britain paper 1 study notes

8/17/2019 Britain Paper 1 Study Notes

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Why did democracy develop in Britain after 1850?

Introduction

Between 1850 and 1928, through the introduction of a erie of act of parliament, Britain

!ecame a democratic country" #ll the feature that would !e e$pected in a democracy

were put in place" %or e$ample, the franchie wa made univeral, the contituencie weremore or le hared e&ually acro the country, voting wa protected and the opportunitiefor corruption were conidera!ly reduced" Whilt appreciating the effectivene of thee

act, it i neceary to e$amine the variou !ac'ground factor which encouraged

government and parliament to pa them in the firt place" (hey include ocial changeuch a population growth and movement, education and the growth of a national pre

that contri!uted to growing pu!lic interet and participation in politic" Bac'ground

factor alo include enlightened political leaderhip a well a na'ed political elf)interetlin'ed to party elf)interet and urvival"

*ocial and +conomic hange

In the 1850, the political ytem in Britain came under increaing preure a a reult

of ocial and economic change" (he nineteenth century aw a rapid growth in the i-e

and movement of population" Indutrial area grew at the e$pene of country.rural

area !ut the way that political repreentation wa organi-ed wa low to change" (heIndutrial /evolution changed where people lived, how they wor'ed and how they

aw their poition in ociety"

#t a time of large cale indutriali-ation, ur!ani-ation and ocial change, the

government wa till run !y the upper cla, elected !y a mall, male minority" any

in the growing !uine and trade clae felt their effort were ma'ing Britain rich !ut that they and the town.citie in which they lived were under)repreented" (hey

!elieved that the upper cla, !aed on land ownerhip, hould not have all political

power !ut that it hould !e hared with the middle clae" %aced with thi preure,

parliament had little option !ut to ta'e tep that led to the growth of democracy"

rowing u!lic Interet in the olitical *ytem

By the 1830, there wa growing pu!lic interet in the political ytem" 4epite the

lac' of compulory education, education level were growing teadily" in'ed to thi,

wa the growth of national newpaper, encouraged !y the railway ytem" (hee

paper focued on national iue uch a politic and they were alo the main readingmaterial for many in ociety"

(hrough the newpaper, the pu!lic learnt of the defect and flaw in the political

ytem" 6ewpaper triggered interet in event in +urope and the 7*#, whilt aloallowing ome comparion !etween Britain ytem and that of other countrie" #ll

of thi com!ined to caue people to reali-e that there wa much wrong with the

political ytem and that change wa needed"



hanging olitical #ttitude

By the 1850, i!eral leader uch a ord >ohn /uell and William ladtone

favoured political reform a a tep toward other change, to atify 'illed wor'er

and to avoid unret" In 1833, there wa a good deal of popular demand for reform,

underlined !y marche, demontration and even rioting in Ayde ar', ondon"

ladtone !elieved that moderate, educated, 'illed wor'er deerved the vote a a

moral right" (he etting up, organi-ation and ucceful running of trade union !aedon democratic principle, wa evidence of thi" (he future rime initer !ecame the

focu for attention in 183; when he declared that C Every man who is not presumably

incapacitated by some consideration of personal fitness or of political danger ismorally entitled to come within the pale of the Constitution, provided this does not

lead to sudden or violent or excessive, or intoxicating political change!

(hu in 1833, ladtone upported attempt to ecure reform and in 188; hi

government introduced the Representation of the People Act (Third Reform Act)"

ladtone i!eral overnment introduced thi act for the following reaonD

<i=" (o grant e&ual voting right to male in the countie in line with thoe enoyed !y

male in the !orough"

<ii=" (o recognie that wor'ing cla male were !ecoming increaingly educated andliterate and hould !e included in the political proce"

<iii=" (o include more wor'ing cla male in the political ytem in order to reduce

dicontent and negate the appeal of new radical.revolutionary doctrine e"g" *ocialim"

ot of the reaon for the introduction of the Representation of the People Act!"!# ($o%rth Reform Act) were connected with World War ID

<i=" (he reidency &ualification for voter had to !e a!olihed" It wa politically

unaccepta!le to tell men, who had ut returned from the War, that they had lot the right

to vote !ecaue they had not !een reident at their property for ome time"<ii=" Women had ta'en over o! normally aociated with men and had 'ept the home

front going during the War" (hi gained them repect and peruaded thoe in power to

introduce limited female uffrage"

oncluion

(he growth of democracy !etween 1850 and 1928 can !e e$plained !y many reaon"(he #ct that increaed democracy are of ome ignificance !ut they would never have

!ecome law unle there were other preure or reaon for change" @f greater

ignificance are the variou factor that e$ited in the nineteenth century" (he changingnature of politic, the elf)interet of the political partie, the growth and movement of

population, the influence of newpaper, the !etter education level of the wor'ing cla,

the growth of trade union and the fear of ocialim all contri!uted in different way andto different e$tent toward ma'ing government and parliament more prepared to pa

reform and to allow democracy to grow in the period"



Aow democratic wa Britain !y 1928?

“&emocrac' is the goernment of the people for the people b' the

people” (Abraham Lincoln President of the *SA !#+,-!#+.)

