1: Pressure for change and reform (1820-52) Flashcards
after 1820..
popular demand for reform decreased due to the six acts and the gradual improvement of the economy
1820s prosperity statistic
between 1821-9, GDP rose by 16% and manufacturing grew by 25%
government transformation
relaxation of gov. policy has been seen as the transformation from reactionist to liberalist post-1822
1822 government liberalism
radicals such as Henry Hunt released from prison in 1822
one example of the limited reform in the 1820s
cornish borough of Grampound was disenfranchised and the 2 MPs were given to Yorkshire. only real example of reform in the early 1820s
lord john russell early 1820s
in 1822, he sought to introduce a bill designed to disenfranchise 100 of the most rotten boroughs but it received no government support.
poor harvests in the late 1820s
1828 and 1829 - made food prices rise
economic decline in the late 1820s caused..
200 petitions in one month in 1830
from rural areas
demanding tax reductions
although the government responded positively to these petitions (200 from rural areas), what happened?
when conditions failed to improve, rioting broke out - swing riots
economic decline was not only in the rural areas, but also..
the markets in urban areas were depressed by the late 1820s
when were the swing riots and how long did they last
1830-2
lasted for more than 18 months
where were the swing riots
southeast england
rural counties
what did the swing rioters do
burn hayricks
accuse the prominent authority figures of failing the local people
sent threatening letters under the anonymous name ‘Captain Swing’
how did the swing riots impact parliament
alarmed parliament landowners, who began to see reform as a means to appease discontent
BPU when was it set up
birmingham political union
december 1829
who set up the BPU
thomas attwood - banker and future chartist
aim of the BPU
achieve greater representation for the industrial centres
pressuring government by uniting the WC and MC
was the BPU respectable or not?
yes it was a respectable campaign
became a model for other political unions
3 ways the boroughs were changed in the 1832 act
- 56 boroughs disenfranchised
- 30 boroughs lost 1 MP
- 42 new boroughs
scotland and ireland in the 1832 Great Reform Act
both got extra seats.
scotland got 8 and ireland got 1
date of the Great Reform Act
4 June 1832
great reform act passing - votes for/against
with a vote of 106 to 22
extended franchise in the 1832 act - posititives
- boroughs now uniform (own/rent £10 of property per year)
- electorate rose to 650,000 (18%)
1832 extended franchise - however..
- MC businessmen were the only ones really enfranchised
- counties still favoured (370MPs from rural south vs 120 from industrial north)
(so still not hugely representative)
tory hegemony in the 1810s/20s
lack of parliamentary change in the 1820s as the tories were stable and confident in their control.
since 1812, they had been in charge. the whigs found it hard to challenge this.
tory party becoming divided over..
irish catholic emancipation
the 1691 penal laws prohibited catholics sitting in parliament but there was increasing sympathy ever since the creation of the Catholic Association (1823)
following the reshuffling in government, what happened in the early 1820s?
robert peel as home sec (anticatholic)
george canning as foreign sec (procatholic)
became so polarised that the whigs almost won in the 1826 election. only strength of lord liverpool which stopped them winning.
resignation of lord liverpool
1827
he had a stroke
caused a brief power vacuum which created vulnerability in the party.
in the space of 11 months they had 3 different leaders
who was the 3rd leader after liverpool?
duke of wellington (August 1828)
he divided the party over catholic emancipation in 1829 and the party subsequently split.
ultras vs liberals
under Duke of Wellington as leader
liberals - supported emancipation and ultras - anti emancipation
this reduced public confidence and in the 1830 election they only just achieved a working majority
1830 election - tories only got a working majority of __ MPs
42
this allowed the whigs to present the 1831 reform bill
why did the whigs want to reform in the 1820s/early 1830s?
they recognised the power of the MC and the advantages it would bring to their party
they also wanted to make it more difficult for the tory party
why were the whigs keen to keep the support of the MC?
they were so important for the country’s economic prosperity AND they were educated - making them a threatening group because they were respectable (thoughtful/reasoned opposition couldn’t be dealt with in the same way as mobs)
first bill
march 1831
proposed to disenfranchise 100 boroughs
struggled through commons and was seriously challenged in lords.
after the first bill failed, what did Earl Grey ask the king to do?
dissolve parliament so that he could go to the people and achieve a majority
after parliament was dissolved, the whigs returned with a majority of nearly ___ and the 2nd bill was presented
140
2nd bill
passed commons but was blocked by the tory-dominated lords in october 1831
what happened when the 2nd bill was defeated?
rioting broke out
bristol - 3 days of rioting. cavalry charge ended the fighting but killed 130
this caused the presenting of the 3rd bill
3rd bill
less boroughs were to lose an MP and 10 boroughs actually gained an extra
tory peers were shocked at the riots and blocked it.
