Britain: Democracy Flashcards
When did the Gordon Riots take place?
1780
When was the Society for Constitutional Information established?
1780
What did William Pitt do in 1785?
Attempts parliamentary reform but is defeated
Proposes disenfranchising 36 of the worst boroughs
He’s defeated by 74 votes
When was the US Constitution created?
1787
When did the French Revolution begin?
1789
What did Edmund Burke do in 1790?
Published ‘Reflections on the Revolution in France’ which condemned change
When was ‘Rights of Man’ published?
1792
Who wrote ‘Rights of Man’?
Thomas Paine
What was ‘Rights of Man’ is response to?
Edmund Burke’s ‘Reflections on the Revolution in France’ which condemned the change
When did the Napoleonic Wars begin?
1793
When was the Treason Act passed?
1795
When did William Pitt the Younger die?
1806
Who became PM of the new Tory government in 1812?
Lord Liverpool
When did Lord Liverpool become PM?
1812
When was Napoleon proclaimed Emperor of France?
1804
Who became PM after William Pit the Younger died?
William Grenville
When did the Napoleonic Wars with France end?
1815
When do riots in Spa Fields, Islington break out?
1816
When is the price of ‘Cobbett’s Political Register’ reduced?
1816
What was ‘Cobbett’s Political Register’?
A radical newspaper produced by William Cobbett
When was the March of the Blanketeers?
1817
When was the Derbyshire Rebellion?
1817
When was the Peterloo Massacre?
16th August 1819
When were the ‘Six Acts’ passed?
1819
What did the ‘Six Acts’ do?
Strengthened government’s hand when dealing with discontent
When was the Cato Street Conspiracy?
1820
How successful was the Cato Street Conspiracy?
It failed
Saw end of significantly radical reform attempts
When was Henry Hunt released from prison?
1822
When does Lord Liverpool resign?
1827
When does Lord Liverpool die?
1828
Who took office after Lord Liverpool’s death?
Duke of Wellington
When did the Duke of Wellington take office?
1828
How many Tory leaders had there been in 1828 (over period of 11 months)?
3 - Duke Wellington = 3rd
When were the Catholics officially emancipated (passage of Act)?
1829
When was the Birmingham Political Union founded?
1829
What happened to the Tory party in 1830 and why?
Just wins General Election (42 MPs) so forced to step aside
When was the Great Reform Act passed?
1832
What Act was passed in 1832?
Great Reform Act
Who won the General Election in 1832?
Whigs
What Act was passed in 1835?
Municipal Corporations Act
When was the Municipal Corporations Act passed?
1835
What did the Municipal Corporations Act reform?
Local government in towns
- abolished existing corporations and replaced w/ elected councils
When was the London Working Men’s Association established?
1836
When was the ‘People’s Charter’ published?
1838
When did Chartism begin?
1838
When was the First Chartist Petition presented to Parliament?
May 1839
When was the Second Chartist Petition present to Parliament?
1842
When do the Plug Plot Riots take place?
1842
Which riot took place in 1842?
Plug Plot
When was the Chartists Land Plan drawn up?
1845
When were the Corn Laws repealed?
1846
What was repealed in 1846?
The Corn Laws
When was the Third Chartist Petition presented to Parliament?
1848
When was the Kennington Common Rally?
1848
When does radical MP John Bright begin his speaking tour of Britain?
1858
Who started their speaking tour of Britain in 1858?
John Bright
When was the property qualification for MPs removed?
1858
When did Chartism formally end?
1858/1860
1858 saw the formal end of what famous reform movement?
Chartism
When was the Reform Union founded?
1864
When was the start of the American Civil War?
1861
Which social class did the Reform Union predominantly appeal to?
Middle-class
Which social class did the Reform League predominantly appeal to?
Working class
When was the Reform League founded?
1865
When did Lord Palmerston die?
1865
When was the end of the American Civil War?
1865
When did Lord Russell resign?
1866
When were the Hyde Park Riots?
1866
When was the Second Reform Act passed?
1867
When did William Gladstone become Prime Minister? (first time)
1868
When was the Pentridge Rising?
1817
Why did the Pentridge Rising fail?
‘Oliver’ alerted authorities and troops were waiting to arrest marchers
Who did the Pentridge Rising involve and what did they want to do?
