Social change c1886-1914

Question 1

how many members did trade unions have in 1888?

Answer 1

750,000

Question 2

what were new unions also know as?

Answer 2

general unions as they admitted anyone within industry regardless of their job + charged very low subscriptions

Question 3

why did new unions emerge?

Answer 3

bc the exclusive, inward-facing new model unions offered nothing for the mass of workers

• there was a much greater % of workers in industry + in larger scale enterprises -> made less exclusive unionism more attractive
• workers also became literate so joined to protect themselves
• new self confidence + interest in political matters after the extension of the franchise in 1867
• Great Depression was favourable to wider union growth as fall in prices + profits made employees vulnerable

Question 4

examples of successful strikes

Answer 4

1888
Bryant + may match girls strike -> the girls had to endure poor conditions + dangerous work
Gas workers union strike -> wanted 8 hour day rather than
12 hour, metropolitan gas quickly agreed
1889
Dockers strike -> irregular, poor paid work, they had seen their bonuses cut + dock ground to a standstill for 5 weeks -> employers eventually gave in

Question 5

when did new unions start to face problems + why?

Answer 5

1890s as employers fought back bc there was continued economic hardships meant that they were able to find workers willing to break strikes
eg Dockers union membership fell from 56,000 in 1890 to 23,000 in 1892

Question 6

what was the biggest problem a trade union faced?

Answer 6

Taff Vale judgement 1901
the ASRS had asked for a wage increase for its members, the company was making higher profits from Boer war increased demand, railway company refused to negotiate + brought in blackleg labour from the national free labour association
was brought to house of lords + trade union had to pay damage + also the lost revenue

Question 7

what is syndicalism?

Answer 7

more than one trade union go on strike in support of another trade union

a form of revolutionary socialism that aims to overthrow the capitalist system + replace it with a socialist system based on the trade union movement

Question 8

why was the idea of syndicalism gaining ground?

Answer 8

1910-14 strikes seen as having been more ‘political’ than earlier strikes

Question 9

evidence of the wave of strikes 1908-1914

Answer 9

• > miner killed in 1910 in Tonypandy
• > troops shooting dead two strikers who attacked a train in Llanelli in 1911
• > 1912 40.89 mill working days lost to striking

Question 10

what was total trade union membership in 1914?

Answer 10

4.14 million

Question 11

conclusion of syndicalism?

Answer 11

clear evidence of syndicalist action + involvement in industrial unrest, their impact is largely dismissed.
only involved in a minority of key strikes, also dismissed bc majority of union leaders were moderates + only in the strikes in south wales + Liverpool

Question 12

who were the two groups of female emancipation?

Answer 12

• suffragettes

- suffragists

Question 13

what the constitutional approach?

Answer 13

this was by the suffragists
the 1884 reform bill for equal franchise was defeated + Gladstone did not support the amendment + in 1892 clearly state he did not support it on ideological grounds
the suffragists had failed + their tactic of getting MPs to pass a private members bill also failed

some liberal party MPs did support female suffrage
they gave single women the vote in local govt elections + allowed women to join school boards

Question 14

why did conservatives warm to the idea of female enfranchisement after the reform act of 1884?

Answer 14

because they were motivated by the fact that middle class women would vote for them

Question 15

what was the militant approach?

Answer 15

oct 1903, Emmeline Pankhurst set up the WSPU
WSPU was willing to use confrontation + violence, frustrated by the lack of progress since the 1860s + Liberals ignoring demands, the suffragettes became militant

Question 16

what tactics did the suffragettes use?

Answer 16

window breaking + arson
hunger strikes
Emily Davidson attempted to pin a suffragette rose on the kings horse + grabbed its reins, horse fell and Davidson died

Question 17

who campaigned against the suffragettes?

Answer 17

anti suffrage league

Question 18

what was the anti suffrage leagues arguments?

Answer 18

• many women didn’t want the vote
• women were unfit to vote -> biologically weaker
• ‘separate spheres’ women should remain in the domestic sphere while men in the public sphere

Question 19

what was the Cat and mouse act?

Answer 19

women would starve themselves in prison so when they did this they would be let out until they were healthy again and then be put back in -> seemed brutal and illiberal

Question 20

how much did the urban pop. grow from 1881 to 1901?

Answer 20

34,940,000 -> 41,540,000

Question 21

how did standards of living improve 1886-1914?

Answer 21

low prices + increase in wages benefitted working class families
economic expansion meant that most of the population had better access to more resources
after 1900, unemployment generally remained low

Question 22

how did living standards not improve?

Answer 22

many thousands of workers were involved in sweated industries eg tailoring -> worked long hours in ill-lit back room factories or at home for piece money
there was a a high level of poverty in towns (brought to public attention by Charles booth)
approx 30% of urban pop. were living below the poverty line

Question 23

what were the main identified causes of poverty ?

Answer 23

low wages, lack of regular work, supporting large families, ill health + old age

Question 24

what was the housing of the working classes Act 1890-90?

Answer 24

compelled local authorities to demolish unhealthy housing + provide accommodation for those made homeless
the 1890 act made loans to build new houses easier to obtain but both acts failed to deal with strategic planning of expanding towns

Question 25

what retail shops grew in this period?

Answer 25

Lipton, Boots + Sainsbury’s -> offered a wider range of goods inc more imported goods, they catered for middles classes but as prices dropped, working classes were able to gain access to greater range of quality food products

Question 26

how did the leisure industry grow?

Answer 26

Blackpool + other seaside resorts flourished as people went on days out
working class loved watching football + the football league was founded in 1888 + 100,000 people attended the FA cup final in 1901

Question 27

what suggested that there were issues towards inequality + poverty?

Answer 27

rise of the labour party
growth of trade unions
new liberalism

Question 28

what did Booth’s report find?

Answer 28

30% of London pop. were living below the poverty line

8.5% living in ‘primary property’ and were unable to afford basics of food, clothes + housing

Question 29

what did Rowntree’s report find?

Answer 29

28% of pop. were living in poverty

poverty was caused by ill health, lack of regular work, low wages etc

Question 30

conclusion on rising prosperity?

Answer 30

Britain was more prosperous than ever but wealth was unevenly spread. the middle + upper classes continued to have a high standard of living + for some of the working classes there was a marked increase in their standard of living, but around 30% of Br remained very poor

Question 31

Osbourne judgement 1909

Answer 31

trade unions not allowed to give funding to parties

Question 32

why did TU’s become more militant?

economic
social
political

Answer 32

• after 1900 real wages did not rise as fast as they did 1870s-90s. wage demands most freq cause of disputes.
• a trade boom improved TU bargaining position before WW1.
• educations acts had introduced better schooling, workers more educated + aware of political ideas
• taff vale case replaced by 1906 trade disputes act -> picketing could now include trying to persuade others not to work + TU’s could not be challenged in civil law courts
• 30 labour MPs in parliament after 1906 but didn’t do enough for workers, some argued general strike was needed to achieve socialist society

Question 33

what profession counted for half of the working days lost in 1907?

Answer 33

miners

Question 34

when was there a national miners strike and what happened?

Answer 34

1912
it ended when the govt brought in coal mines act as a compromise -> local boards are established to fix wages but they would decide different rates for different regions, Miners federation of GB did not get the national rate it wanted

Question 35

what alliances were set up?

Answer 35

triple alliance -> could organise crippling strike amongst the country’s most vital workers
the national union of railwaymen

Question 36

how did the govt try to alleviate the pressures of workers?

Answer 36

national insurance act 1911
worked to introduce min wage + limit hours
mechanisms to settle disputes on occasions Lloyd George was a mediator