Liberal Reforms.

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 History Coursework--Liberal Reforms                                Adam Bowen

1.

Winston Churchill was a shadow minister in the Liberal Party.  Churchill was concerned about the state of Britain’s labourers at the beginning of the twentieth century.  Winston Churchill stated that ‘a large proportion’ of the population is malnourished and not healthy.  Churchill’s tone and manner within the letter is unsympathetic.  He had an uncaring attitude towards the poor.  He was not concerned about poverty for moral reasons.  He was concerned about the national efficiency of Britain.  Churchill was interested in America’s attitude towards the poor. He was worried that America was a growing power that dealt with it’s poor much more efficiently than Britain.  Most of America’s population were fitter and stronger than Britain’s.  Churchill was worried about competition with America.  Another concern that Winston Churchill had was that Britain’s empire must remain strong.  If a ‘large proportion’ of Britain’s workers were in a poor state then it would give Britain a bad image as an efficient empire.

Source A tells us that poverty was becoming a big concern at the beginning of the twentieth century.  Politicians were writing and talking about it.  Seebohm Rowntree had written a book about poverty detailing findings in York.  Rowntree was one of the first people to do scientific investigations into the causes of poverty.  These people  were known as the first social scientists.  Churchill was impressed by this book.

Source A is useful because it shows that politicians were becoming interested in poverty and it is useful because it shows us what attitude Winston Churchill had towards poor people at that time.  He was concerned with the efficiency of the labourer or ‘animal’ but he was not concerned about poverty for moral reasons.

 

2.

Source A tells us that Winston Churchill was concerned about the efficiency of Britain’s workers, the British economy and the British Empire. You can learn from the source that Churchill was not sympathising with poor. This is apparent from the language he uses - ‘efficient animal’.

Source B tells us that the writer of Efficiency and Empire is putting across a harsh, unforgiving, reactionary view. The writer is more concerned with the image of Britain and not the shocking reality of the true state of Britain was in at that time. He has a very unsympathetic attitude towards poor people in general. ‘Get rid of them (the tramps) and lock them up for life’.

Source C tells us that David Lloyd George was alarmingly concerned about the poverty that existed in Britain at that time and he shows a sympathetic and generally caring attitude towards poor people. He is concerned about poverty on emotional and moral levels. We can learn this from the overall tone of what Lloyd George is saying. ‘I have had letters from people whose cases I have investigated—honest workman thrown out of work, tramping the streets, begging for work as they would for charity, and at the end of the day trudging home disheartened and empty-handed, to be greeted by faces, and some of them little faces, haggard and pinched with starvation and anxiety.’  Lloyd George is arguing that unemployment is caused by the circumstances of the economy and not by the individual.

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Source A is quite useful because it shows that a lot of Britain’s workers at that time were unfit and unhealthy.  It also shows that Winston Churchill was concerned about the efficiency of Britain’s labourers and competition with America.  Source A is reliable because it shows that politicians were becoming concerned about poverty and were interested in the works of Booth and Rowntree.

Source B is a reliable source.  It demonstrates an attitude that was widespread at that time.  Poor people were seen to be poor because of their own idleness.  This attitude was that it ...

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