Unionism and Cooperation Flashcards
(50 cards)
1
Q
- What is a trade union?
A
Trade based organisation working on behalf of the workers
2
Q
- Name 2 reasons why people join trade unions.
A
To protect jobs,
3
Q
- What did employers make employees sign in the 1820s and 1830s to stop them joining a trade union?
A
The Document
4
Q
- What did the Combination Acts stop?
A
Forming/joining trade union
5
Q
- When were the Combination Acts passed?
A
1799/1800
6
Q
- Which prime minister was in power when the Combination Acts were passed?
A
William Pitt the Younger
7
Q
- What did the Friendly Societies Act of 1793 demand?
A
Register with JP, send reports every 3 months, societies had to have a set of rules written down, lodge copies of documents with local officials
8
Q
- Which law was used against the Tollpuddle Martyrs?
A
Secret Oaths Act 1797
9
Q
- What county is Tolpuddle in?
A
Dorset
10
Q
- When did the Tolpuddle Martyrs case occur?
A
1834
11
Q
- How many Tolpuddle Martyrs were there?
A
6
12
Q
- Who was the main Tolpuddle martyr?
A
George Loveless
13
Q
- How much was the average agricultural labourers’ wage at the time of Tolpuddle?
A
6 shillings
14
Q
- In what year were the Combination Acts repealed?
A
1824
15
Q
- What was the name of the local landowner and magistrate who charged the martyrs?
A
James Frampton
16
Q
- Why was the martyrs trial seen to be unjust? Give 2 reasons.
A
Trade unions were legal, magistrates were local landowners who employed the men, not a fair trial
17
Q
- What happened to the Tolpuddle Martyrs?
A
Transportation to Amstrial/Tasmania
18
Q
- When were the Tolpuddle Martyrs pardoned?
A
1836
19
Q
- Why were the martyrs pardoned? Give 2 reasons.
A
Hugh public outcry, rallies, petitions (800,000), Demonstration in Copenhagen Fields (100,000), trial was first in country to have a press gallery which spread the news far, Change in Home Secretary, pressure from radicals e.g. Cobbett, Joseph Hume
20
Q
- Which minister pardoned the martyrs?
A
Lord John Russell
21
Q
- What did the Amending Act of 1825 do?
A
Made it difficult to strike even though trade unions were legal
22
Q
- When was the National Union of Cotton Spinners founded by John Doherty?
A
1829
23
Q
- Give 2 reasons why the Grand National Consolidated Trade Union failed in 1834.
A
Lack of funds, relied on voluntary not compulsory fees, The Document
24
Q
- Who founded the GNCTU?
A
Robert Owen
25
25. What is capitalism?
Private ownership of businesses run for profit
26
26. What was a ‘knobstick’?
Strikebreaker
27
27. What does the term ‘Laissez faire’ mean and to what does it refer?
Governments that favour a fee market, no regulation economy
28
28. What is a closed shop?
All workers are in a trade union
29
29. What is the definition of an artisan?
Skilled worker
30
30. Which unions joined together in 1851 to form the Amalgamated Society of Engineers?
Old Mechanics, steam Engine Makers’ Society, General Smiths
31
31. Name 2 characteristics of New Model Unionism?
Skilled workers, negotiation rather than militancy, respectable, moderate, union of unions
32
32. What was the idea of an ‘aristocracy of labour’ as described by the Webbs?
Hierarchy of workers divides skilled, semi and unskilled
33
33. Why was the ASE successful where the GNCTU had failed? Give 3 reasons.
Gen Sec William Allan, rigid admin system, elected executive council, paid gen sec, co-ordination of local branches, better funded as skilled workers
34
34. What role did the ASE take in the London builders dispute and when was it?
3 donations of £1000 to builders strike fund, forced a compromise from employers
35
35. What lessons from the London builders strike were learned by trade union leaders?
National unions had more power/sticking together
36
36. Why did Britain’s position as ‘the workshop of the world’ create the conditions for an expansion in New Model Unionism?
Lots of skilled workers as the Ind Rev progressed to more complex work
37
37. Why did the Liberal Party support the New Model Unions?
Because they could tap into their large support base for their own ends/political power.
38
38. Why was New Model Unionism not a success for working-class unity?
Divided workers in to skilled/unskilled and left the poorest without support
39
39. Which organisation was founded in 1868 to act as a central body for trades unions in Britain?
Trades Union Congress
40
40. Where was Robert Owen’s model factory?
New Lanark
41
41. What did Robert Owen use for the first time in 1794?
Sea Island Cotton
42
42. What famous ‘ism’ did Owen first use to describe his belief system?
(Utopian) Socialism
43
43. Who visited Owen’s model town in 1816?
Future Tsar of Russia
44
44. Name 3 practical steps Owen took to improve the lives of his workers?
Infants school, got rid of punishment as an incentive, working day = 12 hours, one and half hour meal break, children don’t work under age of 10, etc
45
45. What act of parliament did Owen contribute to?
1819 Factory Act
46
46. What did Owen set up at Gray’s Inn Road, London for the benefit of workers?
Cooperative Shop and society
47
47. What did the London Co-operative Society, started by Owen in 1824 aim to do?
Co-ordinate Owentite ideas, co-operative society, political meetings, social events
48
48. What % of the population was in a Friendly Society by 1803?
8%
49
49. How did friendly societies mirror social attitudes by the mid 1800s?
Respectable organisations = middle class values of self-help
50
50. Why did the government pass a new Friendly Societies Act in 1855?
Government largely in favour of friendly societies over trade unions as they helped themselves, also provided more regulation due to growth of friendly societies.
