political issues: 1900 - 1914

Question 1

what was the house of commons like in 1890?

Answer 1

conservatives and liberal parties dominated the scene

Question 2

which party did joseph chamberlain leave to go to which party?

Answer 2

left liberals to join conservatives

Question 3

what did the 1867 parliamentary reform act do?

Answer 3

gave vote to men who had land and value

Question 4

what types of people were in the house of commons?

Answer 4

dukes, earls, marquises and bishops

Question 5

which party did the house of lords agree with majority of the time and how did this effect legislation?

Answer 5

conservatives meaning they were able to block liberal legislation when there was a majority of liberals in the commons

Question 6

how did people enter the house of commons?

Answer 6

elections every few years

Question 7

how did people enter the house of lords and what type of people were they?

Answer 7

hereditary, meaning upper class ad generational wealth people

Question 8

how much money did the wealthy make vs the poor?

Answer 8

wealthy > £700 a year vs poor > 25p a week

Question 9

why did factories want children to work there?

Answer 9

they are little and have little lands so they can fit in small places and can work small mechanics. it is also cheap labour

Question 10

what did the middle class work as and where did they live in 1900?

Answer 10

lawyers and shop-keepers who lived in an around poor areas but avoided association

Question 11

what were living conditions like for an upper-class family in 1900?

Answer 11

• servants
• 4 storey homes with many different rooms with electricity and boiler for hot water
• nursery and toys

Question 12

what were living conditions like for a working-class family in 1900?

Answer 12

• no electricity
• open fire used as heater, boiler and cooker
• one bedroom, no bathroom
• outside privy or bedpan

Question 13

what were living conditions like for an middle-class family in 1900?

Answer 13

• modest
• no electricity
• running water
• cooking range
• some luxuries

Question 14

how many children went to secondary school in 1900?

Answer 14

1/80

Question 15

what were work houses like?

Answer 15

cruel conditions where families were separated. it was a place to sleep and eat and you’ve to work

Question 16

what happened in 1899 regarding school age and what did this mean?

Answer 16

leaving school age raised to 12 meaning every child received basic education at elementary school

Question 17

which class of children went to school in 1900?

Answer 17

wealthy classes, both boys and girls, where type did a lot of extra-curricular activities

Question 18

what were the main political parties in the 1900?

Answer 18

conservatives and liberals

Question 19

what were the conservatives beliefs in 1900?

Answer 19

to maintain traditions and existing institutions, like the structure of parliament, the political system, the order of society and the institution of the church

Question 20

who was the main figure in the conservative party in 1900?

Answer 20

lord salisbury

Question 21

what did lord salisbury recognise about the conservative party in 1900?

Answer 21

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

Question 22

which different groups came together to form the liberals in 1859?

Answer 22

the ‘whig’ party, the peelites, the independent radicals, the nonconformists and the chartists

Question 23

what was a “problem” for the liberal party being made from a bunch of different parties?

Answer 23

had many different beliefs and therefore had to be careful not to offend different factions on certain issues, like the irish home rule

Question 24

how was new liberalism different to traditional liberalism?

Answer 24

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

Question 25

when did balfour become prime minister?

Answer 25

1902

Question 26

why was joseph chamberlain not made prime minister after salisbury stepped down?

Answer 26

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

Question 27

what is tariff reform?

Answer 27

introduce taxes on imported goods to protect domestically produced products. this would make imported goods expensive and domestic products attractive

Question 28

how would tariff reforms cause problems for the conservatives?

Answer 28

• 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

Question 29

in the conservative party, who was for tariff reform?

Answer 29

chamberlain

Question 30

what did chamberlain talk about in his speech in birmingham in 1903?

Answer 30

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

Question 31

in the conservative party, who was against tariff reforms?

Answer 31

balfour

Question 32

who would be most affected by tariff reforms?

Answer 32

the working class were gonna be the most affected due to the prices of food increasing, as britain ate a lot of foreign food

Question 33

what was the public opinion towards tariff reforms and why?

Answer 33

• working class: negative as they would be most affected by raising food prices
• businesses: impact inability to sell across the world

Question 34

why did divisions within the conservatives develop due to tariff reforms and how did chamberlain and balfour react?

Answer 34

many conservatives didn’t believe in chamberlain’s ideas and the way he approached it
> chamberlain resigned to force change
> balfour held open discussions

Question 35

why did balfour see forcing the liberals into government as an advantage to his party?

Answer 35

if he shined a spotlight to the liberals’ problem on ireland, he would be able to fix the conservative problem

Question 36

what were balfour’s social policies?

Answer 36

• the education act 1902
• licensing act 1904
• taff vale judgement 1901

Question 37

when was the education act?

Answer 37

1902

Question 38

when was the licensing act?

Answer 38

1904

Question 39

when was the taff vale judgement?

Answer 39

1901

Question 40

what was the education act 1902?

Answer 40

reorganised education and allowed state provision for secondary schools

Question 41

what was a problem with the education act 1902?

Answer 41

it abolished britain’s 2568 school boards that were popular with non-conformists

Question 42

what was the licensing act 1904?

Answer 42

all justices to to decide whether a liquor license should be renewed and added compensation for non-renewal

Question 43

what was the problem with the licensing act 1904?

Answer 43

non-conformists (religious group so they don’t drink) hated it and they didn’t want taxes to pay pub owners

Question 44

what was the taff vale judgement 1901?

Answer 44

trade unions could be sued by employer if strikes make them lose money

Question 45

what was the problem with the taff vale judgement?

Answer 45

threatened the ability of strike and went against the 1871 act that made unions.

Question 46

what was the reforms around chinese slavery?

Answer 46

supplied contracts with chinese businessmen to help the economic problem in south africa

Question 47

what was the problem with the reforms around chinese slavery?

Answer 47

the living conditions were horrible, which caused outrage in britain = the non-conformists crusade

Question 48

what were the overall problems with balfour’s social policies?

Answer 48

problems due to tariff reform and the poorly treated immigrants

Question 49

what were the overall successes with balfour’s social policies?

Answer 49

navy and army reformed (no more diplomatic isolation). the unemployed workman act 1905 passed and far reaching reforms had been passed (education, irish landownership)

Question 50

how many seats did the liberals win over the unionists in the 1906 elections?

Answer 50

400 seats for liberals
157 seats for unionists

Question 51

what were the liberals strengths for their landslide victory in the 1906 elections?

Answer 51

• 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

Question 52

what were the conservative weaknesses for their huge loss at the 1906 elections?

Answer 52

• chinese slavery issue
• divided over issue of tariff reform
• cruelty to civilians during the boer war reduced enthusiasm for imperialism

Question 53

what were some factors for the liberals landslide victory at the 1906 elections?

Answer 53

• 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