Parliamentary Democracy 1832-1870 Flashcards
What movement arose after the 1832 reform Act?
Chartism
What was held in London in 1839? what did it establish?
The first National Convention of Chartists differences between moral and physical force chartists
By how many votes was the first Chartist petition defeated? why was this?
189 votes - lack of violent insurrection to draw the movement into focus
What happened after the rejection of the first petition?
the ‘sacred month’ - general strike and protest - includes Newport rising
How many chartist leaders were held in prison between 1839 and 1841?
500 - led to a return to more moderate methods eg) second petition
When was Fergus O’Connor’s Land Plan set up?
1845
What coincided with the 3rd chartist movement in 1848?
the 1848 revolutions in Europe
How did poor leadership result in the the failure of chartism?
Moral force vs Physical force
Neport rising - 3 leaders
How did their aims cause Chartist failure?
the people’s charter was ahead of it’s time, too radical for a parliament who had only just, and reluctantly, extended the vote to 18% of the male population
How did government legislation lead to chartist failure?
undermined chartist strength
1847 - Ten Hours Act - appeased many chartist followers
1846 - repeal of Corn Laws
Who was charged in the 1830s/40s with checking chartist activity in the north of England, and what development helped him?
Charles Napier, The Railway Network
What was firmly established after 1832?
The Two Party system
What were the provisions of the 1835 Municipal Corporations Act in 1835?
dissolved existing corporations
extended votes for local governance to all male ratepayers
When did Robert Peel make the Tory party the ‘Conservatives’?
1834
by how much did Britain’s population increase between 1821 and 1861?
7 million
What did Lord Russel propose in 1852? what following years did he present the same bill to no avail?
decreasing the property qualifications in boroughs from £10 to £6, 1854 and 1860
What was the Tory proposal in 1859 and why?
to extend the existing borough franchise to the counties - counties were traditionally conservative so ensured them electoral success, decreased furthering the partisan in parliament
What was passed in 1858?
the abolition of property qualifications for MPs
Who founded the Anti - Corn Law League in 1839?
Richard Cobden and John Bright
Who began a tour in 1858 promoting democratic rights?
Birmingham MP John Bright
What between 1861 and 1865 caused changing attitudes to the working classes
The American Civil War - Republican north blockaded the Confederate ports, causing a cotton famine in Lancashire where 355,000 people were employed in textiles Working class stoicism impressed Gladstone and other MPs
What middle class group was formed in 1864, and what were their aims?
The Reform Union - secret ballot, enfranchise all rate payers, equal distribution of seats
What was the general membership of the National Reform Union?
liberal minded middle class, eg) Samuel Morely
What working class group was founded in 1865 and what were their aims?
Reform League - campaigned for universal manhood suffrage and a secret ballot
What was the general membership of the Reform League like?
ex- chartists, trade unionists - retained a more moderate stance though peaceful protest and negotiation
Which reformer gained power after the death of Lord Palmerston in 1865
Earl John Russel
What was included in Gladstones reform bill in 1866?
- reduce the property qualification to £7 a year enfranchise 200,000 artisan (liberal voting) workers
- counties £50 rental —–> £14 to encourage 170,000 potential liberal voters
Who rejected Gladstone’s bill in 1866?
conservative elements within the liberal party and conservatives who didn’t want the liberals to gain electoral success
who were the Adullamites in 1866?
anti reform liberals
how did the liberal party become divided following on from the failure of Gladstone’s bill?
opponents diluted the bill to reduce the number enfranchised, Lord Russel resigned, the Conservatives were invited to form a minority Government
Who became Chancellor of Exchequer in 1867?
Benjamin Disraeli
Why was Disraeli keen to pass reform?
to ensure political success for the conservative party
What were the provisions of the second reform act?
45 seats were taken from boroughs with less than 10,000 people, 7 were completey disenfranchised
25 seats went to counties, 20 to new boroughs, 6 existing boroughs got an extra seat
all male householders or lodgers who occupied property worth £10 for at least 1 year
leaseholders of land worth £5 a year
What was the immediate impact of the 2nd reform act?
electoral defeat for Disraeli in 1868
2.46 million voters - reduced corruption, increased campaigning
What was the long term impact of the 1867 act
electorate was largely middle class conservative still the north was over represented compared to the south