this caused earl grey to ask the king for 50 new peers to force the bill through the lords (but this didn’t happen and he resigned)
what happened when grey resigned after the 3rd bill was defeated
more protests started
the king asked wellington to form a new tory government, but he was unable to recruit enough supporters. he didn’t have public support (days of may) and so the king instead asked earl grey to form a government
days of may
the frustrated MC were withdrawing bank savings/investments in an attempt to destroy government finances
in 10 days more than 1.8 million was removed - making the gov worried about what would come next
why did the tories agree to the 1832 act
the king had said to earl grey that he could have the 50 new whig peers if needed, and the tories didn’t want their power in the lords permanently diluted, so instead they agreed and let the bill come through
what did chartists want generally
to improve the existing reforms - WC felt cheated after 1832
wanted reform to be for the WC (1834 PLAA seemed like a punishment, 1833 factory act benefitted MC)
LWMA
formed by William Lovett in 1836 to demand further political reform (so that the WC would be better represented)
attracted names such as Henry Hetherington and Thomas Attwood
LWMA’s manifesto
1838 published to raise awareness for its cause
peoples charter
6 things on the peoples charter
- equal representation
- universal manhood suffrage for those over 21
- annual parliaments
- removal of property qualification for MPs
- secret ballot
- payment of MPs
what were the chartists essentially asking for with their manifesto
a more democratic system which would not ignore the WC
membership of chartists
mainly WC - usually skilled workers/craftsmen who were looking for protection
or MC reformers who wanted to build on 1832 reform
economic fluctuations in chartism
during times of economic decline, membership increased as they wanted to reduce suffering
chartism was difficult to ignore because it was a
mass movement
first national convention (chartists)
london
1839
showed immediate divisions - morals vs physicals established
moral force chartists
peaceful means (pamphlets/petitions)
lovett and attwood
respectable outlook which would appeal to the newly enfranchised MC
physical force chartists
direct challenge - e.g. general strike
fergus oconnor, james bronterre o’brien and George Julian Harney
obrien and harney even suggested armed revolution
mix of chartists attitudes reflected the..
generally uncoordinated and uninspired actions - began by presenting the petition in 1839
1839 chartist petition
signed by 1.2 million
gov felt comfortable enough to reject as there was no violent revolution.
rejected by 235 to 46 votes
sacred month
after the 1839 chartist bill was rejected, the physicals embarked on a general strike and violent protests.
newport rising part of this
newport rising
1839
part of sacred month
5000 miners clashed with troops outside the westgate hotel. chartists forced to flee. 20 dead.
aftermath of newport rising (sacred month)
government arrested and put in prison 500 chartist leaders between 1839 and 1841
this temporarily paralysed the movement
1842 second chartist bill
3 million signatures
rejected even more strongly
what happened when chartist support started to wane
fergus oconnor launched his non-political land plan
1845 and attracted 70,000 families in 3 years
gave WC families the opportunity to move to the countryside and own their own land - showed that people were moving away from chartism and just looking for solutions
1848 kennington common
10 april
massive chartist demonstration and presentation of 3rd bill
gov previously declared it illegal but it went ahead anyway. 8000 soldiers and 150,000 special constables stationed.
petition driven in a carriage to parliament with fergus oconnor
3rd chartist petition
politely but firmly declined
said that less than half of the 5 million signatures were genuine
5 reasons for chartist failures
- hunger politics
- lack of effective leadership
- ambition (ahead of their time)
- government legislation
- government determination
government determination - chartism failing (4 things)
they would go to any lengths to stop uprisings (peterloo)
facilitated by rail network
general napier was appointed to command army in the north of england. he monitored chartist activity and firmly put down any uprising.
8000 soldiers and 150,000 special constables 1848 rally.
government legislation - failure of chartism
diluted chartism and reduced its effectiveness
gov passed legislation which improved its supporters’ lives (e.g. 1846 Corn laws repeal/1847 10 hour act) so removed WC discontent, drawing them away from chartism
chartist failure - ambition (ahead of their time)
not a single issue movement - made the collective aims seem too radical
originally, the vote was going to be extended to women but they believed they’d never be taken seriously
lack of effective leadership - chartism failing (4 things)
although figures like Fergus O’Connor were able to attract support, they couldn’t maintain a definitive approach in the face of opposition (movement splintered after first rejection)
they were unable to agree on methods from the outset
didn’t have direct influence in parliament
some leaders (e.g. Fergus O’Connor) tried to link to temperance movement - too divided
hunger politics - chartism failing
links to gov leg
saw active levels of support rise and fall alongside economic fortunes
1839/42/48 were periods of economic decline but also when the chartist bills were presented
(but this doesn’t wholly account for its failure as it was britain’s largest WC movement)
chartism impact
kept the radical ideas alive (became more popular post 1852)
after chartism declined, radicalism settled down. this highlights
how the government regained confidence and therefore didn’t reform
why was it clever to extend the franchise to only the MC
ensured no MC/WC alliance - so political stability
continuity in the electoral landscape
corruption and intimidation were widely practised (no secret ballot)
reforms still only made limited changes
biggest change in the electoral landscape - people could vote
people had to register to do so. to encourage registration, political clubs were established and the political system became more professional as each party tried to raise their party’s profile.
political clubs which encouraged registration
tory-leaning carlton club
whig-sponsored reform club
after 1832, parties became more definitive in..
their ideologies
became more polarised
established the dominance of the 2 party system
municipal corporations act 1835
whigs pushed this bill
abolished self-elected town councils
replaced them with elected bodies
all male ratepayers could vote
changing attitudes after 1832
establishment was more responsive to the electorate (seen in the substancial social and economic reform e.g. slave trade and poor law)
it was becoming more evident that..
modern britain needed a modern system
what were the days of may
1832
period of significant social unrest and political tension in May 1832, after the Tories blocked the Third Reform Bill in the lords.
was solved when William IV agreed to 50 whig peers
BPU link to the days of may
played a major part in the protests, and their membership grew which worried the government
they were part of the bank withdrawals.
after the march 1831 bill was defeated, 150,000 BPU protesters assembled at Newhall Hill.
