Britian, Booklet 3, THE GROWTH OF PARLIAMENTARY DEMOCRACY Flashcards

Question

(Demands for Reform 1785-1800, how did the gov respond, INTIMIDATION) - Between 179__-__ the gov relied on '...' to... - Taking away licenses from pubs who... - Reverend Thomas __________ was charged with... and was sentenced to __ years' transportation.

Answer 1

1790-93, Magistrates, to discourage radical action. - Took away licenses from pubs who allowed radical meetings to be held there. - Reverend Thomas Palmer was charged with encouraging others to read 'The Rights of Man' and was sentenced to 7 years' transportation (hard-labour in Australia)

Answer 2

- Seditious Meetings Act 1795, restricted the size of public meetings to fifty persons. - Treason Trials 1794 intended to cripple the British radical movement. - 1794, Habeas Corpus (guaranteeing a trial within a stated period) was suspended so political prisoners could be held indefinitely.

Answer 3

1790's, To support the government's actions. - e.g. 'The Oracle', 'The Sun', and 'The True Briton'. This gained Pitt support in Parliament and brought out people's patriotism against the threat from France.

Answer 4

- Recognised Britain's prosperity and improvements in society, such as in the Poor Laws. - 'Church and King' clubs, early 1790's and were staunchly Anglican and loyal to the crown and establishment. - They used violence and intimidation to crush threats posed to the church from dissenters. - 1793, 1,000's groups, one of the most famous being APLP, had 2,000 branches nationwide, set up by John Reeves. One of the largest political organisations.

Answer 5

- 1812, Lord Liverpool, had already held important roles as foreign secretary and secretary for war and colonies. - Introduced laws which protected the interests of his party and aristocratic supporters. - 1815 Corn Law. - Guaranteed protection for wheat prices for the agricultural or landowning interest from foreign imports of grain. - Purpose was to ensure landowners could maintain the profits they had enjoyed during the Napoleonic War. - Perceived as a piece of class legislation, made grain more expensive for consumers. - 1816, increased on popular items such as beer and sugar. - This harmed the common workers more than the wealthy because they noticed the increase in price of the goods they used everyday.

Answer 6

ESSAY PLAN : - Government resolve - legislation (e.g. 6 acts, denying Russell's bill), to solve increasing problems. - Fear of revolution/Tory arguments. - Intimidation and propaganda. - Loyalism.

Answer 7

- 1816, increasingly popular in an attempt to petition the king or Parliament. - First of 3 meetings saw 20,000 people attend, mostly peaceful. - 1817, crowd threw stones at Prince Regent's coach at the opening of parliament.

Answer 8

- January 1819, Henry Hunt (powerful speaker), encouraging people to demand universal suffrage and annual parliaments. - August 1819, 60,000 people gathered at STPF to listen to HH again, but Yeomanry were sent to arrest him, they were swamped so the 15th Hussars were sent to rescue them, resulting in 11 deaths and 400-600 wounded.

Answer 9

- February 1820, group led by Arthur Thistlewood (involved in Spa Fields), planned to assassinate Lord Liverpool's cabinet as they gathered for dinner. - Aim was to trigger uprisings. - Government spy, George Edwards, knew of this plan, those involved were arrested and executed, 5 others transported. - WORRIED THE GOVERMENT.

Answer 10

- 1819 & 1819. - The Seizure of Arms Act ; gave powers the right to search and seize arms. - The Newspaper and Stamp Duties Act ; greatly increased the taxes on printed matter, making them more expensive.

Answer 11

- Series of agricultural disturbances, broke out in Kent in 1830, spread to 20 counties (mostly involved machine breaking, arson and demands for higher wages). - Spread to the South and East which concerned the gov as revolts were usually in the North, they feared that Paternalism was breaking down.

Answer 12

- Most organised examples of protest. - Birmingham Political Union, set up in 1830, general political union between lower and middle classes. - Main aim was for middle-class suffrage, argument being that all workers would benefit if Parliament had middle-class MP's. - Attracted 200,000 during 'Days of May' in 1832.

Answer 13

- Combination Act was repealed in 1824.. - Short-lived but alarmed the government. - Pro-Union Journals developed e.g. Doherty's 'Voice of the People' which called for political reform. - Doherty was the leader of the Lanchasire spinners & founder of the General Union of the Operative Spinners of GB so spoke for many workers.

