How far do you agree that political sympathies rather than popular agitation accounted for the passage of Factory Reform 1830-70 Flashcards
Reform beyond the 1833 factory act did not come until when?
It was only when the Tories returned under Peel in 1841 that reform beyond that of the 1833 Factory act came.
What was interesting about the parliamentary support for factory reform?
It was politically diverse and cut through party lines
Give a prominent figure, supportive of factory reform, from the whig party?
Whig John Hobhouse
Give a prominent figure, supportive of factory reform, from the Tory party?
Michael Sadler
Why did the movement for factory reform command so much attention in parliament?
It was such a large and forceful movement
What is the downside of the factory reform being such a large parliamentary force?
it was subject to a level of scrutiny against which it sometimes collapsed
Although unified under the same banner of support for reform, what did each faction of the parliamentary reform movement have?
their own motive for its passage
When did the unity of the parliamentary group falter?
After 1833
What was Peel’s motivation, in part, for further reform?
a general wish to reduce the social distress in society
What could be said about the fact that Peel was motivated by a general wish to reduce the social distress in society?
That the external movements were having a discount impact on parliament
What did Peel support tin 1844?
Factory act that gave women and children aged 13-18 a maximum 12 hour working day
Why were the affluent classes interested in securing factory reform?
They were concerned about the health implications of the poor workforce
Who held the view that morality was inextricably linked to economic growth?
Whig Thomas Babington Macaulay
How did Thomas Babington Macualay think that morality was linked to economic growth?
He thought that if children worked under unhealthy conditions then they would not be able to work as effectively later on in life
Where was Lord Ashley MP for and for what party?
Dorest Tories
When did Lord Ashley try to introduce bills unsuccessfully into parliament and what did they all have in common?
They all had a 10 hour clause in them and they were introduced in 1838 1839 and 1840
What was Lord Ashley’s relationship with the 1833 Factory act?
He chaired a committee looking into its work
Lord Ashley’s committee that looked into the 1833 Factory Act’s implication published what?
A report that endorsed the principle of government intervention in factories and suggested further reform
What was Ashley the parliamentary face of?
10 hour movement
what does the fact that Ashley had to be the face of the 10 hour movement suggest?
that it was a union between external and internal parliamentary pressure that accounted for early factory reform
Why was Ashley’s influence limited to the early stages of factory reform?
He resigned his seat in 1846 to support Peel over his repeal of the 1815 corn laws
Who was the Tory Home secretary in 1843?
James Graham
How did the 1844 factory act come about?
James Graham 1843 unsuccessfully introduced a bill regulating children’s working hours but primarily designed to improve the provision of education for factory children. Though this failed, a modified bill without the education causes became law as the 1844 factory act.
Who piloted the 10 hours factory act through parliament and when was this?
1847 John Fielden
what shows that the parliamentary calls for factory reform were often distantly pragmatic?
John Fielden felt that a 10 hour working day was too long for children, but supported the campaign for a ten hour day as he was aware this was the only thing that Parliament would accept.
What are the four mass movements that need to be discussed?
1) 10 hour movement
2) Swing Riots
3) Luddism
4) Chartism
Where did the Swing riots break out?
Elham valley kent
When did the swing riots break out?
August 1830
What was the trigger cause for the swing riots?
Two successive harvest failures
How many counties did the swing riots spread to?
20
How far north did the swing riots reach, having started in kent?
Yorkshire
How many threshing machines were broken in kent alone?
100
What was the total damage of the riots?
£121 600
Why were threshing machines attacked?
they were undermining agrarian employment because they could do the work in a day of more than 15 men
What were the three demands of the swing riots?
Wage increases, or wages to be maintained at times of economic difficulty
Reductions to rents
End of rural unemployment
Evaluate the three demands of the swing riots?
Though the rioters’ demands did not correspond to the factory reform made in 1833, it did create a mounting and distinctly tangible pressure on government to create reform.
What are the 5 methods of the swing rioters?
Machines breaking Arson Petitions (February-March 1830 200 petitions sent to parliament to demand tax reduction in rural areas) Assaults on land lords Strikes and demands for higher wages
How many trials as a result of the swing riots?
1976
How many transported as a result of the swing riots?
505
How many imprisoned as a result of the swing riots?
644
How many executed as a result of the swing riots?
19
How many acquitted as a result of the swing riots?
800
Analyse the importance of the 800 acquittals
local JPs were put in charge of the judgements, suggesting that the high acquittal rates were symptomatic of an increased acceptance by the upper classes of the need to make concessions to the lower classes.
