How Was British Society Changed, 1890-1918 Flashcards
0
Q
Who was Seebohm Rowntree and what did he do?
A
- social reformer
- rich son of factory owner with significant influence and respect
- found the poor were not to blame for their own situation
- made distinction between primary poverty (just enough money to survive) and secondary poverty (enough money to survive, but it is wasted)
- conducted studies in York, which appeared to agree with Charles Booth
- “A study of town life” (1901)
1
Q
Who was Charles Booth and what did he do?
A
- social reformer
- invented the poverty line
- between 1989 to 1903 he studied the life of the poor
- people took note of his findings since he was a respectful business man
- he found 30% of London lived in poverty
- found that the poor were not to blame for their own situation (poor wages, trade depression, old age, illness)
- “Life and Labour of People in London” (1903)
2
Q
Who was John Galt and what did he do?
A
- social reformer
- utilised photos to demonstrate the appalling situation of the poor and make them appear human
- poor people were not inferior
- “Poverty”, his picture book
3
Q
What were the key issues in the 1906 election, and why did the Liberals win?
A
- economic argument (Tories) vs. moral argument (Liberals)
- moral argument was incredibly powerful
- Liberals wanted to reduce the cost of living by decreasing import taxes
- Liberals wanted to free the Chinese labourers in SA, people agreed with this as Britain was a pioneer for freedom
4
Q
Winston Churchill and Lloyd George?
A
- Lloyd George grew up in poverty so sympathised with the poor
- he rose to Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1905 so had greater political influence
- Churchill was a leading Tory who switched to the Liberals because he agreed with their reforms
5
Q
What was the People’s Budget?
A
- Liberal reform proposed in 1909
- Rejected by House of Lords
- Budget was passed in 1910 after two elections
- 1906, The Children’s Act was passed which entitled children to free school meals
- 1907 local schools had to offer medical attention
- 1908, illegal to insure a child’s life
- special court for child crime
6
Q
Pensions reform in 1908?
A
- introduced by Lloyd George
- 5 shillings per week for over 70’s
- £650,000 collected in the first year
- had to have lived in Britain for over 20 years
7
Q
National Insurance Act of 1911?
A
- taxes introduced
- free medical care
- workers with less than £160 per annum had to put in 4d per week
- received 10 shillings a week for 26 weeks if they were sick
- workers, employers and the government would all pay a weekly fixed amount which would fund the benefit scheme
- for 15 weeks people would receive 7 shillings each week
8
Q
What are the argument in favour of women getting the vote?
A
- parliaments decisions affect men and women so both should be able to vote
- single women have the same responsibility of men and so should be able to vote
- women are more spiritual: Christian leadership will emerge if they get the vote
- increasing opportunities in education and work… Vote should follow
- women have different skills and expertise eg they could help parliament with issues on the home and education (where they are more knowledgable
- uneducated working men can vote while educated women cannot
- women already vote in local elections and have shown they have the ability to vote responsibly
- women pay taxes too, and should have influence on how that money is spent
9
Q
What are the arguments against women getting the vote?
A
- women have different responsibilities and it would only detract from theirs by giving them the vote
- only for property-owning women, who would not vote to help the working class
- women are too emotional and not rationale bought to be trusted with the vote
- women are pure and should be protected from the grubby world of politics
- women do not fight for their country in wars, so should not have a say in whether their country goes to war
- other more pressing issues such as poverty that will be ignored if he women’s vote is prioritised
- if you give the vote to women you must give it to all men, including those who should not (eg drunks)
- giving respectable women the vote will encourage them to further their careers and neglect their families. Thus, no respectable women will have children
10
Q
Who were the suffragettes?
A
- formed by suffragists who were frustrated by the lack of progress
- formed in 1903 by Mrs Emmeline Pankhurst (WSPU)
- believed the movement had to become more radical and militant
- disrupted political meetings and harassed ministers
- Daily Mail called the new radicals “suffragettes”
11
Q
What was the WSPU and when was it founded and by whom?
A
- Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU)
- formed in 1903
- radical suffragists
- founded by Mrs Emmeline Pankhurst
12
Q
What was ‘direct action’ and when did it begin?
A
- direct, actual protests that involved physical action
- began in 1908
- Edith New made speeches in Downing Street and chained herself to railings
- threw stones at 10 Downing Street
- Mrs Pankhurst and her daughter arrested in October 1908 for inciting a crowd to ‘rush’ the House of Commons
13
Q
What were the positive and negative reactions to direct action?
