Britian Essay 2 Flashcards
Intro Background info (4 points)
- Start 20th cent no benefits/ pension/ poor kids
- Belief of the individual gets out, moral failure
- Samuel smiles 1850
- 1910s lassiez faire change, series of reforms
Intro factors
Rise of the labour party, social surveys of booth and rowntree, new liberalism, municipal socialism
Intro line of argument
Most important reason the liberals introduced the reforms were fears over national security
Title
To what extent were fears over national security the most important reason why the liberals introduced the social welfare reforms of 1906-14?
National security KU 1 (3 points)
- late 1800s the empire was extensive and spread
- Britain often involved in wars in its territories
- Boer war South Africa
National security KU 2 (4 points)
- Volunteer army only fit and healthy
- 25% of men rejected for the Boer war
- Industrial areas bad living and working
- Manchester 8000 out of 11000
National Security Analysis pro
- Not motivated to simply get people out of pov, upcoming conflicts
- Reforms targeted at future soldiers
- Kids Education (Provision of Meals) Act 1906
National security analysis con (3 points)
- Not all helpful to conflicts
- Old Age Pension Act 1908 too old to fight
- Dreadnoughts naval arms race
National security National security evaluation
- Government concerned by the empire’s competition such as Germany
- Winston quote empathises
Booth and Rowntree KU 1 (Booth 5 points)
- Charles Booth was a London businessman
- investigated poverty in London between 1889-1903
- worse than he expected with around 30% of Londoners living in poverty.
- ‘Life and Labour of the People in London’
- the fault of those who lived in it, revolution
Booth and Rowntree KU 2 (Seebohm 5 points)
- Seebohm Rowntree’s survey 1899-1901
- ‘Poverty, A Study of Town Life’
- York 27% of people were living in extreme poverty
- people couldn’t help being poor
- primary and secondary poverty
Booth and Rowntree Analysis (3 points)
- highlighted the scale of the problem
- proved that poverty was not limited to large industrial cities
- shocked middleclass wanted intervention
Booth and Rowntree Analysis+
- confirm that secondary poverty existed, and some poor people wasted money
- reinforced
Booth and Rowntree Booth and Rowntree evaluation 3 points
- changing Britain’s mindset towards poverty quote bomb
- more educated through the statistical evidence provided by the reports
- realised that government action was needed
Booth and Rowntree national security evaluation 3 points
- JM Roberts quote
- threatened by Germany’s growing power
- public health didn’t improve Britain’s dominance in the world would be threatened
rise of labour KU 1 4 points
- The reform acts of the 1800s meant that more men could vote, not just the rich
- late 1800s different political groups rep working class
- ILP, FS and social democratic federation
- Labour Representation Committee, then later became the Labour Party
rise of labour KU 2
- Labour promised policies which improved working class lives
- attracted the left
- such as an 8 hour working day for all workers and better housing.
rise of labour analysis
- increasing its representation in parliament each election, from 2 MPs in 1900 to 29 MPs in 1906
- eared they would lose their seats in parliament therefore feeling pressure to introduce the reforms to gain more popularity
rise of labour analysis + 3
- Labour Party was still relatively new and not hugely influential
- didn’t believe that they would lose support to Labour
- Liberal Party didn’t even mention the reforms in their 1906 manifesto
rise of labour rise of labour evaluation
many of the problems addressed in the Liberal reforms 1906-14 the Labour Party had promised to tackle in the manifesto
rise of labour national security evaluation
booth and rowntree shit
municipal socialism KU 1
- spending of the local authority money to benefit the public, for example funding social reforms and schemes that improved public health and living conditions
- late 19th century and mainly occurred in Liberal-controlled authorities
municipal socialism KU 2 3 points
- wealthy businessmen or influential members of the community
- 1866 City Improvement Act was introduced by Lord Provost of Glasgow, John Blackie
- supply of clean water into Glasgow together with the opening of the Loch Katrine project
municipal socialism analysis
- happening across the country
- inspired the government by showing them how minor changes could vastly improve people’s lives
municipal socialism analysis +
- not all councils participated in these social reforms so municipal socialism’s impact was limited
- initial Education (Provision of Meals) Act 1906 simply gave councils the option, hadn’t been inspired enough to enforce it nationally
municipal socialism municipal socialism evaluation
- Large industrial cities like Birmingham were influential to the government
- mayor of Birmingham, Joseph Chamberlin, was a pioneer of social reform, clearing slums and putting gas and water under public ownership
municipal socialism national security evaluation 3 points
- how long it took the British to win the Boer War, Marr quote
- meant to be won easily but took three years of brutal fighting to win
- better army needed
new liberalism KU 1
believed there were times when it was necessary for government to intervene and were against the traditional lassiez-faire view of the 1900s
new liberalism KU 2 3 pionts
- Henry Campbell-Bannerman died in 1908
- Asquith new lib, DLG and winston
- allowing the pursuit of interventionalist ideas
new lib analysis
1.new generation of politicians genuinely believed they had responsibility over the poor
2. likely to introduce reform as they felt it was their duty to help
new lib analysis +
- not all Liberals supported new Liberalism
- elected in 1906 and who didn’t support action on reform until the rise of the Labour Party forced their hand
new lib new lib evaluation
vocalised and raised awareness to the increasing need for government reform and end of the lassiez-faire mindset
e
- Germany was a growing global power that Britain felt threatened by.
- old age pension in the 1889, didn’t want to be perceived as behind Germany
conclusion
do you know what you are doing