Answer 14

1825-26. - Depression led to mass unemployment. - 20 mills were attacked, 1,000 looms smashed. - 7 machine-breakers were killed at Chadderton.

Answer 15

- Middle-Class by the end of 18th century. - They were factory owners, self-made me with commercial drive and desire to reform the political system to include them. - They were educated and employed thousands who were reliant on their prosperity. Middle Class Views : - In terms of property, were conservative and sided with the gov to maintain their ownership and wealth - But, in terms of business they mostly believed in were laissez-faire, which was at odds with gov policy (particularly during Nap wars) when the gov intervened to restrict trade with certain countries.

Answer 16

Corn Laws 1815. - Because it was seen as 'looking after their own'. - The laws benefitted the landowners where as employers had to increase wages to ensure the workers could afford bread and remain healthy enough to work. - Assert their political dominance. - They also complained about patronage which meant ineffective men were elected to Parliament because they had rich backers. - Since they generated immense wealth for the country, both through paying taxes and wages, they should have more of a political say.

Answer 17

- Duke of Wellington, in 1828. - Split the party into opposing factions. - Angered the 'Ultras' by supporting the Catholic Emancipation Act (1829) which allowed Catholics to be MP's (did this out of fear of a civil war in Ireland due to the actions of O'Connell's Catholic Association).

Answer 18

- Opposed by George IIII & George IV when they had tried to introduce reform bills. - New King William IV (brother of George IV) supported, invited Earl Grey to form a new Gov in November 1830. - Wanted moderate reform. - Increasing number from the middle classes. - Wanted to include 'men of property' in the running of the country. - Stop potential violence by including more people in the political system.

Answer 19

- June 1830, death of George IV. - Wellington lost his majority. - Would introduce moderate reform and managed to win support of the Tory Canningite faction + Tory Ultras. - William IV invited Earl Grey to form a new government, included several canningites and an Ultra Tory in the cabinet.

Answer 20

- October 1830-April 1831, over 3,000 petitions calling for reform were handed to parliament. - Metropolitan Political Union founded by Henry Hunt, dominated by the middle class, e.g. artisans and craftsmen. - Days of May, 1832, led by Birmingham Political Union (BPU).

Answer 21

Rising prices, a shortage of jobs, etc, caused lots of riots. ~ Over 450 we’re transported for life.

Answer 22

- Liberal opposition in 1829. - Critics argued that if the French monarchy had fallen due to failure to recognise genuine poplar electoral grievances then surely this could happen in Britain.

Answer 23

- Political Actions, made people angry e.g. Six Acts, Catholic Emancipation... - Economic unrest and riots. - The Growth and demands of the middle class. - CONCLUSION : Economic unrest...

Answer 24

- March 1831. - Introduced by Lord John Russell, aimed to redistribute 100 rotten boroughs to the industrial North and Midlands. - After lengthy debate passed to 2nd reading by 302 votes to 301. - Was then amended against the government's wishes, Grey called for a new election to enable the bill to pass more comfortably.

Answer 25

- Due to new election in April 1831, Grey won a majority and introduced the 2nd bill. - Rejected by the Lords (full of Tory supporters) by 41 votes, this decision triggered a wave of rioting acrpss the country.

Answer 26

- October 1831. - In response to the Lord's actions (denying the 2nd Bill). - Nottingham castle, home of Ultra Tory, the Duke of Newcastle, was burned. - Bristol was controlled for 3 days by rioters. When troops were sent to restore order, 12 rioters killed & over 100 injured.

Answer 27

- Bill came up against the Lords, only 9 Lords in the way of it passing. - To fix this, Grey asked King William IV to create 50 Whig peers in the Lords, refused and Grey resigned in May 1831. - Wellington was asked to form a new government, triggered the 'Days of May'. - After Wellington failed to gain support from the Commons, Grey returned as PM and William IV agreed to create new Whig peers. - This wasn't actually necessary since the DOM had scared the Lords, so in JUNE 1832, THE REFORM ACT BECAME LAW.

