unit1 rev notes

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Standard Grade History UNIT 1: Changing Scotland and Britain 1830-1930 Revision notes

STANDARD GRADE HISTORY

Changing Life in Scotland and Britain1830s-1930s

REVISION NOTES

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POPULATION CHANGES 1830-1930

Population growth

1831 Scotland 2.4 million 1931 Scotland 4.8 million.

Population doubles in a hundred years! (x2)

Reasons for Population Growth

There were three main factors

An increase in the birth rate

A fall in the death rate

An increase in the immigration rate

The Birth rate increased /death rate fell due to;

earlier marriages working class families needed to send their

children to work industrialisation rapid urbanisation saw increased demand for labour

and the decline in the influence of the Church lack of contraception basic or non-existent improved medical knowledge antiseptics and anaesthetics (after

1870). Vaccinations also developed. By the late 19th

century, cureshad been found for killer diseases like cholera. You were more likely tosurvive and live longer as medicine developed

improved town conditions better water supply, better housingstandards = decline in disease like cholera

increased government legislation and the abandonment of laissez-

faire, e.g Public Health Acts, Adulteration of Foods Acts improvedhealth

improved personal hygiene made the population cleaner and healthier.Use of soap, cheap clean cotton clothes and better bedding reducedthe germs which caused disease and early death, especially among

children the Agricultural revolution increased the quality and quantity of food.

The improved diet resulted in a healthier and stronger population. Improved transport [railways] mean that fish, vegetables could be

transported swiftly to towns

Reasons for slowdown of Population Growth in 20th century

Education Act 1870 [1872 in Scotland] meant children had to go to

school children no longer bring in money

families wanted smaller families to improve living standards better contraceptive knowledge

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Catholic/Protestant conflicts. Catholic Irish also sometimes in conflict withProtestant Scots.

Other immigrants: Lithuanians in Ayrshire, Jews.

LIVING CONDITIONS IN SCOTLAND ANDBRITAIN 1830 TO 1930

Rural Housing in the 19th Century

Wealthy landowners had large luxurious houses with lots of servants. Tenantfarmers had stone farmhouses better built and equipped in the richer partsof the country than in the Highlands and Islands. Poor farmers in theHighlands and Islands lived in black houses, sharing them with their animals,which could be a health hazard eg tuberculosis. Poor amenities eg earth

floors, no proper chimney. Farm labourers lived in bothies shared rooms,no privacy.

Urban housing in the 19th century

The better off people lived in pleasant, large houses on the edge of town,upwind of the smoke and smell. In Edinburgh many lived in large stone builtNew Town houses, where they had the whole house to themselves and theirservants.

Poorer people lived in poor quality housing which was overcrowded due tothe influx of people from the countryside during the Industrial Revolution.Often these dwellings had been built quickly to accommodate the workers andoften they were of poor quality. Edinburgh and Glasgow were veryovercrowded Old Town tenements orlands having many families in oneroom. They were dirty, damp and poorly ventilated with few windows, had norunning water, bathrooms or toilets all causing disease.

The streets were dirty and often contaminated with sewage as there was noproper system to take it away. In Edinburgh, rubbish was thrown out oftenement windows onto the streets. In London, the Thames was polluted with

raw sewage. In many industrial towns houses were built over or nearcesspits which contaminated

the drinking water. Communal toilets were shared between many people andoften overflowing with effluent. Nightmen had the horrible job of carting awaythe effluent often this wasnt done well as no-one wanted the job.

Disease

These conditions were a breeding ground for many diseases and epidemics.Several deadly cholera epidemics spread throughout Britain after coming to

these shores from Asia on board ships. Thousands of people died, rich andpoor alike, as the disease spread through the drinking water. Other common

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diseases were typhoid, typhus, tuberculosis and many childhood diseases likediptheria and whooping cough which killed thousands of young children.

Improvements

Why?

the terrible cholera epidemics hit rich and poor alike. The rich had moreinfluence than the poor and pressured the authorities into makingimprovements in public health

most (male) citizens got the vote after 1885 so had influence over the

authorities to make changes studies by Booth, Rowntree and others revealed the true extent of

poverty and ill health the Boer War showed up the poor health of many young men signing

up as soldiers people like Edwin Chadwick, Beatrice Webb, David Lloyd-George all

worked to do something about poverty and ill health technologies improved and were more affordable eg flushing toilets.

