political change and social reform 1832-46 Flashcards
whig reforms
GRA 1832
whig reforms
aboloition of slavery 1833
-despite abolition of slave trade in 1807 still lots of slaves in the british empire (670,000 in west indies)
-after pressure from public in 1833 minister for colonies proposed emancipation bill which passed with majority
-however there was few jobs for former slaves who were exploited for many decades.
whig reforms
althorps factory act 1833
-introduced after pressure from torries such s lord ashley (10hr working day)
- commission set up to investigate led by chadwick who recommended children needed protection
- althorp proposed factory act (no children under 9, children limited to 8hrs and needed 2hrs of education, 4 inspectors set up to enforce)
- mill owners introduced relay system of child labour, education clause was ineffective, 4 inspectors was not enough for the whole country.
whig reforms
education grant 1833
-poorer children could only attend sunday school or ‘dame schools’ where education was poor.
-by 1840 1/3 of all children had never attended schools
-humanitarian reformers feared the thought of mass uneducated populations in growing urban towns.
political disturbances had stopped the view education would lead to discontent.
-gov gave 20,000 to be divided between anglican and non-conformist schools, later increased to 30,000
-anglican church was able to fund 1/2 of school building so had most of the grant
-although it set an important precedent the system remained inefective.
whig reforms
poor law ammendment act 1834
-the old poor law was outdated : could only claim relief in the parish you were born under but rural to urban migration meant many were not elligible, speedhamland system encouraged employers to lower wages, rates were rising (£8 mil for 15,000 parishes 1830)
-commision was set up which shaped the new poor law : abolition of outdoor relief, ‘less eligibility’ in workhouses, parishes were grouped into unions to build new workhouses.
-new system achieved its main aim of saving money, relief went from 8-4.5 mill
-was not entirely practical as during recessions many people in industrial north there was not enough workhouses to accomodate for all so outdoor relief was brought back
whig reforms
municipal corporations act 1835
-when whigs came to power governing of towns was confused and inefficient, most corporations used their privileges for personal or party advantage and ignored matters such as water supply and drainage. New industrial towns had not been recognised and had no corporation
-the act was introduced following a royal commission. it abolished closed corporations, gave all male rate payers who had lived there for 3 years the right to vote in local elections , councils could take responsibility for social improvement and if a town had no corporation they could apply for one.
-the act marked improvements on the disorganised systems, led to increased interest in town politics, established the principle of elected town councils.
-many corporations did little to improve living conditions as rate payers were more interested in keeping rates low (by 1848 only 29/250 boroughs improved conditions).
whig governments
Greys gov 1830-34
-start : after the reform act was passed grey called a general election, newly enfranchised middle class gave him a majority of 300 seats.
-discontent: Whig government dealt harshly with challenges to authority ( Home sec Melbourne offered huge rewards for information on swing rioters and pushed magistrates to give harsh sentences). wanted to destroy ‘democratic tyranny of trade unions so prosecuted 6 ‘tolpuddle martyrs’ for a respectable agricultural demonstration - however this damages gov rep.
-ireland : the party was split between aims of reconcile and repression with Ireland. Whig gov passed 19 bills to try and address problems in Ireland but O’Connell advanced the tithe war, a bill was passed to address this which split the party when it came up for renewal.
whig governments
melbournes brief premiership 1834
-Melbourne - Melbourne had served in a previous moderate tory government, was foreign sec under grey and was the man most likely to be accepted by the king and hold the party together.
-a gov falling apart - the party was split and when the chancellor of the exchequer (Althorp) resigned he struggled to replace him. Melbourne told the king of his struggles and wanted to promote the reformer lord Russell - the king dismissed the gov.