Answer 28

- 1832. - Some historians believe this was the closest Britain ever came to revolution. - Meetings were held between leaders of BPU to discuss co-ordinated protests. - Plan drawn up by Francis Place (leading London radical) to withdraw money from banks simultaneously to trigger a banking crisis - Demonstrations were organised (BPU attracted 200,000 at a rally).

Answer 29

- 42 new boroughs were created. - 62 seats were given to English counties. - Boroughs, vote was given to adult men who owned or rented property worth £10 a year providing they had owned it for a year and paid taxes. - Electorate rose from 366,000 to 650,000. - Increased involvement in politics by the middle classes, particularly in the local government. - Key figures emerged to represent the people in industrial areas because they had to right to vote and dealt with everyday issues e.g. public health. - Contested seats rose from 30% to 50% after 1832, meant voters had a real choice at elections. - Gave hope to reformers that further change could be possible.

Answer 30

- Years between 1832-52, Tories in power for fewer than 7 years. - While Whigs were in power from 1835-41, Peel spent his time trying to reform the Conservative Party and demonstrate to the electorate that they weren't divided and stuck in past. Suggests party was inherently flawed and divided.

Answer 31

~ After 1832, overall control was still in hands of landed elites. ~ Had to have an income of £600. ~ Voting still public until 1872, so bribery and intimidation continued. ~ Leeds, of a population of 125,000, only 5,000 were qualified to vote. ~ Still only 2 parties competing in elections.

Answer 32

- Fairer representation of industrial cities. - Increased electorate size. - Two party systems and the decline of the Tories. - Rise of the Chartists

Answer 33

Gain support of the middle class by extending the franchise but avoiding a revolution and so the changes were moderate.

Answer 34

- London Working Men's Association founded by William Lovett in 1836 to gain representation for all men. - The other recent acts meant the working class felt ignored. - Universal suffrage for all men over 21. - A secret ballot. - Constituencies of equal size to deal with under-representation not dealt with in 1832. etc.

Answer 35

~ 1833 Factory Act didn’t provide the 10 hour working day many wanted. ~ 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act punished the poor by placing them in workhouses. ~ In 1837, O’Connor established the Nothern Star in Leeds to campaign for the end to the Poor Law.

Answer 36

~ 6 leaders of the ‘Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers’, sentenced to 7 years’ deportation to Australia. ~ April 1834, 30,000 radicals marched through London to protests at the sentences.

Answer 37

~ Worsening economic conditions from 1837. ~ Strongest support came from worst hit areas, such as Cheshire. ~ 400,000 unemployed handloom weavers by the 1840’s, many of whom joined the Chartist movement.

Answer 38

~ 1819, attempted to reduce radical press by making newspapers too expensive to buy. Many publishers ignored this and printed anti-government papers. ~ From 1830-35, Whig government tried to clamp down on ‘unstamped press’ and 700 vendors were arrested. ~ By 1836, there were still hundreds of illegal newspapers.

Answer 39

1839, Thomas Atwood. ~ Based on the idea of the People’s Charter. ~ By May 1839, 1.2 million signatures had been collected. ~ Chartists discussed organising a ‘secret march’, fell through, gave government time to arrest many + send 6,000 troops north to keep the peace.

Answer 40

~ 1842. ~ Major economic recession in 1841-42 which reinvigorated the Chartist cause. ~ 3.3 million signatures. ~ 287 votes to 49.

Answer 41

~ 1848. ~ Unemployment increased, provoked Feargus O’Connor into action, he had been elected as MP for Nottingham in 1847. ~ The 1848 French Revolution increased the confidence in the Chartists. ~ Petition received 5.7 million signatures but only 2 million were real, rest faked.

Answer 42

~ Duke of Wellington was put in charge of the defence of the capital. ~ Created 150,000 new ‘special constables’. ~ Third Petition was final act of Chartists. O’Connor declared insane before he died.

Answer 43

~ Newport Rising, 1839. ~ Centre of industrialisation due to coal and iron workers, living and working conditions were terrible. ~ On 3-4th November, thousands of iron workers + miners marched to Westgate Hotel (where, it was believed, Chartists prisoners were). ~ Soldiers open fired, killing 20 and injuring 50. ~ Some leaders transported, Lovett&O’Connor imprisoned.

