Political change - Votes for...

N5 history prelim revision notes: Scottish and British page 1

N5 History‘Scotland and the Great War’

Topic 1 – Scots on the Western Front

Trench Conditions> Trenches poorly constructed – fire, mire and wire> Food monotonous and poor, dug outs overcrowded and stifling> Problems with rats, lice and fleas. > Shortages of War – eg tea brewed from water from shell holes> Hardship of Trench Life in winter – trenches flooded, trench foot> Permanent stench of the Trenches – decomposing bodies, excrement> Camaraderie/humour in adversity

Scottish Involvement/Losses Scots units heavily involved in the

Somme offensive and suffered high casualties as a result. 3 Scottish divisions (9th, 15th and 51st Highlanders) took part in the Somme as well as numerous Scottish battalions in other units.

On the British section of the Western front, ‘normal’ losses were more than a 1000 men a day; Scots, having a relatively high proportion of volunteers and conscripts, suffered a lot. Stream of wounded and broken men sent back home to convalesce or be nursed for life.

Huge Scottish losses at the Somme. 16th Royal Scots lost 12 officers and 573 soldiers in one attack, 51st Highland division suffered 3,500 casualties following 2 attacks.

Scots units were often used as ‘impact attack formations’ i.e. were sent first over the top. Some criticism of war and its slaughter began.

Battle of Loos saw appalling Scots losses. Losses so dreadful

no part of Scotland was unaffected. Of the 20,000 names of the dead on the memorial at Loos, one third are Scottish.

Technology and the Western Front

Lots of things were tried to break the deadlock of trench warfare.

Gas was first used by the Germans at Ypres in 1915. The gas caused panic and pierced the line but it was plugged by heroic Canadian troops. Gas attacks were horrific but did actually killed relatively few soldiers. Gas did not win the war however due to If the wind changed direction it

could affect your own troops. The Germans could rarely use it effectively as the prevailing wind was from the west.

Gas masks were developed Germany ran out of chemicals Gas attacks could only force a gap

in the line. Troops were still needed to occupy ground won.

The British developed the tank as an armoured box on caterpillar tracks to protect soldiers from machine gun fire. Tanks achieved a breakthrough at Cambrai in 1917 but did not win the war themselves because There were not enough of them at

first They broke down easily They got stuck and were sitting

targets They still needed infantry to

occupy a position. Many tank attacks were not properly followed up, until the successful 1918 allied campaign.

Aircraft were used for reconnaissance and bombing. But they were still relatively undeveloped and of limited use. Their ability to “spy


from the sky” was limited by the weather. They were also very unsafe – the life expectancy of airmen was very short.

The Creeping barrage was developed during the war and used with some success, especially in the 1918 campaigns. But again the Germans were usually able to withdraw to a line further back which they made impregnable.

Topic 2 – The Home Front – Scotland during the War

The Home Front in Britain and Scotland

The Home Front

During the Great War both sides mobilised their industries and civilian populations to an unprecedented degree. Added to the fact that the war became global with all the colonial nations involved, this was total war.

At the start of the war there was mass enthusiasm for the war on both sides. Huge numbers volunteered to enlist – though many of these soldiers were dead by 1916.

Governments used propaganda and modern methods of advertising to encourage people to enlist. The propaganda was often directed at the enemy eg stories of Belgian atrocities.

Reasons for Scots enlisting: peer pressure; they lived boring lives in little villages and sought adventure; the “King’s shilling” – attractive to many Scots on low pay or unemployed; “over by Christmas”; fear of being seen as a coward; a chance to see the

world; their friends and colleagues joined up – pals’ battalions.

By 1916 so many soldiers had been lost that conscription was brought in – for the first time in Britain. Conscientious objectors were very unpopular and given non-combatant jobs to do.

Various laws like D.O.R.A. were brought in to control the movements of aliens, limit drinking in pubs, make more time available for work, direct workers into war industries etc.

Women’s position in society was transformed by the war. They took on men’s jobs and volunteered as nurses and munitions workers. They became independent, often the main breadwinner and taxpayers. They were rewarded with the vote in 1918 but most had to give up their jobs when the men returned after the Armistice.

supplies imported from abroad like food were in short supply due to German u-boats attacking merchant shipping. The government brought in rationing and encouraged people to grow their own vegetables. They also tackled the u-boat menace with convoys.