Introduction%or any country to !e called democratic, certain condition have to e$it" %irtly, alladult hould have the right to vote !ut the right to vote did not in itelf ma'e Britain

democratic" Between 1850 and 1928, other feature of a democracy were created"

(hee feature included a fair ytem of voting, a choice of who to vote for andacce to information to ma'e an informed choice" It hould alo !e poi!le for

people from all !ac'ground to !ecome em!er of arliament themelve and

parliament hould !e accounta!le to the voter" By 1928, all of thee condition had

!een met and cone&uently, Britain had !ecome democratic"

ondition for 4emocracy

The /ote 0 ro!a!ly the mot important right i the right to vote" (he right to vote i

alo called the franchie and without it, the people of a country cannot influence political deciion"

$airness 0 # country i not democratic if people are cared to vote !ecaue of

intimidation or if they cant vote for the peron or party they upport" (here hould

alo !e a fair ditri!ution of parliamentary eat amongt the population of a countryo that people are repreented a e&ually a poi!le"

1hoice 0 # country i not democratic if voter have no choice, even if they can vote

in ecret"

Acco%ntabilit' 0 arliament hould reflect the wihe of the voter and !e

anwera!le to them" Participation (the opport%nit' to become an 2P) 0 In a democracy, people who

want to !e involved in politic, hould !e a!le to participate" Access to 3nformation 0 eople have to !e a!le to acce and undertand

information in order to ma'e a choice in an election"

Aow democratic wa Britain in 1850?

In 1850, the tate of democracy in Britain had !een et !y the reat /eform #ct of

18:2 <%irt /eform #ct=" (he #ct had introduced improvement in two area of thedemocratic proce E it increaed the num!er of men who could vote in a general

election and it reditri!uted parliamentary eat o that there wa a more e&ual ratio of

to contituent" Aowever, Britain wa till far from !eing democraticD

(he right to vote wa lin'ed to the ownerhip of property" one&uently, only F of

the adult population of Britain had the vote" Wor'ing cla men and all women were

e$cluded from the franchie i"e" they were not allowed to vote"

Goting too' place in pu!lic at the huting <no ecret !allot=" Bri!ery, corruption and

intimidation were &uite common during election"



eneral election were only held every even year"

(he ditri!ution of eat wa till une&ual" till repreented county and !orough

contituencie with great variation in i-e of population"

(he (ory dominated Aoue of ord wa not elected" It could top the electedmaority in the Aoue of ommon getting !ill through parliament"

@nly wealthy men could tand a candidate for election a there wa a property

&ualification and were not paid a alary"

(he 4emand for %urther /eform

learly, the 18:2 /eform #ct did nothing for the vat maority of people who

remained powerle" (hu demand for further reform continued in the 18:0 and

18;0" (he prominent reformit group at thi time wa the hartit who !elieved thatonly !y e$tending democracy to wor'ing cla people could living and wor'ing

condition !e improved" (hey preented a erie of petition to parliament !ut failed

to peruade the government to agree to their demand" Aowever, gradual ocial andeconomic change com!ined to ma'e further political reform not only deira!le !ut

inevita!le"

1=" (he Gote

The Second Reform Act !#+4

Goting Hualification

5oro%gh 1o%nties

#ll male houeholder over the age of 21 en who owned property worth 5 per year

ale lodger who paid 10 per year in rent en who rented property worth 12 per

year <1; per year in *cotland=

+ffect of the #ct

(he num!er of men who &ualified for the vote wa increaed from 1"5 to 2"5 million"

1 in : adult male could now vote <1 in in 18::=" 13F of the adult population now

had the vote"

(he franchie wa e$tended to 'illed, male town wor'er and well off farmer"

(he electorate in ome of Britain newer town increaed dramatically"



(he larget increae in the num!er of voter were in the large, indutrial !orough

e"g" ancheter and eed"

riticim of the #ct

any wor'ing cla men, particularly in the countie <countryide=, were till notentitled to vote e"g" farm la!ourer, craftmen in mall, country town, oldier in

!arrac', male dometic ervant living in, adult on living at home"

Women could till not vote in general election"

(he right to vote wa till !aed on the ownerhip of property"

(here wa till no ecret !allot and !ri!ery, corruption and intimidation were rife"

Representation of the People Act !##6 (Third Reform Act)


(hi act gave the vote to male houeowner, lodger and tenant who had lived in a

houe valued at 10 for at leat a year <ratea!le value="

+ffect of the #ct

(he num!er of men who &ualified for the vote wa increaed from 2"5 to 5 million"

2 in : adult male could now vote" 29F of the adult population now had the vote"

(he franchie wa e$tended to male farm wor'er"

Goting &ualification in the !orough and countie were now identical"

riticim of the #ct

any wor'ing cla men <;0F of adult male in Britain= were till not entitled to

vote e"g" oldier in !arrac', male dometic ervant living in, adult on living athome, pauper on poor relief and thoe who failed to pay their rate"

Women could till not vote in general election"

(he right to vote wa till !aed on the ownerhip of property"

#lo, plural voting till e$ited" (hi meant that a man could have many vote if he

owned property in different contituencie"



7niveritie till elected em!er of arliament"

Representation of the People Act !"!# ($o%rth Reform Act)


(he vote wa given toD

#ll men over 21 year of age <an e$ception wa made to erving mem!er of the

armed force who were under 21=

Women over :0 year of age who were houeholder or wive of houeholder or

graduate of a Britih 7niverity"

#lo, general election were henceforth to !e held on one day"

+ffect of the #ct

21 million adult in Britain now had the vote <8"5 million were female=" ;F of the

adult population now had the vote"

ale uffrage <the right to vote= wa no longer lin'ed to the ownerhip of property"

%or the firt time, the indutrial wor'ing cla !ecame the maority in a ma

electorate E thi led to the growth of the a!our arty"

riticim of the #ct

Women under :0 year of age and poor women over :0 till did not have the vote"

any of thoe who had wor'ed hard and ri'ed their live in munition factorie were

motly ingle and in their 20"

