liberal reforms

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Created on: 20-01-15 22:41

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liberal reforms
- attitude towards the poor
  - the Victorians believed that people were poor due to their own actions
    - Drunkeness, lazy, drugs
  - The elderly were expected to work their life and save for their old age. this would have been fie sable if wages hadnt been so low. Most elderly had to rely on their children or go to the workhouse.
- how attitudes changed
  - The Salvation Army
    - William and Catherine Booth started the salvation army and went to the poor instead of the poor going to charities
      - William and Catherine obtained information about the poor and classified them into three groups
        those who lived by vice
        
        The starving and homeless but honest
        
        Those who lived by crime
  - Social reformers
    - Seebohm Rowntree became interested in Charles's work and wanted to discover if it was true for York aswell
      - Seebohm calculated that a family of five could live on 21s and 8d. Around 28% of York were living in poverty
        He classified poverty in York into:
        Secondary poverty: these families could just about feed and care for their family as long as there were no emergencies
        
        Primary poverty:No matter how hard they worked they would never have enough to provide food and sheter
    - Charles Booth lived in London and refused to believe that 25% of the population was living in poverty
      - He set up a team of investigators and investigated for 17 years
        He discovered that 31% of londoners were living below what he established as the poverty line
        Charles classified them into four groups
        Group B: Casual earnings: widows Part time workers 11.25% of population
        
        Group C: Occasional earnings, hit by trade depressions. 8% of population
        
        Group D: Low wages less than 21 shillings a week. 14.5%
        
        Group A: criminals loafers. 1.25% of population
  - The poor law: this was feared by the poor as going to the workhouse was considered shameful and that you had given up responsibility for your family. The workhouses did provide food and shelter
- Liberal reforms: Free school meals in 1906 gave 158,000 children a meal
  - The national insurance act of 1911 workers joined insurance schemes in which they paid 4d a week, then the employer put in 3d and the government puut in 2d. If a worker becomes ill they got 10s a week for 13 weeks then 5s for another 13 weeks in the year
    - The national insurance act of 1912: workers, employees and the government paid 2d a week so that workers when unemployed would be paid 7s 6d a week for 15 weeks in a year
  - the Children's act of 1908 cruelty to children was forbidden as they were protected people. Children arrested how were under 14 couldn't go to jail. Children under 14 weren't allowed in pubs
  - School medical inspections of 1907 introduced compulsory health checks however treatment wasn't necessary until the school clinic of 1912 which provided free medical treatment in schools
  - the labour exchange act 1909: labour state exchanges were set up to let people look for jobs,this was much more efficient than going from workplace to workplace
  - The old age pensions act of 1908:people over 70 who were single received 5s a week and a married couple received 7s 6d later increased to 10s

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