Trade Unionism in England

 

Trade Unionism in England

Trade unionism in England was the natural outcome of industrialism in that country. Before Industrial Revolution, workers had little chance to meet to discuss their problems. But after Industrial Revolution, many factories were established in Industrial town. It gave them opportunities to meet and to talk about their grievances. Trade unionism is defined as, association of workers formed with the purpose of improving the conditions under which work is carried on.

In the eighteenth century there were many secret trade unions in England. The ruling classes looked upon them with suspicion and disfavor. In 1799 and 1800 Combination Laws were passed by which trade unions were made illegal. Francis Place, a master-tailor took efforts for the welfare of the workers. As a result, in 1824, the House of Commons appointed a committee under the chairmanship of Joseph Hume. It supported the working class.

In the next few years, small local trade unions were combined. Thus the Grand Union of the United Kingdom and the National Association for the Protection of Labour came into existence. In 1834, the Grand Union of the United Kingdom was formed with around one million members. It was popular in the beginning, as years went by, it failed. A revival took place in 1843. In 1851 a number of unions in the engineering industry united to form the Amalgamated Society of engineers. The Trade Union Act was passed in the year 1871. According to the act, the unions were compelled to render to the union exact accounts of all the money received by them.

During the sixties and seventies trade unionism was popular only among the skilled workers. A match workers’ strike was organized by Annie Besant in 1888 to get concessions from their employers. In 1889, the union of gas workers was formed and a substantial reduction in their hours of work followed. The first railway was formed in 1871. In 1911 a strike occurred and it was called off only when a promise was that a Royal Commission would be constituted to consider the grievances of the men. The Act of 1921 made it obligatory that the railway service should be represented by the railway trade unions.

Even white-collared employees such as medical men, traders, lawyers, journalists, bank clerks and actors have their respective unions to fight for their rights and privileges. It must be stated that the Trade Union movement has done much to improve the lot in life of the workers. It is now necessary to see that Trade Union movement does not become harmful.

 

The World Wars and Social Security

 

The World Wars and Social Security

The first half of the twentieth century was a period of great progress because of the development of science and technology. But this progress was matched by disasters of the highest magnitude. The First World War started in the year 1914, paralyzed the normal life of people all over the world. By the effort of Woodrow Wilson, President of U.S.A, the War came to an end in 1918. In 1936, the Second World War started and ended in 1945. Only then, the United Nations Organization was established. It played a prominent role to prevent large-scale war on several occasions.

Both these wars brought about great changes both in England and abroad. One of the effects of the First World War was the social leveling up. After the war the class felling was not so acute as it was before. The wealthy upper class could no longer enjoy all their luxuries as the State imposed on them many taxes. Slowly they lost the social and political leadership which they had been enjoying for generations. The mass production of clothes helped for social leveling. It enabled the working man’s wife to follow the fashions of the ladies of rank. The educational institutions played an effective role in realizing the social goal of a classless society.

The Second World War is described as a war of liberation, because it brought centuries old colonial rule to an end and paved the way for many nations to become independent. Thus the age old imperialism was gone and a new era of democracy was ushered in. An earnest attempt was made by the successive Government to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor to the minimum. Coal, gas wireless and air transport were brought under the State control. The State control was exercised in the agricultural methods and marketing in the establishment of factories, and the supply of raw materials.

Soon after the Second World War a general election was held in 1945 and the Labour Party with Clement Attlee as Prime Minister came into power. The Labour Government passed a number of Acts to ensure social security and welfare for the majority of people of the country. The Family Allowance Act helped the families to get allowance for their children of school-going age. In 1946, the National Insurance Act was passed according to which the contributions by workers and employers were raised. The National Health Service Act gave free medical service to old people. This system was a boon to the needy people to improve their health. The National Assistant Act was passed for the welfare of pensioners, physically disabled and patients.

In 1950, the Conservative Governments came to power. They followed the policy inaugurated by the Labour Government. Under the leadership of Anthony Eden, the government set up the Slum Clearance Scheme. Afterwards the Macmillan Ministry set up the Housing Corporation. Thus the way was prepared for England to become a welfare state.

 

The Victorian Age

 

The Victorian Age

Queen Victoria ruled England for sixty-four years (1837 -1901). Her reign witnessed remarkable changes in many fields. She was affectionately called ‘Grand Mamma’ by the people. Her rule was disturbed by the Chartist movement or Chartism. It shows the difference between the haves and the have-nots. Under the leadership of Feargus O’Connor, they drew up a Charter called the People’s Charter. It contained six demands. It was presented to Parliament. It was so shocking to Whigs as well as Tories. The demand was turned down by the Parliament.