And in Scotland….

No Conscription Fellowship was formed to specifically oppose the introduction of conscription.

The Society of Friends (Quakers) opposed the war on religious grounds. The Scottish Suffragetttes suspended their campaign at the outset of the war and some started a pro-war campaign.

Socialists opposed the war and there were more of them in the west of Scotland: they formed the


ILP Independent Labour Party. They saw the war as being fought for the benefit of capitalists at the expense of the working man, and saw working class Germans as brothers.

Individual women like Marie Chisholm and Elsie Inglis played a significant role in the war – Scottish nurses

By 1916 women in Scotland had become a huge part of the workforce, for example in engineering, and dilution of labour became a big issue. (Meaning the Trade Unions worried skills would be diluted as the women didn’t get much training, and worked for lower pay than skilled male workers.

Militant women played a big role in the Rent Strikes of 1915 - protest at high rents in Glasgow area caused by housing shortage caused by huge numbers of workers moving to Clydeside to work in war-related industries.

In the aftermath of war, many women (but not all) got the vote. However many lost their jobs in heavy industry and went back to domestic service.

Topic 3 – Impact on the Scottish Economy

War was ‘good’ for traditional industries of Scotland; steel output doubled during the war.

During WW1 a total of 481 warships were built on the Clyde and profits for shipyard owners were very high.

Diversification of industry in WW1: Beardmore produced aircraft and artillery pieces as well as ships. John Brown’s produced tanks as well as ships.

Edinburgh industries such as the North British Rubber Company did well, as did the railways.

Dundee’s jute industry boomed as demand for sandbags rose to meet the demands of warfare.

Dundee/Aberdeen both benefitted from increased shipbuilding work.

Wages, in general, slightly higher during the war, but the introduction of dilution affected some industries.

Farmers benefitted from the shortage of imports and good prices protected by the government

Fishing benefitted from the war as fish were needed to supplement diets but the industry was restricted in the North Sea by military developments.


In the 1920s: decline Economic depression after the

war added to the difficulties of many Scottish industries. Weapons no longer needed. Ship building hit as there was not the money to buy new ships. Jute suffered from competition from India, where labour was cheaper. Sandbags were no longer needed. Foreign competition in other industries too eg ship building, coal mining – production was cheaper abroad and export markets had been lost during the war. Coal was also suffering competition from oil eg for transport, as petrol and diesel engines had been greatly improved during the war years. Farmers had to cope with cheap imports from the Empire again, so farming declined.

Railway engine production in Glasgow declined sharply. Railways were declining due to the growth of road transport – motor vehicles had advanced greatly during the war as mentioned above.

Low unemployment in Scotland compared to London before the war was reversed by 1923; it was long-term unemployment and skilled workers were affected more than unskilled.

Richer south and poorer north in the U.K. was a product of WW1. New industries like cars and electrical goods did not need to be located near coalfields as they ran on electricity. This meant

most of them were now in the East of Scotland and the South and East of England.

Disproportionate affect of losses on Scottish officers during the war: one in seven graduates from Edinburgh and one in six graduates from Glasgow University died. Impacted on lack of skilled management in the 1920s. The ‘Lost generation’ was part of Scottish industrial problems in the 1920s.

Topic 4 – Political Change in Scotland during the War

The Conservative and Labour Parties increased their support, although there was no election until 1918. The Liberals split over disagreements about the war and declined greatly, losing out as the voice of the working class to the new and growing Labour Party.

Nationalism was not a big force in politics at the time. Scots were very pro-UK and pro – British Empire.

Reputation of the West of Scotland as ‘Red Clydeside’; much radicalism came from the Shop stewards who were more militant than their national union leadership: evidence of the numerous strikes on the Clyde.

Role of John McLean; seen as a great Scottish revolutionary by many, but although undoubtedly inspirational was a marginalised figure, broken by many arrests.

Rent strikes and industrial militancy had a radicalising effect on Scottish society.


Social Democratic Party, the Independent Labour Party and the Socialist Labour Party were intensely anti-militarist and anti-war.

