Case Study 8: Jack the Ripper

Question 1

What were the names of the 5 women who were murdered by Jack the Ripper?

Answer 1

1. Mary Ann Nichols
2. Annie Chapman
3. Elizabeth Stride
4. Catherine Eddowes
5. Mary Kelly

Question 2

When were these women murdered?

Answer 2

In Autumn of 1888.

Question 3

What investigative techniques did the police use to capture the murderer?

Answer 3

• Photography and sketches
• Interviews
• Post mortems + coroners’ reports
• Information

Question 4

How did the police use photography and sketches to track down Jack the Ripper?

Answer 4

Photographs were taken at the scene of Mary Kelly’s murder and crime scenes were sketched.

Question 5

How did interviews help the police investigate the Ripper murders?

Answer 5

Police visited houses, pubs and opium dens and interviewed more than 2000 people.

Question 6

How did post mortems and coroners’ reports give the police more background on the murderer?

Answer 6

The mutilated bodies showed that Jack the Ripper had good anatomical knowledge.

Question 7

How did the police appeal for information from the public?

Answer 7

They set up soup kitchens and distributed 80,000 leaflets about the Ripper case.

Question 8

What three problems led to the police’s failure of catching Jack the Ripper?

Answer 8

1. Rivalry between police forces
2. Media
3. Vigilance Committee

Question 9

How were problems in the Ripper case caused by the rivalry between police forces?

Answer 9

At first, the Met and the City of London didn’t cooperate. On the night of one of the murders, anti- Semitic graffiti was found by City of London officers. Warren made a copy of the graffiti and washed it off the wall to prevent a riot against Jews. However, some believe he did this so they could capture the killer first.

Question 10

What problems did the media cause for the Jack the Ripper case?

Answer 10

Attracted thousands of hoax letters such as the ‘Leather Apron’ which wasted the police’s time. Newspapers also criticised the police and stirred up racial hatred towards migrants.

Question 11

How did the Vigilance Committee hinder the police’s attempts in capturing the killer?

Answer 11

They disrupted police investigations by sending false leads and encouraging criticism of the police in local papers.

Question 12

What did the Vigilance Committee do?

Answer 12

• Offered a small reward for information leading them to the killer
• Patrolled streets every night with torches

Question 13

Why was the Vigilance Committee set up?

Answer 13

Due to the police’s lack of progress in catching the Ripper.

Question 14

What is a local source in the context of Whitechapel?

Answer 14

Local sources cover the history of Whitechapel in the late 19th century.

Question 15

Name some local sources used in Whitechapel.

Answer 15

• Housing and employment records
• Council records
• Census returns
• Charles Booth’s surveys
• Workhouse records
• Local police records
• Coroners’ reports
• Photographs

Question 16

What is a strength of using housing and employment records as a source?

Answer 16

• Details where individuals stayed and worked

Question 17

What are two weaknesses of using housing and employment records as a source?

Answer 17

1. Homeless people in Whitechapel would not be able to be traced
2. Relies on individuals using the correct name

Question 18

What is one strength and one weakness of using council records as a source?

Answer 18

• Provides information about the details of events in Whitechapel
• Doesn’t document the experiences of individuals

Question 19

What are two strengths of using census returns as a source?

Answer 19

1. Historians can find out how many people lived in the area (overcrowding)
2. Shows who was living where at the time the census was taken

Question 20

What are two weaknesses of using census returns as a source?

Answer 20

1. Individuals moved around a lot, making it difficult to trace their whereabouts
2. Can be mistakes in the census

Question 21

What was Charles Booth’s work centred around?

Answer 21

In 1889, he employed 80 researchers to record poverty and living conditions across London.

Question 22

What are two strengths of using Charles Booth’s surveys as a source?

Answer 22

1. The maps show where the poor lived and where Jewish migrants settled in ghettos
2. Dedicated to his job

Question 23

What are two weaknesses of using Charles Booth’s surveys as a source?

Answer 23

1. Doesn’t give reasons for poverty
2. Doesn’t provide any detail about living conditions

Question 24

What is one strength of using workhouse records as a source?

Answer 24

• Tell us the type of people who sought help at the workhouse

Question 25

What are two weaknesses of using workhouse records as a source?

Answer 25

1. Do not tell us what happened to people after they left the workhouse
2. Doesn’t record the individual experiences as inmates

Question 26

What are two strengths of using local police records as a source?

Answer 26

1. Shows what duties were expected of police officers
2. Provide information about victims and the crimes committed in Whitechapel

Question 27

What are two weaknesses of using local police records as a source?

Answer 27

1. Witnesses might not have told the full story (if they were drunk)
2. Might not include details leading up to an arrest

Question 28

What is a coroners’ report?

Answer 28

Information recorded by a coroner for investigations into a suspicious death.

Question 29

What is one strength and one weakness of using coroners’ reports as a source?

Answer 29

• Documents the condition of the body when found
• Doesn’t provide information about events causing the death

Question 30

What is one strength and one weakness of using photography as a source?

Answer 30

• Provides an accurate, visual image of history
• Doesn’t provide context to situation

Question 31

What is a national source?

Answer 31

A source that covers the whole history of Britain.

Question 32

What is a strength of using national newspapers as a source?

Answer 32

• Provides information about notorious crimes in London

Question 33

What are two weaknesses of using national newspapers as a source?

Answer 33

• Reported news in a sensationalist (exaggerated) style
• Only extreme crimes made the national news

Question 34

What is one strength and one weakness of using records of crimes and police investigations as a source?

Answer 34

• Contain information about criminal offences across the country
• Petty crime was unlikely to be recorded

Question 35

What is the Old Bailey?

Answer 35

Was London’s most important criminal court.

Question 36

What are two strengths of using Old Bailey records as a source?

Answer 36

1. Official documents that provide detail infromation about crimes
2. Were created by someone who was impartial

Question 37

What are two weaknesses of using Old Bailey records as a source?

Answer 37

1. Defendants may not have had good representation by lawyers
2. Records can lack context of crime

Question 38

What was the Punch Magazine?

Answer 38

It was a weekly humorous magazine in the 19th century.

Question 39

What is one strength and one weakness of using Punch cartoons as a source?

Answer 39

• Shows events in a simplfied way
• Might show the views of the artist, so it lacks typicality