3: The growth of cooperativism

Question 1

who was the president of the GNCTU in 1834

Answer 1

robert owen

Question 2

what was robert owen

Answer 2

utopian socialist who believed people’s characters were created by their environment

Question 3

what did new lanark promote?

Answer 3

cooperative rather than combative environment

Question 4

new lanark abandoned the use of..

Answer 4

punishments as a means to raise productivity

Question 5

New Lanark replaced punishments with..

Answer 5

work incentives - the most common was the ‘silent monitor’ where a wooden block was turned daily by a supervisor and showed the quality of the work. (black = poor, yellow = good, white = excellent)
appealed to the workers’ sense of social standing

Question 6

after 1800, new lanark did what?

Answer 6

shortened the working day to 12 hours max
put the minimum age at 10

Question 7

cooperative shop at new lanark

Answer 7

sold quality goods at little more than cost price
used the profits to pay for the school

Question 8

new lanark set up the first ever..

Answer 8

infant school in 1816 which was free

Question 9

new lanark continued to pay workers even when..

Answer 9

the USA placed an embargo on cotton supplies to Britain in 1806 following a political dispute and the mill was closed for 4 months

Question 10

new lanark drew widespread..

Answer 10

interest both home and abroad - Owen tried to set up other NLs in America and in 1816, the future Tsar of Russia (Grand Duke Nicholas) visited

Question 11

cooperativism was inspired by

Answer 11

owen’s ideas of self-improvement and community

Question 12

cooperative schemes were reasonably popular when?

Answer 12

in the declining economic climate post 1815

Question 13

Cooperative and Economical Society

Answer 13

1821
group of WC men in London (including Henry Hetherington)
had the intention of creating a communal house in Spa Fields

Question 14

William King

Answer 14

published a newspaper for 2 years - The Cooperator
1827-9
had wide readership
spread cooperative ideas

Question 15

labour exchange bazaars were short/long term?

Answer 15

short-lived
only lasted 2 years due to the accumulation of unwanted goods in the longterm

Question 16

labour exchange bazaars had a currency based on..

Answer 16

labour hours rather than monetary value

Question 17

2 exchange bazaars

Answer 17

• London 1832
• Birmingham 1833

Question 18

name for the exchange bazaar in london

Answer 18

national equitable labour exchange

Question 19

by 1832, how many cooperative shops

Answer 19

50

Question 20

cooperative shops empowered the people by

Answer 20

giving control
providing quality goods and customer wellbeing
using dividends to create longterm interest/support

Question 21

rochdale pioneers - who and where

Answer 21

28 men
Toad Lane
Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers 1844

Question 22

why rochdale pioneers in the year 1844

Answer 22

1840s were economically depressed

Question 23

the rochdale principles made them more..

Answer 23

professional
focused less on goodwill in order to create a longterm business structure (unlike early efforts in cooperativism)

Question 24

“one member..

Answer 24

one vote” and this included women - enhancing their reputation as honest businessmen

Question 25

the measures and weights in the rochdale shop

Answer 25

were accurate and fair (other shops were known to tamper e.g. putting chalk in flour)

Question 26

in rochdale shop, what price was charged

Answer 26

market value (profits were made as goods were bought wholesale) no credit was accepted (as earlier efforts fell into financial difficulties because of this)

Question 27

in the rochdale shop, a defined percentage of the profits was allotted to..

Answer 27

education and the rest was divided pro rata (equally) based on how much each member purchased

Question 28

in 1863, how many shops

Answer 28

more than 300 251 of these were created after reading of the Rochdale Pioneers

Question 29

in 1856, what were the Rochdale Pioneers asked

Answer 29

to provide a wholesale service to supply societies across the region. as a consequence, over the next 3 years the shop expanded to accommodate this

Question 30

cooperative wholesale society

Answer 30

1863 the collective power of this group meant it could establish overseas depots as far away as Australia and south america by 1868

Question 31

by 1870, the cooperative wholesale society had..

Answer 31

amassed property worth £300,000 - giving it a strong footing in the british economy

Question 32

cooperative economics

Answer 32

rather than an individual accumulating vast profits, by promoting collective ownership, profit would be divided among a greater number of people. LT interest would be created allowing for the business to grow which further enhanced profits

Question 33

why did the gov become interested in friendly socs

Answer 33

after the perceived threat they posed post-1789 french republic (as they seemed to exhibit traits of french radicalism)

Question 34

what was a friendly soc

Answer 34

in the absence of gov protection, working men (mainly skilled workers) started groups where each member paid into a mutual fund through weekly subscriptions.

Question 35

friendly socs and ale houses

Answer 35

friendly socs were born from social gatherings as the anonymity of industrialisation took hold, this served as a social and financial benefit to its members

Question 36

first friendly soc

Answer 36

“The Royal Foresters” which became the “Ancient Order of the Foresters” in 1834

Question 37

1793 friendly soc act - what did the legislation do

Answer 37

socs had to register with the local JP and send reports of their activities every 3 months

Question 38

1793 friendly soc act - impact

Answer 38

saw a growth in friendly socs as there was now legal recognition (which by extension granted legal protection of funds) by 1803, 8% of england were members

Question 39

by 1815, how many people?

Answer 39

1/3 of the population supported by way of friendly soc insurance cover

Question 40

although the 1793 act seems good, what was the drawback?

Answer 40

membership was not open to everybody. the financial commitment was a regular subscription, meaning the poorest in society or those in unstable seasonal unemployment were excluded

Question 42

when was the 2nd friendly soc act

Answer 42

1855

Question 43

what did the 1855 friendly soc act do

Answer 43

updated the older act, mostly to protect society funds

Question 44

by the 1850s, how had societies developed

Answer 44

so much so that the United Society pledged to provide a bed and meals to any member who was travelling for work

Question 45

after 1815, the number of friendly soc members reached

Answer 45

over 1 million - meaning they commanded a great deal of wealth

Question 46

in the 1800s when trade unionism was banned..

Answer 46

friendly socs grew and by 1870 they outnumbered unions 4:1

Question 47

with more members, what could the societies offer

Answer 47

improved pension provision savings opportunities

Question 48

in 1846, what was abandoned?

Answer 48

the JP registering. instead, societies had to go to a central government department called Registrar of Friendly Societies