Social Change 1886-1914; (complete) Flashcards
What change did the 1880s see in the direction of union movement?
Beginning of organisation of unskilled workers, many of whom had endured appalling working conditions for decades & lacked any real bargaining power w/ employers; known as ‘new unions’/‘mass unions’
How did the new unions differ from the older unions?
-Membership not dependent on belonging to particular trade
-Militant approach, w/ striking as first line of attack, was in contrast to more moderate craft/model unions, whose members were skilled workers
-Subscriptions were low (1p/yr) to allow for poor & often fluctuating wage levels, but large membership gave union funds to support strike action
-Unlike craft unions, funds didn’t make provision for welfare payments; more concerned w/ mounting campaigns to improve wages & conditions
Why did the craft unions watch the growth of new mass unions with anxiety and how did they adapt due to this?
-Realised they could lose control of TUC
-Even members were affected by bouts of unemployment during slumps of 1880s & 90s & feared for own job security
-Decided to adapt to meet changed circumstances; allowed recruitment of unskilled members at ↓ subscription & were prepared to be more militant
-Also starting to adopt socialist ideas & recognise need for gov to put in place plan for social reform; acknowledged self-help wasn’t practical in times of depression, weakened their faith in laissez faire
How did the uncertain economic climate of the late 1870s/80s contribute to the growth of new mass unions to 1889?
-Workers lucky enough to be in a job had little choice but to accept the poor rates of pay
-However, tough conditions made workers less passive & more ready to light for better wages & conditions
How did the changing position of the unskilled workers contribute to the growth of new mass unions to 1889?
-Spread of education among labouring classes post 1870 & right to vote for many unskilled labourers after 1884, boosted their confidence
-Trade unions achieved legal status with the introduction of of Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act, 1875; it was inevitable that unskilled workers would seek advantages gained by craft unions, forming their own unions
How did leading socialists contribute to the growth of new mass unions to 1889?
They held meetings outside factory gates to encourage workers to assert their rights
How did high-profile strikes by unskilled workers contribute to the growth of new mass unions to 1889?
-Gave impetus to union movement; many strike successful in achieving improvements in working conditions
-They demonstrated this low-paid, poorly educated workforce, whose basic needs & rights were scarcely considered by their employer, could no longer be ignored/exploited w/out struggle
-Success of strikes gave confidence to other unskilled workers to form unions + was huge boost to concept of new unionism, w/ its militant leadership, low subscription & striking as its main weapon to improve conditions at work
-Strengthened position of TU movement as whole. There was a strong message to establishment & society regarding right of all workers to fair & decent wages for job done
What were the examples of the several strikes by unskilled groups occurring in the late 1880s & what did they have an impact on?
-As part of a bigger picture of industrial unrest, there were several strikes by unskilled labourers like the Bryant and May match girls, the Gas Workers’ & General Labourers’ Union and the Dockers
-Had important impact on establishment of new unionism & its connection w/ Labour movement
What was the Bryant and May match girl strike and its effect?
-In 1888, w/ help of leading Socialist Annie Besant, the Bryant and May strike made national headlines & captured public sympathy
-Enabled match girls to take on their employers w/ some success. They later formed their own union
What was the Gas Workers’ and General Labourers’ Union strike and its effect?
-Against Southern Metropolitan Gas Company to reduce working day
-Was met with rapid success
-Gas Workers won union recognition & right to pursue collective bargaining; formula for negotiating pay & conditions between TU on one side & employers on other
What was the Dockers’ strike of August 1889 events and its effect?
-Dockers’ work was irregular and poorly paid, had no official union; were subject to system of call-on (so often hung around for 1/2 a day for work that didn’t materialise
-Depression in trade had fierce competition betw London dock companies
-Dock strike began when companies cut bonus rates to offer lower rate to ship owners for using their docks & warehouses
-West India Dock workers, led by Ben Tillett, Tom Mann & John Burns, came out on strike. Main demand was wage of 6p/hr; the dockers’ tanner. It continued for 5 weeks & employers were convinced hunger would drive dockers back to work
-The dockers’ dignity & resolve won sympathy from from many among middle classes + were able to negotiate ending of strike & demands were met
-Was a great success
What was the immediate result of the high-profile strikes of the late 1880s?
-New General Labourers Union’ was formed w/ membership of 30,000
-Rapid increase in union membership & increase in strike action
Why did the respect and sympathy won from the 1888 & 1889 strikes quickly evaporate in the 1890s?
-Militant union leaders led further strikes, mostly among dock workers & seamen to establish the ‘closed shop’; a workplace only employing members of TU, union leaders often put pressure on employers to adopt this to keep members in work when jobs were scarce + to increase bargaining position
-Employers wouldn’t be browbeaten into accepting ‘closed shop’ & organised police protection for non-union workers whom they preferred to employ
What did a downturn in the economy lead to for unions?
