Answering Higher essay questions (paper 1)

Transcription

1 Answering Higher essay questions (paper 1) Question To what extent did the Liberal Reforms ( ) improve the lives of the British people? Firstly you must read the question and decide what it is asking? This question is asking to what extent the Liberal Government improved the lives of the British people. You must therefore be prepared to tell the reader whether or not the reforms introduced by the Liberals helped improve people s lives or not and to what extent it helped, ie free school meals, were they adequate, did medical inspections initially, deal with the problems in children, old age pensions, were they enough? Then you must decide on the best way to plan your introduction, remember and keep your introduction as open ended as possible and state the points you are going to further develop in your main body. This will also help with the structure of your essay. Introduction: - One of the problems pupils find with essay writing is getting it started. Therefore, reword the question to provide you with an opening to your introduction. The Liberal reforms, in many ways went a long way to changing the lives of the British people. (Question reworded). Never before had they enjoyed the level of support from the government that they were experiencing throughout the Liberals period in office. Famed for its attitude of laisse faire and free trade, the people of Britain could now face the future knowing their children would gain an education. They also had the security of

2 knowing that whilst being educated they would also receive a healthy meal as well as free medical inspections. (This allows you to develop and analyse the 1906 Education Act) The workplace was another area the Liberal Government decided to implement reform which would not only help in times of injury and sickness but also in times of unemployment. Old age, under the Liberals, was no longer a retirement into poverty, with the introduction of the old age pensions meant that some level of security was provided for Britain s pensioners. However, the extent to which these changes improved people s lives will be examined throughout this essay. (This allows you to develop and analyse NI Acts I and II) All your introduction has done is provided you with a road map of where you are going in order to develop your essay. Main Now take each point mentioned in your introduction and develop and analyse it. (remember. After each paragraph ensure you have answered the question) When the Liberal government came to power in 1906 it had spent many years in the political wilderness. Throughout this period Britain had faced great social change. The party itself had also witnessed massive changes. With new radical thinkers, such as Lloyd George, Herbert Asquith and Winston Churchill amongst its ranks, the Liberal party found its self being pressured from within for change. Of course, there were also outside influences campaigning for government intervention. Wealthy businessmen such as Charles Booth and Seebolm Rowntree as well as socialists

3 such as Beatrice and Sidney Webb had longed for government help to support the needy. In 1906, in an attempt to alleviate hunger in children, the Liberal Government introduced the Education (provisions of school meals) Act. Previously the idea of Labour, the Liberals hoped that by providing a free meal to children at school would help, in the opinion of Lord Rosebery develop a strong healthy, well educated workforce (content1) The Education Act did help provide meals to hungry children, so much so that from its inception in 1906 only 3 million meals were provided, this had risen to 9 million by 1910 and a staggering 14 million children were enjoying free school meals by 1914 when this Act became compulsory. (analysis 1) Local authorities who decided to become involved in this initiative were provided with grants of up to 50% of the cost or they could work in conjunction with local charities. This seemed a massive step forward in government intervention amongst the young. As Disraeli the Tory leader believed the health of the people was the most important issue facing politicians Although on the surface this Act seemed a success it wasn t until 1914 its full benefits were felt. Prior to this the Act was voluntary and almost half the local authorities failed to adopt this initiative. (analysis 1). Although the introduction of free school meals did help improve the lives of the British school children, the fact it took eight years to make it compulsory seriously affected the extent to which it helped. (At the end of the paragraph ensure you have answered the question) One year later the Liberal government extended their reforms towards school children as part of the previous Education Act, with the introduction of the Medical Inspections Act Again it could be argued this Act was

4 put in place to help children, but unfortunately stopped short of curing their illnesses. (content 1) The Medical Inspections Act ensured children were inspected in school at least three occasions throughout their career in order to highlight any disease, the likes of those which were identified in Boer War recruits which resulted in 90% of them being refused entry. Again, this act only partially improved the lives of the British people. Up until 1912, when disease was identified no treatment was given, instead this was left to the already impoverished parents to deal with, which many if not all of them, could least afford. (analysis 1) Until 1912 this was a very limited measure, the Liberal government then made compulsory, free medical treatment in schools, therefore improving the lives of the children and ensuring a healthier workforce and army. (Again revert back to question) The Children s Charter introduced in 1908, helped improve the lives of the British children in many ways,( linking with the question again) this Act provided local authorities with the powers to ensure children were being cared for properly by their parents. (content 1)If not, they had the right to remove them from their parents and put them in care. It also forbid the taking of alcohol by children under the age five as well as ensuring they did not purchase cigarettes under the age of sixteen. More importantly, this Act ensured children found guilty of crimes were tried in juvenile courts and served their sentence in either borstals or remand homes. (analysis 1) This Act proved to be a huge step forward in Government taking a more active role in the lives of children in Britain and ensured that in future they would be sheltered from abuse and neglect. The Liberal government of 1906 to 1914 also recognised the need to improve the lives of the elderly of Britain. Aware of

