Britain 3: growth of parliamentary reform Flashcards
Growth of reform before 1832
Name 5 factors
Middle class
Unreformed system
Pressure outside
Parliament actions
French rev
The Middle class
Why did it matter they were educated and self-made?
They wanted their political power to match their economic power to drive business forward
The Middle class
When did Richard Arkwright die with a fortune of what?
In 1792 with a fortune of £500,000
The Middle class
Why did the Corn Laws indirectly effect them?
They had to increase working class wages = decreased profits
The Middle class
Why did the Corn Laws encourage them to want reform?
They could vote on policies that would benefit business, not worsen it
Pressure outside parliament
In what year did it cost a penny to join the London Corresponding Society?
1792
Pressure outside parliament
How many copies did Paine’s Rights of Man sell, and when?
200,000 copies in 1793
Pressure outside parliament
What was the Cato Street Conspiracy?
1820 assassination attempt on Lord Liverpool’s cabinet
Pressure outside parliament
Who ran the BPU?
Thomas Attwood
Pressure outside parliament
How many people regularly attended rallies when the BPU was created in what year?
100,000 people in 1830
Pressure outside parliament
How many attended the BPU ‘Days of May’ rally?
200,000
The unreformed system
What fraction of elections were uncontested?
2/3
The unreformed system
How long did elections take?
As long as 2 months
The unreformed system
In what year did less than 5% of the male population have the right to vote?
1831
The unreformed system
What was bad about the rotten borough Old Sarum?
It had a single landowner but still had 2 MPs
The unreformed system
What was Lancashire’s population and how many MPs?
1.3 million and 14MPs
The unreformed system
What was Cornwall’s population and how many MPs?
300,000 and 42MPs
The French revolution
What ideas did Thomas Paine spread?
Spread of ideas about monarchy and nobility
The French revolution
When did Napoleon blockade Britain?
1806
The French revolution
What did Napoleon’s blockade mean for the working class?
They had to pay an indirect tax on sugar and beer to increase govt income
Parliament Actions
What did the Duke of Wellington want to do with 2 corrupt constituencies?
Transfer seats to other rural areas, but the Canningnites wanted to give this to Manchester and Leeds
Parliament Actions
What did the Duke of Wellington’s alienation of Canningnites mean?
Govt was focused on gaining popularity
Parliament Actions
What did the Whigs want?
moderate reform, as a growing number of them were middle class
Parliament Actions
How did the Whigs want to gain support?
Keeping a check on the ‘tyranny of the monarchy’ and stop potential violence by including more people in the political system
The French Revolution
Why did people argue about the French Bourbon dynasty collapse?
That it had collapsed due to a failure to recognise genuine popular electoral grievances, as what was being voiced in Britain
Parliament Actions
What did the Catholic Emancipation Act 1829 do?
Allowed Catholics to be MPs for the first time
Growth of reform after 1832
List 5 factors
Pressure within
Peaceful pressure outside
Violence
Legacy of 1832 Act
Chartism
Peaceful pressure outside
What did the 1865 Reform League want?
universal manhood suffrage and secret ballots
Peaceful pressure outside
What did the 1864 National Reform Union want?
equal distribution of seats
Peaceful pressure outside
When did the Anti-Corn Law League make speeches to raise public awareness?
1858
Peaceful pressure outside
Give an example of a liberal minded employer who was campaigning for reform
Samuel Morley, a wool manufacturer from Nottingham
Legacy of 1832 Act
What did the size of the electorate rise from and to?
From 366,000 to 650,000
Legacy of 1832 Act
What % of the male population could now vote?
18%
Legacy of 1832 Act
Voting was still public until when?
1872
Legacy of 1832 Act
What did you have to have an income of to be an MP?
£600
Legacy of 1832 Act
The Whigs made no attempt to deny that what was designed to exclude the lower classes from voting?
the £10 limit on the 1832 Reform Act
Pressure within
When did Disraeli draft his bills from?
Feb-Aug 1867, causing 3 cabinet members to resign
Pressure within
Who was more liberal, replacing Palmerstone in 1865?
Earl Russel
Pressure within
What and when did Gladstone argue in parliament?
In 1864, he argued it was a scandal only 1/10 of those with a vote were working class
Parliament Actions
What did the first reform bill in March 1831 aim to do?
redistribute 100 rotten boroughs
Pressure within
Who was John Bright?
MP for Birmingham
Pressure within
What did John Bright support?
Reform League’s idea of 1 man = 1 vote
Pressure within
Where did John Bright speak and to how many people?
At a meeting of 150,000-200,000 people at Brookfields in Birmingham
Violence
When were the Hyde Park Riots and how many people attended?
1866 - 200,000 people
Violence
Who was the Reform League leader that announced another rally at Trafalgar Square?
John Bedford Leno
Chartism (use in violence)
When were the Plug Riots?
1842
Chartism (use in violence)
What were the Plug Riots?
500,000 workers going on strike across Staffordshire, Lancashire, Cheshire and Yorkshire
Chartism (use in violence)
What was the Newport Uprising?
20 dead and 50 wounded at Westgate hotel
Chartism (use in violence)
When was the Newport Uprising?
November 1839
