Liberal Reform 1906-1914
The huge scale of the Liberal party's victory in the 1906 general
election guaranteed many new faces among the ranks of Liberal MPs, in
favour of change in the field of social welfare. Between the years
1906 and 1914, the Liberals took steps to improve the health standards
and the living and working conditions of the lower class. The main
areas of people new legislation was targeted on was the working class
under risk of poverty due to sickness or unemployment, their children
and old age pensioners. The effectiveness of Liberal rule on these
matters is not clear, as much of the legislation introduced to solve
poverty problems, can be argued to be unsuccessful at what it was
intended to achieve.
The first task undertaken by the new Liberal government was the
welfare of children. The issue of malnourished children had
increasingly surfaced since the extension of rate aid to all schools
and creation of Local Education Authorities in 1902, so the issue of
children too hungry or generally debilitated was well documented by
1906. A report from the Committee on Physical Deterioration noted
inadequate feeding-"It is the height of cruelty to subject half
starved children to the process of education". To solve this problem
the government introduced the Education Act of 1906. Local education
authorities were enable to provide school meals for destitute children
by levying an additional rate of halfpenny in the pound. Although the
Act was seen as progressive, the fact that it was not made compulsory
argues if it was effective enough. By 1911, less than a third of all
education authorities were using rates to su...
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...troduce various laws, such as
the National Insurance Act and the Pensions Act. The amount of people
below the poverty line at the time was estimated at being as high as
one third of the population. A view that no other government could
have dealt with the situation of poverty any more effectively at that
time adds to the theory that the Liberals were as successful as they
could have been under the circumstances. Liberal legislation between
the years of 1906 to 1914 laid the foundations of a welfare state. The
time spent in power may not have been long enough for the Liberal
reform to make a clear improvement to the poverty situation due to the
social state of the nation being so bad.
This view shows that the Liberals were very successful at dealing with
the situation if considering the magnitude of task they undertook.
Tomlinson, J (1998) 'Why so austere? The British Welfare State of the 1940s', Journal Social Policy, 27(1), pp. 63-77.
Conservative Dominance in British Politics Between 1885 and 1902 During this period in history, it is clear to say that the conservatives dominated British politics. However, is it due to conservative strengths or liberal weaknesses? Although the weakness and the divisions within the liberal party helped the conservative cause, the latter party were dominant due to their unrivalled strength in politics. There were many reasons for these strengths, but it is safe to say that this was the main factor for supremacy in politics in the later 1800's.
The Effects of American Reform Movements in the 1900s Living in the United States of America is all about opportunity. The opportunity to get a good job, make money, and lead a life of good quality; in other words, the opportunity to live, live, and live the Pursuit of Happiness. However, the opportunity for many people was not around throughout the 1800s. Certain groups of people did not hold the basic rights that were guaranteed by the Constitution. In fact, most of the people that had opportunity were the wealthy white men, and few other people ever had any chance to lead a good life.
Republicans dominated the 1920's political scene. During this time period, many changes occurred in the United States. Both culturally and economically. This period is known as the roaring twenties.
Effectiveness of the Liberal Reforms Between 1900 and 1914 the British liberal government introduced the largest series of reforms ever completed by a government till that date. Prior to these reforms it was not considered the duty of the government to provide any form of relief for the poor and when the reforms were passed they were viewed as radical and amazing. Many conservatives considered them unenforceable and many radicals considered them far too small. Yet how effective were these reforms? Prior to the reforms the only relief for children was either from charities or the workhouse, and many liberals claimed that the workhouses were worse than the conditions that many children had previously lived in.
While some citizens of the United States, between 1825 and 1850, believed that reform was foolish and that the nation should stick to its old conduct, reformists in this time period still sought to make the United States a more ideally democratic nation. This was an age of nationalism and pride, and where there was pride in one’s country, there was the aspiration to improve one’s country even further. Many new reformist and abolitionist groups began to form, all attempting to change aspects of the United States that the respective groups thought to be unfair or unjust. Some groups, such as lower and middle class women and immigrants, sought to improve rights within the county, while other reformers aspired to change the American education system into a more efficient way of teaching the county’s youth. Still other reform groups, particularly involved in the church and the second great awakening, wanted to change society as a whole. This was a time and age of change, and all these reforms were intended to contribute to the democratic way our country operated.