What improvements?

1. Public Health Acts after 1848 introduced rules for local authorities to

follow to make sure there were doctors, hospitals, health inspectors etc

in each town.2. Water supplies were cleaned up by siting reservoirs far out of towns in

the hills. Sewage systems were built to take away the effluent.Example of Loch Katrine and clean water supply for Glasgow.

3. Medical advances eg anaesthetics, antiseptics, clean hospitals,

penicillin dramatically improved the chances of surviving childbirthand illness.

4. Housing was vastly improved slums were pulled down and replaced

by council houses after World War I, building regulations made forbetter quality homes, Conservative governments subsidised private

builders to provide homes for the middle classes to own.

How much improvement?

Living conditions, housing and health improved dramatically by 1930 withmuch lower infant mortality and much longer life expectancy. Most of the killerepidemics had been conquered and houses were much better. But, manyslums remained and were not fully cleared till the 1960s.

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AGRICULTURE IN SCOTLAND AND BRITAIN1830 TO 1930

Farming was the most important industry in 1830. This was because

Most people worked on the land

Food was the most important thing everyone had to buy

Almost all food was produced on British farms in 1830.

By 1930, big changes had occurred:

far fewer people worked the land

lots of food was imported farming was in decline.

The main things you need to know are

living and working conditions of farmworkers impact of government intervention and technology on the industry.

Farming in 1830

Large numbers of people men, women and children worked on the landas the work was labour intensive ie done mainly by hand with few machines.The work was hard because;

wages were low, status was low land was poorly divided although enclosure had begun

they worked in all weathers

it was insecure, labourers were hired for the season at feeing [feein]markets and their wages and conditions would be worse in a bad year

it was often physically demanding, monotonous, at times dangerous

and unskilled though some jobs e.g. ploughman were more skilled farmworkers had no Trade Unions to protect them or fight for better

wages. wages would include housing and food which was an advantage over

urban workers but it kept wages low. Hours were very long, from dawn to dusk every day with only Sunday

(partly) a holiday. Male farmworkers would have to hire women to work for them if they

were not married. Children worked as well, often in very demandingconditions.

1830 to 1930: Golden Age to Depression

Farming had begun to improve by the 1830s. Improvements were

encouraged by longer leases to land which meant workers could get thebenefit from improvements. Land was enclosed, drained and fertilized. Crops

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were rotated and new machinery introduced like metal bladed ploughs,reaping and threshing machines.

During the 1840s 1860s farmers enjoyed a Golden Age. Big profits weremade, the weather was good, imports did not come in great quantities as it

was still too expensive to import American wheat, new machines powered bysteam made the work easier and produced much more, new scientificmethods boosted yields as well.

After 1870 however, The Great Depression hit the British countryside. Thiswas caused by

A succession of bad harvests caused by bad weather

Business was bad in other industries so everyone made less money

The spread of railways in Canada and the USA and the invention of thesteamship and the refrigerated ship meant that food could be importedcheaply so it was no longer worth producing it in Britain

However, some farmers did alright those who switched to dairy andvegetable products which could not easily be imported.

During the First World Warfarming boomed again. The government neededfood produced in Britain as German U-boats were sinking merchant ships, sonone could be imported. Higher prices were guaranteed. Women and retiredpeople worked on farms to replace men who went to the armed forces.

After the war farming declined again. Many workers never came back to theland but progress in buying machinery was slow due to lack of money. Thegovernment moved to protect the prices farmers got for their products withMarketing Boards like the Milk Marketing Board. The government alsoprovided subsidies.

Technology on the farm

As in all other areas of the economy the industrial revolution had a bigeffect on agriculture. Machines were invented which meant more could beproduced more quickly with far fewer workers. Examples:

Steam powered threshing machine

Horse drawn machines to sow seed and harvest the crop, i.e. Bells

Reaper Railways to bring food quickly and cheaply to market

In the 1920s, diesel tractors which could provide the power to doalmost all the jobs.