Answer 44

- Plug Riots, 1842. - Broke out following the rejection of the Second Petition. - 500,000 strikers went on strike across Staffordshire, Lancashire, Cheshire and Yorkshire, enforced strike by removing plugs from factory boilers, rendering them useless. - By September, 15 English and Welsh counties were affected. - Wasn't a 'Chartist protest' but there were certainly Chartists involved.

Answer 45

- National Charter Assocition. - Chartists believed a permanent, central organisation, financed by subscription would encourage working class to join. - Manchester, July 1840, became backbone of movement. - An elected executive was responsible for overall decisions, trade union structure. - By April 1842 there were 401 branches and 50,000 members. - Links with Anti Corn-Law League, but they were concerned about the ‘physical force’ Chartists such as O’Connor. ~ Failed due to lack of money, most supporters couldn’t afford subscription feeds which meant the executive committee was paid poorly, didn’t have resources to do their job effectively.

Answer 46

~ Stressed link between Chartism&education. ~ Introduced the ‘New Move’, emphasised education. ~ Set up schools for working class children and Chartist churches. ~ Lovett was forced out of Chartist movement by O’Connor because of this.

Answer 47

- Developed by O'Connor, aimed to ease unemployment problems & improve lives of workers. - Rent land through the Christ Cooperative Land Society. 4 acre plot and a cottage each. - £100,000 being collected from subscribers, only 250 people received allotments. - Most participants left penniless, failed. - Charterville in Oxfordshire.

Answer 48

---Moral Force, emphasised non-violent protest, education and even cooperation with groups such as Anti-Corn Law League. Birmingham influenced by this. - Led by Lovett + Place. --- Physical Force, supported armed struggles e.g. Plug Riots 1842. ---- Feargus O'Connor was a third attitude, violence but remained within the law. Wrote Northern Star newspaper. - O'Connor controlled the Northern chartists.

Answer 49

- Political system following the 1832 Reform Act, relatively stable, both army & police were loyal to government. - 1839 Rural Police Act ensured a nationwide police force was able to deal with discontent. - Government were able to arrest rioters and leaders swiftly, using the new railway system to move troops around the country.

Answer 50

- Threat of physical force meant the majority of middle-class refused to support Chartism. - Despite actions of Lovett, cooperation between working&middle class was absent for the Chartists. - Middle-classes supported Anti-Corn Law League, campaigned for an issue they cared about. - Content with their gains from 1832 Great Reform Act, didn't want their property subject to the violence of O'Connor an his mob.

Answer 51

- 1842 Mines Act and the Repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846. - Mid-Victorian boom during this period, lasted a long time. - Wages rose, food consumption increased and the living standards improved, all of which reduced the support for the Chartists.

Answer 52

- Chartist movement was born from the aftermath of the 1832 Reform Act, kept alive radical ideas about reform. - By 1850, ideas presented by Chartists no longer seemed too ambitious. - Beginning of reform, unintentionally paved the way for future reform.

Answer 53

- 1859, Liberals returned to power under leadership of Lord Palmerstone. - He ignored calls for reform, focused on foreign policy. - 1865, Lord Palmerstone won another election, then died, replaced by Earl Russell, determined to bring about parliamentary change. - Gladstone announced in 1864 that members of working class who had proven themselves (i.e. paid taxes), should be able to vote. - Pushed issue of reform to forefront of politics again.

Answer 54

- Progressive middle class pushing for new reforms, especially Richard Cobden (Founder of ACLL, 1839). - He made a series of speeches in 1858, about the issues of reform, failed but kept public aware. - 1864, National Reform Union, sought to extend the franchise to include all male rate payers&secret ballot etc. - Liberal minded employers such as Samuel Morley, wool manufacturer from Nottingham. - Gave group significant degree of influence, considered a respectable lobby group. - Assertive but respectable means of getting heard.

Answer 55

- March 1866, Gladstone introduced a reform bill but it wasn't as radical as many hoped. - Borough franchise reduced to £7, expected to benefit 200,000 skilled workers. - Robert Lowe (liberal), led a group (Adullamites) against the proposal, succeeded in bringing down his own government. - Many MP's concerned about growth in uneducated voters. - In the end, bill defeated and gov resigned.