5 the fact that many elderly, when retired, had very little or no savings, the Liberals set about introducing a scheme that would provide an income for them when their working life came to an end With new Liberals Herbert Asquith, Lloyd George and Winston Churchill now leading the party, they set about introducing reforms for the elderly. After firstly facing funding problems, the 1908 Old Age Pensions Act was introduced. (content 1) This Act was modelled on systems already operating in New Zealand and also the very efficient Germany, and provided people aged seventy and above with between 1 and 5 shillings per week depending on their level of income, married couples received 7 shillings and 6 pence. Although the elderly who qualified, were receiving some money when retired, it was still, as identified by Seebolm Rowntree, well below the official figure of 7 shillings per week for a single person and 11 shillings and 8 pence for a couple, required to remain above the poverty line.(analysis 1) Although many of the elderly wept tears of joy when collecting their pensions, proclaiming thank goodness for that Lloyd George. As AJP Taylor stated it only provided a meagre pension for the needy over 70. Although the Old Age Pensions Act did provide relief and some income for the elderly, it still left many living below the poverty line and spending the remaining years of their life poor. (analysis 1) (The question has been answered) In 1911 the Liberal government turned its attention towards the sick. The National Insurance Act was introduced in two parts. Part one dealt with those too ill to work and part two was introduced to help those out of work. The National Insurance Scheme was a contributory scheme introduced to help individuals who found they were falling

6 into poverty due to an illness which prevented them from working (content 1) This Act allowed the workers earning under 160 per annum to pay 4 pence per week towards a scheme which paid them a benefit of 10 shillings per week for 13 weeks when off work sick, this was reduced to 5 shillings for a further 13 weeks. The employer also contributed 3 pence per week as did the government 2 pence; in essence the worker was receiving 9 pence for an outlay of 4 pence. The National Insurance Scheme also paid a maternity grant to women of 30 shillings. (analysis 1) Although the scheme went a long way to improving the lives of the sick it was limited. After 26 weeks sickness, which was a common occurrence throughout this time, no payments were made and again, the worker relied on the poor law. Also, when sick, the scheme only covered the insured worker for treatment from a Doctor, hospital treatment was excluded. The workers family were also excluded from this scheme thus providing further problems. Finally, the 4 pence paid into the scheme by the worker, meant they were actually taking a pay cut to gain cover, which in many cases plunged a family into poverty. This Act was in the opinion of Keir Hardie a porous plaster to cover the disease that poverty causes (analysis 1) The second part of the National Insurance Act was introduced in an attempt to deal with the countries rising unemployment. Sir William Beverage believed unemployment to be the root of most other social problems Therefore, this Act like the previous act ensured the worker paid towards their own upkeep, whilst in employment the worker was expected to pay two and a half pence into a fund; the government would also pay the same. (content 1) In times of unemployment, the worker would then receive a payment of 7 shillings per week to save him falling into poverty. This payment was made at the newly introduced

7 unemployment exchange, for a period of fifteen weeks where it was hoped the individual would find employment. (analysis 1) However, the problems with this Act were many, to be a success, unemployment had to remain below 5%, the benefits themselves were paid only for a period of only 15 weeks after which the burden of poverty struck. The payments also, only ensured the worker received the minimum amount of 7 shillings on which to survive. Furthermore, this Act only covered the seasonal trades with cyclical employment therefore ignored all other workers. (analysis 1) In conclusion, the Liberal government of to a certain extent did improve the lives of the British people. The Education Acts introduced between 1906 and 1908 went a long way towards ensuring the children of Britain were given a school meal and were medically inspected, it also ensured they were being taken care of at home as well as in society. However, the National Insurance Acts that were introduced to help the unemployed and the sick, although providing help also left the individual living below the poverty line, as did the Old Age Pensions Act. And it is for these reasons; the extent to which the Liberal reforms improved the lives of the British people can be seriously debated.