In the 1920s

Radicalism after war: possible revolution: 1919 – George Square; but long term triumph of gradualist approach of Maxton, Kirkwood, Johnston compared to McLean.

In the 1922 election Labour made the breakthrough as the second political party: 29 of their 142 seats were in Scotland: 10 of these were in Glasgow.

In the 1924 election Labour won 34 seats in Scotland. Labour formed a minority government, led by a Scot, Ramsay MacDonald, with Liberal support. John Wheatley was a Glasgow Labour MP and Minister for Health. One of their more radical measures was the Wheatley Housing Act, which gave the government funding for local council housing.

The Liberal Party split and was squeezed by Conservatives and Labour, almost disappearing from Central Scotland.

In Central Scotland, there was a transfer of the Irish catholic vote to Labour partly as a result of Labour support for denominational education.

Political change - Votes for Women

Not being able to vote was only one of many rights which women did not have in the 19th century. They had no right to property, divorce, or an education. Working class women worked in factories and mills as well as working to support a family. Middle

and upper class women did not work but were trained to look after the home. After the 1884-5 Act women began to campaign for the right to vote. They formed suffrage societies. These were grouped together to form the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS).

This campaign of peaceful persuasion did not succeed in gaining women the vote, so in 1901 Emeline Pankhurst formed the more militant Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU). This movement was later dubbed the Suffragettes. It aimed to get votes for women and also improve women’s social position by using more militant tactics like demonstrations and, later, damage to property.

Improvements for women by 1914

Meanwhile the situation for women in society was improving in the early 20th

century: They now had property rights They had more rights in divorce

and child custody cases They could go to university They could enter some

professions eg doctors They could become local

councillors. BUT they still could not vote,

despite the fact that the Liberals had been elected in 1906 and many had hoped they would favour female suffrage. This led to frustration particularly with Prime Minister Asquith when he refused to support the campaign. The WSPU turned to more violent campaigning methods such as

Setting fire to postboxes Digging up golf courses Chaining themselves to railings

outside Parliament


Breaking windows with toffee hammers

Getting arrested for obstruction etc.

When arrested, they went on hunger strike. The government responded by force feeding them. This made Britain look bad in the eyes of the world so the government passed the “Cat and Mouse” Act. This allowed the release and re-arrest of hunger strikers.

One campaigner, Emily Davison, even gave her life to The Cause when she threw herself under the King’s horse at the Derby in 1913. This horrified the public but gained little sympathy for the Suffragettes. Many people including many women were against them due to the violence plus the belief that women should be at home and let their husbands vote for them.

This attitude changed during the First World War when women volunteered to help the war effort as nurses and, later, as munitions workers and replacing men in all sorts of jobs. This gave them new status, independence and meant they were now taxpayers. As Britain was also “fighting for democracy” the mood changed and women were given the vote (middle class women over 30) in 1918. All males over 21 were also given the vote then. The final victory came in 1928 when all women over 21 were given the vote.

National 5 History: British. Britain 1760-1900 Revision Notes

IndustryBetween 1750 and 1900 the Industrial Revolution brought about massive economic and social change. The industrial revolution means this. Instead of

The domestic system – when things were made in small workshops by skilled craftsmen and unskilled workers in their own homes in the countryside

we get the development of The factory system – when

things are now made in factories using machinery, powered firstly by water and later by coal / steam.

Results of the Industrial Revolution Factories are located in towns or

near to a source of power; firstly water, then coal. This means industry develops in northern England and the Clydeside area in Scotland.

Masses of people leave the countryside to move to towns to work in the new factories and cotton mills.

A new working class develops. Working people now have to adopt the discipline of the factory system ie all work the same hours, in shifts around the clock.

A new middle class develops. This comprises people with skills like engineers and businessmen who become the new wealthy class, taking over from the old landowning aristocracy.

The new middle class starts to demand more power in society. This is seen in the demand for the vote, given in 1832.

The working class too develops, with a new skilled working class becoming “higher up” the social scale than unskilled workers.


They get paid more and can start to live in better housing. Eventually they, too, demand more political power and are given the vote in 1867.

The Highlands and Islands of Scotland, and Ireland, become depopulated as people more to industrial centres like Glasgow for work.

