Between the Reform Acts - 1832-67 Flashcards

1
Q

What were the key political issues in the years 1834-46

A
  • Corn laws & taxes on food in the 1840s
  • Whig leadership after Grey steps down
  • A lack of majority rule in government
  • The Poor Law - social policies, poverty, living conditions (welfare)
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2
Q

What is an argument the crown continued to have control over politics

A

-When Victoria unexpectedly came to power, she liked the wives of the cabinet who were in her wedding chamber, meaning she supported Melbourne’s Tory government

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3
Q

Why did the Whigs lose the 1841 election

A
  • Economic problems:
  • unemployment & a trade depression
  • led to unrest and the growth of the Chartist movement & the ACLL
  • As a result budget deficits grew
  • the Whigs were seeming incapable of responding effectively to any of these problems
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4
Q

Why was Peel such a controversial Prime Minister

A
  • In government - controversial policies which were divisive amongst social classes, meaning he lacked support in the house of commons
  • In the Tories - Peel believed in free trade whilst the Tories believed in protectionism - so he split his party
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5
Q

Why did the Tories believe in protectionism

A

Aristocrats are concerned about maximising agriculture profits, protectionism increases exports

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6
Q

Why did Peel fixate on Free Trade

A

it would stop food insecurity & starvation by fixing economic problems

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7
Q

The Whig Reforms 1834-41
When was the Abolition of slavery in the british Empire

A

1833

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8
Q

Explain a Whig Reform
The Abolition of slavery in the British Empire 1833

A
  • slavery had already been banned in the UK
  • this was a very progressive change, which resulted in growing Whig support
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9
Q

The Whig Reforms 1834-41
When was the government grant for Education

A

1833

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10
Q

Explain a Whig Reform
The government grant for Education

A
  • not for all children & was only a small amount of money
  • however, it was the first step to state education, with the first time govt pays for education
  • 40 years later every kid is educated
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11
Q

The Whig Reforms 1834-41
When was the Factory Act

A

1833

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12
Q

Explain a Whig Reform
The Factory Act 1833

A
  • regulated working conditions, particularly for women & children
  • did this by regulating working hours and ages
  • HOWEVER, 7 year olds could still work so despite the progression made, campaigners were not satisfied
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13
Q

The Whig Reforms 1834-41
When was the Poor Law amendment Act

A

1834

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14
Q

Explain a Whig Reform
The Poor Law amendment Act 1834

A
  • creates 570 workhouses
  • the middle class want poor aid tax reduced, as they think people are abusing the system
  • so to obtain the newly enfranchised middle classes
  • they made the workhouse very undesirable as a place for the poorest
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15
Q

The Whig Reforms 1834-41
When was the Municipal Corporations Act

A

1835

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16
Q

Explain a Whig Reform
The Municipal Corporations Act 1835

A

Creates town councils - gives power to the lower middle class people, through more things they can vote for and stand for at local level

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17
Q

The Whig Reforms 1834-41
When was the Civil Registration Act

A

1836

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18
Q

Explain a Whig Reform
Civil Registration Act 1836

A

-implemented birth, marriage & death certificates which helps to monitor populations

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19
Q

How could the Whig reforms be connected to the 1832 Reform Act, to argue that political power (the franchise) was the means of securing beneficial social & political advantage?

A
  • the acts aim to satisfy the middle classes needs, benefitting their quality of life, by asserting more control
  • when you get the vote, you get policies that benefit you
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20
Q

How could the reforms of Peel’s ministries be used to counter the view government would only enact policies to those who had the vote

A

-non voters could be represented by policies which favour them

21
Q

When was the Carlton Club established

A

1832 - in response to the Tory Defeat in the wake of reform

22
Q

what were the main aims of the Carlton Club

A

to organise elections - to make sure voters are registered & to acquire effective MPs

23
Q

Who founded the Reform Club

A

Francis Bonham

24
Q

Why was the Reform Club established

A
  • to acquire voters in boroughs with radical & reformist voters
  • in direct opposition to the Carlton Club
25
Q

The Carlton Club & the Reform club were the beginning of…

A

party organisation

26
Q

When was the Tamworth Manifesto

A

1846

27
Q

Who was the Tamworth Manifesto addressed to

A

It was an open letter for the entire country to read, but was directed at Robert Peel’s Tamworth constituents

28
Q

What was stated in the Tamworth Manifesto

A
  • Peel established that the Tories accepted the Reform Act, however there would not be anymore reforms
  • ‘a final & irrevocable settlement’
29
Q

What was the significance of the Tamworth Manifesto

A
  • First time a politician established his ideologies, as a national policy
  • Establishes the conservative party
  • Parties becoming more ideologically coherent
30
Q

What was the Lichfield House Compact

A
  • A meeting of Whigs, Radicals & Irish Mps held at the House of Lord Lichfield in February 1834
  • They agreed to form an alliance to defeat Peel’’s govt
31
Q

What was the outcome of the Lichfield House Compact

A
  • By giving concessions to Radical & Irish Mps,
  • the Whigs & their allies now had a significant majority
  • Peel was forced to resign in April 1835
32
Q

Explain why Free Trade & the Corn Laws was such a divisive issue under Peel

A
  • Peel’s conservative government had set out to tackle the poverty of the early 1840s
  • & By 1843 had brought about considerable economic recovery
  • However, these laws in 1846 were backwards, splitting the Tory party, painting Peel as a traitor, 2/3 of Tories voted against it
33
Q

Who were the Peelities

A

supporters of free trade who left the conservative party, staying loyal to Peel over the repeal of the Corn Laws

34
Q

Why is the Liberal Party the product of the unification of an anti-conservative coalition

A

-The Whigs were more tolerant to Catholics & reform, so attracted Irish & Radical support

35
Q

What was the origins of the Anti-Corn Law League

A

-it was a product of the economic depression

36
Q

Who were the leaders of the Anti-Corn Law League

A

Richard Cobden
John Bright

37
Q

What was the key aim of the Anti-Corn Law League

A

-to abolish the corn laws with total & immediate repeal

38
Q

The Anti-Corn Law League used a ______________ radicalism, addressing…..

A

different
one single achievable goal

39
Q

What were the tactics of the Anti-Corn Law League

A
  • sticking to one clear objective
  • targeting winnable constituencies
  • 1843 –> Coden and Bright spoke to large crowds
40
Q

What were the achievements of the Anti-Corn Law League

A
  • committed leaders, e.g Cobden had high support in the House of Commons
  • Corn laws were repealed in 1846
41
Q

What were the weaknesses of the Anti-Corn Law League

A
  • petitions were ineffective
  • were reliant on the circumstances of the depression & a vulnerable government
42
Q

What was the significance of the Anti-Corn Law League

A

The corn laws were repealed in 1846, which was partly the consequence of the Anti-Corn Law League’s efforts

43
Q

What were the origins of the Plug Plots

A

-Political unrest was catalysed by the wage cutting of mine & industrial workers in Staffordshire

44
Q

Where did the Plug Plots take place

A

The Industrial North

45
Q

What were the aims of the Plug Plots

A

-to restore wages of Industrial jobs

46
Q

Tactics used in the Plug Plots

A

EFFICIENT
-mass meetings & marches
-plugs drawn from boilers, putting out furnaces, & without steam, factories &mills couldn’t operate
-strikes

47
Q

Weaknesses of the Plug Plots

A

-1,500 arrests & tightening of police control
-the authorities could hold out longer than the strikers

48
Q

Significance of the Plug Plots

A

Following a good harvest & lift of economic depression in 1842-43, strikers returned to their workplaces