When did Luddism start?
1811
where did Luddism start?
Lacemaking districts of nottinghamshire
What kind of workers were involved in Luddism?
Skilled workers who worried that technology would make them redundant
How were the Luddites highly limited as a popular movement in regards to factory reform?
They were limited in their effectiveness as a popular movement as they were a working class reaction to a change, not workers proactively trying to change their conditions.
How did the Luddite’s name come about?
Named after Ned Ludd, a weaver who destroyed 2 frames after being whipped in 1779.
How many troops deployed to areas where the Luddites were active?
12 000
Give an example of a mill where the Luddites were active?
Rawford Mill owned by William Cartwright
What does the strength of the government response show?
The fact that the government response was so great suggests that the Luddites were successful in their goal of raising the profile of workers’ rights even if they were not successful in their cause directly.
By February 1812 about how many frames had been destroyed in Nottinghamshire at what cost?
1000 at a cost of £6 000 - £10 000
In 1813 how many men were executed for Luddism?
17
Who was assassinated by the luddites?
Outspoken anti-Luddite mill owner William Horsfall assassinated outside Huddersfield
When was Outspoken anti-Luddite mill owner William Horsfall assassinated outside Huddersfield?
1812
By which date was Luddism effectively over?
1817
What suggests that the Luddites’ influence more limited than political sympathies, or indeed other movements such as the swing riots?
The fact that Luddism was so early and factory reform, by contrast, did not come until 1833
By inspiring other movements, what could Luddism have set?
a protest precedent
What could Luddism have contributed to?
the cumulative effect of popular discontent
Who are the two historians for Luddism?
EP Thomson
Thomis
What is EP Thomson’s view of the Luddites?
Government activity pushed radicalism underground where it continued to pose a threat for many years. The economic distress of 1812 provided the conditions for these revolutionaries to fulfil their aims.
What is Thomis’s view of the Luddites?
Shared trade unionist objectives, but differed in their methods. They were proto-trade Unionist.
Give a judgement for the Luddites and Swing Riots?
The Luddite and Swing protests were certainly eye-catching but they failed to achieve any short-term, meaningful reforms in Britain.
In part, why could it be said that the The Luddite and Swing protests were certainly eye-catching but they failed to achieve any short-term, meaningful reforms in Britain.?
this was due to the threatening nature of their challenge, which did no more than promote an authoritarian response from a government determined to maintain the pace of industrialisation amid challenging political and economic circumstances.
What was the lesson of the swing riots and luddism that the 10 hour movement learnt?
The lesson of the Swing Riots and Luddism was that a directly confrontational approach often stirred up negativity and diminished their chances of getting the reforms that they demanded.
What were the previous working conditions that gave rise to the 10 hour movement?
In busy periods, working days reached 16 hours a day and regularly lay between 12 and 14 hours.
What is special about the 10 hour movement?
Not only is this the most successful of the mass-movements, it is also the only one of the early movements with a high correlation between what it demanded and the actual factory reform.
What is the 10 hour movement’s origins?
Movement’s origin when workers across the Pennines organised themselves into ‘short-time’ committees with the intention of collaborating with unions to effect the changes that they sought through petitioning and mass meetings.
Who was the movement organised by?
George Bull and Richard Oastler (A Tory!)
What two things did Oaslter use for the 10 hours’ movement?
Forceful speeches and letters in Newspapers such as Baines’ Leeds mercury
When writing for the 10 hour movement in Baines’ Leeds Mercury, what comparison did Oastler make?
He compared the factory system to slavery
What two characteristics epitomise the change in methods that the 10 hour movement adopted?
Peaceful and non-violent
How was the 10 hour movement funded?
respectable factory owners
What two arguments did the 10 hour movement use?
Humanitarian and economic
Before losing his seat in the 1832 election, what did Tory MP Michael Sadler do?
organised a select committee to investigate factory practices
After losing his seat in the 1832 election, which figures replaced Michael Sadler as the face of the 10 hour movement in parliament?
Tory MP Lord Ashley then became the parliamentary driving force for the campaign, with John Fielden also supporting it.
What does the fact that the most influential campaign group, the 10 hours movement, had a parliamentary face show?
that only when there was a fusion of the two did reform truly happen
What did chartism do?
Create an increased pressure on government to reduce the sources of working class discontent that were fuelling the movement, rather than dress its own goals themselves
