1867 Second Reform Act

Question 1

Factors affecting reform

Answer 1

• fear of unrest due to Chartist Rising of 1839 where 1000s of workers petitioned for “Great Charter” - demanded universal suffrage + started riots in Newport, Sheffield + Bradford
• death of anti-reform lib leader Palmerston in 65
• changes in pop distribution as by 1851 the rural + urban pop in England was = -> need to represent new urban MC
• growing class awareness -> desire to “reform to conserve”
• improving views of the WC due to textile workers boycotting slave cotton + Edinburgh cooperatives (built over 1000 good homes for WC families
• well-organised campaigns of the National Reform League + Reform Union
• fears of violence after 1866 Hyde Park + Trafalgar Square Riots after the liberal reform bill was blocked
• Disraeli’s desire to “dish the Whigs” as cons had been a minority gov since 1846

Question 2

Effects of the 67 reform act

Answer 2

• 45 borough seats redistributed (larger than the lib’s proposed incr of 400,000) to better affect pop density
• incr to the francise of 1,200,000
• represented the urban
  WC - borough voters had lower voting requirements than county -> “Angel in the marble”
• majority of voters now members of the urban WC -> “leap in the dark”
• included compound householders - all urban house owning men could vote