Chapter 6: Social Issues 1900-1914

Question 1

Who was John Galt?

Answer 1

A man who collected goods from sweatshops in East London. He witnessed the poverty in play, so his church established the London City mission to bring the gospel to the poor.

Question 2

Who was Charles Booth?

Answer 2

A man who undertook research in London, and found out that 35% of people in London lived in abject poverty.

Question 3

Who was Seebohm Rowntree?

Answer 3

A Quaker who took a survey in York, finding that over half of his sample were in ‘primary poverty’. He was also a friend & advisor to David-Lloyd George from 1907.

Question 4

What were the three options if you were poor before the reforms in the early 1900s?

Answer 4

Private Charity
Application for Outdoor Relief - Relief could be given to the sick or the old, but was not encouraged.
Workhouses - Hard & demeaning work: a last resort

Question 5

What was the Poor Law Commission?

Answer 5

A set of experts that looked at laws surrounding poverty & how to improve them.

Question 6

What were the two reports put out by the Poor Law Commission in 1909?

Answer 6

Majority Report
Minority Report

Question 7

What were the contents of the majority report?

Answer 7

Thought that greater state aid would undermine the work of existing charities & the self-reliance of the poor. Considered state welfare unjust, as costs would fall upon those in work. Views put forward by Helen Bosanquet, and largely based on the distinction between the deserving & undeserving poor.

Question 8

What were the contents of the minority report?

Answer 8

Thought that the state had a duty to look after the people and provide national minimum living standards. Largely the work of the Fabians Sidney & Beatrice Webb.

Question 9

Which was the more influential of the two Poor Law reports in 1909?

Answer 9

The Minority report - went on to influence policy such as National Insurance

Question 10

What was National Efficiency?

Answer 10

The idea that Britain needed to improve education, science, and technology, as well as the health of the workforce in order to counter the commercial and military threat of germany.

Question 11

Why was Eugenics a popular idea in early 1900s Britain?

Answer 11

It would feed into national efficiency - improve the health of the British, reduce immigration

Question 12

How did the Boer War highlight the need for national efficiency?

Answer 12

3/5 of volunteers in Manchester were turned away due to physical weakness

Question 13

How did the greater awareness of poverty bring about change in social policy?

Answer 13

There were far more calls for government to act upon it

Question 14

How did the LRC bring about change in social policy?

Answer 14

There became a potential for parliamentary representation of the poor & working classes

Question 15

How did the desire for national efficiency help to change social policy?

Answer 15

The desire for efficiency meant that changing policy to benefit the entire workforce was in the best interests of the entire country.

Question 16

What was the main difference between classical and new liberalism?

Answer 16

New Liberalism under the Liberal Party stressed that the state had a role to play in ensuring minimum standards of life for all its citizens.

Question 17

Why did New Liberalism emerge?

Answer 17

DLG & Churchill were eager to make names for themselves
There was a fear of socialism and many were eager to present Liberalism as a good alternative
Lloyd-George travelled to Germany to see how they managed state welfare; he saw that Britain needed to change.

Question 18

Why was 1908 a turning point in social change?

Answer 18

HH Asquith became Prime Minister
David-Lloyd George became Chancellor of the Exchequer - most of the reforms were down to him and Churchill

Question 19

What were the problems with education before 1902?

Answer 19

1870 Act provided no state education at secondary level - only primary level.
School leaving age was 12.

Question 20

What was the 1902 Education Act?

Answer 20

2500 School boards abolished, replaced with 140 new LEAs, which took responsibility for all schools.
Old Grammar schools could get grants from the LEAs to take poorer children.

Question 21

What education measures were passed by the Liberals in 1907?

Answer 21

All secondary schools given grants by the LEAs had to reserve 25% of places to children from elementary schools supported by the state.
By 1913, 60,000 free grammar school places due to these grants.

Question 22

What were the measures in the 1918 Education Act?

Answer 22

School leaving age was upped to 14
LEAs were responsible for further part-time training
Employment of children under 12 became illegal.
More medical inspection in schools.
Children between 12 and 14 could not work in mines, factories, workshops, or quarries.

Question 23

In what ways were education reforms unsuccessful?

Answer 23

1902 Act angered non-conformists, as they had to pay for anglican schools.
Quality of education provided wasn’t always very high
Lewis Committee Report 1917 said that in hindsight, the measures weren’t entirely effective.

Question 24

What happened to school meals in 1906?

Answer 24

Provided school meals for over 9m children
Initially paid by local boards, only paid for half the cost by 1914.

