Great Reform Act Flashcards
Causes
King and major landowners controlled country. A pocket borough was a borough, which could effectively be controlled by a single person who owned at least half the property. You had to have a certain amount of property to be allowed to vote
Women didn’t have the vote
Working class men didn’t have the vote
No secret ballot meant voters could be bribed or intimidated as everyone knew who they were voting for
During the industrial revolution, the population increased, which increased the pressure for more political representation. Many factory owners became very wealthy but not in land, and therefore had less political power.
Methods
During the Napoleonic Wars, the government had made poverty worse by increasing taxes on corn, which made bread more expensive. Working people could see that their MPs were not acting in their interests. Radical speakers began to demand representation in parliament. At St. Peter’s Fields in Manchester, 60,000 gathered in 1819. They came to hear Henry Hunt, who was calling for the reform of parliament. It was a peaceful gathering, the authorities were scared and sent in the militia (soldiers) into the crowd. Eleven were killed including women and children. The government then passed the Six Acts, which banned meetings of more than 50 people. Demanding reform had become an act of treason.
There was a change of king and William IV came to power, who was more accepting of reform than his father George III. In 1830, Thomas Attwood organised a petition calling for reform. It was signed by 8,000 people. This peaceful form of protest was copied throughout the country. The Whig government introduced a Reform Act but it was blocked by the House of Lords. The King, however, helped to force it through. This was the 1832 Great Reform Act.
Outcomes
Long Term: Vote was given to more middle-class people like merchants and industrialists
Reduced power of king
removed rotten boroughs (no one living there but still had place in parliament)
Short Term: Working class people sill didn’t have the vote
You still had to own property at least 10 pounds worth to vote
There was still no secret ballot, only 1 in 7 could vote.
