knowledge test : improved living standards Flashcards
(24 cards)
By what percentage had working class money wages increased between 1850 and 1875?
50%
By what fractions had real wages increased (i) in the Mid-Victorian period and (ii) the Late Victorian period?
1/5th and 1/3rd
List a number of changes in daily life that improved the quality of life for workers.
- Rise in real wage allowed greater access to meat (tinned and refrigerated at low prices) and healthier protein-rich food; fish and chips; cheaper sugar; soap,
- leisure opportunities at music hall
- football
- ½ day work and bank Holidays after 1871 – workers worked 6 days per week with no holidays before.
Identify data that illustrates the decline in poorly paid agricultural work between 1850 and 1911.
- 1.4m in 1850
- 0.97m in 1911
What percentage of the workers wage was spent on housing cost
20% - 50%
How and why does statistical evidence of the unemployed inhibit an entirely accurate assessment of living standards for the period?
- No unemployment figures kept by the government so numbers are uncertain
- the unemployed do not benefit from rising money wages or rising real wages – they do not receive a wage at all.
Use data to identify the decline in Poor law relief between 1850 and 1880.
- 1850: 1m
- 1880: 808,000
Why should the data on the Poor law be treated with caution?
Data is incomplete as workers hated outdoor relief so much that they often did not claim it so not included in figures kept.
What percentage of York and the UK did Rowntree estimate live below the poverty line?
30%
Did the working classes share of national wealth double or triple?
Doubled
But: had national wealth doubled or quadrupled (4x) for the same period?
Quadrupled
What was the infant mortality rate in 1890 and why does this indicate a lack of progress in the 19th century?
154/1000 infants; numbers increased in 1890.
What is the phrase used in the 19th (and 20th) centuries that divides men and women in the world of work?
Separate spheres – private and public; work and home/domestic.
Assess the numbers of women working in the period.
- Decline in numbers working in industry
- as nature of work and male trade unions discouraged it, apart from Cotton
- industry inaccessible to women so missed access to high wages
What were the three biggest employers of women in the period?
- Poorly paid and insecure domestic service: 1.1m increased to 1.81m in 1911
- textiles and poorly paid and unsafe sweated trades.
How did working class women supplement the household income and why does it inhibit an entirely accurate assessment of living standards?
Penny capitalism by baking and washing.
Using data explain what new employment opportunities arose for women in the late Victorian period?
- Teaching
- nursing
- clerks
- retail (shops)
- offices
- 1862: 184,000 female workers
- 1900: 562,000.
Why should working class women’s domestic work at home be included in any assessment of living standards?
It was hard and unpaid work!
What percentage of British millionaires were landowners?
90%
Using percentages of national income, explain the decline experienced in agriculture.
- 1851: 20%
- 1881: 10.4%
- it halved.
Why did land become a problem for aristocratic landowners?
Decline in value due to decline in farming and agriculture.
Using two examples, explain how the aristocracy benefitted from industry.
- Lord Londonderry owned land containing vast coal reserves
- Duke of Devonshire owned land in Barrow – site of shipbuilding.
Why and how did the middle class experience improved living standards in the period.
- Share of wealth increased
- greater opportunities in finance, trade, professions and industry
- growth of rentier class;
- education
- M/c suburbs built,
- holidays
- declining birth rate reduced size (and thus expense) of families.
How much did the payment of income tax increase and why is it relevant to the growth of the middle classes?
- W/Cs did not pay IT
- growth in payers of IT was M/C
- IT payments doubled to 900,000