Machines are taking over in the countryside as well, so millions of people leave the land for work in the towns. Many of them emigrate to the British Empire – eg Canada, Australia, New Zealand.

As machines take over, skilled workers like Handloom weavers lose their jobs and become impoverished. This fuels the demand for political change.

Villages become towns; towns become cities. The population continues to grow as people can afford a better diet, standard of living and health care.

Towns become very overcrowded, especially in Scotland. This causes health problems.

Issues like living conditions and health, and child labour, spark the growth and development of political change as people demand improvements eg an end to child labour (the Factory Acts).


Industrial change: cotton

The industrial revolution started in Britain with the growth of the cotton industry. Cotton imported from the southern US states (harvested by slave labour until abolition in 1807) came in to west coast ports like Liverpool and Glasgow. It was transported to cotton mills sited next to fast flowing rivers. As these rivers were located in nearby hills such as the Pennines or the hills of Lanarkshire, this is where the industry developed. Manchester became the cotton capital of the world, exporting cotton goods all over the British Empire. Why was there a growing demand for cotton?

It was cheap and easily made into clothing

More comfortable to wear than wool

Soldiers uniforms during the Napoleonic Wars (1793-1815)

A fast-growing population meant a fast-growing market with money to spend.

What machines were used in the factories?Several new inventions were hugely important in spurring the growth of the industry. Arguably, these inventors changed the world with their machines:

James Hargreave’s “Spinning Jenny” mechanised spinning (1764)

Richard Arkwright’s “Water Frame” (1771) converted this machine to water power. Arguably Arkwright was the “father of the industrial revolution”

Samuel Crompton’s “Spinning Mule” (1775) – improved on Arkwright’s invention

Edmund Cartwright’s Power Loom (1784) – mechanised weaving, spelling disaster for handloom weavers

The Steam Engine (James Watt and Matthew Boulton, 1763) – provided a new source of power which, once it was fully developed in the 19th century, transformed cotton and other industries. It meant that mills next to rivers closed and opened up near coal mines. Fortuitously, the mines were not far away, in Lancashire, Yorkshire and Lanarkshire.

What were working conditions like?The traditional view – that low paid child and female workers toiled for immensely long shifts in ghastly conditions has been challenged, to some extent, by recent research.

Negatives Children as young as 6 toiled

10 hour shifts for very low pay. Mills were hot and damp,

which caused health problems. Unguarded machines were

dangerous eg fingers could be crushed

Harsh discipline – strict rules with fines for rule-breakers eg bad timekeeping. Children could be punished by making them stand in cold water if they dropped off to sleep at work

Some accounts say that off-duty children were kept “locked up”

Women as well as children were paid much less than men.


Workers would be laid off in an economic depression (eg after 1815)

Positives Employers liked having child

and female workers as they were seen as nimble. Children could crawl under the machines to fix broken threads. This at least meant they were employed and it was a bit better paid and much more regular than farm work, which involved even longer hours in often difficult weather conditions – and stopped in the winter.

Wages were higher than on farms. Work was much more secure as business boomed.

Some mills, like New Lanark, were much better than the stereotype. Robert Owen provided schooling for children, good housing and cheap(er) goods in the factory shop. He encouraged good work by positive encouragement rather than negative punishment. Richard Arkwright’s mill in Derbyshire was similar.

Mills were warm (too warm at times) and dry which was better than farm work or the mines. They were close to home so no travel costs.

Although the hours were very long you got

The Factory ActsOne major positive in this story is that pressure built up for reform. Men like Lord Shaftsbury campaigned to have regulations brought in to improve working conditions and provide legal protection for child workers.

1833 Factory Act forbade the employment of children under nine years of age in most textile mills. Older children had their hours limited and employers had to provide some education.1844 Factory Act - restricted children aged between 8 and 13 to half-day working.However it was difficult to enforce these laws as parents wanted their children to work to bring in much needed money. 1847 Factory Act - everyone under 18 and all women were only allowed to work a maximum of ten hours a day.

