Unit 3.6 Social & Welfare Reforms: Pressure & Action 1880-1914

Question 1

Key facts about Charles Booth?

Answer 1

-Wise entrepreneur
-Social conscience
-Believed that the poor were in distress through circumstances beyond their own control - poverty was not the fault of the poor
-1855 Mansion House Enquiry into Unemployment

Question 2

What was the 1855 Mansion House Enquiry into Unemployment?

Answer 2

-1855 - severe economic slump, which led to widespread unemployment - discontent and concerns about poverty and potential social unrest, prompted authorities and reformers to investigate the situation
-It emphasized the need for systemic reforms, including improved access to relief efforts and potential public works programs to provide temporary employment.
-its recommendations were constrained by Victorian attitudes toward poverty - blamed the unemployed for their situation
-laid the groundwork for later discussions about social welfare and labor rights

Question 3

Facts about Booths investigation?

Answer 3

-17 year long study but was meant to be 3 years - 35 assistants
-Wasn’t ready to blame the capitalist system itself for creating poverty
-Took place in London - judged them based on the look of their house - inaccurate
-Different teams of investigators but Booth was constantly on it
-University educated team
-Divided the population into classes - acknowledge that they overlapped each other and that there were no sharp distinctions - believed that it was important to understand classes to understand causes of poverty

Question 4

Booths findings?

Answer 4

-Class A - 0.9% of the population - bottom of social hierarchy - semi criminals - Booth believed that people were born into this class and rarely escaped
-Class B - 7.5% of the pop - causal, low paid workers, no security of employment - these people were (due to mental health, physical state or moral) incapable of bettering themselves
-Class C - irregular nature of work meant they was a constant struggle for survival
-Class D - low incomes but work was regular so could budget for survival
-Class E & F - 51.5% of population - regular employment - paid enough - lead conformable life
-Class G & H - lower and upper middle classes - 17.8% of the population

Question 5

Were Booths findings reliable?

Answer 5

-Openly admitted he relied on observation only - Booth did not take into account income when defining poverty - subjective and unreliable
-Helen Bosanquet of the COS - objected social survey method by Booth - no underpinning philosophy - ‘poverty line’ was flawed - attacked statistical basis of Booth’s findings - claimed that it underestimated the income level of families - biased as she campaigned for the COS
-Looked for poverty when doing the study
-Classes were uneasy mix of the economic and moral

Question 6

Poverty line

Answer 6

The level below which families have insufficient money to maintain a minimum acceptable standard of living - as standard of living rises, so does poverty line

Question 7

Facts about Benjamin Seebohm Rowntree?

Answer 7

-devoted Quaker
-he believed that healthy, contented worked were also efficient workers, he believed in a democracy in the workplace a minimum wage, family allowances and old age pensions

Question 8

Facts about Rowntrees investigation?

Answer 8

-conducted 3 surveys of poverty in York that provided a variety of statistical data which supported his findings
-aim was to find out both the numbers of people living in poverty and the nature of that poverty
-he hoped to build on Booth’s work and give more precision to the ‘poverty line’
-his first survey was in 1899 the second survey was completed in 1941 and the third in 1951
-he used one full-time investigator who carried out house-to-house visits as well as relying on information from clergymen, teachers and voluntary workers

Question 9

What were Rowntrees findings?

Answer 9

-28% of the population in York were in obvious need and living in squalor
-the necessary minimum wage for a family to live in a state of physical efficiency was 21 shillings a week - this was were he drew the poverty line
-York lived below poverty line and Rowntree defined this as ‘primary poverty’
-the remaining 18% lived in a ‘secondary poverty’ these people were on the brink of ‘primary poverty’ surviving on the bare necessities of life with no savings
-uncovered what he called the ‘poverty cycle’:
1. childhood was a time of poverty, conditions improved when children earned a wage
2. couples, who had children, slipped below the poverty line and remained there until children began to earn
3. couples fell below the poverty line when they became old and couldnt work

Question 10

How reliable were Rowntree’s findings?

Answer 10

-focuses on working classes in York, he defined these as families where the head of the household was a wage earner and no servants were employed
-around 11,560 households were visited and information 46,754 exactly 2/3 of the population
-looked at people’s houses to judge their level poverty - didn’t necessarily reflect eachother
-Helen Bosanquet of the COS - objected Rowntree

Question 11

What were similarities between Booth and Rowntree?

