political issues: 1900 - 1914 Flashcards
what was the house of commons like in 1890?
conservatives and liberal parties dominated the scene
which party did joseph chamberlain leave to go to which party?
left liberals to join conservatives
what did the 1867 parliamentary reform act do?
gave vote to men who had land and value
what types of people were in the house of commons?
dukes, earls, marquises and bishops
which party did the house of lords agree with majority of the time and how did this effect legislation?
conservatives meaning they were able to block liberal legislation when there was a majority of liberals in the commons
how did people enter the house of commons?
elections every few years
how did people enter the house of lords and what type of people were they?
hereditary, meaning upper class ad generational wealth people
how much money did the wealthy make vs the poor?
wealthy > £700 a year vs poor > 25p a week
why did factories want children to work there?
they are little and have little lands so they can fit in small places and can work small mechanics. it is also cheap labour
what did the middle class work as and where did they live in 1900?
lawyers and shop-keepers who lived in an around poor areas but avoided association
what were living conditions like for an upper-class family in 1900?
- servants
- 4 storey homes with many different rooms with electricity and boiler for hot water
- nursery and toys
what were living conditions like for a working-class family in 1900?
- no electricity
- open fire used as heater, boiler and cooker
- one bedroom, no bathroom
- outside privy or bedpan
what were living conditions like for an middle-class family in 1900?
- modest
- no electricity
- running water
- cooking range
- some luxuries
how many children went to secondary school in 1900?
1/80
what were work houses like?
cruel conditions where families were separated. it was a place to sleep and eat and you’ve to work
what happened in 1899 regarding school age and what did this mean?
leaving school age raised to 12 meaning every child received basic education at elementary school
which class of children went to school in 1900?
wealthy classes, both boys and girls, where type did a lot of extra-curricular activities
what were the main political parties in the 1900?
conservatives and liberals
what were the conservatives beliefs in 1900?
to maintain traditions and existing institutions, like the structure of parliament, the political system, the order of society and the institution of the church
who was the main figure in the conservative party in 1900?
lord salisbury
what did lord salisbury recognise about the conservative party in 1900?
the party had to appeal to working class voters as well as middle class. also that the nature of the working-class was conservative and that if the social system was effectively managed, it could be maintained
which different groups came together to form the liberals in 1859?
the ‘whig’ party, the peelites, the independent radicals, the nonconformists and the chartists
what was a “problem” for the liberal party being made from a bunch of different parties?
had many different beliefs and therefore had to be careful not to offend different factions on certain issues, like the irish home rule
how was new liberalism different to traditional liberalism?
new liberalism was the belief that the state needed to play a larger role in tackling inequality while new liberalism was that the state should have minimal interference in people’s lives
when did balfour become prime minister?
1902
why was joseph chamberlain not made prime minister after salisbury stepped down?
he was not acceptable to most of the conservatives. he was dissatisfied with the state of affairs in the unionist government and believed it was necessary to protect british industry from cheap exports
what is tariff reform?
introduce taxes on imported goods to protect domestically produced products. this would make imported goods expensive and domestic products attractive
how would tariff reforms cause problems for the conservatives?
- difficult to sell this idea to the working class, who would be impacted by the rise of prices
- unite the liberals in opposition
- risked dividing the unionists/conservationists
in the conservative party, who was for tariff reform?
chamberlain
what did chamberlain talk about in his speech in birmingham in 1903?
fully declared that he like tariff reform and believed they were good. he believed that britain should use imperial preferences and unification. he set up the tariff reform league
in the conservative party, who was against tariff reforms?
balfour
who would be most affected by tariff reforms?
the working class were gonna be the most affected due to the prices of food increasing, as britain ate a lot of foreign food
what was the public opinion towards tariff reforms and why?
- working class: negative as they would be most affected by raising food prices
- businesses: impact inability to sell across the world
why did divisions within the conservatives develop due to tariff reforms and how did chamberlain and balfour react?
many conservatives didn’t believe in chamberlain’s ideas and the way he approached it
> chamberlain resigned to force change
> balfour held open discussions
why did balfour see forcing the liberals into government as an advantage to his party?
if he shined a spotlight to the liberals’ problem on ireland, he would be able to fix the conservative problem
what were balfour’s social policies?
- the education act 1902
- licensing act 1904
- taff vale judgement 1901
when was the education act?
1902
when was the licensing act?
1904
when was the taff vale judgement?
1901
what was the education act 1902?
reorganised education and allowed state provision for secondary schools
what was a problem with the education act 1902?
it abolished britain’s 2568 school boards that were popular with non-conformists
what was the licensing act 1904?
all justices to to decide whether a liquor license should be renewed and added compensation for non-renewal
what was the problem with the licensing act 1904?
non-conformists (religious group so they don’t drink) hated it and they didn’t want taxes to pay pub owners
what was the taff vale judgement 1901?
trade unions could be sued by employer if strikes make them lose money
what was the problem with the taff vale judgement?
threatened the ability of strike and went against the 1871 act that made unions.
what was the reforms around chinese slavery?
supplied contracts with chinese businessmen to help the economic problem in south africa
what was the problem with the reforms around chinese slavery?
the living conditions were horrible, which caused outrage in britain = the non-conformists crusade
what were the overall problems with balfour’s social policies?
problems due to tariff reform and the poorly treated immigrants
what were the overall successes with balfour’s social policies?
navy and army reformed (no more diplomatic isolation). the unemployed workman act 1905 passed and far reaching reforms had been passed (education, irish landownership)
how many seats did the liberals win over the unionists in the 1906 elections?
400 seats for liberals
157 seats for unionists
what were the liberals strengths for their landslide victory in the 1906 elections?
- united over moral issue of the chinese slavery issue in south africa
- united over popular issue of free trade and cheap food
- had dynamic figures
- put aside previous differences
what were the conservative weaknesses for their huge loss at the 1906 elections?
- chinese slavery issue
- divided over issue of tariff reform
- cruelty to civilians during the boer war reduced enthusiasm for imperialism
what were some factors for the liberals landslide victory at the 1906 elections?
- non-conformists outraged by the 1902 education act and the 1904 licensing act
- lib-lab pact
- trade unions concerned about conservatives failure to protect their rights
- idea of new liberalism attracted new people