The disadvantages of machinery were

Fewer workers were needed so speeding up the drift from the land Only wealthier farmers could afford the machines. They made more

money but smaller farmers went out of business

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Farms in poorer areas of the country eg the Highlands of Scotland lostout to wealthier areas so there was a drift of farmers to the south.

Living conditions

A big advantage for a farmworker over a factory hand was having his ownhouse a tied cottage. Compared to the terrible housing in the towns in the19th century rural housing was better in some ways.

Unmarried workers lived in bothies which were basic and shared with others.They would get their food at the farm kitchen and usually the diet was fairlybasic.

Married farmworkers fared better, they would get their own house. The tenantfarmer who rented the land and ran the farm would have a goodfarmhouse to live in and the landowner the Laird in Scotland would have

the best house of all, a huge mansion. By 1930 however, most of these largehouses were too expensive to run and were sold or abandoned.

In order to attract and retain farmworkers accommodation had to improve.Many cottages were fitted with running water and electricity. They weresturdily build with slate floors and proper roofs. It was still not enough toattract workers to stay on the land when work in towns offered more moneyand a more attractive social life.

Conclusion was life better for farmworkers by 1930?

A little, but not much. Wages were still low and conditions, though improvedby the use of machinery, were still hard with long hours. Many farms still hadfew machines and used Clydesdale horses for ploughing. The drift from theland continued.

COAL MINING IN SCOTLAND AND BRITAIN1830 TO 1930

Coal mining, along with agriculture, was the other key industry in 1830. Coalwas the main source of power and with the invention of the steam engine itbecame even more important. It was the key driving force of the industrialrevolution, transforming Britain from a country of farms and villages to a landof industry and towns. It powered Britain to become the most advanced andpowerful country in the world, with a huge trading Empire reaching to the fourcorners of the globe. From Britain the industrial revolution powered by coalspread across the world bringing changes which revolutionised peoples livesfor ever.

The main things you need to know in this topic are

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living and working conditions for coal miners and their families changes brought about by government and technology.

The increasing demand for "King Coal"

By 1900 there were thousands of coal mines in Britain and tens of thousandsof coal miners in Scotland and Britain. Demand for coal was increasing all thetime and it was exported to other countries. This was due to its use

to heat homes to fuel steam engines to power factories

for steam power on railways, on farms and in steamships

for making iron and steel key materials of the industrial revolution by 1930, to make gas and electricity as well.

Working in the mines

Working in coal mines was physically very hard, conditions were grim, it wasdangerous

and unhealthy work but wages were high. Despite the high wages, nobodywanted to be a miner and they were regarded as outcasts, living in their owncommunities often isolated from other places.

Here is the kind of work done in1830:

hewers were men and

older boys who hacked outthe coal using picks. InScotland the seams wereoften narrow so they had tolie in uncomfortablepositions for hours onend with only a candle forlight.

bearers were women and older girls who carried coal for their

husbands/menfolk. They used to have to climb ladders with heavysacks on their backs but these were being replaced by windingmachines to hoist the coal. Younger girls and boys would haul coalcarts through the mine called putters.

the youngest children were trappers a terrible job for a child, sittingin the dark for hours on end opening and shutting a trapdoor to help aircirculate in the mine. In winter they often went weeks without everseeing daylight.

Dangers and health hazards

gas could ignite causing explosions

gas could be poisonous

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coal dust would ruin the miners lungs and cause silicosis and earlydeath

the roof could collapse

children could be deformed from crawling around in crampedconditions

winding ropes sometimes broke causing the cage to crash to the pitbottom

water could flood the mine.

Technology

As in farming new inventions had a big impact on mining, though less so inBritain than in competitor countries like Germany.

Davy lamps reduced the risk of explosion steel cables made winding gear safer and quicker

steel pit props made rock fall less likely

machines were invented to cut the coal but were not greatly usedbefore 1930

electricity used later for lighting, conveyor belts, winding machines

made the work easier and safer fans installed pumped fresh air into the mine.