A
+ some were sympathetic
- scared some people
- people were scornful
+ suffragists admires the heroism of suffragettes
+ initially the Suffragists supported the Suffragettes, when they used non-violent methods
- many believed you could not secure a democratic vote with under-democratic methods
- moderate MPs put off by their violent and dangerous actions
- Suffragists and Suffragettes moved further apart
14
Q
What happened in Parliament in 1911?
A
- in 1911 the govt. promised a Conciliation Bill giving women the vote
- Suffragettes suspended military action
- Suffragists held 30 meetings per day
- Bill got a majority of 167, a new record
- Asquith suddenly dropped the Bill and introduced a new one which gave the vote to all men and tacked on a clause about women being able to vote in future, potentially
15
Q
What was the Suffragist response to the 1911 setback?
A
- led a deputation to see the PM in order to persuade him to change his mind
- decided to support the Labour Party, as they were committed to female suffrage
- peaceful pilgrimage from Carlisle to London involving thousands of suffragists
- offered free membership to working women
16
Q
How did the Suffragettes respond to the 1911 setback?
A
- escalated their campaign of violence (against property, not people)
- smashed windows, burned post boxes, bombed churches, damaged cricket pitches and golf courses, slashed valuable paintings
- more suffragettes being sent to prison
- suffragettes went on hunger strike in prison
- govt. forcefully fed them, which was degrading and won the suffragettes a lot of public sympathy
- suffragettes made a lot of posters based around force feeding
- in 1913 the govt. introduced an act which let hunger strikers leave prison to recover then return to serve their sentence (often called The Cat and Mouse Act)
- June 1913, the death of Emily Davidson
17
Q
Who was Emily Davidson and what happened to her?
A
- experienced suffragette campaigner
- been in prison 9 times and been on hunger strikes
- during The Derby at Epsom she rushed onto the track trying to grab one of the horses and was fatally injured
- died 4 days later in hospital
- some believed she committed suicide to become martyr for the campaign
- in reality she intended to pin a suffragette banner to the horse but miscalculated it’s speed fatally
18
Q
Who were the suffragettes?
A
- formed by suffragists who were frustrated by the lack of progress
- formed in 1903 by Mrs Emmeline Pankhurst (WSPU)
- believed the movement had to become more radical and militant
- disrupted political meetings and harassed ministers
- Daily Mail called the new radicals “suffragettes”
19
Q
What was the WSPU and when was it founded and by whom?
A
- Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU)
- formed in 1903
- radical suffragists
- founded by Mrs Emmeline Pankhurst
20
Q
What was ‘direct action’ and when did it begin?
A
- direct, actual protests that involved physical action
- began in 1908
- Edith New made speeches in Downing Street and chained herself to railings
- threw stones at 10 Downing Street
- Mrs Pankhurst and her daughter arrested in October 1908 for inciting a crowd to ‘rush’ the House of Commons
21
Q
What were the positive and negative reactions to direct action?
A
+ some were sympathetic
- scared some people
- people were scornful
+ suffragists admires the heroism of suffragettes
+ initially the Suffragists supported the Suffragettes, when they used non-violent methods
- many believed you could not secure a democratic vote with under-democratic methods
- moderate MPs put off by their violent and dangerous actions
- Suffragists and Suffragettes moved further apart
22
Q
What happened in Parliament in 1911?
A
- in 1911 the govt. promised a Conciliation Bill giving women the vote
- Suffragettes suspended military action
- Suffragists held 30 meetings per day
- Bill got a majority of 167, a new record
- Asquith suddenly dropped the Bill and introduced a new one which gave the vote to all men and tacked on a clause about women being able to vote in future, potentially
23
Q
What was the Suffragist response to the 1911 setback?
A
- led a deputation to see the PM in order to persuade him to change his mind
- decided to support the Labour Party, as they were committed to female suffrage
- peaceful pilgrimage from Carlisle to London involving thousands of suffragists
- offered free membership to working women
24
How did the Suffragettes respond to the 1911 setback?
- escalated their campaign of violence (against property, not people)
- smashed windows, burned post boxes, bombed churches, damaged cricket pitches and golf courses, slashed valuable paintings
- more suffragettes being sent to prison
- suffragettes went on hunger strike in prison
- govt. forcefully fed them, which was degrading and won the suffragettes a lot of public sympathy
- suffragettes made a lot of posters based around force feeding
- in 1913 the govt. introduced an act which let hunger strikers leave prison to recover then return to serve their sentence (often called The Cat and Mouse Act)
- June 1913, the death of Emily Davidson
25
Who was Emily Davison and what happened to her?