Parliamentar' Reform Act !"7# ($ifth Reform Act)

(hi #ct e$tended the franchie to all women over the age of 21"

9F of the adult population of Britain now had the vote"

6"B" In 1939 the voting age wa reduced to 18 year of age"



2=" %airne

&ealing 8ith 1orr%ption

Bri!ery, corruption and intimidation were till very much part and parcel in election in

the late 1830"In an effort to get rid of thi, the i!eral rime initer, William

ladtone paed two lawD

<i=" The 5allot Act !#47 E thi introduced the ecret !allot which allowed wor'ing cla

people to vote a they really wanted" Aowever, corruption wa not completely wiped out"

<ii=" The 1orr%pt and 3llegal Practices Act !##9 0

andidate election e$pene were determined !y the i-e of the contituency"

It wa made clear what campaign money could !e pent on"

+lection agent had to account for their pending"

# detailed definition of illegal and corrupt practice wa et down"

# !reech of the law di&ualified a candidate for even year"

#ctive involvement in corruption wa puniha!le !y a fine or imprionment"

1reating :;%al 1onstit%encies

<i=" In addition to e$tending the franchie, the !#+4 Reform Act alo improved the

ditri!ution of eatD

any maller !orough lot one or !oth of their and thee were

reditri!uted to area of the country that were under)repreented e"g" 5 eat wereallocated to *cottih contituencie"

<ii=" Redistrib%tion of Seats Act !##. E thi aimed to contruct contituencie of appro$imately e&ual i-e" (he effect were a followD

9 town which had a population of under 15,000 lot !oth their eat"

:3 town which had a population of 15,000 to 50,000 lot one eat"

(own which a population of 50,000 to 135,000 'ept two eat"

7niveritie 'ept two eat" (he remainder of the country wa divided up into ingle mem!er contituencie"

(he total num!er of wa increaed from 352 to 30"

<iii=" In addition to e$tending the franchie, the Representation of the People Act !"!#

alo provided for a reditri!ution of eat, with the aim of creating uniformcontituencie, each of a!out 0,000 voter"

:=" hoice



*ocialit group eventually oined with the (rade 7nion movement to form the a!our

/epreentation ommittee which in 1903 !ecame 'nown a the a!our arty" (hi party

claimed to repreent the interet of the wor'ing cla and campaigned for directgovernment involvement to tac'le the ocial pro!lem within Britain" # a reult, the

electorate now had a genuine choice !etween partie with different ideologie i"e"

onervative, a!our and i!eral" With the paing of the !"!# Representation of the

People Act, the indutrial wor'ing cla !ecame the maority in a ma electorate E thi

led to the growth of the a!our arty"

;=" #ccounta!ility

The Parliament Act !"!!

In 1909, the hancellor of the +$che&uer, 4avid loyd eorge, introduced hi famoueople Budget" (hi aimed to finance ocial reform e"g" penion, a well a naval

rearmament through increaed ta$ation of the !etter off" It wa reected !y the

onervative dominated Aoue of ord" (he i!eral regarded thi a an attac' ondemocracy" #fter two general election and the threat of a ma creation of i!eral peer,

a arliament Bill wa finally paed in 1911" (hi #ct made the following changeD

(he ord could no longer top !ill to do with ta$ation or government pending"

(he ord could only delay other !ill for two year <cut to one year in 19;9="

eneral election were to !e held at leat every five year intead of even"

(hi made the elected houe i"e" the Aoue of ommon, even more accounta!le to the

voter"

5=" articipation

Pa'ment of 2Ps !"!!

In 1858, the property &ualification for election candidate had !een a!olihed" In

1911, an act of parliament eta!lihed a alary of ;00 per year for em!er of

arliament" (hi ena!led any!ody to have the right to !e a repreentative a well aan elector" It made it poi!le for wor'ing cla men to ee' election for parliament"

3=" #cce to Information

The :d%cation Act !#4, (!#47 in Scotland) helped to increae literacy within the

country o that information a!out political partie and their policie !ecame moreaccei!le to the ma of the population"

olitical meeting, pu!lic li!rarie and daily, national newpaper !ecame vital

ource of information"

(he development of the railway from the 1850 wa alo crucial to the pread of

information, either through the po'en or written word"



Why did ome women gain the vote in 1918?

3mportance of the S%ffrage 2oement

(he *uffragit <67W**=In 189, a num!er of local women uffrage ocietie came together to form the 6ational 7nion of Women *uffrage *ocietie <67W**=, under the leaderhip of

illicent %awcett" (he 67W** !elieved in peaceful tactic to win the vote, preferring to try to peruade and educate, alway wor'ing within the law" *uffragitwrote pamphlet, ditri!uted leaflet and poter, ent letter and article to

newpaper, held meeting, organi-ed petition and lo!!ied their " By 191;, it

had a!out 500 !ranche and 5:,000 mem!er"

#lthough critici-ed for not !eing forceful enough for the government to ta'e

notice, recent reearch ugget that the 67W** wa important in attracting

upport for the caue" em!erhip of the 67W** remained high in the yearleading up to World War I" When the *uffragette !ecame more violent,

particularly !etween 1912)191;, the mem!erhip of the 67W** roe a women

left the W*7"

(he *uffragette <W*7=(he *uffragette were !orn out of the *uffragit movement in 190:" In that year, the

Women *ocial and olitical 7nion <W*7= wa et up !y +mmeline an'hurt andher daughter, hrita!el and *ylvia" It wa mainly a middle cla movement !ut it

got a lot of upport from wor'ing cla women, impatient with the lac' of progre

from the 67W**" any younger women were attracted !y it motto, C4eed, notwordJ" %rom 190:)1903 the *uffragette adopted imilar tactic to the 67W**"

