Was the adoption of a factory system the main reason that trade unionism grew in the years 1785-34? Flashcards
What are the two other ways in which the ‘factory system’ factor may manifest itself?
mechanisation of industry and industrialisation
What are the four factors that need to be discussed?
Factory system
Protection from workers
External Factors
government policies
The external factors factor is mainly concerned with which country?
France
What did the consolidation of the factory system in which year mean generally for workers?
1769 marked the start of an era that would give workers much greater cause for protection
What were many factories pursuing profit at the expense of?
Everything else
What could workers unite over thanks to the mechanisation of industry that they did not previously have?
Mutual causes and grievances
The increased efficiency of the factory system compared to the old cottage industry greatly reduced what?
The significance of the individual
As well as the factory system, what also reduced the role of the individual?
The massive increase in population
Such was the demand for jobs due to the exponential population growth that what could happen?
individuals could be sacked and replaced very quickly with little to no consequence or cost to the employer
Between when did the population grow from what to what?
Between 1750 and 1850 the population rose from 6 million to more than 17 million
Before the 1833 factory act, what was the employment situation?
Before the 1833 Factory Act a working week was 6 days long with 14 hour working days being a common undertaking
So focussed on productivity were the employers that employees faced what?
fines for lateness or actions that reduced the speed that they could carry out work with
What was the fine a means for the employer to do?
Compensate them for the lost work
If someone was 10 minutes late to work, how big could their fine be?
two hours’ wages
If an employee was caught talking, what could be their fine?
1/5 of their daily wage
There was a high injury rate in factories, but why did employers not put in place safety measures?
costly and could have decreased productivity
Wages were always as low as employers thought that they could get away with, but what were they?
12-15 shillings a week
prior to the factory system, how was work often conducted?
in small units, with a master, his journeymen and apprentices
Prior to the factory system, a master would work alongside his journeymen and apprentices, what did this mean?
That there was a direct connection between the employee and the employer who was visibly present and working alongside his employees
What did the factory system do to this previous line of communication between employer and employee?
Severed it, preferring an automated atmosphere to encourage productivity
With an increased distance from their workforce, what idea was lost with the advent of the factory system?
The idea that they employer was working towards the same goal as his workforce
By creating a division between worker and master, the factory system created an environment where mutual progress was replaced by a conflicting set of values. What were they?
fair wages and respect for one and profit and productivity for the other
By creating a division between worker and master, the factory system created an environment where mutual progress was replaced by a conflicting set of values: fair wages and respect for one and profit and productivity for the other. What was workers’ only way to redress this conflict?
to bind together
Government thought that prosperity could only occur if what happened?
the market remained deregulated and entrepreneurs were left to their own devices
Employers were free to set their own wages and working conditions due to what?
The laissez faire free market approach of government
Government was not going to be the driving force for change, so people were compelled to do what?
organise into groups to achieve common goals of reform and to protect themselves
Though the Combination Acts in 1799 and 1800 from William Pitt’s government had a purpose of preventing unionisation, but what had it actually done?
Increased the sources of working class discontent and resent that fuelled the growth of unionism
During the time of the combination acts, what meant that unionism still grew?
The advent and growth of the postal service and other new communications
Describe how the combination acts were implemented?
Poorly
Why were, in part, few people actually prosecuted under the 1799 and 1800 combinations acts?
acts such as the 1797 Unlawful Oaths Acts carried harsher sentences than the 3 months’ prison sentence for organising that the Combination Act provided
What were the combination acts passed as a reaction to?
the french threat
What happened to the combination acts when the french threat had receded by 1815?
They were largely ignored
What does the repeal of the combination acts in 1824 suggest?
That they were not doing their job successfully
The repealing of the combination acts by were by more open-minded, thoughtful politicians such as?
Peel and Hume
The repealing of the combination acts by more open-minded, thoughtful politicians such as Peel and Hume recognised what?
the rights of workers to have peaceful, effective outlets for discontent
What did the repeal of the combination acts legitimise?
the growth of unions as a sanctioned method of protest
What did John Doherty found and when did he do so?
1829 General Union of Operative Spinners and then the National Association for the Protection of Labour
What did the repeal of the combination acts in 1824 do to participation?
Encouraged those to participate who would have previously been unwilling to challenge government authority to become involved in trade union activity
What did the french wars lead to that bothered workers?
rising food prices
what did the rising food prices as a result of the french wars mean for workers?
Any wage increases were felt far more acutely
The war is France led to rising food prices and so created an environment whereby what could flourish?
social discontent that could be channelled into unionism
What did the french revolutions of 1789 and 1830 demonstrate to the world?
The potential of a united workforce
Who organised themselves into an association to strengthen themselves against wage revolutions and when did they do this?
1799 weavers in wigan
By May 1799, how many branches did the Association of Weavers have across Lancashire?
14
Complete the sentence: The war with France did provide a source of discontent in its own right, however this did not have the same
monumentally deleterious and crucially long lasting effect on workers as the factory system did.
Complete this sentence about the french wars: Ultimately the war was going end of its own volition, however the workers realised that in order to enact change of the factory system..
..they would need to constructively unite.
The war with France also created economic discontent when they ended in 1815 which, combined with the mechanisation of industry, caused working class discontent that led to moves to create what after 1815?
general trades unions
The growth in union activity also tended to coincide with what, undermining the extent to which the mechanisation of industry can be considered completely responsible?
wider economic problems, such as the end of the Napoleonic wars in 1815, rather than the general consequences of mechanisation
The impact of mechanisation often led to what?
violent, direct action such as the Swing Riots or Luddism rather than organised peaceful unionised action
The Grand National Consolidated Trade Union of 1734-35 claimed to have over how many million members?
1
What does the size of the Grand National of 1834-35 suggest?
suggests that the motive was mutual protection
Who petitioned their masters for an increase in wage due to the higher cost of living and when did they do this?
London Printers 1793
How many signatures did the London printers generate in support of their aims?
539
Were the london printers successful?
Yes they generated enough support to increase their wages
What is significant about the strike of the London printers?
The printers were not, like Textiles or coal, one of the industries that experiences the most adverse effects of industrialisation.
The printers were not, like Textiles or coal, one of the industries that experiences the most adverse effects of industrialisation. What does this suggest about the growth of unionism?
It was not necessarily after protection from the factory system, but from the pressures of a changing economy.