Answer 11

-Don’t look at income
-Judged on observation
-Looked for poverty
-Same woman criticised surveys - Helen Bosanquet
-investigated the nature of poverty
-completed detailed investigation and collected statistical data
-relied on information from clergymen, teachers and voluntary workers
-highlighted a poverty line and said that around 30% were in poverty
-said the poor were poor because of no fault of their own

Question 12

What were differences between Booth and Rowntree?

Answer 12

-Booths investigation took 17 years but Rowntrees took 2 years
-Booth worked in London and Rowntree in York
-Booth divided the pop into classes but Rowntree defined the poor into primary poverty and secondary poverty

Question 13

Socialist

Answer 13

A political and economic ideology which promotes equal opportunity for all where there is increased government intervention and business is state owned - it prioritises society as a whole

Question 14

Key facts about the Fabian Society?

Answer 14

-1884 - founded
-Socialists
-Gradual with non confrontational methods to push for change
-Key individuals include Emmeline Pankhurst and HG Wells
-Became present after the fellowship of the new life

Question 15

Who were some key members of the Fabian society?

Answer 15

HG Wells - author
Emeline Pankhurst - suffragette
Beatrice Webb - wrote about industrial Britain and developing a research methodology

Question 16

How did the Fabian Society protest for change?

Answer 16

-held meetings that published numerous pamphlets
-lobbied politicians on a wide range of topics from poor law reform to international alliances but all having at their core the need to advance national and international socialism
-Didn’t use violence as they preferred to utilise the power of local government and trade unions

Question 17

What did the Fabians want to achieve?

Answer 17

-social justice
-equality
-more radical in their policies than the early 20th century reforms of the liberal govenrment would suggest

Question 18

What did the Fabians do in 1906 and then in 1911?

Answer 18

-In 1906, the Fabians lobbied for the minimum wage to stop British companies trying to remain competitive by lowering wages
-1911, they created a universal health service that would enable Britain to be physically fit to defend their country

Question 19

Did the Fabians support the Boer War? Why?

Answer 19

-they believed that imperialism would be the basis of British foreign policy as the pursuit of empire would enable Britain to become the centre of a worldwide empire not a collection of islands
-They believed that no small nations should have a place in the world of empires
-They advocated for a citizen army to form and replace he professional one which would be full of healthy men if the govenrmet supported their proposals for a universal health service and Factory Acts so that those in half time employment would be trained and educated

Question 20

What political party did the Fabians help set up? When?

Answer 20

-1900 - sent delegates to the Labour Party Foundation Conference - led to the creation of the LRC (Labour representative committee) (other left wing societies were affiliates)
-26 LRC candidates elected in 1906, they set up a party in the commons (Labour Party) - showed the growing interest in the country in socialism
-Membership of Fabian society tripled numbering 2500 in 1908
-Student section created in 1912 with 500 members in 1914

Question 21

What did the Fabians set up in 1895?

Answer 21

-they set up LSE university in 1895, particularly headed by Webbs and GB Shaw
-it was meant to be a research institute but became an instituting encouraging the study of different subjects

Question 22

What was the Boer War? Who was it fought between?

Answer 22

A war that took place in South Africa in 1899-1902
The Boers (Dutch farmers) fought against the British who were led by Lord Kitchener

Question 23

What tactics did both sides use in the Boer War?

Answer 23

Boers used 19th century cavalry fighting

British used 20th century guerrilla warfare
Brits burned houses, 30,000 boer houses burned - left women and children homeless
Concentration camps set up to hold 160,000 women and children ‘refugee camps’ - they were protected by the military
1900 December - Emily Hobhouse saw an 8 year old girl on the edge of starvation dying of Typhoid - decided to tell the British what was being done and this cruelty
26,000 Boer women and children died in camps with 80% under 16

Question 24

Who was Joseph Chamberlain?

Answer 24

A leading figure in British politics
Tory
Made Birmingham go right wing
Factory owner
Believed the new century could be british with the empire dominating the world

Question 25

What did the Boer War reveal about the poor?

Answer 25

-40-60% of the men who volunteered were unfit, sick or too weak
-In industrial areas, 2/3 potential recruits did not pass the army medical examination.
-The investigations of Booth and Rowntree confirmed that this was due to poverty
-Rowntree noted that 26.5% of recruits trying to enlist from York were rejected as ‘unfit’
-it highlighted a general concern that working people were now physically weak

Question 26

What did the govenrment do in response to the findings on the ability of the soldier to fight in the boer war?

