Social Science Congress 1865 Maneckji Cursetji

The National Association for the Promotion of Social Science (NAPSS), often known as the Social Science Association, was a British reformist group founded in 1857 by

Lord Brougham Henry Peter Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux, (; 19 September 1778 – 7 May 1868) was a British statesman who became Lord High Chancellor and played a prominent role in passing the 1832 Reform Act and 1833 Slavery Abolition Act. ...

. It pursued issues in

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

industrial relations Industrial relations or employment relations is the multidisciplinary academic field that studies the employment relationship; that is, the complex interrelations between employers and employees, labor/trade unions, employer organizations, ...

penal reform Prison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, improve the effectiveness of a penal system, or implement alternatives to incarceration. It also focuses on ensuring the reinstatement of those whose lives are impacted by crimes. ...

, and

female education Female education is a catch-all term of a complex set of issues and debates surrounding education (primary education, secondary education, tertiary education, and health education in particular) for girls and women. It is frequently called girls ...

. It was dissolved in 1886.

Background

The efforts of George Hastings brought together three groups of the 1850s to form the NAPSS: the Society for Promoting the Amendment of the Law, the National Reformatory Union, and the

Society for Promoting the Employment of Women The Society for Promoting the Employment of Women (SPEW) was one of the earliest British women's organisations. The society was established in 1859 by Jessie Boucherett, Barbara Bodichon and Adelaide Anne Proctor to promote the training and emp ...

(the

Langham Place Group The ''English Woman's Journal'' was a periodical dealing primarily with female employment and equality issues. It was established in 1858 by Barbara Bodichon, Matilda Mary Hays and Bessie Rayner Parkes. Published monthly between March 1858 a ...

). It took as model the

British Association for the Advancement of Science The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). The current Chie ...

, holding an itinerant annual meeting, which provided a forum for social reformers. The objective of the Association was defined as "to coordinate the efforts of the experts and the politicians". One factor in the eventual decline of the NSPSS was that the objectives of medical reformers changed. Legislation and the efforts of central government to improve public health became less important to them. Its first secretary was Isa Knox.

Congresses

Twenty-eight Social Science Congresses took place:

Committees

Trades Societies and Strikes

A committee of the Association produced ''Report on Trade Societies and Strikes'' (1860). This report was highly regarded: Sidney and

Beatrice Webb Martha Beatrice Webb, Baroness Passfield, (née Potter; 22 January 1858 – 30 April 1943) was an English sociologist, economist, socialist, labour historian and social reformer. It was Webb who coined the term ''collective bargaining''. She ...

later called it "the best collection of Trade Union material and the most impartial account of Trade Union action that has ever been issued". There were contributions by three

Christian Socialist Christian socialism is a religious and political philosophy that blends Christianity and socialism, endorsing left-wing politics and socialist economics on the basis of the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. Many Christian socialists believe capi ...

s (

Thomas Hughes Thomas Hughes (20 October 182222 March 1896) was an English lawyer, judge, politician and author. He is most famous for his novel ''Tom Brown's School Days'' (1857), a semi-autobiographical work set at Rugby School, which Hughes had attended. ...

John Malcolm Forbes Ludlow John Malcolm Forbes Ludlow (8 March 1821 – 17 October 1911) was an Anglo-Indian barrister. He led the Christian socialist movement and founded its newspaper of the same name. Biography He was born in Nimach, British India, where his father wo ...

, and

F. D. Maurice John Frederick Denison Maurice (1805–1872), known as F. D. Maurice, was an English Anglican theologian, a prolific author, and one of the founders of Christian socialism. Since the Second World War, interest in Maurice has expanded."Fre ...

). Hughes was one of two secretaries to the committee (with P. M. Rathbone). The committee included the Liberal politicians

William Edward Forster William Edward Forster, PC, FRS (11 July 18185 April 1886) was an English industrialist, philanthropist and Liberal Party statesman. His supposed advocacy of the Irish Constabulary's use of lethal force against the National Land League earne ...

, and

Sir James Kay-Shuttleworth, 1st Baronet Sir James Phillips Kay-Shuttleworth, 1st Baronet (20 July 1804 – 26 May 1877, born James Kay) of Gawthorpe Hall, Lancashire, was a British politician and educationist. He founded a further-education college that would eventually become Plymo ...

. There was one trade unionist as member,

Thomas Joseph Dunning Thomas Joseph Dunning (12 January 1799 – 23 December 1873) was an English bookbinder and trade unionist. Biography He was born on 12 January 1799 in Southwark, the son of Joseph Hill Dunning, a waterworks turncock, and Ann Barber Dunning.E ...

Quarantine Committee

The Association's Quarantine Committee was set up in 1858. Its report was published officially by Parliament.

Notes

{{Authority control Defunct organisations based in England Social sciences organizations Organizations established in 1857 Organizations disestablished in 1886 1857 establishments in the United Kingdom 1886 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Learned societies of the United Kingdom Medical and health organisations based in the United Kingdom