?

Answer 21

12 hours

Question 22

What was child employment like in New Lanark?

Answer 22

not employing anyone under the age of 10

Question 23

Who visited the mill at New Lanark? What year?

Answer 23

the future Tsar of Russia, Grand Duke Nicholas in 1816

Question 24

What did the co-operatives offer as trying to reinvest in the community?

Answer 24

education

Question 25

When was the Rochdale Pioneers?

Answer 25

1844

Question 26

How many people were the Rochdale Pioneers?

Answer 26

28 men

Question 27

What rules did the Rochdale Pioneers apply to their business to try and ensure longevity and a firm business structure?

Answer 27

charging market prices, not giving credit, electing management, a percentage of profit being allocated to education

Question 28

By 1832 how many co-op shops were there?

Answer 28

500

Question 29

What did the Friendly Societies Act in 1793 mean all Friendly Societies had to do?

Answer 29

meant all Friendly Societies had to register with a local Justice of the Peace (JP) and send reports of their activities every three months

Question 30

What years were the Combination Acts and what did they do?

Answer 30

1799/1800
made trade unions effectively illegal

Question 31

What year was the Grand National consolidated?

Answer 31

1834

Question 32

What year was the Tolpuddle Martyrs?

Answer 32

1834