-Falling off of membership for unskilled workers’ unions
-Difficult for groups like dockers to maintain stable union membership
What did the Employers’ Federation do and how did employers begin to settle disputes?
-Drew up registers of non union workers & coordinated lock-outs to defeat strikes
-But, many employers began to settle disputes via arbitration under 1896 Conciliation Act
What did the Federation of Engineering Employers do in 1897 and what did this result in?
-Instigated a lock-out over demand for 8hr day
-Amalgamated Engineering Union forced to give in; defeat of such well-respected union gave impetus to unions to strengthen themselves politically
What was the membership of trade unions in 1900 + what did this mean for the new mass unions?
About 2 million; represented >1/6 of total occupied population, v small proportion of those belonged to new mass unions & they had yet to grasp their potential political importance
What did Ben Tillett sum up the ultimate importance of new unionism as?
“The beginning of that close alliance in thought and purpose between the trade unions movement and the socialist movement which produced, in time, the Labour Party”
What did the connection between the trade unions and socialism encourage leaders of unskilled unions to do?
-Cooperate in the formation of the Labour Party as a working-class political party to promote working-class interests
-Began to make sense for new unions to use their funds, gained largely from membership subscriptions, to help Labour candidates win seats in Parliament
What was the Taff Vale case of 1900 and what did it result in?
-Unofficial strike of railway workers on Taff Vale Railways in S Wales, got backing of Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants. Left company out of pocket & they sued the union £23,000 for damages + won. Implication was that unions were liable for damages to employers so made others afraid to strike to improve wages and conditions
-Ended scepticism of craft unions towards political party for Labour, became turning point for TU movement as a whole to throw support behind LRC
-Was vital for survival of unions for robust measures to be taken to safeguard them from ruinous financial penalties in future disputes
What was the 1906 Trades Disputes Act and what impact did it have?
-Reversed Taff Vale decision, establishing that no case could be brought against a union for damages from strike action, making peaceful picketing legal
-Gave TU movement strong legal position as basis for future & secured its industrial power for decades to come
What was the Osbourne case of 1909, impact & how it was reversed?
-Walter Osbourne, a Liberal supporter, objected to his union, the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants, using part of his subscription to support the Labour Party. When the case went to the Lords, the decision was made in favour of Osbourne
-Threatened TU ability to use funds for political purposes, put both TU & Labour Party in difficult situation
-Labour MPs couldn’t afford to take their seats w/out financial backing from TU
-Situation rectified by partial reversal of Osbourne Judgement in 1913 w/ Trade Union Act; allowed unions to set up separate political fund
What was the 1910-14 ‘Great Unrest’ period for unions and what was occurring at the time?
-Period of significant industrial action, w/ many strikes & lock-outs across country & spread of general unions for unskilled workers
-TU membership rose to 4m by 1914
-Economy thriving
-Unemployment low
-Workers believed they were entitled to higher wages
-‘Sympathy strike’; eg, ‘Triple Alliance’ of miners, railwaymen & transport workers formed for purpose of giving mutual support during strike action
What did the tensions within the union movement do?
Encouraged leaders of traditional style unions to move away from middle-class Liberalism & lend much-needed support to Labour
What was Syndicalism and its objective?
-Offshoot of socialism, parallel to the surge of industrial disputes
-Encouraged sympathy strikes by other unions to increase pressure on gov & employer, although Triple Alliance weren’t syndicalists
-Ultimate objective= overthrow of Capitalism & encouraged class warfare
What was Syndicalism’s impact on unions & why didn’t it have a wider effect?
-There was a rise of syndicalism among some unions, where they demanded change via direct action (rather than action through Parliament)
-Could’ve has detrimental effect on Labour Party but had limited following in GB compared w/ other European countries, esp France
What was the position of women like before 1914?
-For several decades before the war, women had been challenging the 19th century notion that they took 2nd place to men in most aspects of life beyond the home & that they were dependent upon men for welfare & position in society
-Had made inroads in education & employment; more access to higher education & more careers opened up to suitably trained women. A few women were attending university & even entering male preserve of medicine. Could teach as long as they were unmarried
-Changes in family + property law gave women more equal rights w/ men & more independence
-Still had no place in national politics; could vote in local council elections, but not parliamentary elections. Couldn’t become MPs
What right did a woman have in politics and what opinion did men have on this?
