Laws 1833-4 Flashcards
What were the main terms of the Factory Act of 1833?
No children under 9 can work in factories
Children from 9-13 would work 8 hours and 2 would be spent in school
Children above 13 only had a 12 hour work day
4 permanent commissioners looked over the project
What motivated the Factory Act to be made?
It was a thought for years, but it was mostly Lord Shaftesbury, an evangelical that pushed for change. Edwin Chadwick commissioned a royal commission to investigate the conditions of the factories. It formed the basis of the 1842 - Report on the Sanitary Condition of the Labouring Poor
How successful was the Factory Act?
It was criticised for favouring the employers not employees, and it was only a small dent.
It was badly handled because it had only 4 commissioners for the entire country.
People also didn’t usually own birth certificates so it was hard to know peoples age or keep track
It mostly affected just the textiles industry not others much
However it was a stepping stone for the Whigs because it was the first time the government had commissioners. They didn’t do much because they didn’t want to damage the economy
What were the main terms of the Slave Emancipation of 1833?
All slaves were freed but had to serve 7 years under their master as an apprentices £20 million was shared to the slave owners as reparations
What was the motivation for the Emancipation of Slaves?
William Wilberforce, an evangelical, fought his entire life for Slave Emancipation and was an important figure in driving it. It was also pushed by the humanitarians
How successful was the Emancipation of Slaves?
It was successful in freeing slaves, and their apprenticeship was lowered to 4 years
It was widely criticised by port owners, like the Liverpool port.
Abroad in the West Indies the owners felt betrayed, so the labour cost increased and the law caused a deep recession.
South Africa the Boer settlers didn’t want their livelihood jeopardised, so they fought to be their own to be free from British control
What were the main terms of the Education Act of 1833?
The government gave £20,000 to be shared with schools and it increased to £30,000 in 1839
What was the motivation for the Education Act?
The government decided to make children in factories go to school so they wanted to try and improve them to help the students.
Schools were entirely religiously based and were funded by churches
How successful was the Education Act?
Not very successful because the money wasn’t enough to be given to the schools and was mostly fro repairs for derelict school
Parents could choose if they wanted to send their children to school or not, and most didn’t if they were on or under the poverty line