Unemployed textile workers wanted to link up with other groups and capture Nottingham castle
Which famous speaker was present as the Peterloo Massacre?
Henry Hunt
What did the Blanketeers want to do?
Present a petition demanding parliamentary reform, restoration of Habeas Corpus and help for their distress
Why did the Blanketeers fail?
Disorganised, broken up by troops
Why did the Spa Fields Meetings fail?
Disorganised, just a riled up crowd
What did those at the Spa Fields Meetings want?
Wanted to nationalise land and abolish all taxes except income tax
What happened at Peterloo? (brief summary)
Henry Hunt held a gathering to criticise the government and demand parliamentary reform. They wanted freedom and votes for all.
Peaceful but magistrates decided Manchester was in ‘great danger’ and so yeomanry and army violently put down crowd
What is the Habeas Corpus Act?
‘to have the body produced’ - everyone imprisoned had to be brought to trial within a certain length of time
Roughly how many people were present at St Peter’s Field during the Peterloo incident?
60,000
How many people died during the Peterloo Massacre?
18
How many were injured at Peterloo?
(At least) 400
What percentage of the population could vote at the start of the course?
11% of 24 million
In what ways was eligibility to the HoC dependant on wealth (pre-reform)?
Candidates had to own a freehold property worth at least 40 shillings a year (depending on constituency)
If elected, wouldn’t receive a salary
By 1801, how many of Britain’s 658 MPs owed their position to HoL benefactors?
Approximately half
When was the Secret Ballot Act passed?
1872
Which pocket borough was bought at auction for £90,000 in 1801?
Gatton in Surrey
How much was Gatton in Surrey bought for at auction in 1801?
£90,000
Name a prominent rotten borough
Old Sarum
Dunwich
How many voters did Dunwich have by the late 1700s?
14
How many dwellings did Dunwich have by the late 1700s?
32
How many inhabitants did Manchester have in 1831?
Over 182,000
What was the population of Birmingham by 1831?
144,000
What were the Gordon Riots?
Anti-Catholic riots that took place in 1780 after the passing of the 1778 Papist Act which intended to reduce Catholic discrimination
Protestant Lord George Gordon made a violent speech saying it was unnecessary
Who created the Society for Constitutional Information?
Major John Cartwright
Why did John Cartwright create the Society for Constitutional Information?
To try and promote public awareness of the need to reform
How did the Gordon Riots undermine the Society for Constitutional Information?
Scared propertied classes and turned them away from change
How many boroughs did William Pitt propose disenfranchising in 1785?
36 of the worst
How did the 1789 French Revolution impact demand for political reform?
Increased it
People began to question ‘rule by rich’
Scared leaders –> kind of people who had been violently overthrown
What did Edmund Burke’s ‘Reflections on the Revolutions in France’ say about the revolutions in France and calls for reform?
Had prophesied the violence
Blamed it on the sudden action taken
British system virtue = slow adaptive nature and belief in virtual rep
Condemned change
By 1793, how many copies of Thomas Paine’s ‘Rights of Man’ had been sold?
Over 200,000 copies
When was the Sheffield Society for Constitutional Information formed?
1791
When was the London Corresponding Society formed?
1792
In May 1792, how many signatures did the Sheffield Society get for a petition for manhood suffrage?
Nearly 10,000
When did the Sheffield Society have nearly 10,000 signatures on their petition for manhood suffrage?
May 1792
When did the Copenhagen Fields demonstration take place?
26th October 1795
Which group organised the Copenhagen Fields demonstration?
London Corresponding Society
How many people attended the Copenhagen Fields demonstration?
Over 100,000
Between 1821 and 1829, the GNP rose by what percent?
16.8%
GNP rose by 16.8% between which years?
1821 and 1829
Between 1821 and 1829, manufacturing rose by what percent?
25%
Manufacturing rose by 25% between which years?
1821 and 1829
When Is Henry Hunt (amongst other radicals) released from prison?
1822
When is the corrupt borough of Grampund, Cornwall disenfranchised?
1821
When does Lord John Russell originally propose a bill which would disenfranchise 100 of the most rotten boroughs?
1822
later does so again in bill proposed in 1831
What does Lord John Russell do in 1822?