What major political changes did Western Hemisphere nations face in the nineteenth century? (The Earth and Its Peoples, 633)
A second piece of education policy that could be said to have a main aim of reducing social class inequality is The Education Act of 1944. Before this, only the middle class children could go to grammar schools and receive prestigious education due to the cost. However, The Education Act of 1944 introduced the 11+ exam and the ‘Tri-partite system’. All children sat the 11+ exam. Those who passed could go to grammar school, those who failed went to secondary moderns, and those with special abilities went to the secondary technicals. This meant that even if a working class child didn’t have any money, but successfully sat the 11+ exam, they could then go onto grammar school. Although at face value it looks as though this policy is reducing social class inequality, the 11+ exam and the Tri-partite system have been criticised. This is because the 11+ exam was seen as being biased in favour of middle class pupils. In addition, there was supposed to be a parity of esteem between the 3 schools. However, Grammar schools were deemed much better. Further to this, working class children who secured a place at a grammar school by passing the 11+ exam couldn’t even go anyway, as the price of various uniform and sports attire was too much. In response to this, in 1965, Comprehensive education was introduced. This sys...
Reform was the goal of the Progressive movement, and with that in mind the reformers had great success. Progressive reformers were made up primarily of middle class men and women whose two main goals were to limit the trusts and to improve conditions of life and labor. These people were part of both political parties at the time, as well as in all regions of the country, and in all levels of the government. They wanted to remove bribed members of the legislature so that just laws and regulations were made that would benefit the people rather than the power-hungry corporations. This major movement altered all aspects of life creating a better living and working environment for people. The Progressive Era reformers and federal government developed the political, social, and economical elements for the better of the country.
During the Progressive Era from 1900-1920 the reformers were not very successful at bringing about reform at the national level. These reformers had worked more closely with the federal government than ever before and made some significant gains. In the period of 1900-1920 the progressive era focused on labor, trust, women’s rights and bad sanitation. With the help of the federal government they were able to achieve most of their goals.
There are couple liberal reforms of 1960-1974 that succeeded and have endured to present day. There is the Medical Care Act of 1965 that provides Medicare and Medicaid, which we still have around today. The policies put into place by the Immigration and Nationality Act, with some modifications, are the same ones governing U.S. immigration in the early 21st century. There are a couple liberal reforms of 1960-1974 that failed to achieve their goals. Most of Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty programs failed to achieve their goals. There was not enough spending that lead to a claim of victory. The programs were not only inadequately funded but also hastily planned. They did not focus on reforms that would ensure adequately paying jobs for all.
The United States faced the worst economic downfall in history during the Great Depression. A domino effect devastated every aspect of the economy, unemployment rate was at an all time high, banks were declaring bankruptcy and the frustration of the general public led to the highest suicide rates America has ever encountered. In the 1930’s Franklin D Roosevelt introduced the New Deal reforms, which aimed to “reconcile democracy, individual liberty and economic planning” (Liberty 863). The New Deal reforms were effective in the short term but faced criticism as it transformed the role of government and shaped the lives of American citizens.
“After the passing of the Great Reform Bill, the liberal Whig leadership struck a snag. Several years of depression put the conservative Tories back in power in 1841. Wages and living conditions grew steadily worse as the industrial revolution permitted the rise of great fortunes for owners and employers along with starvation and poverty for great numbers of the working classes.” (Earl Davis, The Flint and the Flame, Page 115)
So how should be responsible for enhancing the quality of life of our impoverished Americans? The basic liberal argument was that only the federal government is capable of eliminating poverty. Under Johnson's administration government agencies multiplied like rabbits, handout programs were included in almost every bill sent to Congress, and the American work ethic flushed counter-cloc...
There is a current belief within the government that the focus on income over the last decades has ignored the root causes of poverty and this has resulted in a multitude of social problems which have now become deep rooted. In 1941 the government commissioned a report to establish how society could be rebuilt after the war. The Beveridge report (1942) aimed to eradicate the ‘five evils’ to be: Want, Disease, Ignorance, Squalor and Idleness. The work of Beveridge is still evident today as it led to many things which other countries are not fortunate to have such as a National Health Service which was introduced in 1948 along with our welfare state which was designed to protect us from ‘the cradle to the grave’ (bbc) The main driving force behind The Beveridge Report (1942) was to ...