Question 25

What were some healthcare reforms for children & mothers in 1907?

Answer 25

Compulsory registration of births
Regular medical inspections in schools - Grants to pay for child healthcare by 1912
More midwife training to reduce infant mortality - 1278 training centres by 1918
Infant mortality fell as a result - 163 per 1000 in 1890s, fell to 95 in every 1000 by 1912.

Question 26

What was the Children’s Act 1908?

Answer 26

Extended measures to deal with child cruelty.

Question 27

What were some issues for the elderly pre-1900?

Answer 27

Old people were often forced into the workhouses when they were too old to work and couldn’t afford food

Question 28

What was the Old Age Pensions Act 1908?

Answer 28

Payments for the retired were introduced at 5s per week for those with less than £31 income.
Those with £21-£31 per year received proportionally less.
Only those aged 70 or above could claim, and married couples could only get 7s 6d between the 2 of them.

Question 29

What were some arguments for old age pension reform?

Answer 29

Pressure from New Liberals such as DLG & Churchill
Successful examples abroad such as Germany
Liberals needed to keep the support of the organised working class

Question 30

What were some arguments against old age pensions?

Answer 30

Open-ended commitment: Estimated at £7m cost, might rise if ‘aged poor’ increased in number
Existing charities hostile to state interference: Could lose out financially
Would reduce individual saving for old age & therefore responsibility

Question 31

What were some successes of the old age pensions act?

Answer 31

970,000 claimed by 1914
Established an important and long-lasting principle to look after elderly citizens
First major change to the role of the state

Question 32

What were some failures of the old age pensions act?

Answer 32

Payments were meagre - 5s a week equated to £12 per year
Only those over 70 could claim - most poorer people wouldn’t live this long
Ex-prisoners or people already in workhouses got nothing

Question 33

What was the National Insurance Act 1911?

Answer 33

Larger scale insurance scheme for healthcare & protection of workers who earned less than £160 a year
Healthcare - Employer paid 3d a week, Employee 4d and state 2d - Totalled 9d a week.
Unemployment benefit - Employee & Employer paid 2.5d, state topped it up with 2d - totalled 7d a week

Question 34

What was the National Insurance Act 1911’s provision for sickness?

Answer 34

Worker was covered for 10s a week medical care for 13 weeks, and a 5s a week for a further 13 weeks if needed.
Maternity benefit of 30s also included.

Question 35

What was the National Insurance Act 1911’s provision for unemployment?

Answer 35

Covered only workers subejct to fluctuation of demand - shipbuilders, engineers, etc.
Unemployment benefit was 7s per week up to a maximum of 15 weeks in any 12 month period
2.25m men covered by this scheme

Question 36

What reasons were there for the introduction of the National Insurance Act 1911?

Answer 36

Growth of socialism & New Liberal ideas
Desire for national efficiency
New views - unemployment wasn’t always the fault of the person
Poor law system considered outdated

Question 37

What were the consquences of the National Insurance Act?

Answer 37

All future social welfare payments came from nat. ins
By 1914, less money taken out than put in.
Maintained idea of contribution - worker had to pay in too

Question 38

What was the 1906 Workers Compensation Act?

Answer 38

It brought an additional 6m workers under the protection of the law for compensation for industrial actions.

Question 39

What were the Coal Mines Acts 1908 & 1911?

Answer 39

Maximised working day of 8 hours
However, still no minimum wage - miners lost income as a result

Question 40

What was the Labour exchange Act 1909?

Answer 40

Employers were to inform labour exchanges of vacancies to help the unemployed more easily find work.
However, still a voluntary system.

Question 41

What was the Trade Boards Act 1909?

Answer 41

Regulatory boards set up for 4 ‘sweated trades’ to protect workers.
However, problems with enforcement & didn’t cover over 250,000 workers at first

Question 42

What was the Shops Act 1911?

Answer 42

Gave shop assistants a statutory half day holiday every week.
However, did not limit the hours of work, so assistants had to make up the time elsewhere in the week.

Question 43

What were some overall successes of the Liberal reforms?

Answer 43

Reflected a growing realisation of the problem of poverty
Highlighted an acceptance in the role of the state to help the worst-off
Arguably lay the foundations of the modern welfare state

Question 44

What were some overall failures of the Liberal reforms?

Answer 44

Didn’t eradicate the Edwardian ‘underclass’
Charities and volunteers remained as important as state aid
Poor Law & workhouses remained until 1929
No attempts to help agricultural labourers - still some of the worst paid