hw (part of Should the franchise be extended further?)

Question 1

Explain the origins of the 1832 Reform Act

Answer 1

• the 1832 Reform Act, also known as the Great Reform Act, was a pivotal moment in British political history , particularly in terms of widening the electoral franchise
• prior to the Act, the British electoral system was highly unequal, with rotten boroughs having disproportionate representation, while growing industrial cities e.g. Manchester had little to no representation

Question 2

Define rotten boroughs

Answer 2

constituencies with very few voters

Question 3

Describe three ways in which the 1832 Reform Act widened the franchise

Answer 3

• expanding the voter base in the boroughs
• adjusting the voter base in the counties
• redistribution of seats

Question 4

How did the 1832 Reform Act allow voter base in the boroughs to expand?

Answer 4

• before 1832, the right to vote in boroughs was inconsistent, often based on outdated local customs
• the Act established a uniform property qualification (which allowed men who owned or rented property worth £10 or more per year to vote)
• this was a significant change, giving the vote to a broader section of the middle class, particularly in industrial cities that had been underrepresented

Question 5

How did the 1832 Reform Act allow a successful adjustment to the voter base in the counties?

Answer 5

• in county constituencies (rural areas), the right to vote had been traditionally restricted to “forty shilling freeholders” (meaning landowners with property worth at least £2 per year)
• the Act extended the vote to tenants who rented property worth at least £50 annually, which enfranchised wealthier tenant farmers & further broadened the electorate

Question 6

Why did stereotypically poorer people have more rights to vote prior to the 1832 Reform Act?

Answer 6

• there were certainly peculiarities of the old electoral system, especially in some borough constituencies
• before the 1832 Reform Act, voting qualifications in boroughs were highly varied & often based on historical local customs rather than property ownership, which allowed some poorer individuals to vote under specific circumstances
• examples include freemen boroughs, scot & lot boroughs & potwalloper boroughs

Question 7

How did freeman boroughs allow stereotypically poorer people to vote?

Answer 7

• in some boroughs, people who were granted the status of “freeman” (through inheritance, apprenticeship, or special privileges) could vote, regardless of who much property they owned
• to note, some of these freeman were not necessarily wealthy, meaning that poorer or lower-middle-class individuals could have the vote in these areas

Question 8

How did scot & lot boroughs allow stereotypically poorer people to vote?

Answer 8

• in certain boroughs, the right to vote was granted to residents who paid a local tax called “scot & lot”
• this qualification was not tied to property value but to residency & the payment of taxes, so some poorer people who lived in these areas & paid the tax had the right to vote

Question 9

How did potwalloper boroughs allow stereotypically poorer people to vote?

Answer 9

• in a few places, men could vote if they were householders who had their own hearth (meaning they were economically independent enough to boil a pot on their own fire)
• this requirement was less strict than property-based qualifications, so some lower-income individuals were enfranchised in these boroughs

Question 10

How did redistribution of seats widen the franchise?

Answer 10

• the Act eliminated 56 “rotten boroughs” & reduced representation in others, redistributing those seats to more populous areas e.g. industrial towns & counties that had been underrepresented

Question 11

What were the disadvantages & advantages of the 1832 Reform Act?

Answer 11

• despite significant changes, the Act did not introduce universal suffrage; voting was still restricted to men, and even with that only a fraction of the male population were eligible - roughly one in five adult males gained the vote
• differences of votes between the classes change due to the Act & therefore put lower classes at a disadvantage e.g. some of the poorer individuals who had voting rights under the older borough systems lost them after the reform
• nevertheless, the Act was major step toward a more representative political system, laying the foundations for future reforms in the 19th & 20th centuries