Coal Mining

Coal mining, along with agriculture, was the other key industry in 1830. Coal was the main source of power and with the invention of the steam engine it became even more important. It was the key driving force of the industrial revolution, transforming Britain from a country of farms and villages to a land of industry and towns. It powered Britain to become the most advanced and powerful country in the world, with a huge trading Empire reaching to the four corners of the globe. From Britain the industrial revolution powered by coal spread across the world bringing changes which revolutionised peoples’ lives for ever.

The main things you need to know in this topic are living and working conditions for

coal miners and their families changes brought about by

government and technology.

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/factory_laws.htm


The increasing demand for “King Coal” – effect of the Industrial Revolution

By 1900 there were thousands of coal mines in Britain and tens of thousands of coal miners in Scotland and Britain. Demand for coal was increasing all the time and it was exported to other countries. This was due to its use to heat homes to fuel steam engines to power

factories for steam power on railways, on

farms and in steamships for making iron and steel – key

materials of the industrial revolution

Working in the mines

Working in coal mines was physically very hard, conditions were grim, it was dangerous and unhealthy work but wages were high. Despite the high wages, nobody wanted to be a miner and they were regarded as outcasts, living in their own communities often isolated from other places. Miners were even treated like slaves (“bonded labourers”) before 1800.

Here is the kind of work done in the early 1800s: hewers were men and older boys

who hacked out the coal using picks. In Scotland the seams were often narrow so they had to lie in uncomfortable positions for hours on end with only a candle for light.

bearers were women and older girls who carried coal for their husbands/menfolk. They used to have to climb ladders with heavy sacks on their backs but these were being replaced by winding machines to hoist the coal. Younger girls and boys would haul

coal carts through the mine – called putters.

the youngest children were trappers – a terrible job for a child, sitting in the dark for hours on end opening and shutting a trapdoor to help air circulate in the mine. In winter they often went weeks without ever seeing daylight.

Dangers and health hazards

gas could ignite causing explosions

gas could be poisonous coal dust would ruin the miners’

lungs and cause silicosis and early death

the roof could collapse children could be deformed from

crawling around in cramped conditions

winding ropes sometimes broke causing the cage to crash to the pit bottom

water could flood the mine.

Technology

As in farming new inventions had a big impact on mining, though less so in Britain than in competitor countries like Germany. Davy lamps reduced the risk of

explosion steel cables made winding gear

safer and quicker steel pit props made rock fall less

likely machines were invented to cut the

coal but were not greatly used before 1930

electricity used later for lighting, conveyor belts, winding machines – made the work easier and safer

fans installed pumped fresh air into the mine.


Government intervention

People were shocked when they found out about the awful conditions in the mines especially for children. Following on laws to protect child factory workers the Government brought in the Mines Act of 1842 which stopped women and children working underground. Many other Acts were later passed providing for inspectors to check on safety in mines and reducing the working day for miners. After 1870 children had to go to school so could no longer work anywhere in mines.

Conclusion: how far did coal mining change by 1900?Coal mining changed quite a lot but was still an unpleasant, difficult job in 1900.New machinery was making life easier for the miners but British pit owners were reluctant to invest and the old methods continued to be used.

Industrial Change: TransportThe industrial revolution had a massive effect on transport in Britain. As industry developed it needed better transport links because the roads were inadequate for moving heavy goods. Although they were better after the introduction of toll roads (tolls paid for improvements like tarmac surfaces developed by John Macadam), roads were still limited in what they could transport. They were dangerous, too, for passengers. Stage coaches were often attacked by “Highwaymen”.

CanalsHuge sums of money were invested in developing a canal network after the Bridgewater Canal opened in 1761. They were hugely important in

the growth of industry during the first 75 years of the industrial revolution.

Why were canals built?- roads were inadequate

for moving heavy goods. Although surfaces were better after the introduction of toll roads (turnpikes) it took big teams of horses to pull a single goods wagon. These horses had to be changed frequently so could not make long journeys. A canal boat could be pulled by a single horse and carry ten times the amount of goods and more. (Note – canals were still very slow, but fine for goods that did not need to move quickly eg coal)

- Roads were slow and dangerous (highwaymen) for passengers. Stagecoaches needed several teams of horses which needed to be changed at each staging inn along the way. So it was very expensive and most long journeys took several days. It was also uncomfortable as coaches would lurch about from one pothole to another. Canals were still slow but you could travel, for example, between Edinburgh and Glasgow in 12 hours (one long day) in comfort and warmth.


