society and social changes 1851-1886 Flashcards
1
Q
the upper class
A
- divided by two groups: landed aristocracy and landed gentry
- ‘occupation’: landowning, money earned from work or trade was seen as vulgar
- new money was looked down on by old money (earned vs inherited)
- landed elites would marry their children to the children of leading families from worlds banking and commerce
2
Q
aristocracy
A
800 people income £10,000+ land over 10,000 acres up to 50 staff/servants titles: duke, earl dominated house of lords
3
Q
gentry
A
3000 people
income £1000-10,000
1,000-10,000 acres
6 servants
minor titles
aspire to emulate the aristocracy and have children marry into the aristocracy
resentment of aristocracy’s dominance of key positions
4
Q
the middle class classified
A
- different levels within the middle class
- derived from steady income from non-manual labour in business or the professions
- criteria: minimum of an annual income of £100
- ability to employ servants 1-3 to emulate upper class lifestyle, created greater leisure time for the middle classes
5
Q
the different levels within the middle class
A
- rich industrialists, bankers, financiers and merchants
- richer clergy, doctors, uni profs, headmasters
- yeoman farmers, lawyers, mill managers
- teachers and clerk
6
Q
middle class within mid victorian boom
A
- living standards generally improved
- real incomes increased 1851-71 = number of middle class increased
- families started to limit their size = societal mobility
- separated from the poor by moving south and west = regional divides
- increased leisure, books, magazines about fashion, lifestyle and household management aimed at women
- more affluent middle class sent son to Eton and Westminster to emulate the upper class lifestyle
- confidence, affluence and number increase claimed dominance in British politics and society
- promoted positions based on merit not birth
7
Q
the working class
A
- divided between the unskilled and skilled workers
- most effected by the Great Depression 1873 as all agricultural workers were working class
- changes to poor law meant landowners adapted to ensuring areas of true poverty and poor housing
- consciousness grew gaining prosperity and the vote
- 1884 more working class men won the vote
- 1885 working class constituencies created
8
Q
unskilled workers
A
- lower skill level had a more volatile and irregular working life
- first to be unemployed in economic decline
- seasonal employment: dressmaking
- living arrangements often unstable
9
Q
skilled workers
A
- ## skilled working classes formed friendly societies and trade unions
10
Q
impacts of the Great Depression 1873 on the working class
A
- high farming and mechanisation reduced the demand for agricultural workers - hit agriculture more than industry
- conditions were dangerous: high infant mortality rate, low life expectancy, overcrowded
- falling prices benefited working class mainly with food but life remained struggle with unstable work and housing
11
Q
regional differences throughout UK
A
Scotland - more developed education system and higher literacy rate
Northern England, Midlands and South Wales - developed industrially
London - major international centre of commerce and government
South-East and West - agricultural
12
Q
regional differences - north and south divide
A
- pay in the north was higher than south
- housing was better in the north for workers than south and rents were lower
- cost of key commodities was lower: coal
- Nottingham - better housing for the working class, lower rents = little worker mobility
HOWEVER - some areas in the North had very poor conditions: back to back housing in Yorkshire
13
Q
slums
A
- all major towns and cities has slums where casual workers lived near local industry
- worst conditions were found in London
- huge influx of people but very little industry
- many relied in casual seasonal work = poverty in winter
- health conditions in capital terrible
14
Q
migration and emigration 1851-1886
A
- growth in industry attracted other people to go to Britain and move within Britain
example - Nottinghamshire miners came from other mining areas - traditional differences broke down but regional’s dialects remained strong
- emigration to USA or other dominoes of British empire: Canada, Australia and New Zealand for new life and opportunity
15
Q
prosperity
A
- gap between rich and poor vast even during mid victorian boom
- food prices fell and real wages increased peak prosperity
- larger middle class and upper class benefited from the prosperity
- huge poverty in slums and acute poverty in rural areas
- class differences captured in books, films and TV dramas
- seasonal activities: summer holidays, august shooting, winter hunting, easter-summer the ‘season’ in London (balls, theatres etc)
16
Q
‘season’
A
- highlight of the year important with regard to the marriage market
- wealthy families wanting to make good matches for son/ daughter when they come of age
- dowry worth £15,000 a year
17
Q
prosperity within the upper class and middle class
A
- number in service increased from 750,000 to 1,200,000 1851-71
- number keeping horses and carriages grew and use of railways
- taking annual holiday, spa towns and seaside resorts grew
- expenditure grew quicker than the increase in the costs of goods
18
Q
lack of prosperity for working class
A
- worked long hours six days a week for low pay to produce goods the wealthy consumed or waited on them as servants
- sewing machine invention made fashion more accessible
19
Q
poverty - low wages
A
- very low for unskilled workers
- rates misleading because: irregular working hours, additional sources of income and family may have multiple wage earners
- working-class families had very basic diets largely potatoes and bread
- health problems due to poor diets and living conditions and lack of money for medical treatment
- high infant mortality and low life expectancy
- no money = educationally limited
- seek alternative incomes
20
Q
alternative incomes to counteract low wages
A
street selling washing home-based crafts running allotments poaching petty crime prostitution
21
Q
dangerous working conditions - mining
A
- mine owners unwilling to invest in modern machinery
- at Hartley Colliery in Northumberland 204 men entombed when the beam of the pumping engine snapped and fell down single shaft
- between 1860 and 1897 24,000 men died in mining accidents
22
Q
dangerous working contains in industry
A
- factories and brickyards damaging to health
- in matchmaking phosphorous fumes ate away at workers teeth and jawbone leading to ‘phossy jaw’
- medical treatment expensive and days missed meant no pay = people forced by poverty to continue working in terrible conditions lowering productivity
23
Q
high rents and poor living conditions aiding poverty
A
- 1/4 to 1/2 wages on rent
- gov attempts to clear slums and build better housing meant they were too expensive for the poorest
- slums not cleared with any haste apart from Birmingham
- mass overcrowding, poor sanitation, poorly built accommodation: back to back housing developed for profit
- health deterioration: cholera outbreaks
24
Q
working class related to living conditions
A
- preferred ‘freedom’ of slums despite conditions
- families crammed into singular rooms
- gas lights became for common and furniture was becoming cheaper
- low standard and frequently adulterated food: graphite and back lead in tea
25
Q
child labour
A
- common in all industries
- increasing legislation to limit long hours of work
- much of the work was dangerous: extreme heat, huge weights, inhaling soot, hours in cold and wet
- child labour kept adult wages down
- decided children chance of education and causes serous long-term damage to health
26
Q
the poor law
A
- raised money through rates to support the poor who couldn’t support themselves
- amended in 1834 to shift responsibility from individual parishes to 600 poor law unions
- poor law mainly offered through a workhouse, family would be placed in workhouse if accept poor relief
- new poor law introduced 1834 = outdoor relief
27
Q
outdoor relief
A
poor relief from their own homes not within the workhouse
28
Q
workhouse
A
- husbands, wives and children were separated into different wards
- uniform required
- personal belongings given in and returned on leaving workhouse
- expected to work their poor relief
- conditions were deliberately harsh so people would seek to avoid the workhouse
- some education was provided for children
29
Q
assessments of living conditions
A
- left-wingers: stress the suffering and exploitation of the workers
- right-wingers: stress the function of the market in ensuring that standards of living improved for all
- industrialisation spread wealth widely but lower class saw little improvement
