Parliamentary Reform

Question 1

What are the dates of the Great Reform Acts of the 19th Century?

Answer 1

1832, 1867, 1884

Question 2

When did Gladstone become PM for the first time?

Answer 2

1868

Question 3

When did Disraeli become PM for the first time?

Answer 3

Feb-Dec 1868

Question 4

When was the law passed that removed the property qualifications for MPs?

Answer 4

1858

Question 5

When did the American Civil War start and end?

Answer 5

1861-1865

Question 6

What law was passed in 1872 that took away the opportunity for the rich and powerful to influence voters during elections?

Answer 6

Secret Ballot Act

Question 7

What 2 clubs were established to encourage supporters to register for either the Whigs or the Tories?

Answer 7

Carlton Club (Tories)

Question 8

What is a 2 party political system and why is it important in British politics?

Answer 8

Only 2 parties dominate the political system, UK system FPTP (First passed the post system) system favours it

Question 9

How did the 1835 Municipal Corporation’s Act change politics in local towns?

Answer 9

Closed corporations abolished, councils elected by male ratepayers, councillor elected for 3 yearly terms

Question 10

Who was responsible for modernising the Tory Party in 1834 and how did he do it?

Answer 10

Robert Peel - Tamworth Manifesto 1834 outlined principles of modern Conservative Party

Question 11

Name 2 radical reformers within parliament between 1838-1852

Answer 11

Lord Russel, Joseph Hume, Peter Locke King, John Bright

Question 12

How any years did the Conservative Party serve in the 20 years after 1832?

Answer 12

4-5 years

Question 13

How large was the population in 1861?

Answer 13

30 million

Question 14

How many times did the aging Lord Russell introduce a reform bill between 1852 and 1860?

Answer 14

6

Question 15

Why was party politics an important reason for the failure of subsequent reform bills fail after 1832?

Answer 15

Division within Whigs and Tories about how to proceed

Question 16

Why was further reform put on the back burner after 1859?

Answer 16

Lord Palmerston disproved of reform

Question 17

What organisation did John Bright MP found before he put forward the idea of parliamentary reform in the late 1850s?

Answer 17

Anti-Corn Law league

Question 18

How many people were employed in the cotton industry in the 1860s?

Answer 18

440,000

Question 19

What was the ‘Cotton Famine’?

Answer 19

US Civil War blockades stopped importation of Cotton into the UK

Question 20

Why did the ‘Cotton Famine’ energise the movement for reform?

Answer 20

Workers in textile industry largely supported the anti-slavery movement in the US which earned them praise

Question 21

Why did the (largely middle-class) National Reform Union promote?

Answer 21

Extend franchise to all male ratepayers, promote equal distribution of seat, establish secret ballot

Question 22

Why had the middle-class come round to the idea of enfranchising working-class voters by the mid 1860s?

Answer 22

Respectability, hard work, peaceful protest

Question 23

How did the Reform League differ in their aims?

Answer 23

More radical than Reform Union, e.g. universal male suffrage, secret ballot

Question 24

What other differences were there between the Reform Union and Reform League

Answer 24

Class divisions, MC and WC opportunity to influence those in power more easily for the Union to lobby, League had widespread support, the Union had more funds/money

Question 25

Who was president of the Reform League?

Answer 25

Edmond Beale (Barrister)

Question 26

Why was there a window of opportunity for reform in 1865?

Answer 26

Death of Lord Palmerston

Question 27

Why did Gladstone’s bill fail in 1865?

Answer 27

Tories/Disraeli and some liberals opposed it

Question 28

Who were the Adullamites in the Liberal Party?

Answer 28

Liberals who opposed Gladstone’s bill

Question 29

What protest happened as a result of the failure of Gladstone’s reform bill?

Answer 29

Hyde Park Riots 1866

Question 30

What happened to the Liberal government under Lord Russel as a result of the failure of Gladstone’s reform bill?

Answer 30

Lord Russell’s government resigned, Conservatives took over

Question 31

Why did Disraeli push his reform bill through in 1867 despite the resignation of senior conservatives?

Answer 31

To win W-C voters, to put Liberals in wilderness, to get at Gladstone

Question 32

What position did Disraeli hold in 1867?

Answer 32

PM

Question 33

What happened to the counties as a result of the Reform Act 1867?

Answer 33

25 of the 45 borough seats went to the counties

Question 34

What happened to the boroughs as a result of the Reform Act 1867?

Answer 34

45 seats taken from boroughs with less than 10,000 people, 7 disenfranchised and 20 new boroughs created, 6 existing borough got an extra MP, one borough seat went to the University of London

Question 35

How was the franchise changed in the counties and boroughs as a result of the 1867 Reform Act?

Answer 35

Borough: All male householders (at least a year in property worth £10+) got vote
Counties: All owners or leaseholders of land worth £5/year in counties got vote

Question 36

What was the immediate impact of the act on the Conservative Party?

Answer 36

Voted out of office in 1868 General Election

Question 37

How many more men were enfranchised as a result of the 1867 Reform Act?

Answer 37

One Million (total 2.46 million)

Question 38

How did the Liberals capitalise on the extended franchise to gain power?

Answer 38

Campaigned all over the country to appeal to the WC vote

Question 39

To what specific group within the working class did the 1867 Reform Act enfranchise?

Answer 39

Skilled Workers