Changes in the lives of workers 1832-46

Question 1

How had the whole population had their lives changed by this point?

Answer 1

Industrialisation and urbanisation had changed the lives of one half and enclosure had changed the lives of the other

Question 2

What is the main indicator of a decline in living standards at this time?

Answer 2

Deteriorating conditions for workers and the poor in many urban areas at a time when the urban population was rising

Question 3

Why is it impossible to come to an overall view on living standards at this time?

Answer 3

Because it is subject to regional and occupational variations

Question 4

Why can it be argued that these poor wages were offset?

Answer 4

They had easier access to fresh foods than those in the towns, the health benefits of working in the fresh air and for some the provision of tied housing, although this did have its downsides

Question 5

What was tied housing?

Answer 5

Housing in which occupancy depends on continuing to work for the employer who supplied to house; it was an is common practise for farm workers to have accommodation provided with the job

Question 6

Why were higher wages for industrial workers not that beneficial?

Answer 6

They were not always reliable and were broken up by periods of unemployment

Question 7

What had been broken up and dispersed by the new urban sprawl?

Answer 7

The traditional close knit communities of rural living

Question 8

Why was this so detrimental for the poor?

Answer 8

Because friends and family could no longer act as a safety net. There was negligible public provision for loss of earnings and workers could no longer rely on kinship ties to see them through rough patches

Question 9

How did the 1834 poor law amendment act make matters worse?

Answer 9

It meant they could no longer rely on outdoor relief from the parish and although outdoor relief did carry on in the towns after 1834, the system was chaotic and overstretched, leaving them desperate for handouts from charities to not starve

Question 10

What had agricultural wages fallen to by this time?

Answer 10

The wages of agricultural workers had fallen between 7 and 9 shillings a week

Question 11

What did this mean for agricultural families?

Answer 11

They had to rely on poor relief to make up the shortfall to a basic subsistence level

Question 12

What happened to them after the poor law amendment act was introduced?

Answer 12

They ended up in workhouses

Question 13

What was the consequence of intense cyclical unemployment?

Answer 13

It led to poverty and distress which encouraged crime and social disorder and ultimately affected the way society functioned

Question 14

Why did crime levels rise?

Answer 14

Crime was easier to commit in the large overcrowded cities, where you could pass unnoticed

Question 15

What did the problem of living standards in towns and cities become?

Answer 15

A constant problem for successive governments

Question 16

What was the 1835 Municipal Corporations Act an attempt to do?

Answer 16

Improve administration in towns and the services they offered

Question 17

What was done in an attempt to deal with the spiralling crime rates and disorder?

Answer 17

The Metropolitan Police Force was extended to cities other than London

Question 18

Why was this not a comprehensive solution?

Answer 18

Because the development of an efficient, trustworthy police force came slowly, even though it was an obligation in the 1835 act, this was another reason why crime often went undetected

Question 19

What was the impact of Edwin Chadwich’s 1842 report ‘the sanitary conditions of the labouring population’?

Answer 19

It alerted the government to the urgent need to improve the living conditions of the poor, although Peel’s government rejected the report as too expensive to initiate

Question 20

Why were the 1833 and 1844 Factory Acts a mixed bag for the poor?

Answer 20

They alleviated the worst abuses of labour by outlawing the employment of children under 9 (1833) and curtailing women’s working hours (1844). While this may have slightly improved the conditions in working families’ lives, it also meant a drop in the total wages coming into the household

Question 21

What campaign did this lead many workers to not support?

Answer 21

Lord Shaftesbury’s campaign for a maximum 10 hour working day for all adults

Question 22

What proportion of wages did workers spend on food?

Answer 22

Three quarters, most of which went on bread

Question 23

Why is it difficult to paint an accurate picture of wages?

Answer 23

Wages rates for workers varied enormously depending on occupations, regions and different factories

Question 24

What do economic historians Deane and Cole say about wages at this time?

Answer 24

That they fell slightly overall between 1832-46, although other sources indicate a slight overall rise

Question 25

What happens when we set wages against prices during this time?

Answer 25

The difficulties workers had in maintaining decent living standards become apparent

Question 26

Why were things difficult even though prices virtually stayed the same between 1832-46?

Answer 26

Because price fluctuations occured, reaching a peak in 1839 and 1840. The constant variation in the price of bread caused particular hardship