After Napoleonic War, working classes suffered a lot. To eradicate it, the first Anti-Corn Law League was founded in 1839. Prompted by humanitarian consideration, the Prime Minister Robert Peel repealed the Corn law in 1846.

The Great Exhibition of 1851, was a clear evidence to see artistic works and raw materials gathered from every corner of the empire and the world. Henry Bessemer’s process which made possible the mass production of steel and Michael Faraday’s discoveries of electrical power added much to the material prosperity of the period. The use of chloroform in medical practice by Simpson in 1847 and the anti-septic surgery developed by Joseph Lister came as great relief to the suffering humanity. In 1859, Charles Darwin, the great scientist of the day published ‘The Origin of Species’. It brought forth a rather shocking theory that man and all other species of life had evolved from a common source. It was a bolt from the blue and clashed with the Biblical account of the creation of man and in turn led to a bitter battle of words between churchmen and scientist.

Along with these social and scientific advancement there was going on a religious movement similar to the Methodist movement, started by the Wesley brothers in the previous century. This was the Oxford movement otherwise known as the Tractarian Movement started by John Henry Newman and a few other Oxford scholars in 1833.

The Crimean War came to an end with the treaty of Paris in 1856. On 1^st January 1877, Queen Victoria was declared Empress of India. There was a marvelous output of literature in the Victorian age. Alfred Tennyson became the Poet Laureate in 1850. Robert Browning, famous for his dramatic monologues was his nearest rival. The other poets of the period were, Matthew Arnold, Swinburne, Dante Gabriel, Rossetti, his sister Christina Rossetti, Fitzgerald, William Morris, Arthur Clough. Great among the prose writers were, Carlyle, Macaulay, Ruskin, Newman and many others. As far as the novel was concerned it was the age of giants. Charles Dickens, William Makepeace Thackaray, George Eliot and many others.

The latter half of Queen Victoria’s reign was noted for many reforms in the field of both politics and education. The Reform Act of 1867 and 1884 extended the right of vote to larger and larger sections of society. At any rate, speaking on the whole, the Victorian Age was a period of peace and prosperity.

 

COLONIAL EXPANSION

 

COLONIAL EXPANSION

In the end of the 16^th century, for various reasons many people left England. After the Wars of the Roses wealth was increasing and it served as an incentive for overseas enterprise. Colonies were founded in America and in the West Indian Islands because of the hard work of the adventurers. Important trade centres  were established in South Africa and India. Thus by the early decades of the decades of the 18^th century, there were thirteen colonies on the east coast of America, between Nova Scotia in the north and Florida in the south. These colonies were of three groups, namely New England colonies, the Middle Colonies and the Southern colonies.

In the early Elizabethan period, Sir Walter Raleigh made several attempts to establish colonies. His first settlement was on Roanoke island off the coast of North Carolina. It was named Virginia to honor Queen Elizabeth.. Later, Raleigh sold his rights to the Plymouth company and the London company. In 1607, the London company under the leadership of Captain John Smith made the first  permanent settlement. They called it as Jamestown in honor of James I. The colonist needed more labour for the development of their colony and it was solved by purchasing the negro slaves.

In 1620, a group of Puritans from Scotland migrated to America and establish a religious society there. These ‘Pilgrim Fathers’ set out from Plymouth harbor in England in a ship called the Mayflower and landed near Cape Cod. That place was named New Plymouth to commemorate the English port. In 1629,  the Puritans obtained a Charter from Charles I. Two more colonies were founded in New England in the early part of the 17^th century. In 1636, Roger Williams with his followers founded a small settlement called Providence. Thomas Hooker another religious leader settled at a place called New Haven and the colony was named Connecticut. Similarly, another colony called New Hampshire was formed .

In 1632, Charles I granted  a block of land to Lord Baltimore, a Roman Catholic, on the Potomac River. Thus in 1634, was founded the Maryland colony, the first Roman Catholic settlement in America.

The Dutch had formed the settlement-called a settlement of New Amsterdam near the mouth of the Hudson River. During the Dutch war in 1664, this area passed into the hands of the British and was named New York in honor of the Duke of York, the brother of Charles II, who later became James II. In 1681 Charles II gave William Penn, a Quaker, a large tract of land west of the Delaware River. This was named Pennsylvannia. Penn leased land in the south and the east , which became the colony of Delaware and New Jersey.In 1663, Charles II granted to eight noblemen called ‘Proprietors’ all the territory south of Virginia. It is called Carolina. In 1670, the city of Charleston was founded and later it was divided into two colonies, North and South Carolina.

By the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, England became the possessor of territories in all parts of the world.