Social Reform and the Path to World War I in Britain

Social Reformers of the Victorian Era

Robert Owen (a factory owner in Scotland) gave his workers shorter working hours and provided good housing nearby and education for the workers' children.

William Booth started a new religious movement through the most depressed areas of the city. It was called "The Salvation Army" to "make war" on poverty.

Victorian Literature and Painting

Both were affected by this new mood of change. Charles Dickens, the most outstanding writer from the Victorian era, attacked rich people for their cruelty towards the weak in society. Landowners bought paintings and paid artists; so, to please them, artists painted sentimental scenes of the countryside which told a moral story.

Scientific Advances and the Theory of Evolution

Charles Darwin published his theory of evolution based upon scientific observation and explanation for everything. It led to a crisis in the Church because churchgoing people believed in the Bible's word and they could not understand that the world had not been created in six days or that man had developed from the ape.

The End of England's Summer and the Welfare State

People did not realize that they were living at the end of an age. There was still a general belief in the "liberal idea," based on social and economic improvement and democracy without revolution. It was about the "New Liberal government." They provided:

• Free school meals to improve the health of children.
• An old-age pensions scheme.
• Labour exchanges were opened where everybody could look for work.

All working people were made to pay for "national insurance." It began to establish the "Welfare State."

The Storm Clouds of War

By the end of the 19th century, Britain was no longer as powerful as it had been. In Europe, Germany was now united and had become very strong. Its economic prospects were greater than Britain’s. Like the USA, it was producing more steel than Britain to build strong industries and a strong navy.

Why Britain Lost Its Global Advantages

Germany had greater natural wealth, including coal, iron, and wheat-producing land. Most British people invested their money abroad. Public schools (the private system of education for the richer middle class) did not encourage business and scientific studies. By 1880, Britain led the world in telegraphic communications, but they found that Germany, France, and the USA were increasingly competing with them.

Britain realized that other countries had more powerful armies and industries. So, the government built battleships to ensure security at sea. It was no longer able to persuade other countries; it made treaties of friendship with France, Japan, and Russia.

The Outbreak of War in 1914

In 1914, a dreadful chain of events took place (mapa). Austria-Hungary, Serbia, Russia, France, and Germany were at war. Britain declared war on Germany because it had promised to help France. It could not allow a major enemy power to control the Low Countries.