Britain 1890-1918 and the Liberal Reforms

What the resources cover

The page follows the Liberal governments from the background to reform through to the results. Several mind maps deal with causes, such as Causes of Liberal Reforms, which covers industrial decline, military problems, a changing political scene, the decline of self-help and a growing awareness of poverty. The note The Liberal Reforms explains how Charles Booth and Seebohm Rowntree exposed poverty and challenged the Victorian mindset.

Where to start

Begin with the note The Liberal Reforms for the big picture. Then open Liberal Reforms, the mind map on social reformers, which includes Rowntree's study of York and the poverty line. After that, read the note on the reasons for the 1906 Liberal landslide, which links the Boer War and concerns about the health of recruits to the political change.

The reforms themselves

Once you know why the reforms happened, move to what they did. One mind map covers the 1908 Old Age Pensions Act, which gave people over 70 a small weekly sum that did not lift them over the poverty line but kept many out of the workhouse. Other maps look at reforms for children and at the National Insurance Act of 1911. There are also sets of flashcards on how successful the reforms were.

Using quizzes and maps together

Read a mind map first, then test yourself. Liberal Reform Laws Dates asks when free school meals, medical inspections and school clinics began. Welfare and New Liberalism General Quiz and the historiography quiz suit A-level work. Note which answers you missed, then go back to the matching map.

Where this unit sits

This unit belongs to the strand The World Wars and the Interwar Era (1900-1945) in History. Teachers can use the slide sets, such as Liberal Reforms of the 20th Century, as ready-made starting points. Pick one map today and make a flashcard deck of your own from it.