Government intervention

People were shocked when they found out about the awful conditions in the

mines especially for children. Following on laws to protect child factoryworkers the Government brought in the Mines Act of 1842 which stoppedwomen and children working underground. Many other Acts were later passedproviding for inspectors to check on safety in mines and reducing the workingday for miners. After 1870 children had to go to school so could no longerwork anywhere in mines.

Coal and WW1

The industry boomed during the Great War. Coal was vital to power industryand the war machine. Miners were allowed to stay out of the army andencouraged to stay in the mines with high wages but many still volunteered asthey were useful for mining enemy trenches.

Coal in decline after 1919

The British industry was in trouble after the Great War because of

economic depression in postwar Britain

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competition from other countries which had bigger seams and moremachinery eg USA or Germany

Britain had lost its export markets during the war

relations between worker and boss were often bad with argumentsover how much coal had been mined. There had been many strikes

prior to 1914 competition from oil and electricity as alternative fuels

the decline of the railways and rise of motor vehicles

The owners tried to cut the wages of the miners and this eventually causedthe General Strike of 1926. The miners were defeated and the industrycontinued to decline in the 1930s when the Great Depression arrived.

Conclusion: how far did coal mining change by 1930?

Like farming, coal mining changed quite a lot but was still an unpleasant,difficult job in 1930.

New machinery was making life easier for the miners but British pit ownerswere reluctant to invest and the old methods continued to be used.

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RAILWAYS IN SCOTLAND AND BRITAIN 1830TO 1930

One of the biggest developments of 19th centuryBritain was the invention of railways from 1830onwards. Railways transformed life in Britainand changed the rest of the world too. You needto know about the benefits brought by railwaysas well as some of the arguments people madeagainst them.

The First Railways

Railways first developed in coal mines. James Watts invention of steam

power was adapted by engineers like George Stephenson with his famousRocket locomotive to move on rails and pull a train.

Stephenson also engineered the first railways which connected industrialtowns like Stockton to Darlington and Liverpool to Manchester.

From these beginnings railways spread all over Britain to form a networkconnecting all towns and cities.

Benefits of railways

cheap travel was now available for all classes

people could afford to go to holiday resorts seaside holidaysboomed

food was cheaper and fresher as it could be delivered quickly to towns.

Diet became more varied. news travelled more quickly with newspapers delivered "next day" all

over the country politics became more centralised - national political parties grew up

time was standardised to fit the railway timetable

upper and lower classes mixed more as they travelled on the sametrain

industries received a boost like coal, steel, railway engine building etc.

new towns grew up on rail junctions like Crewe the Highlands of Scotland were opened up to tourism causing

further clearances (a disadvantage for the Highland folk) a national postal service the Royal Mail could work much better.

many people made a lot of money out of railways "railway mania"

but some lost money lots of new, well paid jobs like train drivers

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Disadvantages of railways

some landowners objected to their land being "invaded"

people complained at the damage to the environment in thecountryside

some people were afraid ofnavvies

some people lost money through unscrupulous railway developers some people were frightened of the noise and speed of trains which

was something they had never experienced before.

Building the railways

Railways were huge engineering projects which transformed the environment,cutting through hills, spanning valleys and rivers, creating new towns. Thework itself was done mainly by hand by thousands ofnavvies. They had amixed reputation. They worked very hard with long hours in all weathers andoften remote places. They earned high wages but drank a lot and had areputation as unruly, uncouth and immoral people. But in other ways theywere terrific workers with a great loyalty to each other and their employer.Many of them were Irish. Their achievements, in building so many bridges,tunnels, embankment etc without the use of much modern machinery werespectacular.

Railways in decline

By 1900 railways had reached everywhere in Britain and Ireland and acrossthe world too. During the Great War, however, they were neglected andstarved of investment. The war also accelerated the development of othertechnologies like motor vehicles which began to compete with the railways. Atthe end of the war the railways started a period of decline which hascontinued ever since.

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THE REFORM OF PARLIAMENT 1830 TO 1930

The Parliamentary System in 1830

In 1830 Britain was basically ruled by the Upper Classes who derived theirwealth, influence and power from land. They were the only people who hadthe vote. But the big changes of the industrial revolution was bringing a newmiddle class to importance so the demand for more people to have the vote for greaterdemocracy was growing. Over the next hundred years theright to vote was extended in stages to cover most of the adult population tomake Britain into a modern democracy.