Aowever, the failure of the newly elected i!eral overnment to introduce women

uffrage provo'ed a militant campaign from 1903 onward" 7nli'e the *uffragit,

the *uffragette were prepared to !rea' the law a part of their campaign for vote for women" *uffragette interrupted i!eral arty meeting, chained themelve to

railing at the Aoue of ommon, mahed window and attac'ed governmentminiter eg" #&uith <oiemouth olf lu!=" In 190, a group of women plit from

the W*7 and formed the Women %reedom eague <W%=" *ome refued to pay

ta$e a a protet at not having the vote" In the period 1912)191; <the wild period=,

the *uffragette !ecame even more militant, reorting to more violent protet methoduch a lahing painting, fire!om!ing !uine premie and cutting telegraph

wire"

It can !e argued that the W*7 'ept the iue of women uffrage to the

forefront a violent tactic eg" fire!om!ing property, attac'ing politician etcKmade !ig headline at a time when there were other iue in the new eg" IrihAome /ule" (he *uffragette gained a high level of pu!licity and promoted a

greater awarene of the iue of women uffrage" It could alo !e argued that

e$treme militancy em!arraed the overnment a they were una!le to control theituation"

%rom 1909, many *uffragette went on hunger tri'e in prion a a protet at

!eing treated a criminal and not political prioner" (he overnment ordered

them to !e force)fed <li&uid food via throat or notril=" (hi !ac'fired on theovernment a the *uffragette gained ympathy and upport, !oth in the pre

and with the pu!lic, which their tactic had previouly lot them"



(he overnment hit !ac' with the rioner (emporary 4icharge #ct of 191:

<nic'named the at and oue #ct !y the *uffragette=" (hi allowed for thereleae of women on hunger tri'e when their health tarted to uffer" #fter a

wee' or two, they would !e !rought !ac' to continue their entence" (hi wa

meant to demorali-e the *uffragette !ut only trengthened their reolve" When +mily Wilding 4avion committed uicide !y throwing herelf in front of

the Ling hore at the 191: 4er!y, the *uffragette turned her funeral into a

maive propaganda e$ercie" (he deciion of r an'hurt to upend the militant *uffragette campaign for

the duration of the War meant that the overnment could grant the vote to womenwithout appearing to give in to violence"

1hanging Position of Women in 5ritish Societ'

Aitorian, artin ugh, argue that !y 1900 it wa very hard to utify not giving

the vote to women" By 1900, women, epecially middle cla women, were much !etter educated than previouly, in many cae up to univerity level" (hey could

vote and even tand for office in local council and chool !oard election" Women were alo increaingly important in the trade union movement <Women

(rade 7nion eague=" hange in the law had improved women ocial poitioneg" arried Women roperty #ct 180.1882" (herefore, it i not true to ay

that in 1900 women were econd cla citi-en, treated a their hu!and

property" (hat attitude wa common in 1850 !ut had changed !y 1900"

3nternational Press%re

6ew Mealand, *outh #utralia, certain tate in the 7*# and a tate in anada had

already given the vote to women" (he &uetion then wa why Britain, a theleading democratic nation in the world, hould not do li'ewie"

The Trend to8ards &emocratic Reform

*ome hitorian !elieve that women were on their way to getting the vote in 191;

and that the War interrupted thi progre" # evidence of thi, they cite the

introduction of a erie of !ill in parliament !etween 1910)1912 a evidence that

the i!eral overnment wa willing to addre the iue of women uffrage" 4uring thi period, two !ill <onciliation Bill= were drawn up !y an all)party

ommon ommittee in repone to rime initer #&uith promie for a free

vote in arliament on a Bill for Women *uffrage" (he firt of thee !ill wa

eventually paed in 1910 !ut unfortunately parliament wa upended and further dicuion wa prevented" # econd !ill wa introduced in 1911 which propoed

giving voting right to women whoe hu!and were already voter" (hi would

have removed the fear of i!eral and a!our politician a!out the propect of creating more onervative voter !y confining the &ualification to ingle or

propertied women" 7nfortunately, thi !ill failed to get a maority" In 1912, #&uith !rought in a Bill to widen the franchie to all men and propoed

that the ommon could introduce an amendment to it in order to add vote for

women" (hi wa alo reected !y parliament" In the early ummer of 191;, #&uith agreed to receive a deputation from the +at

ondon %ederation of *uffragette" #&uith eem to have recogni-ed that thee

women had genuine ocial grievance which could have !een more effectively



tac'led if they had the vote" #lthough the wa not going to change hi mind

on the &uetion of women uffrage overnight, there i a good deal of evidence

that in time he would have !rought in a !ill to provide for univeral adult uffrage"War, however, intervened and the whole movement immediately caled down it

activitie in the face of a greater threat to the nation" (herefore, there i evidence that, prior to World War I, the i!eral leaderhip were

ready to ma'e women uffrage part of it party programme and that Cin many

way the War may have delayed the franchie, rather than e$pedited it"J Aowever,

it ha to !e aid that negotiation !etween the overnment and the uffrage

movement had ta'en place !efore !ut had never led to vote for women" (here ino guarantee that thi would have !een the cae on thi occaion"

The 3mportance of World War 3

Women contri!ution to the War +ffort When war !ro'e out in #ugut 191;, the *uffragette ended their militant

campaign and upported the war effort" *uffragette leader now diverted their

energy into recruiting women for war wor'" (hey hoped that the war would give

them a chance to how what women could really do"