Answer 56

- 23rd July 1866, following failure of the First Liberal Bill, Reform Leauge held meeting in Hyde Park to discuss further action. - Meeting declared illegal by Conservative Home Secretary, HP cordoned off by place&entrance gates chained shut. - 200,000 assembled in spite of this, clashed with police, resulted in police calling for military support. - RL leader, John Leno announced another rally for following evening, Trafalgar square. - Both meetings ended peacefully, made RL leaders household names, led to a rapid increase in their support.

Answer 57

- Conservatives formed a minority government under the Earl of Derby 1866, Disraeli as Chancellor of the Exchequer and leader of the commons. - Disraeli sensed there was a mood for change, wanted to introduce moderate reform (and ∴ gain support of those who gained vote). - Bill was to extend the vote to people who traditionally voted liberal, but Disraeli believed they would support Conservatives as a result of bill. - 3 members of the cabinet resigned, including Cranbourne, Peel and Carnarvon in protest against D's bill which they saw as too radical. - Following numerous drafts from February to August 1867, bill eventually passed with a larger franchise than Disraeli had originally introduced.

Answer 58

ESSAY PLAN : - External pressure - Role or pressure Groups. - Legacy of the 1832 Reform Act. - Actions of Political parties.

Answer 59

- Opposed reform early in his career, but after going on a tour of the cotton districts, changed his opinion. - Invested very heavily in slavery. - Proposed to reduce borough franchise to £7 a year, would enfranchise 200,000 skilled workers.

Answer 60

- Aware of the benefits that reform could bring. - Sought to introduce his own bill in March 1867, despite 3 of his cabinet resigning, he continued. - Driving force Tory democracy and modern conservatism.

Answer 61

- 1852, he proposed to reduce the existing borough qualification from £10 to £6. - He had great ambition of expanding the franchise.

Answer 62

- He was a moderniser and the MP of Birmingham. - He began a series of public speeches in 1858 in Birmingham which aimed at promoting the issue of reform, inspired a more determined movement. - Was a co-founder of the Anti-Corn law league. - Liberals who made amendments to Disraeli's bill.

Answer 63

- 45 seats taken from boroughs with fewer than 10,000 people. - 20 of these seats went to new boroughs (before, most were in the South). - Boroughs, all male householders provided they had lived there for at least a year. - Counties, in addition to existing franchise, all owners or leaseholders of land worth £5. - Almost 1 million new voters added to electorate, virtually doubling electorate. - In towns, the working class were now a majority. Rural, majority was the middle class.

Answer 64

- Earl of Derby resigned through ill health in February 1868. - Disraeli (Tory) replaced him as PM, and Gladstone had replaced replaced Russell as leader of Liberals. - Autumn 1868, elections were held, in contrast to what Disraeli expected, Liberal majority increased and D was defeated. - New voters showed no gratitude to the conservatives for pushing through reform.

Answer 65

- Gladstone toured the country giving speeches to the masses, realising they had to be won over and couldn't be relied on for support. Showed they had minds of their own. - With 2.46mill voters across country, parties began to recognise the importance of campaigning. - This enabled the Liberals to win in 1868 (since MP's toured) in contrast to Disraeli who merely printed written election addresses. - This led the parties to represent the people more and to take public interest into account. - More diverse electorate since the new voters included urban skilled workers (in 1832 most voters were middle class & conservative). - Voting population increased to 1/3 of all adult males. - Cities such as Manchester & Liverpool, meant that after 1867, political power began to shift to the largest section of society (workers) as opposed to the wealthiest.

Answer 66

~ Large areas of the Midlands and the North were still under-represented whilst the Southern counties were over-represented. ~ Property still determined the franchise in the counties. ~ In boroughs, the residency clause demanding occupancy for at least a year discriminated against 30% of the working class population. ~ A system of plural voting was also permitted for those who owned property in both a borough and a county (meaning they could vote twice). Will have been upper/middle class, giving them more power.

Answer 67

1867, can no longer ignore the wants and needs of the working class. ~ Catalyst for change as they’ll vote in favour of more reform.

Answer 68

ESSAY : - Impacted working class (do 1832 impact then 67). - Impact on middle class (do 1832 impact then 67). - Upper Class (Individuals), (do 1832 impact then 67). - Changing nature of politics.