- The water took the weight so really heavy things like coal and stone could be moved easily.

- Because there were no bumps fragile goods could be moved easily and cheaply. This helped the development of the potteries around Stoke on Trent, English Midlands.

- Industry no longer had to be sited next to the sea coast, so inland towns and cities like Birmingham and Manchester developed. Manchester eventually had a ship canal so ocean-going vessels could bring cotton to its many mills.

- There were lots of rivers in Britain. They could be used for navigation with just a few canals to bypass obstacles like rapids or shallow sections. You could then

easily connect inland towns to the sea coast. From there you could import and export to the British Empire from ports like Liverpool or Glasgow.

Building canalsA massive engineering project, taking many years. Teams of navvies would dig the channels, almost entirely by hand. It was dangerous and exhausting work, albeit well paid (though there is some argument about this). As well as digging, they had to line the channel to make it waterproof; build bridges for every road that crossed the canal; dig cuttings and tunnels to get through hills; build huge aqueducts to cross valleys; build many lock gates along the route.

Disadvantages of canals They were very expensive

to build in a hilly country like Britain. Engineers had to overcome many obstacles like digging tunnels, cuttings, massive bridges which were strong


enough to hold water (very heavy) etc. Some canals never made enough money to repay the big loans raised to build them. Businesses complained that charges were too high and the money just went to pay back loans and not to invest in maintenance and improvements.

They were slow as, due to the hills, you had to go through several lock gates for even short journeys. Each time this cost money which would be passed onto the consumer, making goods more expensive.

Capacity was limited as canal boats were necessarily narrow. Popular canals between major centres soon became overcrowded with boats leading to delays.

Water could freeze in the winter and evaporate in a hot summer.

The end of canalsAs soon as railways were invented (1830s), canals became obsolete and fell into disuse. Investors withdrew their support and switched to railway development instead. Workers were laid off – but were usually taken on – in far greater numbers – by the burgeoning railway system (1840s-60s)

RailwaysOne of the biggest developments of 19th century Britain was the invention of railways from 1830 onwards. Railways transformed life in Britain and changed the rest of the world too.

You need to know about the benefits brought by railways as well as some of the arguments people made against them.

The First Railways

first developed in coal mines. James Watt’s invention of steam power was adapted by engineers like George Stephenson with his famous Rocket locomotive to move on rails and pull a train.Stephenson also engineered the first railways which connected industrial towns like Stockton to Darlington and Liverpool to Manchester. From these beginnings railways spread all over Britain to form a network connecting all towns and cities.

Benefits of railways

cheap travel was now available for all classes

people could afford to go to holiday resorts – seaside holidays boomed

food was cheaper and fresher as it could be delivered quickly to towns. Diet became more varied.

news travelled more quickly with newspapers delivered “next day” all over the country

politics became more centralised - national political parties grew up

time was standardised to fit the railway timetable

upper and lower classes mixed more as they travelled on the same train

industries received a boost like coal, steel, railway engine building etc.

new towns grew up on rail junctions like Crewe

the Highlands of Scotland were opened up to tourism – causing


further clearances (a disadvantage for the Highland folk)

a national postal service – the Royal Mail – could work much better.

many people made a lot of money out of railways – “railway mania” – but some lost money

lots of new, well paid jobs like train drivers

Disadvantages of railways

some landowners objected to their land being “invaded”

people complained at the damage to the environment in the countryside

some people were afraid of navvies

some people lost money through unscrupulous railway developers

some people were frightened of the noise and speed of trains which was something they had never experienced before.

Building the railways

Railways were huge engineering projects which transformed the environment, cutting through hills, spanning valleys and rivers, creating new towns. The work itself was done mainly by hand by thousands of navvies. They had a mixed reputation. They worked very hard with long hours in all weathers and often remote places. They earned high wages but drank a lot and had a reputation as unruly, uncouth and immoral people. But in other ways they were terrific workers with a great loyalty to each other and their employer. Many of them were Irish. Their achievements, in building so many bridges, tunnels, embankment etc without the use of much modern machinery were spectacular.