#lthough the overnment wa initially reluctant to ue women for war wor', !y1915 a eriou hortage of upplie for the armed force drove them to recruit

women, firt of all into the munition indutry, then into many other ector of the

economy" (houand of women wor'ed in the munition factorie, often in dangerou

condition <canarie=, ma'ing gun, hell and !ullet" Women oined the and

#rmy <W#= to help grow the nation food" (hey drove !ue and train,wor'ed a police officer and a potie" any oined nuring organi-ation uch

a G#4 <Goluntary #id 4etachment=" In 191 they oined the newly formed

women !ranche of the #rmy, 6avy and #ir %orce to wor' a driver, nureand office taff eg" W## <Women #rmy #u$iliary orp="

(here i no dou!t that the ight of women doing their !it for the war effortgained them repect and !alanced the negative pu!licity of the pre)war *uffragette

campaign" (he reponi!le action of women and their contri!ution to winningthe War reulted in a change in attitude toward their demand for the vote" By

1913, even rime initer Aer!ert #&uith wa agreeing that women could no

longer !e denied the vote"

@ther %actor concerned with the War (he etting up of a coalition government <i!eral.onervative.a!our= in ay

1915 helped the women caue" (here were no longer the rigid party diviion

which in the pat had hindered the caue of women uffrage <ee earlier note=" In 4ecem!er 1913, rime initer #&uith, who had !een the main opponent of

the *uffragette, wa replaced !y 4avid loyd eorge who wa more willing to

accept change" # the War went on, more men, who were in favour of women

uffrage, came into the overnment" Britain war propaganda, much of which wa directed at the 7*#, treed the

fact that the allie <Britain.%rance./uia= were fighting for democracy which

implied univeral uffrage" (he overnment therefore had to !e een to !e acting

in thi direction" By 191.1918, there were plan to change the rule a!out voting a they applied

to men eg" 6o property &ualification, and, a the rule were changing anyway, it

wa uggeted that Come meaure of women uffrage hould !e conferred"J



Why did the i!eral overnment of 1903)191;

introduce a erie of *ocial Welfare /eform?

Press%re from Reports on Poert'

@ne of the mot famou invetigation into poverty wa carried out !y harle Booth"Ae conducted e$tenive reearch in ondon and preented hi finding a hard,tatitical fact E not opinion" Ae howed that poverty had caue often !eyond the

control of the poor themelve" What could any individual do a!out low pay,

unemployment, ic'ne and old age?

#nother invetigation into poverty wa made !y *ee!ohm /owntree in Nor' and wa

even more hoc'ing" (he /owntree report howed that 28F of the population of Nor'

lived in e$treme poverty" eople reali-ed that if Nor', a relatively mall +nglih city,had uch pro!lem then o would other Britih citie E the pro!lem of poverty wa

therefore a national pro!lem <for more detail, ee te$t!oo', page 50 O 51="

While Booth and /owntree were uing careful invetigation to define and &uantify

ur!an poverty, everal other writer had !een pu!lici-ing, in more colourful and

emotive language, the &ualor in which much of the wor'ing cla e$ited e"g"harle 4ic'en and +li-a!eth a'ell" (he cumulative effect of all thi literature

wa to create a greater awarene of poverty amongt the middle cla"

The 1hanging :conom'

7nemployment had alway !een een a a maor caue of poverty" 7ntil the 180, ithad alway !een aumed that economic growth would lead to an increae in

employment" It wa only the unwilling or inade&uate, it wa argued, who wouldtherefore need ome limited pu!lic upport"

(he reat 4epreion of 18:)1893 changed that view a foreign competition caued

ma unemployment" Individual charity and the wor'houe <poorhoue in *cotland=

could not accommodate the huge num!er of genuine wor'men involved" (he

i!eral, while in oppoition, committed themelve to ome degree of interventionon !ehalf of the unemployed"

Worries abo%t <ational :fficienc'

By the end of the 19th entury, Britain wa no longer the world tronget indutrial

nation and wa facing eriou competition from new indutrial nation uch a

ermany and the 7*#" It wa !elieved that if the health and educational tandard of

Britain wor'er got wore, then Britain poition a a trong indutrial power would !e threatened even further"

In ermany, a ytem of welfare !enefit and old age penion had already !een et

up in the 1880" If a main competitor could afford to do it, why could Britain not doli'ewie?



Worries abo%t <ational Sec%rit'

When the Boer War tarted in 1899, volunteer ruhed to ign up !ut almot 25F of

them were reected on the ground that they were not fit enough" If men of militaryage were o unfit for ervice, the government worried a!out Britain future a!ility to

defend itelf againt a tronger enemy"

(he poor performance of the Britih #rmy in *outh #frica and the fact that other

countrie uch a ermany and the 7*# were overta'ing Britain in economic growth,

were conidered !y many a proof of Britih decline" @ne repone to thi pro!lemwa to argue for ocial reform which would ma'e for a healthy population and

improve 6ational +fficiency.*ecurity"

# ommittee of hyical 4eterioration wa et up to loo' into the health of potential

army recruit" (heir report, pu!lihed in 190;, recommended a num!er of ocial

reform uch a medical inpection of children in chool, free chool meal for the

very poor and training in mothercraft" (hee recommendation were very importanatin haping the future i!eral /eform"

<e8 Liberalism (>e' 3ndiid%als)

# new generation of i!eral politician !elieved that the government had a

reponi!ility to help the poor" (he @ld i!eral rime initer, amp!ell)

Bannerman, died and wa replaced !y Aer!ert #&uith in 1908"