-Woman householders could vote in local council elections after 1888
-But, most men perpetuated idea that it was unbecoming & inappropriate for women to be involved in affairs of state, irrespective of their level of education/literacy of male voters
-Argued women were too emotional/fragile for rough & tumble of politics & couldn’t fight for their country in time of war
-Women’s political judgment would be ‘unsound’ & if they entered the political world, there was an implied threat to stability of family life. As long as a husband/father had political power & privilege, he could speak for his wife/daughters; sort of virtual representation
-Men in Parliament did not wish to share their political power w/ women
What women’s rights organisation was formed in 1897 and by who?
-The National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), known as the suffragists
-Millicent Fawcett
What did the suffragists campaign for and what opposition did they get?
-Carried on a quiet campaign for years for female emancipation
-Met w/ intransigent opposition from both sexes
-Campaigned for equal rights w/ men instead of pursuing universal suffrage
What women’s organisation was formed in 1903 and why?
- Some women became impatient w/ the suffragists’ lack of progress
-Emmeline Pankhurst formed the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU), to win ‘immediate enfranchisement’ for women by ‘political action’ & also to put right other social injustices suffered by women
What was the slogan of the new WSPU and what did it emphasise?
‘Deeds not words’; emphasised Pankhurst’s intended strategy of direct action rather than gentle & ineffective persuasion of the suffragists
Where did the phrase ‘Suffragettes’ come from and who were the group made up of?
-The Daily Mail was the first to refer to them as suffragettes
-Mainly middle-class, although there was support from female labour groups in the industrial areas of northern England & central Scotland
What were the Liberals opinion on Suffragettes/female suffrage and how did they respond?
-Dodged the issue of women’s suffrage in 1906, so suffragettes mounted tough campaign in which they were prepared to break the law
-Campbell-Bannerman wasn’t against female suffrage in principle, but apart from support from open-minded politicians like Lloyd George, there were too many liberals like Asquith who were opposed to the idea
-There was a fear among liberals that if vote was only given to middle & upper-class women, they’d support the Conservatives and damage future prospects for the liberals; there were more women than men so in theory they could swamp the vote
What were the Conservatives and Labour Party’s opinion on women’s suffrage?
-Equally divided on issue
-Although great encouragement came from Labour, they weren’t willing to take on the suffragette cause at this early stage in history, when there were more pressing issues on the agenda
What was The Qualification of Women Act of 1907?
Gave women the right to be elected onto local councils, take position of Mayor
Why was the Liberals apparent more progressive direction for women’s suffrage undermined and what was the reaction to this?
-A private members’ bill for suffrage introduced afterwards was overwhelmingly defeated
-The Suffragettes responded by organising marches & demonstrations, heckling in the House of Commons; authorities obliged to arrest more disruptive troublemakers
What was suffragette behaviour like from 1907-11 and what was the impact of this?
-They broke up political meetings, smashed windows, chained themselves to railings & refused to fines
-When arrested, some went on hunger strikes
-Their intemperate actions alienated much moderate support from both men & women
-Suffragists were dismayed at what they considered to be damaging to the cause & verbally attacked the suffragettes’ methods, arguing for a constitutional approach
Where did the ‘wild period’ of suffragette action stem from and what did it result in?
-In the 1910 general election, Asquith finally agreed to do a free vote on a franchise bill for women
-It was one of several in the following parliamentary sessions, but none ever got past the second reading
-When one of the bills got thrown out on a technicality in 1912, Pankhurst sanctioned a new phase of violence, the ‘wild period’ of suffragette action
-The violent measures attracted publicity & kept the issue of female emancipation alive
How did the government toughen up on the suffragettes and what was the Cat and Mouse Act of 1913?
-Ordered force-feeding of the women who’d gone on hunger strike after being arrested
-When this raised public sympathy for the women, the gov passed the Cat & Mouse Act 1913, which released the suffragettes when they were weak w/ hunger, gave them time to recover & rearrested them
-Resorted to physical attacks on gov ministers, setting fire to post boxes, attacking houses w/ fire bombs & burning down churches
-Suffragists & even some suffragettes were appalled by the level of violence & irresponsibility of Emmeline Pankhurst in involving women in activities that could’ve caused fatal injury to members of the public
-The suffragettes believed extreme measures were justified as they felt peaceful protests had made little change
What was the most shocking suffragette action and what were the reactions to this?
-On Derby Day in June 1913, Emily Davison ran across the race course at Epsom in front of the King’s horse, Anmer & was fatally injured
-She was a suffragette activist who was imprisoned on several occasions for minor acts of vandalism
-Although her death raised sympathy among women’s supporters and she was considered a martyr by many suffragettes, it achieved little
-Some of the newspaper reports focused on the inconvenience to the King, the loss of the horse, which had to be shot, slight injury to the jokey & expressed outrage at Davison’s reckless behaviour
Why was the extreme violence of the suffragettes probably not necessary in hindsight?