Housing and Living Conditions

HousingThe better off people lived in pleasant, large houses on the edge of town, upwind of the smoke and smell. In Edinburgh many lived in large stone built New Town houses, where they had the whole house to themselves and their servants.Poorer people lived in poor quality housing which was overcrowded due to the influx of people from the countryside during the Industrial Revolution. Often these dwellings had been built quickly to accommodate the workers and often they were of poor quality. Edinburgh and Glasgow were very overcrowded – Old Town tenements or lands having many families in one room. They were dirty, damp and poorly ventilated with few windows, had no running water, bathrooms or toilets – all causing disease. The streets were dirty and often contaminated with sewage as there was no proper system to take it away. In Edinburgh, rubbish was thrown out of tenement windows onto the streets. In London, the Thames was polluted with raw sewage. In many industrial towns houses were built over or near cess pits which contaminated the drinking water. Communal toilets were shared between many people and often overflowing with effluent. Nightmen had the horrible job of carting away the effluent – often this wasn’t done well as no-one wanted the job.

Disease

These conditions were a breeding ground for many diseases and epidemics. Several deadly cholera epidemics spread throughout Britain after coming to these shores from


Asia on board ships. Thousands of people died, rich and poor alike, as the disease spread through the drinking water. Other common diseases were typhoid, typhus, tuberculosis and many childhood diseases like diptheria and hooping cough which killed thousands of young children.

Improvements

Why? the terrible cholera epidemics hit

rich and poor alike. The rich had more influence than the poor and pressured the authorities into making improvements in public health

most (male) citizens got the vote after 1885 so had influence over the authorities to make changes

people like Edwin Chadwick, Beatrice Webb, David Lloyd-George all worked to do something about poverty and ill health

technologies improved and were more affordable eg flushing toilets.

What improvements?1. Public Health Acts after 1848

introduced rules for local authorities to follow to make sure there were doctors, hospitals, health inspectors etc in each town.

2. Water supplies were cleaned up by siting reservoirs far out of towns in the hills. Sewage systems were built to take away the effluent.

3. Medical advances eg anaesthetics, antiseptics, clean hospitals, penicillin – dramatically improved the chances of surviving childbirth and illness.

4. Housing was vastly improved – slums were pulled down and replaced by council houses after

World War I, building regulations made for better quality homes, Conservative governments subsidised private builders to provide homes for the middle classes to own.

How much improvement?Living conditions, housing and health improved quite a lot by 1900 with much lower infant mortality and much longer life expectancy. Water was now clean and proper sewage systems were built. Most of the killer epidemics had been conquered and houses were improving, though progress was slow. Many slums remained and were not fully cleared till the 1960s.

Political Change 1760-1900In 1760 Britain was basically ruled by the Upper Classes (aristocracy) who derived their wealth, influence and power from land. They were the only people who had the vote. But the big changes of the industrial revolution were bringing a new middle class to importance so the demand for more people to have the vote – for greater democracy – was growing. Over the next150 years the right to vote was extended in stages to cover most of the adult population, making Britain much closer to being a modern democracy.

Why were there demands for change in the early 1800s?

“Radicals” were people who wanted more rights for the “lower classes”. They were influenced by the American and French Revolutions. In France people had overthrown their King demanding

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“Freedom, Equalitiy and Brotherhood”.

The industrial revolution brought huge changes. Many working people in the countryside were impoverished with agricultural changes. Many moved to the towns to work in the new factories. But some lost their jobs when machinery took over their skills – eg the “handloom weavers”.

The end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 brought an economic depression, meaning poverty for many people. Soldiers returning from the war were unable to find employment.

What did people do to protest?The most famous protests were the Peterloo Massacre and the Radical War in Scotland.

At Peterloo a huge crowd of 60,000 attended a meeting demanding radical change (reform of Parliament) at St Peter’s Field, Manchester. The authorities had been told by the Government to stop such protests and they ordered local cavalry units to clear the protesters. This resulted in disaster, with 11 people killed and 400 wounded. The press called it the “Peterloo Massacre”, likening it to the recent Battle of Waterloo.

Following this the Government passed the “Six Acts” severely limiting further protest.