6ew i!eral with new interventionit idea uch a 4avid loyd eorge andWinton hurchill were given important o! <ee top of page 55=" (hee

appointment are among the main reaon why o many reform were introducedfrom 1908 onward"

Both loyd eorge and hurchill were aware of the effect of ocial reform in

ermany under hancellor Bimarc' which had uccefully limited the growth of

ocialim" loyd eorge actually viited ermany in 1908 to ee for himelf the

welfare cheme that had !een introduced there"

Political Adantage

any hitorian !elieve that the i!eral reform were paed for very elfih reaon"

*ince 188; <(hird /eform #ct=, mot wor'ing cla men had the vote and the

i!eral wanted to attract thee voter" Aowever, !y 1903, a new party, the a!our

arty, wa competing for the ame vote"

If the i!eral were een a unympathetic toward the poor, what might happen in an

election in the future? It wa therefore to the political advantage of the i!eral

overnment to offer ocial reform even if they did not fully !elieve in the principle of government intervention"



(hi increaed educational opportunity for the poor in ociety"

(he +ducation <#dminitrative roviion= #ct, 190

(hi made medical inpection for children compulory" (he Board of +ducation wa

a!le to pecify that at leat three inpection mut ta'e place during a child chool

year"

(he inpection revealed that children were not receiving neceary medical attention

!ecaue parent could not afford treatment"

omment

(he #ct did not in itelf improve the health of children a it did not provide free

medical treatment to thoe in need" ro!lem which were identified often wentuntreated !ecaue parent could not afford the cot of uch treatment"

@nly after 1912, did the overnment introduce a ytem of grant to help chool

eta!lih clinic which could provide treatment for thoe in need" Aowever, the level

of proviion wa left at the dicretion of the local authoritie which led to variance

around the country"

(he hildren #ct, 1908

(hi #ct made it a legal offence for parent to neglect their children, !ringing together

a num!er of meaure deigned to protect children and which reflected the view thatthe community a a whole wa reponi!le for the welfare of children" It !ecame

'nown a the hildren harter"

It main proviion wereD

<a=" (he ale of alcohol to under 18 and to!acco to under 13 wa for!idden" <!=" hildren were for!idden to !eg"

<c=" Noung offender were to !e eparated from the prion ytem !y !eing tried in

uvenile

court, !eing 'ept in remand home rather than prion while awaiting trial and

!eingent to !ortal rather than prion"

<d=" *tiff penaltie were introduced for thoe who were convicted of ill treatment or neglect

of children"

<e=" It wa made illegal to inure a child life"

omment

(hi wa the firt time any government had intervened o directly in the live of

ordinary familie"



It provided help, not a a charity, !ut a right and a a ervice to all who were entitled

to it"

(hee were meaure deigned to remove pro!lem children from the malign influence

of adult"

Aowever, although thee meaure were well intentioned, they did little to olve the

pro!lem of poverty amongt the young in ociety"

The =ld

(he @ld #ge enion #ct, 1908

(hi #ct provided that ingle people over the age of 0 would receive a penion of 5

hilling per wee' and married couple, over the age of 0, would receive a penionof hilling and 3 pence per wee'" 6o contri!ution were re&uired"

(he full penion wa only availa!le <via the ot @ffice= to thoe with an annualincome of 21 or le" %or annual income over 21, a liding cale of decending

payment would !e made up to a ceiling of a :1 annual income"

(he payment wa een to !e a right" By 191;, there were almot a million claimant,

coting the +$che&uer 12 million per year" (hi wa an indication of the level of

poverty among the elderly"

omment

6ot everyone over 0 wa entitled to a penion" (hoe who had claimed poor relief in

the previou year, thoe who had failed to wor' regularly and thoe who had !een in prion in the previou ten year had no entitlement"

(he a!our arty wanted the age et at 35, arguing that many of the old would not

live to ee 0" #verage life e$pectancy in 1908 wa lower than 0 year of age"

(he amount of money received wa relatively mall" 5 hilling wa recogni-ed to !e

2 hilling hort of that needed to 'eep a!ove the poverty line"

(he overnment admitted that the payment wa not enough in itelf to lift people out

of poverty !ut tated that it wa a life !elt to !e ued in conunction with aving"

The Sick

(he 6ational Inurance #ct, 1911 <art 1=

(hi #ct entitled inured wor'er, earning le than 130 per year, to ic'ne !enefit

of 10 <hilling= per wee' for the firt 1: wee' <then 5 per wee' for the ne$t 1:

wee'=, free medical attention and medicine, and treatment at a (B anatorium" #dia!lement penion of 5 per wee' could !e claimed a well a a maternity !enefit of

:0 per child"



ale wor'er contri!uted ;d <old pence= per wee', employer contri!uted :d per

wee' and the overnment contri!uted 2d per wee'" loyd eorge old the cheme aninepence for fourpence <covered 15 million people in all="

omment

Benefit did not cover any illne !efalling the wor'er wife or children"

Benefit did not cover general hopital treatment <only (B anatorium="

Benefit did not cover thoe earning more than 130 per year"

The *nemplo'ed

a!our +$change <1909=

a!our +$change <o! centre= were et up a a repone to riing unemployment" Itwa argued that it would !e a more efficient method of providing employment

opportunitie than having men imply tanding outide factory gate loo'ing for

wor'"

+mployer would provide detailed information a!out o! vacancie, whilt

propective employee would regiter !y providing detail of their 'ill, e$perienceand re&uirement"

omment

(he firt a!our +$change were et up in 1910, and !y 191: there were ;:0 of themthroughout Britain" By 191;, :,000 people per day were !eing fi$ed up with wor'"