-The Liberal gov had by 1912 accepted the principle of female suffrage, but hadn’t worked out the detail of how far to extend the franchise w/out disadvantaging their electoral prospects; was futile & short-sighted as could never control the will of the electorate once the inescapable fact of universal male + female suffrage had been achieved
-During WW1 in 1914 the suffragettes didn’t hesitate to call of their campaign & threw the self whole heartedly into the war effort, even though at the time it seemed as though they’d nothing to show for their efforts
How did the urban population grow from 1886-1914?
-1901 census confirmed approx 77% of U.K pop. lived in urban centres; 25/37 million in total
-Population continued to ↑ through 19th cent & rate of growth was significantly ↑ in towns than countryside
-In early 20th cent, pop. of towns started to spill → countryside, as suburbs were built to house a growing pop.
-GB’s largest cities were London, Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester & Liverpool, 30 cities had pop. in access of 100,000
-Term ‘Greater London’ began to be applied to area beyond OG inner London & pop. ↑ more rapidly in Greater London than national pop. as a whole
How did people regard towns and cities and why was there growth in civic pride?
-Some regarded them w/ deep pessimism as places where civilisation was about to implode. Other more optimistic commentators regarded them as dynamic centres of action that offered endless opportunities.
-Various city improvement schemes were operated by town councils, including gas & clean water supplies, art galleries, museums & university colleges, all demonstrating sense of civic achievement.
Why were cities still flawed despite the improvements and why?
-Life expectancy in cities was lower than rural areas & infant mortality rates were particularly high. Bad housing conditions and lack of health care were held responsible for this.
-Housing conditions were worst in Scotland & N England
-The various reports on urban conditions for the working-class poor (eg by Charles Booth on London, Seebohm Rowntree on York) drew similar but shocking conclusions, that up to 30% urban dwellers were living in poverty
How did the railway network expand and what other developments did it lead to?
-Facilitated opportunities for widespread travel for all classes, for the purpose of employment and leisure
-The press & postal service expanded in tandem w/ railways
-Development of motor car industry led to associated distribution & service centres for petrol + repairs.
How and why did the retail sector grow?
-Growing number and variety of shops
-Department stores opened in every city centre, offering wide range of household goods & clothes, among them Fenwick’s in Newcastle, Rackham’s in Birmingham. Selfridges in London—> first purpose-built department store, opened in 1909
-Urban transport systems made them easily accessible
-Chain stores opened branches across the country, such as Lipton’s grocers and the Boots pharmacies.
How did financial services grow and what did this facilitate?
-Eg banking, building societies & insurance companies expanded, as consequence gave rise to professions like accountancy & occupations like book-keeping and clerical work.
-Betw 1881-1914 number of non-manual wage-earning jobs x2 from 2m-4m
-Banking & insurance extended operations into overseas markets, boosted economy w/ their invisible earnings.
Why and how did the standard of living improve for most people in 1886-1914?
-Combo of low prices & general increase in wages, certainly up until about 1900, benefited many working families. -Scientific & tech advances + better knowledge & understanding about health issues all contributed to increased life expectancy
-Econ expansion enabled most of population to have better access to more resources
-There was an increasing availability of extensive range of goods & foodstuffs
-After 1900, both prices & wages rose, unemployment remained generally low
Why did not everyone enjoy an increased standard of living and how was this shown?
-Many thousands of workers, mainly women & children, were involved in ‘sweated industries’ like tailoring, box + lace making, that weren’t covered by Factory Acts; worked long hours in ill-lit back-room factories/at home for piece money and had no union to represent them.
-High level of poverty, particularly in towns, was brought to public attention w/ publication of surveys by Booth into the living standards of Londoners, ‘Life and Labour of the People of London’ (1891), & Rowntree into living standards in York (1901). Both drew similar conclusions, which was surprising as York was a small city compared w/ London; indication that poverty was widespread. Both reports showed approx 30% of urban pop. were living below poverty line & of those, 10% could be classified as v poor
-Both identified main causes of poverty as low wages, lack of regular work, supporting large families, ill-health & old age, w/ that poverty came appalling living conditions + disease, conclusion was that it was almost impossible to escape from cycle of poverty w/out state help
How and why was there increasing awareness of the conditions suffered by the poor?
-Booth & Rowntree’s findings chimed w/ current tide of opinion among younger generation (eg New Liberals) that poverty wasn’t caused by idleness/fecklessness, but by circumstances beyond individual’s control
-This went against Victorian notion of self-help & individualism, reflected more collectivist approach, which acknowledged necessity of state-directed social policy to bring about social change
-There was an increased awareness that all working people should be able to enjoy decent standard of living
How did Seebohm Rowntree sum up state responsibility in social policy?
“We are part of a social system and must play our part as part of a great whole and if we fail to play our part nobly the whole is marred.”