The Radical War. Around 60,000 workers, again, joined the strike. On the 15th April 1820 one group of Radicals (mainly weavers and other

workers) led by Andrew Hardie and John Baird decided to march from Glasgow Green to Falkirk in order to seize the Carron Iron Works. It ended when they were mown down by the 10th Hussars and the Stirlingshire Yeomanry after the authorities were tipped- off by ‘agents’ who had been involved in the plan.

Why did the authorities react so harshly to these protests?They were afraid that a French-style revolution would break out here. The French Revolution had resulted in attacks on property and the exiling of the wealthy classes. Then it had turned into the bloodbath of the guillotine and many years of Napoleon’s wars.So why did they not give the radicals the vote to defuse the protests?Probably because vested interests in the form of the landed gentry and the new industrial wealthy class were afraid to give any power away to the lower classes in case they demanded more – eg better wages and conditions. However, the upper classes were losing the argument and within ten years they had been forced to bring in a degree of reform (1832).

Why did demands for reform come to a head in 1830?

For all the above reasons, plus….

the new middle class of factory owners and professions (eg engineer) were demanding more say in how their taxes were spent.


The voting system was outdated. This was made worse by the changes brought about by the industrial revolution eg

Fast - growing industrial cities had far too few MPs

Declining rural areas had too many MPs. This meant the South had too many MPs and the growing North (and Scotland) had far too few.

Some declining areas had rotten boroughs ie villages where no-one lived any longer but they still had two MPs!

Voting was done openly so bribery and corruption were commonplace.

Sometimes no fair contest was held at all

People would be pressured to vote for their boss ie their landowner!

Only those who owned a lot of land had the vote. This was unfair for people who earned their money through industry and hard work.

How was the “Great” Reform Act (1832) passed?With difficulty. There was a massive argument:

the Tories (led by Prime Minister the Duke of Wellington) who feared that reform would encourage the radicals to demand more, and leave Britain open to revolution which he believed he had spend his military career fighting against.

The Whigs, representing those who didn’t fit into the upper classes, believed that reform would stop further protests.

The House of Lords, dominated by the Tories, blocked the reform until King William was forced to create enough Whig lords to pass it in 1832.

The 1832 Reform Act

This, the first of the reform acts, gave the vote to the middle classes. It was decided on how much property you owned. The Act also abolished rotten boroughs and re-distributed MPs – new towns and cities gained MPs and country areas with declining populations lost MPs. How “Great” was the 1832 Act?It was great in terms of being a big turning point to move Britain towards democracy. But

The Chartists

The working classes were very disappointed with the 1832 Act. They formed a group called

the Chartists to campaign for the vote for the working man. They put their demands on a Charter which they presented to Parliament along with several petitions. Their demands were refused and their movement declined when it became associated with violence (physical force Chartists).

The 1867 Reform Act


This important Act was passed by the Tories under Benjamin Disraeli. He realised that if the Tories did not embrace reform the Whigs (Liberals) would gain power and bring in reform, taking credit for it. The Act gave the vote to the skilled working classes in the towns, those who owned or rented a house. It also redistributed seats (MPs) again to take account of the growing towns and cities of the industrial revolution.

1872 Ballot Act

This Act made for voting in secret. This was to stop bribery and corruption. It meant that people no longer felt compelled to vote for their landowner / employer.

1884-5 Reform Acts

The 1884 Act, passed by Gladstone’s Liberal Party, gave the vote to the working classes in the countryside. The 1885 Act redistributed seats again, making constituencies roughly equal in size across the country. The Act did not give the vote to women or to men who did not own or rent property. This encouraged some women to start a campaign for female suffrage (votes for women).

Votes for Women

Not being able to vote was only one of many rights which women did not have in the 19th century. They had no right to property, divorce, or an education. Working class women worked in factories and mills as well as working to support a family. Middle and upper class women did not work but were trained to look after the home. After the 1884-5 Act women began to campaign for the right to vote. They formed suffrage

societies. These were grouped together to form the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS).

This campaign of peaceful persuasion did not succeed in gaining women the vote, so in 1901 Emiline Pankhurst formed the more militant Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU). This movement was later dubbed the Suffragettes. It aimed to get votes for women and also improve women’s social position by using more militant tactics like demonstrations and, later, damage to property.

Political change - Votes for...

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