Aowever, a wage were generally &uite low, many people aw a!our +$change a

imply a ource of cheap la!our"

(he cheme wa only voluntary"

(he 6ational Inurance #ct, 1911 <art 2=

(hi #ct entitled inured wor'er, who had !een unemployed for a wee', to

unemployment !enefit of per wee' for a ma$imum of 15 wee' in any 12 month

period"

Wor'er contri!uted 2Qd per wee', employer contri!uted 2Qd per wee' and the

overnment contri!uted 2Qd per wee'"

By 191;, 2": million wor'er were covered !y the cheme, mainly in contruction,

hip!uilding and engineering E trade which were ucepti!le to fluctuating

employment level <cyclical.eaonal pattern of unemployment="



(he inured wor'er had to regiter a unemployed at a a!our +$change from where

he would draw hi pay"

omment

(he #ct only covered trade, which left many wor'er without any inurance

againt unemployment"

7nemployment !enefit wa only paya!le for 15 wee' per year"

%or many wor'er, the contri!utory nature of the 6ational Inurance cheme

<ic'ne and unemployment= meant a cut in their wage, and therefore may have

further encouraged poverty"

The :mplo'ed

(he i!eral overnment alo paed a num!er of act which ought to improve wor'er

conditionD

Workmen’s 1ompensation Act !",+ E thi allowed compenation for inury to

health caued !y wor'ing condition a well a accident"

The 2erchant Shipping Act !",+ 0 thi introduced tringent regulation on food

and accommodation on Britih hip"

The 1oal 2ines Act !"," 0 thi introduced the 8 hour day for miner"

The Trade 5oards Act !"," 0 thi et up !oard to et minimum wage in ; weated

trade" #lmot ;00,000 wor'er were covered !y the cheme, motly women"

The Shops Act !"!! 0 thi gave hop aitant a tatutory Q day off each wee'"

Aowever, it did not limit the hour of wor', which led to hop aitant often !eing

made to wor' later on other day to ma'e up the time"

The 2inim%m Wages Act !"!7 0 thi et up local !oard to et wage in each

mining ditrict"

#ll of thee reform are ignificant, epecially to thoe mot directly affected" Aowever,they were reform aimed to help pecific group of wor'er who had pecific pro!lem"

(hey were not really meaure that contri!uted to the etting up of a Welfare *tate"

1oncl%sion

(he i!eral ocial welfare reform of 1903)191; were ignificant reform" (hey had avery poitive impact on the live of many people and they undou!tedly eaed hardhip for

many thouand of wor'ing people" (hee reform attempted to tac'le pecific pro!lem



in ociety and tried to ma'e life eaier for many" (hey were a huge advance on what had

happened in the 19th century and mar'ed a clear move away from laie-)faire" Aowever,

in mot area, the reform were inade&uate and certainly did not repreent the creation of a Welfare *tate" Important area uch a houing were neglectedR there wa no attempt to

create anything approaching a 6ational Aealth *ervice" +ducation wa largely untouched"

(he overnment made no effort to influence in any way employment and unemployment"# degree of ocial ecurity wa introduced !ut it wa very limited and patchy" +ven the

i!eral reponi!le for the reform, uch a loyd eorge and hurchill, recognied thi

!ut conidered it the !et they could do at that time" (hey alo aw it a a firt tep on

which later government could !uild" It i thi that i the real ucce of the i!eralreform" (hey did not create a Welfare *tate to any e$tent !ut they did lay a very

conidera!le foundation on which a Welfare *tate could !e !uilt"



How successfully did the Labour Government of 1945-51 deal with the

social problems identified in theBeveridge eport of 194!"

#uccess" $ailure"

%r a bit of both&



'()*(poverty or need)

This could not be tackled in one easy step:

)ational +nsurance (ct ,194.This is a contributory system of insurance (i.e. you, your employer and the

government contribute or ‘chip in’ towards it) to cover you against illness,unemployment, maternity leave, widow’s pension, retirement pension and adeath grant to cover funeral costs. In other words, for all eventualities from thecradle to the grave!. This is basically an e"pansion of the #iberals $ationalInsurance %ct of &'&&.

ood points: rovided cover for those who needed it most.*eak points: eople could only benefit from it after &+ contributions.

eople were only covered from illness for a year and a half.It was very costly to run due to the large number of officials neededto operate it.

*eekly contributions took up about +- of average earnings*ould they have been better off keeping their money/eople 0oining the insurance scheme for the first time were notentitled to full pension benefits for ten years.The level of payment did not rise with the cost of living so did notprovide enough money for many. 1ven by appointed day! on +2uly &'34 the levels set in &'3 were too low

)ational (ssistance (ct ,194/.rovided benefits for those not covered by the $ational Insurance %ct. $ational

%ssistance 5oards were set up to help citi6ens whose resources were insufficient

to meet their needs.

ood points: % safety net! for those who missed out on $ational Insurance cover because they were unemployed or hadn’t made enoughcontributions yet.7ne off payments could be given for essentials (bedding, clothing,etc) as well as weekly payments

*eak points: 5enefit levels were set too low.5ecause people had to pay &+ contributions towards $ationalInsurance before receiving it the $ational %ssistance was oversubscribed.

It was means tested! so unpopular especially with the old eventhough it was not as harsh a test as earlier means tests. This putsome off applying.

$amily (llowances (ct ,1945.



