political developments under Gladstone and disraeli Flashcards
what was the nature of the liberal party?
whigs, liberals, radicals, peelites
what type of people were in the liberals?
some of the whigs were powerful old aristrocratic landowning families
sat in the HoLs while the junior were in HoC and some of the juniors started to move away from the aristrocratic kinsmen and call themselve Liberals
who did the whigs show support to?
non-conformists
who were most Liberals?
middle-class business and commercial backgrounds or were lawyers and professional men
believed in individual liberty, free trade, freedom of press and religion.
many were dissenters, non conformists and believed that the church should be separate and free from state patronage
who were the peelites?
gradually with the Whigs
came from wealthy industrial and commercial backgrounds
who were the parliamentary radicals?
free thinking middle-class
individuals who wanted change in the social order
opposed the political and economic dominance of the landowning classes and position of the Church of England as the Established Church
extension of the franchise, the removal of government restrictions and free trade
the most influential Radical was John Bright
what was gladstonian liberalism?
by Gladstone
peace, retrenchment and reform
reduce the necessity of raising taxes, liberty and freedom of individual, free trade
laissez-faire and self-help
where did Liberal support come from?
town and boroughs
urban population and full of prosperous middle-class men of commerce and industry
skilled craftsmen, who made up a significant proportion of the population of the industrial towns
what were model craft unions?
represented the interests of skilled workers such as engineers
elite of the working classes and sought to improve their conditions by self-help and self-education
what were the political activities of the non conformists?
their wish was to achieve equal treatment with the Anglican Church and to end its privilege
what issues did the Conservative?
regaining the political power which they had lost over the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846
what were the qualities of Disraeli?
suffered prejudice because of his Jewish heritage
clever and tenacious
after Derby’s retirement in 1868, Disraeli briefly became prime minister
why did the Liberals want to accept the idea of extending the franchise?
the improvement in the standard of living
improved level of education
workers saved their wages in friendly societies or the post office savings bank
what were the issues of the constituencies?
the size was very uneven because of continuing population growth and movement from the countryside to urban areas
no new constituencies had been formed- large under-represented populations in expanding industrial towns and cities
what interest did MPs have
in these areas?
liberal middle-class manufacturing MPs had vested interest in securing an increase in the number of seats in these areas to extend their political influence
what was the radical pressure?
John Bright toured the country encouraging ordinary men to demand their democratic rights
how did the American Civil War and Italian Unification?
it was seen as the struggle of freedom and democracy
created a popular surge of interest in reform
visit of Garibaldi, hero of Italian Unification movement, in 1864– thousands of people listened and spurred off leading rads to revive an interest in Brit politics
created of the Reform League in 1865
what was the pressure of reform League, the trade unions?
mainly working-class alliance with strong trade union support and few wealthy middle-class backers
its aim was to work towards democracy through universal male suffrage and a program of reform
local branches sprang up in manufacturing and could mobilise its force of trade unions members and makes it pressure
additional pressure came from leading trade unions men in the London Trades Council who met in 1866 and started to campaign for reform
what was the pressure of reform unions?
less successful than the reform league
largely middle class organisation that called for secret ballot and redistribution of seats to correct the imbalance caused by the changes in population
Bright encouraged the working of both organisations to get an extension of the franchise but the class divide created tensions
what was the background of the second reform act 1867?
in 1886, Russell and Gladstone presented a Reform Bill which would give the vote to skilled workers, many in the large industrial towns, in the country the small tenant farmers
what opposition did Gladstone and Russell?
opposition from the Conservatives who claimed it was too far
fierce opposition from the Liberal Party who claimed the reform would give political power to the ignorant
what happened to bill?
the bill was defeated
Russell resigned
he was replaced with a minority cons government with Lord Derby as prime minister and Disraeli as Leader of the Commons
what encouraged another reform bill?
detoriating conditions in the economy
the growing working-class frustration at the lack of progress over reform
why was the break in economic prosperity a motive for the reform
bad harvest of 1865
outbreak of cholera which caused panic in London and other large towns
stock market tumbled when a prestigious London financial house collapsed
high unemployment and huge demonstartions
outbreak of violence near Hyde Park in July 1866 , after a Reform League meeting was prevented
outbreak of violence in Hyde Park in May 1867 by the League