Answer 26

-1903 - the government set up a commission to investigate why so many recruits were rejected due to ill-health - Interdepartmental Committee on Physical Deterioration
-The Committee made 53 recommendations that included: Medical inspections of children in schools as well as physical education, Free school meals for the very poor, Training in mothering skills and help with labour
-However, the Committee overall suggested that “fears of national deterioration are largely unfounded”

Question 27

What was National Efficiency?

Answer 27

A campaign started by intellectuals and the political elite that campaigned for the improving of government efficiency so that they can get the greatest amount of change for small price - they focused peoples attention on the need to improve conditions for the poor
Focused attention of Britain’s Human Resources as fundamental to national power in economics and military and encouraged policymakers to look more closely at social and economic policies that were being implemented by Britain’s competitors and to calculate which were the most effective

Question 28

What were the military reasons why individuals claimed they were part of the national efficiency campaign?

Answer 28

-Britain was an empire and empire required a huge army to defend and maintain it
-Britain would lose its military strength and its empire would crumble

Question 29

What were the economic reasons why individuals claimed they were part of the national efficiency campaign?

Answer 29

-Britains workforce, up until the end of the 19th century Britain had been the leading industrial nation, other countries were catching up and taking over
-Britain would lose its economic competitiveness and other countries would overtake leaving Britain behind

Question 30

What did others do in response to the findings?

Answer 30

The national efficiency campaign was developed

Question 31

Who set up the Royal Commission 1905-09? Who was part of it? Give a trait of the individuals.

Answer 31

-Set up by the Conservative government in 1905
-20 members, 5 poor law guardians, 6 were members of COS, 4 members of the Local Government Board
-e.g. Charles Booth and Beatrice and Sidney Webb (Fabian society), along with religious and trade union leaders
-Better qualified than those who had participated in the Royal Commission in 1832-34.

Question 32

Why was the royal commission 1905-09 set up? What did they do?

Answer 32

-Enquiry into the workings of the poor laws and the best way to relieve the poor
-Visited 200 Poor Law unions and 400 institutions, took evidence from 450 witnesses and read through and analysed 900 statements of written evidence

Question 33

Why was the royal commission 1905-09 split into 2 and produced 2 reports?

Answer 33

-they could not agree; ended up producing 2 reports

Question 34

What were the 2 reports produced by the royal commission?

Answer 34

1. Majority report
2. Minority report

Question 35

What were the findings of the majority report?

Answer 35

-The origins of poverty were basically moral, it was the fault of the pauper
-The Poor Law should stay as the main vehicle for dealing with poverty
-Boards of guardians allowed too much relief and they should be replaced by public assistance committees
-General mixed workhouses did not deter the able bodied poor
-There should be greater co-operation between charities and those administering the Poor law, and voluntary aid committees should be set up to enable this to happen

Question 36

What were the findings of the minority report?

Answer 36

-The origins of poverty were basically economic - blaming the government
-A Ministry of Labour should be set up which would introduce and oversee public work schemes, set up a string of national labour exchanges to help the unemployed find jobs and organise a schedule of training schemes and set up detention colonies for those who were deliberately idle
-The Poor Law administration should be broken up into education committees to deal with child poverty, pension committees to deal with problems of the elderly poor and health committees to deal with problems of poor who were sick or infirm

Question 37

Strengths of the royal commission 1905-09?

Answer 37

-200 poor law unions visited
-Commissioners are experienced more than 1832 commission
-The work of the commissioner was done over a period of 4 years - gave the probes of poverty and investigations into the causes of poverty, a high profile
-Carried out thorough investigations and had detailed evidence
-Both reports condemned the central government for failing to check the guardians - pressure on gov to come up with solutions
-Minority report challenged previous views on poverty

Question 38

Failures of the royal commission 1905-09?

Answer 38

-Two opposing reports meant that govenrment didnt feel the need to act
-The minority report angered politicians.
-The majority report was favoured. Views on poverty were therefore not really challenged.
-Boards of guardians opposed the proposal that they should be dissolved.
-By the time the reports were published, the Liberal gov had already started their reforms.

Question 39

What were the 3 principles for welfare established by the royal commission 1905-09?

Answer 39

1. Poverty as a condition was not always the fault of the poor.
2. Government should take responsibility for improving the situation of the poorest members of society.
3. Poor Law Unions and Boards of Guardians should be abolished and be replaced by Public Assistance Committees that would work closely with local voluntary agencies.