- experienced suffragette campaigner
- been in prison 9 times and been on hunger strikes
- during The Derby at Epsom she rushed onto the track trying to grab one of the horses and was fatally injured
- died 4 days later in hospital
- some believed she committed suicide to become martyr for the campaign
- in reality she intended to pin a suffragette banner to the horse but miscalculated it's speed fatally
26
What was her funeral like?
- attended by thousands of suffragettes
- celebration of the ultimate sacrifice
- impressive pageant
27
Why was her funeral so important?
- massive publicity in aid of their cause
- allowed the to publicly pay tribute to a martyr
- increased popularity of women's rights
- creates a symbol of sacrifice, showing how important the issue was
- celebrate her heroism (but possibly foolishness?)
28
Give some statistics about recruitment in 1914.
- half a million signed up in the first month
- by 1916 over 2 million enlisted
- peaked and almost 500k in September then fell quickly after
29
What were the so-called 'German atrocities'?
- babies being butchered in Belgium
- nurses being murdered
- German factory were soap was made from corpses
- women and children murdered at Scarborough
30
Propaganda and censorship: good news only.
- all bad news was strictly controlled
- HMS Audacious was sunk in 1914 and simply not reported
- in November 1916 the government allowed journalists to be on the front ( only approved ones)
- censored soldiers information from the front
31
Propaganda and censorship: forced censorship.
- anti war newspapers were closed down (after initially being tolerated)
- Tribunal newspaper was closed
32
Propaganda and censorship: books and other publication.
- leading authors (HG Wells, Conan Doyle) signed a deceleration in favour of the war
- they produced pro-war publications for free
- History Dept. At Oxford produced an explanation of why Britain was going to war (dubbed the redbook)
33
Propaganda and censorship: propaganda for children.
- toys were encouraged to support the war effort
- patriotic books and comics
- regularly reprinted and very popular
- given out as school prizes etc.
34
Propaganda and censorship: films.
- govt. did not have to produce films
- filmmakers produced pro-war films out of their own initiative
- 'For the Empire': audience of 9 million
- films about the Somme
- people felt like they could get closer to the front
- showed horrors but also heroics
35
Propaganda and Censorship: did it work?
- helped people support the war
- over half the population read the daily pro-war newspapers
- John Bull patriotic journal was selling 2 million copies in 1918
- govt. were not forced to take extreme action; most people supported the war initially and thus produced pro-war propaganda
36
What did women do during the war (in terms of work and women's suffrage)?
- suffragettes and suffragists suspended their campaign for the vote
- suffragettes worked to persuade men to join the war effort
- Mrs Pankhurst staged a demonstration demanding that women be allowed to work in munitions factories
- in august 1914 all suffragettes were released from prison
- all organisations tried to encourage men to join the army
- half a million women replaced men in office jobs by the end of the war (eg clerks)
- 800,000 women employed in engineering industry with very little training
- 200,000 female clerks
- women gained access to a whole range of jobs that were previously reserved for men
37
What was the impact of women's role during the war and any other factors on them gaining the vote?
- government wanted to change electoral rules to allow soldiers abroad to vote
- women had shown themselves to be responsible and capable
- government was run by a coalition so no single party could give women the vote
- NUWSS communicated closely with the government
- their violent actions were forgotten and so it did not appear that MPs had given into violence
- compromises were agreed through close dialogue
- had proved their worth to society by working and not just violently campaigning
38
Which women did not get the vote in 1918? And why?
- In 1917 the Representation of People Act was passed in parliament
- it became law in 1918
- women over 30 who were householders or married to householders (9 million women)
- all men over 21 got the vote
- young single women who had worked the hardest during the war did not get the vote
- full voting rights not gained until 1928
- women could also be elected as MPs (Nancy Astor 1919)
39
What format did most of Booth's work take?
- books
40
Why did people take him seriously?
He was a successful business man who initially blamed the poor for their own situation.
41
What were the attitudes of the British people at the end of the war towards Germany and the Paris Peace Conference?
- people were not inclined to forgive and forget
- almost every family had suffered a loss
- Germany was blamed for starting the war
- people wanted revenge
- people believed the propaganda during the war that depicted the Germans as savages
- little sympathy or pity for Germans
- headlines such as 'Hang the Kaiser!' summed up the mood
- elections forced each party to keep making promises to treat Germany more harshly
- some, including Lloyd George were aware of the risk of treating Germany too harshly
42
What were working and living conditions like for the poor in the 1980s?
- very poor
- unsafe conditions
- long working hours
- dusty workhouses
- bad pay
- short life expectancy
- small living spaces
