liberal reforms/why - COMPLETE Flashcards
what does LLIER stand for?
liberal divide labour party (growth) individuals (churchill n lloyd george) efficiency reports (booth n rowntree)
why were britain so rich in 1900?
growing industrialism, overseas empire and the strongest navy in the world
sum up the government’s attitudes to poverty from the 1850s-1906.
laissez faire
self-help
did not believe it was their responsibility to intervene in the lives of the british people
what did the british government think caused poverty?
idleness, ignorance, drunkenness and gambling
who was samuel smiles?
a scottish man whose 1858 book ‘self-help’ argued that poor people only had themselves to blame and could improve their lives through hard work and saving
who read samuel smiles’s book?
rich people, who could afford it and could also read
what help was available to poor people from the 1850s-1906?
YMCA - 1844
The Salvation Army - 1866
Barnardo’s - 1869
RSPCC - 1884
what were the liberal reforms and when did they take place?
between 1906-1914 the liberal government introduced a programme of social reform which provided state funded help for the poorest sections of society.
what was the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1845 (Scotland)?
legislation that allowed the disabled, widows and deserted wives an children into a workhouse/poorhouse.
they were not forced to work but without doing so, able bodied poor were not allowed in.
what percentage of unemployed people DID NOT opt for poor relief and why?
90% because the Poor Law system made state help appear very unattractive
what was the result of the 1906 general election (seats)?
liberals: 399
tories: 156
labour: 29
irish nationalists: 82
who was henry campbell bannerman?
the leader of the liberal party
prime minister
only pm to die in downing street (in 1908 aged 69)
who was H.H Asquith?
prime minister 1908-1916
passed most of the liberal reforms
a NEW LIBERAL
who was david lloyd george?
chancellor of the exchequer
who was winston churchill?
a shitebag
president of the board of trade
what is the structure of a liberals paragraph?
liberals win 1906 election after 20 years out of power
HCB was an old liberal and not very supportive of change
asquith takes over in 1908 - a new liberal
he was helped by the other new liberals - lloyd george and churchill
there were major changes between 1906-14
what did britain need to maintain a powerful empire in 1900?
a strong army
what was becoming increasingly likely in 1900?
that a war against germany would have to be fought
when was the boer war?
1899-1902
what did the boer war highlight?
the urgent need to do something about british health and fitness
over half of army volunteers were rejected on medical issues. what health issues caused this?
lice tickets underweight under height tuberculosis rotten teeth
what was blamed by the british government for the poor performance in the boer war?
the quality of british soldiers
what made the boers difficult to defeat?
german weapons (supplied by the kaiser) and guerrilla tactics
what was britain’s global position by the end of the 19th century?
they were no longer the world’s strongest industrial nation and were facing serious competition from new industrial nations such as germany and the usa
what did some politicians think the workforce had to become to improve national efficiency?
healthier and better education
what did a survey show in relation to british and american children?
that american children were taller and heavier
when did education become compulsory?
1870 (scotland)
1872 (britain)
who wrote the poverty reports and where was their focus?
charles booth (london) and seebohm rowntree (york)
what did the poverty reports prove?
that poverty was not self inflicted
that poverty was a national issue
give some figures from the poverty reports.
30% (booth) and 28% (rowntree) were living below the poverty line
only 3% of the 30% were getting Poor Law help
how much did a family (with three children) have to be earning to be living in poverty?
roughly £1 a week
when were the poverty reports released?
booth: 1886-1903
rowntree: 1901
the reports found that the causes of poverty were what, instead of what?
casual labour / low pay / unemployment / ill health / old age / large families
instead of
laziness / gambling / drunkenness
what is the german example?
leading liberals were influenced by social reform in germany
what social reform did germany have?
bismarck introduced sickness and accident insurance and old age pension schemes
in 1910, what was happening to the liberal party?
they were being replaced by labour as the party of the working class
how main seats did labour gain between 1900 and 1910?
2 MPs to 40 MPs
by 1884 most working men could vote. who were they voting for?
labour
why were working class men voting labour?
because the trade unions were growing in power and demanding change, which the labour party promised to deliver
what did the liberal party have to do to regain these votes and stay a dominant political force?
introduce social change themselves and meet working class needs
which reasons can be merged for an essay paragraph?
political pragmatism - rise of labour
national efficiency - military efficiency
german example - new liberalism
poverty reports
