Liberal Reforms Flashcards
(22 cards)
What is the poor law
- 1834
- reduced cost of looking after the poor
- took beggars off the street
- invented workhouses
- children received little schooling
Who is Charles booth ?
- business man
- social reformer
- said that 30% lived below the poverty line
- showed that problems were mainly the results of low wages, casual work trade depression and old age/illness
- collected info about conditions of London
- similar to rowntree
Who is seebohrn rowntree ?
- social reformer
- lived in York
- researched about York and poverty
- similar to booth
Who is John Galt?
- amateur photographer
- used images to show how the poor lived
- played an important role in raising awareness of the life of the poor in London
Why did the liberals introduce their welfare reforms?
- the social reformers
- increasing information about poverty
- the scale of the problem
- boer war
- effective work force
- key individuals
- political Rivory
Social reforms?
The work of rowntree and others helped change attitudes towards the poor
The message put forward by them was that it was the role of the government to support the poor when they needed it most
Increasing information about poverty?
Charities and the Salvation Army collected information and helped the unemployed , this information was sent to the government as a hint for them having to do something about it
The scale of the problem?
Life expectancy for poor men and women was 45
In 1900 there was 163 deaths for every thousand
More millionaires than ever before
How much of Britain lived in poverty before the reforms
1/3
Boer war?
Between 1899 and 1902 Britain was at war to defend South Africa
69% of the recruits were unfit or too ill
they were barely fed so didn’t grow properly
Effective work force ?
Britains position as the worlds leading industry was being challenged
Germany’s work force was healthier
As a result the government wanted to help the unemployment problem
Key individuals?
David loyd George - chancellor of exchequer, hated the way the upper class dominated the welch life Winston Churchill - becomes president of the board of trade in 1908, joins the liberals in 1906
Political rivory?
Main rivals were the conservatives
The liberals saw the reforms as a way of fighting socialism
What were the reforms?
Free school meals School medical inspections The children's act The pensions act The labour exchange act The national insurance act part 1 and 2
Free school meals?
1906 - gave local councils the power to provide free meals for poor families
School medical inspections?
1907 - doctors and nurses went to schools and gave children medical checks
The children’s act?
1908
Children under 14 won’t be sent to adult prisons
Children under 14 can’t go in pubs
Children under 16 can’t buy cigarettes
The pensions act ?
1908
Gave weekly pensions to the elderly ( 5 shillings )
You had to be living in Britain for at least 20 years and had to be over 70
Married couples got 7shillings 6pence
Labour exchange act?
1909
Meant that unemployed workers could go to labour exchange to look for a job instead of having to go from workplace go workplace to find work
By 1913, 3000 people were put into jobs every day
National insurance act 1
1911
Workers pay 4 pence, employers 3pence and government 2 pence a week
The workers received up to 26 weeks of sick pay, 10 shillings for the first 13 weeks and 5 for the last 13
The national insurance act 2?
1912
Open to people who worked in unsteady trade
Workers, employers and the government all paid 2 pence a week
If a worker was unemployed they could get 7 shillings 6 pence a week for up to 15 weeks
Reactions to reforms ?
- not everyone got free school meals
- you had to be over 70 for a pension
- you couldn’t get a pension if earn more than £31 a year
- labour exchange didn’t create full time jobs
- the insurance acts money wasn’t enough to live off
- the House of Lords was mainly conservative so opposed the reforms