Propose a bill that would disenfranchise 100 of the most rotten boroughs
How many rotten boroughs does Lord John Russell propose disenfranchising in his 1822 bill?
100
February and March 1830 alone, how many petitions were sent from rural areas demanding tax reductions?
Over 200
When did the rural areas send over 200 petitions demanding tax reductions?
Between February and March 1830
The Great Reform Act was finally passed in 1832. When had the Whigs first presented a reform bill?
March 1831
The first reform bill the Whigs presented to parliament was narrowly passed through the House of Commons and received a lot of changes. How did the Whigs respond?
Rather than accept changes they decided to dissolve parliament to try and achieve the majority they needed to pass it in its current form. They won a majority of nearly 140
When did the Whigs make their second attempt at passing a reform bill?
October 1831
What happened to the second attempt of passing a reform bill?
Passed Commons w/ new Whig majority but blocked by Tory dominated House of Lords
The failure of the second attempt to pass a reform bill led to lots of rioting. Arguably the most threatening was in Bristol. How many were killed or wounded there?
130
What were the ‘Days of May’?
May 1831
Early Grey resigns after HoL rejects third reform bill and king refuses to create 50 new Whig peers which would have given them the majority to force it through.
The King asks Wellington to create a new Tory gov, but the public condemned this and began to withdraw from banks in attempt to destroy gov finances - no-one wants to join Wellington as they are hated, so Wellington has to say no to king
King asks Grey to reform gov w/ promise he could have the necessary Whig peers to pass his bill
How many boroughs did the 1832 Reform Act completely disenfranchise?
56
How many new borough constituencies did the 1832 Reform Act create?
42
The 1832 Reform Act increased the electorate by how much?
366,000 to 650,000
After the 1832 Reform Act was passed, roughly what percentage of the adult male population could vote?
18%
After the 1832 Reform Act, how many MPs were from the north vs how many were from the south?
370 vs 120
Give 3 aims from the ‘People’s Charter’
Equal representation Universal manhood suffrage for over 21s Annual parliaments Removal of property qualifications for MPs Secret ballot Payment of MPs
How many signed the first Chartist petition?
Over 1 million (1,280,958)
When were the Report uprisings?
1839
How many died during the Newport uprisings?
20
Between 1839 and 1841, how many Chartists were held in prison? (result of the ‘sacred month’)
500
By 1848 how many subscribers had the Land Plan attracted?
70,000
Give 3 reasons why Chartism failed
‘Hunger politics’ - variability of support
Lack of effective leadership
Divisive nature
Ambition - too ahead of their time (universal suffrage)
How did the population change between 1821 and 1861?
Increased from just over 24 million to over 31 million
Between which years did the population increase from just over 24 million to over 31 million?
1821 and 1861
When did Lord Russell propose to reduce existing borough qualifications from £10 a year to £6 a year?
1852, 1854 and 1860
What did Lord Russell do in 1852, 1854 and 1860?
Propose to reduce existing borough qualifications from £10 a year to £6 a year
The Whigs had briefly been in power in 1832. When did the newly focused Liberals return to power under Lord Palmerston?
1859
Since 1825, how much work did the Lancashire cotton industry provide?
355,000
What was the ‘cotton famine’ and how did it change government impressions of the working class?
1861 - US Civil War began
Ports blockaded - unable to get raw cotton from US
Thousands laid off but still supported anti-slavery in USA
Impressed Gladstone when he visited - felt they were ‘ready to vote’
When does Gladstone first propose a reform bill? (second reform act)
1866
In 1866, Gladstone first proposes a reform bill. What did it propose?
Reducing the borough franchise to £7 a year
County - £50 a year rental reduced to £14
When does Earl (formally Lord) John Russell become PM?
1865
Who passes the Reform Bill, March 1867?
PM Benjamin Disraeli
In the 1867 Reform Act, how many seats were taken from boroughs w/ less than 10,000?
45
In the 1867 Reform Act, how many boroughs were completely disenfranchised?
7
The 1867 Reform Act extended the franchise in boroughs and counties. How many working class did this enfranchise?
More than 1 million
After the 1867 Reform Act, what proportion of the adult male population could now vote?
1/3rd
