Making of Modern Britain

• Poverty was caused by many factors in the 1800s: Unemployment, Large families, Death of main 'bread-winner', Disability/injury at work, Illness, Old age, No national social security system
• Poor Law of 1834


  Provided two types of help: Indoor relief (workhouse), Outdoor relief (food and money given to those at home)
• In the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, there was little help available to the poor
• Laissez faire approach to poverty

  Government did not feel they should have responsibility to solve poverty as it would cost money and raise taxes
• Norman Pearson: '"Poor people are made of inferior material…and cannot be improved"'
• Workhouses


  • Conditions were really difficult, families could be split up, people had to wear uniforms, food was horrible, described as 'prisons for the poor'
• Self-Help


  Book by Samuel Smiles which said to escape poverty you needed to put in more effort, reinforced the view that people in poverty were to blame for their situation
• Charities formed to help the poor


  • Salvation Army
  • Barnardo's
  • YMCA
• Charities


  • Believed in the theory of self-help and did not think the Government should intervene
  • Believed the poor should be 'educated' to live better lives and improve themselves
  • Linked to religion and saw themselves as 'doing God's work' in helping the poor
  • Not organised on a national level, limiting their effectiveness
• Providers of charity


  • Thomas Barnardo (provision of homes for orphaned children)
  • Octavia Hill (provided good standard of housing)
  • RSPCC (provided help for children and orphans)
  • Salvation Army (work colonies to help the poor learn new work and life skills)
• The reports by Charles Booth and Seebolm Rowntree showed that about 30% of people were living in poverty, and the main causes were sickness, old age, unemployment and low wages, not laziness as had been previously thought
• The Labour Party was formed in the early 1900s to help working class people, which made the Liberal Party and Conservative Party realise they might lose votes if they did not do more for those in poverty
• Britain was worried that 25% of volunteers were turned away from the Boer War due to poor health, and that Britain couldn't defend itself properly if too many young men were unfit because of poverty in childhood
• People felt Britain should copy Germany and help more poor people, as Germany had introduced help for many people in poverty and Britain's economy was suffering because of the amount of poverty
• Many politicians, such as David Lloyd George, genuinely wanted to do more to help the poor because they thought it was the right thing to do
• Liberal Reforms 1906-1914


  • Targeted groups thought of as the 'deserving poor' (in poverty through no fault of their own)
  • Had some successes but also limitations
• Liberal Reforms for the young


  • Free school meals
  • Medical inspections at school
  • Children's Charter (banned child begging, smoking, drinking, no adult jails)
• Limitations of Liberal Reforms for the young


  • Free school meals not compulsory so many missed out
  • Nothing done to treat health problems discovered
  • Difficult to enforce Children's Charter, borstals harsh and did not reduce reoffending
• Liberal Reforms for the old

  • Pensions introduced for over 70s (max 25p per week)
• Limitations of Liberal Reforms for the old


  • 25p per week not enough to get old people out of poverty
  • Many died before reaching 70
• Liberal Reforms for the sick


  • National Insurance introduced (workers paid in, got sick pay and free healthcare)
• Limitations of Liberal Reforms for the sick


  • Workers had to pay into scheme, reducing wages
  • Help stopped after 26 weeks if still ill
  • Scheme did not cover worker's family
• Liberal Reforms for the unemployed


  • Labour exchanges set up to help find jobs
  • National Insurance scheme paid small benefits for 12 weeks if unemployed
• Limitations of Liberal Reforms for the unemployed


  • Labour exchanges only helped find low paid work
  • National Insurance scheme only helped 2 million workers, many not covered
• Some historians think the Liberal Reforms did not solve the problems of poverty, many were still living below the poverty line
• Others argue the Liberal Reforms were a move away from laissez faire and self-help attitudes, as the government had introduced laws to improve living standards for the first time
• Despite the Liberal Reforms, there were still many people living in poverty in the interwar years, made worse by the global economic depression
• Some historians think that while the Liberal Reforms did go some way to easing the problems of poverty, they did not solve them. Many people were still living below the poverty line defined by Rowntree.
• Others argue that the Liberal Reforms were a move away from the laissez faire and self help attitude towards poverty. For the first time ever the government had introduced laws to improve the living standards of people in the country.
• Interwar Years


  The time between the two world wars
• Despite the Liberal reforms there were still many people living in poverty in the interwar years. These problems were made worse by the global economic depression caused by the Wall Street Crash in 1929. Furthermore, some industries went into decline and many people became unemployed.
• Throughout World War Two 1939-1945, Britain was run by a Government which included Labour, Conservative and Liberal politicians.
• Winston Churchill became Prime Minister and led the British Government for most of the war.
• The Government became much more involved in people's lives during the war. Far from being resented, most people welcomed this Government intervention and wanted it to go further.
• The Government was seen to be taking an active interest in providing for the welfare of the British people.
• The war greatly affected how people in Britain lived their lives.
• Many British cities were bombed during the Second World War. 4 millions homes were damaged or destroyed and thousands lost their lives. One area that was hit really badly was Clydebank. Most of the houses there were destroyed after bombing by the German air force. Out of 12,000 houses in Clydebank only 7 remained undamaged. Wealthy people across the country were forced to rely on Government help and rich and poor found themselves shoulder to shoulder in air raid shelter. These experiences of war increased support for government help to solve poverty. A community spirit and mentality whereby everyone helped each other, developed in Britain. This attitude was to continue after the war and resulted in new laws being passed.
• Rationing was introduced to make sure that everyone got a fair share of food and fuel. Rich and poor were equally affected and this helped to change people's attitudes towards government helping those in poverty. Rationing helped to change attitudes - the fact that everyone was restricted to buying a certain amount of goods, created a sense of sharing and cooperation in Britain.
• It was accepted that the Government was more involved in people's health and food intake.
• Children from cities were evacuated to rural areas to protect them from the bombing. People in the country were often horrified at the poverty they witnessed among the children they looked after. City children often had poor clothing and were sometimes dressed in rags. They suffered from developmental illnesses such as polio and rickets. They were often poorly educated and had suffered from a lack of clean air. They got a better understanding of the problems caused by poverty in urban areas and demanded something was done.