Britain, c1851–1964 – Reform and challenge, c1851–c1886: Social movements…

The idea

British social policies between 1851 and 1886 evolved through grassroots movements and state intervention. The ideology of 'self-help', popularised by Samuel Smiles, championed individual thrift and shaped attitudes to poverty. Meanwhile, working classes organised via New Model Trade Unions, like the Amalgamated Society of Engineers, securing legal status through the 1871 Trade Union Act. The state gradually abandoned strict laissez-faire. Education legislation, notably Forster’s 1870 Education Act, created board schools to supplement voluntary provision. Social reform legislation, such as Disraeli’s 1875 Public Health Act, targeted urban sanitation, demonstrating a shift towards addressing the severe consequences of industrialisation.

What earns the marks

• Assess the impact of the 'self-help' ideology on government reluctance to provide comprehensive state welfare.
• Evaluate the significance of New Model Trade Unions in achieving legal recognition and improving working-class conditions.
• Analyse the limitations of Forster's 1870 Education Act, noting that it did not immediately make education free or compulsory.
• Compare the effectiveness of Liberal and Conservative social reform legislation, such as Gladstone's trade union laws versus Disraeli's public health measures.

Common mistakes and how to put them right

• Claiming the 1870 Education Act made school free and compulsory for all children.

  Put it right: State that the 1870 Act only established board schools where provision was lacking; education did not become compulsory until 1880 and free until 1891.

• Confusing New Model Trade Unions with later New Unionism.

  Put it right: Specify that New Model Trade Unions (1850s to 1870s) represented skilled workers and favoured negotiation, whereas New Unionism (late 1880s onwards) organised unskilled workers and was more militant.

• Assuming 'self-help' meant the government provided no social reforms.

  Put it right: Explain that while self-help emphasised individual responsibility, the period still saw significant state intervention in public health and education.

Exam tips

• Use Samuel Smiles' 1859 book 'Self-Help' as a primary example of mid-Victorian middle-class ideology when discussing attitudes to poverty.
• When evaluating social reform legislation, always consider the limitations of the acts, such as the permissive nature of the Artisans' Dwellings Act 1875.
• Link the growth of trade unions to the expansion of the franchise in 1867, showing how working-class political power influenced social policy.