Question 40

Who were the 3 individuals who worked on the liberal reforms?

Answer 40

1. David Lloyd George - Treasure
2. Herbert Asquith, PM in 1908
3. Winston Churchill, Board of Trade

Question 41

Why were there liberal reforms?

Answer 41

-Research by Booth & Rowntree and others (eg Fabian Society)
-Army recruitment problems from the Boer War
-Continue the work of the Conservative’s Royal Commission
-Threat of the new Labour party
-New Liberals - Lloyd George, Churchill
-Industrial growth by Germany threatened Britain

Question 42

What 4 acts were part of the liberal reform acts 1906-1914?

Answer 42

1. The Old Pensions Act 1909
2. The Labour Exchanges Act 1909
3. Trade Boards Act 1909
4. The National Insurance Act 1911

Question 43

What were the successes of the old age pensions act 1909?

Answer 43

-Pensions were funded by taxes so poor people pay less
-Pensions were paid to men and women through post office
-Charles Booth developed ideas in 1890s
-600 000 people claimed
-only paid to over 70s - few people reached that age - better for the government
-shadow of the workhouse and stigma of poor being in recipes of poor relief had gone
-pensions were non contributory

Question 44

What were the failures of the old age pensions act 1909?

Answer 44

-did not reduce number of elderly people receiving relief in workhouses - 600,000 claimed each
-Too frail and vulnerable to care for themselves
-Pensions weren’t paid to people who couldn’t find work or had been in prison in the last ten years Or if they claimed poor relief in last two years
-Had to be British citizens for last 20 years
-If they earned over 12 shillings a week, no pension
-not universal

Question 45

What were the successes of the Labour exchanges act 1909?

Answer 45

-Broke the problem of unemployment into two parts: Finding work and insuring against the loss of work due to illness
-Feb 1910 - 83 Labour exchanges opened
-1914 - 450 throughout England - found work for 3000 people a day
-helped those in the under class

Question 46

What were the failures of the Labour exchanges act 1909?

Answer 46

-some workers were afraid they would be recruited for black labour (temporary work) from the strike
-employers were afraid labour exchanges would provide an excuse for those unwilling to work
-tackled the issue by relieving unemployed rather than attempting to prevent unemployment
-voluntary - relieve unemployment not prevent

Question 47

What were the successes of the trade boards act 1909?

Answer 47

-200,000 workers involved
-Act dealt with employment - created boards in specific sweated trades e.g. coal mining
-Enforced minimum wage criteria
-Provided creation of boards in specific sweated trades (poorly paid for hard labour)
-Government has say in wages - Which lead to partial advocacy for minimum wage

Question 48

What were the failures of the trade boards act 1909?

Answer 48

-Didnt define minimum wage - unclear

Question 49

What were the successes of the national insurance act 1911?

Answer 49

-In the early 1900s between 6-7 million people insured against sickness
-Lloyd George used Germany’s social insurance scheme as a model
-2.25 million men were insured by the end of 1912
-by 1913 13 million workers were insured for sickness benefit
-workers could claim unemployment benefit of 7 shillings for 15 weeks in a year
-it applied to all workers who earned less than £160 a year who were between 16-60
-maternity care was provided with a one-off benefit of 30 shillings
-free treatment given by a medical practitioner and all medicines were free

Question 50

What were the failures of the national insurance act 1911?

Answer 50

-Most unpopular of all reforms - workers resented paying 4d from their wages (flat rate) - poorest workers hit hardest
-Many saw it as a wage cut
-No guarantee you get ill so might not receive benefits

Question 51

Who were the 3 main individuals who helped working class women?

Answer 51

1. Martha Loane
2. Olive Malvery
3. Mary Higgs

Question 52

How did Mary Higgs help working class women?

Answer 52

-helped homeless in 1891 and became interested in social reform
-Lectured locally on a wide range of social subjects
-visited Union Workhouse in Oldham - showed her the real life of the destitute
-Visited workhouse tramp wards and woman’s shelters disguised as a tramp - published her account in Five Days and Five Nights in 1905 - was threatened by officials and said it was disease ridden and overcrowded
-she set up decent women’s hostels in Oldham - inspired others to do the same
-Campaigned against Vagrancy Act 1824 (criminalised rough sleeping and begging) which (she argued) stigmatised homelessness