Parliamentary Reform Flashcards
What are the dates of the Great Reform Acts of the 19th Century?
1832, 1867, 1884
When did Gladstone become PM for the first time?
1868
When did Disraeli become PM for the first time?
Feb-Dec 1868
When was the law passed that removed the property qualifications for MPs?
1858
When did the American Civil War start and end?
1861-1865
What law was passed in 1872 that took away the opportunity for the rich and powerful to influence voters during elections?
Secret Ballot Act
What 2 clubs were established to encourage supporters to register for either the Whigs or the Tories?
Carlton Club (Tories)
What is a 2 party political system and why is it important in British politics?
Only 2 parties dominate the political system, UK system FPTP (First passed the post system) system favours it
How did the 1835 Municipal Corporation’s Act change politics in local towns?
Closed corporations abolished, councils elected by male ratepayers, councillor elected for 3 yearly terms
Who was responsible for modernising the Tory Party in 1834 and how did he do it?
Robert Peel - Tamworth Manifesto 1834 outlined principles of modern Conservative Party
Name 2 radical reformers within parliament between 1838-1852
Lord Russel, Joseph Hume, Peter Locke King, John Bright
How any years did the Conservative Party serve in the 20 years after 1832?
4-5 years
How large was the population in 1861?
30 million
How many times did the aging Lord Russell introduce a reform bill between 1852 and 1860?
6
Why was party politics an important reason for the failure of subsequent reform bills fail after 1832?
Division within Whigs and Tories about how to proceed
Why was further reform put on the back burner after 1859?
Lord Palmerston disproved of reform
What organisation did John Bright MP found before he put forward the idea of parliamentary reform in the late 1850s?
Anti-Corn Law league
How many people were employed in the cotton industry in the 1860s?
440,000
What was the ‘Cotton Famine’?
US Civil War blockades stopped importation of Cotton into the UK
Why did the ‘Cotton Famine’ energise the movement for reform?
Workers in textile industry largely supported the anti-slavery movement in the US which earned them praise
Why did the (largely middle-class) National Reform Union promote?
Extend franchise to all male ratepayers, promote equal distribution of seat, establish secret ballot
Why had the middle-class come round to the idea of enfranchising working-class voters by the mid 1860s?
Respectability, hard work, peaceful protest
How did the Reform League differ in their aims?
More radical than Reform Union, e.g. universal male suffrage, secret ballot
What other differences were there between the Reform Union and Reform League
Class divisions, MC and WC opportunity to influence those in power more easily for the Union to lobby, League had widespread support, the Union had more funds/money
