How Succesful Were the Liberal Reforms in the Early 20th Century
Question: how successfully did the liberal reforms of 1906-1914deal with the problem of poverty in the early 1900s
1906 and 1914 was a time of big political and social change. Members of parliament were moving away from the old “Lasses-faire” attitude and try and help those living in poverty. Some historians may argue that the liberal reforms tackled the problem of poverty in the early 1900s quite successfully however other historians may argue that the liberal reform didn’t quite tackle the problem of poverty very successfully. The liberal reforms tried to help such areas of society as, the young, the old, the sick, the unemployed and the employed.
The liberal government realised that if Britain was to remain a strong country; they would need make sure that the next generation is healthy to keep Britain a strong country. They tried to help the young with an act which was passed in 1906 called The School Meals Act. Some could say that this act was a success as those in living poverty could get at least one good nutritious meal a day. However this reform did have its flaw, by 1911 only a third of schools were supplying free school meals. It could be argued that this act was unsuccessful as more than a half of the children in school were still unable to get school meals. Another act which was aimed to help the young was that in 1907 medical inspections were compulsory in schools. Also every child should have at least three medical inspections in their school career. This was quite good as it meant that if a child had a medical problem; it could be dealt with when they are young so it does not affect them in later life. However the medical inspections only identified if a child had a problem and there was no free health service so most issues when untreated as most families lived in poverty and could not afford the treatment. This could be argued as unsuccessful as the government was still not helping children medical problems found by the medical inspections.
1906 and 1914 was a time of big political and social change. Members of parliament were moving away from the old “Lasses-faire” attitude and try and help those living in poverty. Some historians may argue that the liberal reforms tackled the problem of poverty in the early 1900s quite successfully however other historians may argue that the liberal reform didn’t quite tackle the problem of poverty very successfully. The liberal reforms tried to help such areas of society as, the young, the old, the sick, the unemployed and the employed.
The liberal government realised that if Britain was to remain a strong country; they would need make sure that the next generation is healthy to keep Britain a strong country. They tried to help the young with an act which was passed in 1906 called The School Meals Act. Some could say that this act was a success as those in living poverty could get at least one good nutritious meal a day. However this reform did have its flaw, by 1911 only a third of schools were supplying free school meals. It could be argued that this act was unsuccessful as more than a half of the children in school were still unable to get school meals. Another act which was aimed to help the young was that in 1907 medical inspections were compulsory in schools. Also every child should have at least three medical inspections in their school career. This was quite good as it meant that if a child had a medical problem; it could be dealt with when they are young so it does not affect them in later life. However the medical inspections only identified if a child had a problem and there was no free health service so most issues when untreated as most families lived in poverty and could not afford the treatment. This could be argued as unsuccessful as the government was still not helping children medical problems found by the medical inspections.