1800-2000 reforms and rights (PP) Flashcards
What were elections like in the early 1800s?
- very few people could vote
- no secret ballot
- MPs weren’t paid
- there were rotten boroughs
When was the peterloo massacre?
1819
What was the peterloo massacre?
- a meeting in Manchester which attracted 60,000 to hear a radical speaker, call for reform in parliament
- people in the crowd had banners demanding reform, universal suffrage and equal electoral districts as part of a peaceful protest
- the magistrates panicked and sent in military
- the government later passed six acts restricting public meetings to 50 people and restricted what journalists could say
When was the Great reform act?
1832
What was the Great reform act?
- in 1830, Thomas Atwood organised a petition calling for reform, it was signed by 8000 people
- Britain’s new king was keener on reform
- the Whig government introduced a reform act, the king helped force it through
- the act redistributed MPs so that industrial towns were represented, it gave factory owners and merchants the vote
- 56 boroughs disfranchised
- 67 new constituencies created
When was the people’s chapter published?
1838
What did the Chartists want?
- a vote for all men over 21
- a secret ballot
- equal electoral districts
- no property qualification to become an MP
- payment for MPs
- annual parliaments
What ways did Chartists spread their ideas?
- sympathetic MPs helped raise the issue to parliament
- huge meetings were held
- anti- corn law league meetings were hijacked
- northern star newspaper widely distributed
- they made three petitions to parliament gaining 5 million signatures not 1848
Short term significance of the Chartists?
- all their petitions were rejected by parliament
- split in Chartists and government sent 102 people to Australia
- didn’t achieve any of their aims
- showed an increase in demand for change
Long term significance of the Chartists?
- within the next 50 years 5/6 of their aims were met
* Chartism was a political education for the working class which helped give them s voice later in
When were the corn laws passed?
1815
What were the corn laws?
•a law taxing people on buying corn from other countries in order to keep price farmers received for their corn high
Who did the corn laws benefit?
•land owners (farmers)
How did the corn laws have an affect on workers?
•bread cost too much, so wages had to increase and led to unemployment
How did the anti corn law league organise itself to gain support?
- used pamphlets
- meetings
- petitions
- Richard Cobden and John bright became MPs and won the support of the prime minister
When was the anti corn law league set up?
1833
Short term significance of anti corn law league?
- they had the laws repealed
* first time the government acted in the interests of the poor over the gentry
Long term significance of the anti corn law league?
•other groups copied their methods as they were successful
When was slavery abolished
1833
What actions were taken to abolish slavery?
- William wilberforce, a charismatic speaker introduced the topic in the House of Commons
- in 1787 they gained a petition with 10,000 names producing publicity
- the committee spoke to slaves
- people refused to buy slavery grown sugar forcing businesses to shut down
- in 1807 a bill to abolish slavery gained s majority in Parliament and became law
What did slaves do to get the slave trade abolished?
•they rebelled such as in St Dominique in 1804 where they threatened the lives of the plantation owners
Who led the movement for factory reform?
Lord Shaftesbury