%lthough started by the wartime government, this was passed to attackhousehold poverty to ensure wages could be spent on other areas while childrenwere securely looked after. % small amount was paid to all mothers of two ormore children.

ood points: *asn’t means tested.The money was not paid to the fathers but to the mothers, who itwas felt were more likely to spend the money on what the childrenand household needed

+ndustrial +n0uries (ct ,194.This was a big improvement on previous legislation, under which it had beendifficult and e"pensive for a workman to prove that an in0ury or disability hadbeen caused by his 0ob.

ood points: The act made insurance against industrial in0ury compulsory for allemployees.8nder the terms of the act, industrial in0ury benefits were to be paidat a higher rate than for ordinary sickness.9ompensation was paid by the government, not individual

employers, and all workers were covered.



+#2(#2(lack of health care)

)ational Health #ervice (ct 194or the first time every 5ritish citi6en could receive free medical assistance.

ood points: medical, dental and optical services free of charge. Treatment by

s and in hospitals was free also.These benefits were free at point of use, no patient being asked topay for any treatment.

*eak points: ;any of the hospitals were old and out of date.$ational Insurance only covered '- of the running costs so it hadto be paid for through general ta"ation < the public are never happyat ta" increases.5y &'+= the idea of free treatment for all was undermined whencharges were introduced for spectacles and dental treatment.>octors could still run private surgeries. ;oney could still buybetter health which went against the ethos of the $?@.



#3(L%(poor housing)

;ost of 5ritain still had slum areas and overcrowding was a serious problemmade worse by bomb damage during the war. To deal with the problem ofsAualor the government concentrated on the building of homes for the workingclass after the war. The government aimed at building B==,=== houses a year

and many of these were prefabricated houses which were assembled Auicklyonsite.

Housing (cts 1941949ood points: #ocal authorities given financial assistance and access to building

materials (which were in low supply at the end of the *ar) to build&.B+ million new permanent homes

*eak points: $o where near enough new homes were built and many peopleremained in prefab! homes, army barracks and even traincarriages by the end of &'+&. %lthough #abour’s buildingprogramme compares poorly to previous governments, people are

not too critical of them over this considering the level of housedestruction during the *ar along with the lack of building materials,increase in marriage and baby boom! after the *ar.

)ew *owns (ct ,194.ood points: &3 new towns were built across 5ritain, including lenrothes and

1ast Cilbride in @cotland providing clean safe homes away from theold overcrowded and war damaged cities.

*eak points: The towns were soulless and often left working class families cut off from their previous areas due to a lack of transport.

(ccess to the countryside (ct ,1949.7pened up public footpaths in rural areas.

ood point: ot city people into the fresh air away from their disease ridden cityslums.



+G)%()62(lack of education)

2ducation (ct ,Butler (ct7 1944.This was actually passed by the &'33 war time 9oalition government and wasproposed by the 9onservatives. 5ut it was the #abour government thatimplemented its measures.

ood points: @econdary education became compulsory until the age of &+.rovided meals, milk and medical services at every school.

*eak points: The building of new schools concentrated on the primary sector tocope with the baby boomD the secondary sector was largelyneglected.

%n e"amination at age && years (called the E&&FE) placed children incertain types of school, according to their ability. Those who passedthis e"am went to senior secondary schools and were e"pected toEstay onE after &+ years and possibly go to university and get 0obs inmanagement. 9hildren who failed the e"am were not e"pected to

stay at school after &+ years and they were e"pected to get theunskilled types of employment. This did nothing to create moreeAual opportunities for working class children.

2mployment and *raining (ct ,194/.#inked closely to Idleness.

ood points: To create a skilled work forceunding for school leavers to train for a new skilled 0ob



+L2)2##(being unemployed)

%fter the war, there seemed to be work for everyone as 5ritain rebuilt itself. The#abour overnment succeeded in its commitment to maintain high levels ofemployment after the war. 5y &'3, unemployment was reduced to B.+ - (even5everidge had not though it possible to get it below G-) and this was in spite of

huge postHwar problems such as shortages of raw materials and massive wardebts.

2mployment and *raining (ct ,194/.#inked closely to Idleness.

ood points: To create a skilled work forceunding for the unemployed and demobbed! soldiers to train for anew skilled 0ob.

7ne way in which the government kept almost full employment was throughnationalisation! H this means that the government took control of certainindustries such as iron, coal and steel manufacture. 9areful with this onethough $ationalisation can be done for many reasons at different times so is nottechnically part of a normal *elfare @tate so you need to make it relevant.1mphasise that the #abour government $ationalised on purpose to help createemployment at this time.

)ationalisationood points:The government could use ta" money to keep a nationalised!

business going even if it was a failure so that they could keep

people employed and paying their ta" and $ational Insurancecontribution.

*eak points: ;uch of this success was built on the ;arshall lan. % giant loanof &BG million given by the %mericans to stop 9ommunismspreading into 5ritain.$ationalisation on this scale was very costly especially as manywere poorly operated. ?owever, the economic arguments about$ationalisation are not so important here. The key point is that itmade 0obs when needed.

This is a good link to the 559. It looks at who is responsible for the *elfare @tate and how successful itwas:http:JJwww.bbc.co.ukJscotlandJlearningJbitesi6eJhigherJhistoryJlabourJfiveKrevKprint.shtml

9heck out this guy as a good revision tool. 5ut be carefulL ?e does a great 0ob describing what #abour didbut isn’t very critical in analysing the success or not of their action. There is a good link to the #iberalreforms and other relevant parts of our course as well:http:JJwww.youtube.comJuserJ?istory?elper

http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/learning/bitesize/higher/history/labour/five_rev_print.shtml

http://www.youtube.com/user/HistoryHelper

http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/learning/bitesize/higher/history/labour/five_rev_print.shtml

http://www.youtube.com/user/HistoryHelper

britain paper 1 study notes

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