The Liberal Reforms

Question 1

What is a philanthropist?

Answer 1

A philanthropist is someone who cares about other people.

Question 2

Who were the Salvation Army?

Answer 2

William and Catherine Booth set up the Salvation Army which helped people by providing food and helped people find jobs.

Question 3

What did William Booth do?

Answer 3

He made the “circle of poverty” which outlined why people lived in poverty for the poor.

Question 4

What did Charles Booth do?

Answer 4

Charles Booth refused to believe that 25% of the working population was living in poverty, so he carried out an investigation for himself. He found that nearly 31% of Londoners were living below what he called the “poverty line”. He divided the poor into four groups.

Question 5

What did Seebohm Rowntree do?

Answer 5

Seebohm Rowntree found out that 28% of the population of York were living in poverty. With this he then divided this poverty into primary and secondary poverty.

Question 6

What did charities do to help?

Answer 6

• Private charities gave help in the form of money, clothes or food.
• By 1905, there were 700-800 private charities operating in London alone.

Question 7

What was The Poor Law?

Answer 7

The law of the Poor Law was that those who needed help had to go into workhouses. The workhouse provided food and shelter for the poor. However, the conditions in the workhouses were awful and people hated going into workhouses.

Question 8

What did the Government do to help children?

Answer 8

• The Free School Meals - 1906
• The School Medical Inspections - 1907
• The Children’s Act - 1908
• School clinics - 1912

Question 9

When was the Free School Meal introduced and what did it to?

Answer 9

• It was introduced in 1906.
• It gave children in the poorest of families free school meals.
• 1914: over 158,000 were having a free meal, once a day, everyday

Question 10

When was the School Medical Inspections introduced and what did it do?

Answer 10

• It was introduced in 1907.
• It was free
• Doctors and nurses went into schools to give compulsory medical checks.

Question 11

When was the Children’s Act introduced and what did it do?

Answer 11

• It was introduced in 1908.
• Children became “protected persons”
• For example, children under the age of 14 weren’t aloud to be sent to adult prisons.

Question 12

When was School Clinics introduced and what did it do?

Answer 12

• They were introduced in 1912.

- It gave free medical treatment for school which was good as some parents couldn’t afford it.

Question 13

What did the Government do to help the sick and unemployed?

Answer 13

• The National Insurance Act Part 1 - 1911
• The National Insurance Act Part 2 - 1912
• The Labour Exchange Act - 1909

Question 14

When was the National Insurance Act Part 1 introduced and what did it do?

Answer 14

• It was introduced in 1911.
• Workers had to pay 4d, employers contributed 3d and the Government paid 2d.
• If workers became ill they got; 10s a week for 13 weeks and then 5s a week for a further 13 weeks in a year.

Question 15

When was the National Insurance Act Part 2 introduced and what did it do?

Answer 15

• It was introduced in 1912.
• Workers, employers and the Government all paid 2d each.
• When unemployed, workers were paid 7s 6d a week for up to 15 weeks in a year.

Question 16

When was the Labour Exchange Act introduced and what did it do?

Answer 16

• It was introduced in 1909.

- The unemployed would go to a labour exchange to look for a job.

Question 17

What did the Government do to help the old age?

Answer 17

• The Old Age Pensions Act - 1909

Question 18

When was the Old Age Pensions Act introduced and what did it to?

Answer 18

• The budget was made in 1908, but it was introduced in 1909.
• It was for those 70 and over.
• A single person got 5s a week and a married couple got 7s 6d a week.

Question 19

What was effective about the Liberal Reforms?

Answer 19

• The National Insurance covered 10 million men and 4 million women. (sick)
• The National Insurance covered 2.25 million workers, mostly skilled men. (unemployed)

Question 20

What wasn’t effective about the Liberal Reforms?

Answer 20

• Only around 1/2 a million elderly people qualified for state old-age pensions.
• Pensions were only for those 70 and over.
• You had to have an income of below £21 a year. (pension)
• You had to be a British citizen living in Britain for over 20 years.
• You couldn’t be in prison 10 years before claiming.
• You could only claim if your income was less than £160 a year (insurance)
• It was restricted to trades that seasonal unemployment was common. For example; building and engineering.

Question 21

What was the opposition to the reforms?

Answer 21

• House of Lords (rich and landowners) - they had to pay tax to cover the Old Age Pensions Act.
• Most people - believed in “laissez-faire” and they thought it was wrong to step in and help those who might just be lazy.
• Some described Lloyd George as the highway man - taxed the rich to give to the poor.
• Some people thought it would make people rely on the state for money.
• Labour party - the Liberals stole their idea but didn’t intervene enough.

Question 22

What was C Crosses (a historian) view on the liberal reforms?

Answer 22

“Two men, David Lloyd George and Winston Churchill were responsible for launching a great social programme which laid the foundations of a future welfare state”

Question 23

Did most historians agree or disagree with the importance of the Liberal reforms 1906-1912?

Answer 23

Most of them disagreed.