Part 3: 19th Century Reform (1) Flashcards
What did many historians call the 19th century
Many historians called the 19th century a time of great changes
What changed in the 19th century
- The population grew rapidly
- more people lived in towns in the country in 1851
- more people worked in industry not agriculture
Most importantly the source of wealth changed -industry and trade became more important than owning land
What improved rapidly in the 19th century
Communication improves rapidly !!!
Penny post - you could send a letter anywhere in the country
Telegraph - you could transmit messages over large distances quickly
An expanding railway network meant it was possible for people to travel quickly and cheaply around the country
The railway network allowed newspapers to be distributed overnight around the country
What grew rapidly in the 19th century
New towns grew rapidly and because of this they were squalid places to live
What did the dirty nature of the Towns lead to in the 19 century
This led to increasing demands to do something about them
What emerged as a result of trying to improve the towns
Conflicting theories of government emerged
What were the two theories of government over improving the towns
Self-help
And the argument that the state had a duty to intervene
Who supported self-help and what was it
Jeremy Bentham and Samuel smiles supported self help
This argued that it was not the business of government to intervene in social conditions or in the relationship between workers and employers
What was the other theory of government apart from Self help and who believed in it
Lord Shaftesbury and Elizabeth Fry argued that the state had a duty to intervene and to put right the wrongs of society
What were some reforms a result of
Some reforms were the result of government action
Which reforms were the result of government action
In 1848 the first public health act was passed to help improve conditions in the new towns
In 1870 board schools were set up with government funding to educate children up to the age of 11
In 1880 education was made compulsory
What was bad about the government in their attitudes towards reform
The government was often reluctant to act and had to be pushed hard to do so
What was the anti-Corn law league
The anti-corn Law league was a powerful lobby group of employees and workers who eventually managed to persuade the government to act
Who made many of the changes in 19 century Britain
All the other changes were made by the people themselves Because the government were reluctant to act
What were local initiatives
Many small-scale local clubs like the Rochdale cooperative store set up in 1844 were local initiatives
people banded together there to improve their own lives and many of these initiatives worked
What began in the 1780s
In the 1780s building societies began with work and saving money so they could buy their own place to live
In the latter part of the 19th century nearly every town would have it’s own building society
people were prepared to work together to improve their lives
From the time of the American revolution until into the 19th century what was a great effort made for
And why
A great effort was made to alter the electoral system in the widely held belief that this was the best way to improve the living and working conditions of ordinary people
Only by having the vote would they have the power to change their lives. This led to more people becoming directly involved in the fight for reform
What were elections like in the early 1800s
6 things
Very few people could vote in the early 1800s and if you could vote there was no secret ballot
Voting took place in open air meetings where are you publicly declared your allegiance
MPs were not paid so only rich people could afford to be MPs
Elections had to be held at least once every seven years
Most of the new industrial towns have no MPs at all and many seats had become rotten boroughs
Corruption was very common. Being an MP was expensive As some MPs would bribe voters
It was this system that the radicals and reformers wanted to change
Who supported the system
Although the system was flawed the Tories supported it
Who was the famous Tory who supported the electoral system
Lord Stormont Argued that the British constitution was the wisest that had ever been created
The Tories said that not only was no need for change but that change would be dangerous
What was lord stormonts famous quote
In support of the tories he stated that
‘Extending the right of voting to all the Roman citizens destroyed their republic’
Did everyone feel the same way as the tories
No the radicals didn’t !!
What did major John Cartwright do
In 1776 major John Cartwright had published a pamphlet arguing in favour of electoral reform and universal manhood suffrage
For the next 30 years he toured the country demanding radical reform
What happened on the 15th of June 1809
On the 15th of June 1809 Francis Burdett introduced a reform bill into Parliament demanding equal electoral districts - annual parliament - and the rights of every taxpayer to vote
It was defeated by 79 votes to 15
The sparsely attended debate shows us how low on the agenda reform was as far as MPs and government were concerned