The 1832 Reform Act

This, the first of the reform acts, gave the vote to the middle classes. It wasdecided on how much property you owned. The Act also abolished rottenboroughs and re-distributed MPs new towns and cities gained MPs andcountry areas with declining populations lost MPs. The Act was passed after agreat struggle with King William calling a new general election which broughtthe Whigs (later to be called Liberals) to power. They supported the Act.

The Chartists

The working classes were very disappointed with the 1832 Act. They formed agroup called the Chartists to campaign for the vote for the working man. They

put their demands on a Charterwhich they presented to Parliament alongwith several petitions. Their demands were refused and their movementdeclined when it became associated with violence (physical force Chartists).

The 1867 Reform Act

This important Act was passed by the Tories underBenjamin Disraeli. Herealised that if the Tories did not embrace reform the Whigs (Liberals) wouldgain power and bring in reform, taking credit for it. The Act gave the vote tothe skilled working classes in the towns, those who owned or rented a house.It also redistributed seats (MPs) again to take account of the growing towns

and cities of the industrial revolution.

1872 Ballot Act

This Act made for voting in secret. This was to stop bribery and corruption.It meant that people no longer felt compelled to vote for their landowner /employer.

1884-5 Reform Acts

The 1884 Act, passed by Gladstones Liberal Party, gave the vote to theworking classes in the countryside. The 1885 Act redistributed seats again,

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making constituencies roughly equal in size across the country. The Act didnotgive the vote to women or to men who did not own or rent property. Thisencouraged some women to start a campaign forfemale suffrage (votes forwomen).

Votes for Women

Not being able to vote was only one of many rightswhich women did not have in the 19th century. They hadno right to property, divorce, or an education. Workingclass women worked in factories and mills as well asworking to support a family. Middle and upper classwomen did not work but were trained to look after thehome. After the 1884-5 Act women began to campaignfor the right to vote. They formed suffrage societies.These were grouped together to form the National

Union of Womens Suffrage Societies (NUWSS).

This campaign of peaceful persuasion did not succeed in gaining women thevote, so in 1901 Emiline Pankhurst formed the more militant WomensSocial and Political Union (WSPU). This movement was later dubbed theSuffragettes. It aimed to get votes for women and also improve womenssocial position by using more militant tactics like demonstrations and, later,damage to property.

Improvements for women

Meanwhile the situation for women in society was improving in the early 20th

century:

They now had property rights They had more rights in divorce and child custody cases

They could go to university

They could enter some professions eg doctors They could become local councillors.

BUT they still could not vote, despite the fact that the Liberals had been

elected in 1906 and many had hoped they would favour female suffrage. Thisled to frustration particularly with Prime Minister Asquith when he refused tosupport the campaign. The WSPU turned to more violent campaigningmethods such as

Setting fire to postboxes

Digging up gold courses Chaining themselves to railings outside Parliament

Breaking windows with toffee hammers

Getting arrested for obstruction

etc.

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When arrested, they went on hunger strike. The government responded byforce feeding them. This made Britain look bad in the eyes of the world sothe government passed the "Cat and Mouse" Act. This allowed the releaseand re-arrest of hunger strikers.

One campaigner, Emily Davison, even gave her life to The Cause when shethrew herself under the Kings horse at the Derby in 1913. This horrified thepublic but gained little sympathy for the Suffragettes. Many people includingmany women were against them due to the violence plus the belief thatwomen should be at home and let their husbands vote for them.

This attitude changed during the First World Warwhen women volunteeredto help the war effort as nurses and, later, as munitions workers and replacingmen in all sorts of jobs. This gave them new status, independence and meantthey were now taxpayers. As Britain was also "fighting for democracy" themood changed and women were given the vote (middle class women over 30)

in 1918. All males over 21 were also given the vote then. The final victorycame in 1928 when all women over 21 were given the vote.

Britain had, at last, become a modern democracy.

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