Problems Of Darkest London Flashcards
What were the problems in darkest London?
- lack of religion
- criminality
- prostitution
- poverty
- London as the stage of conflict and protest
Mearns (1883) quote on outcast London / londons heathens
“Seething at the very centre of our great cities is a vast mass of moral corruption and absolute godlessness”
How few Londoners went to church?
Only 19% on average, way below the national average
The population of London grew faster than church provision
What was the widespread Victorian belief about criminality?
That it was endemic and bred in the slums
Or due to a schoolmaster element eg fagan in Oliver Twist - slums contaminated the moral behaviour of others
Mean quote about exploitation in London
The exploitation of the inner city poor was masked by labelling them as “degraded slum dwellers”
Who tried to quantify poverty in London
Charles booth, life and labour, 1889
What percentage of the east end did booth say was in need
35%
22% on the poverty line and 13% below it
What did booth discover about the ‘criminal class’
It was very scarce, approximately 1%
What did booth discover was the reason for poverty in the majority of families in need
Inadequate employment
This highlighted the importance of income and security of employment
What were the Gordon riots
1780: anti-Catholic but also targeted homes of the wealthy
Nearly 300 killed
When and where was the March of the Unemployed?
1885
Trafalgar Square
When were the Hyde park protests and what were they protesting against
1855
The Sunday trading bill
What were some of the ways out of darkest London?
- General William booth (Salvation Army) social imperialism
- asylums
- charities
- social welfare
- politics (unions and strikes)
- the rise of the leisure and culture industry
What did Thompson (1981) say of Victorian moral reform?
It represented efforts at social engineering
What did Beatrice Webb (1901) say of reform?
“Fortunately improvement is as contagious as deterioration”
