politics 1851-1886 Flashcards
what was the role of the monarch in this period?
held soveriegn power and was able to appoint and dismiss ministers, summon parliament to meet and influence election
not involved in day to day governing
what were the constituencies like in this period?
658 MPs in the House of Commons
some constituencies had 2 MPs
little correlation between distribution of seats and population
Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds had one MP each while smaller constituencies in the South had 2 MPs
some boroughs had declined to the point of disappearance - ‘rotten boroughs’
south was over-represented, and the north was under represented
what were the voting qualifications for the county seats?
‘40- shilling freeholder’
if you owned a property worth 40 shillings or more in rent you could vote
in Scotland, property had to be valued at £100 could vote
what were the voting qualifications for a borough resident?
all male householders living in a property worth £10 a year or more count vote
(middle class)
uncontested seats in an election
in many constituencies, elections were uncontested
county seat were dominated by peers or landowners and therefore the result was a foregone conclusion
contested seats in a conclusion
elections were often conducted in a corrupt manner
‘treating’
open ballot
describe the aristocracy in this period
200 of the wealthiest families
titles
mansions
political power
describe the landed gentry in this period
13,000 families
leisured way of life
MPs
describe the middle class in this period
growing
factory owners. lawyers, doctors, merchants
hard work, ambitious
believed in free trade and minimal government interference
education
attempted to move up the heirachy by buying land or via marraige
describe the working classes in this period
varied from artisans to unskilled workers
low pay for long hours
distress during trade depressions
affected by poor harvests and rising food prices
describe the role of the church in this period
monarch was the head of the church
strong in rural areas amongst landowners and tenant farmers
centre of village life
clergy drew their income from tithes
nonconformist churches were experiencing growth- strong in towns
which parties joined together to form the liberal party in 1859
whigs, liberals, radicals and peelites
who were the whigs
aristocracy
mainly non-conformists
who were the liberals
middle-class professionals
non-conformists
who were the radicals
middle class
John Bright
who were the peelites
wealthy industrial and commercial background
break away group from the Conservative party
followers of Robert Peel
what were the beliefs of the whigs
constitutional monarchy
reform to conserve
free trade
what were the beliefs of the liberals
individual liberty
free trade
freedom of the press
religious freedom
what were the beliefs of the peelites?
free trade
what were the beliefs of the radicals
utilitarianism
free trade
parliamentary system
removal of government restriction
what were the problems with the whigs
clashed with a radicals who thought that the Whigs pace of reform was too slow
declining in number- young whigs started to call themselves liberals
what were the problems with the liberals
wanted church and state to be separate
who were the protectionists?
men who wanted to retain the corn law
what was the problem with the radicals
small in number
disgaree with everyone
reform too slow
what was the corn law?
foreign imports of cron should be highly taxed to protect British farmers and landowners from foreign competition unless it was selling at 80 shillings for 1/4 tonne
what did the peelites want to happen to the corn law?
wanted to repeal the corn law
what were the main values/ principles of the conservative party at this time?
support the monarchy, aristocracy and Church of England
how was the split from the Conservative party from the peelites damaging for the conservatives?
exposed weakness that they lacked experienced, well know politicians
how did Palmerston keep the Conservatives out of office?
had conservative policies so they couldnt oppose policy
what were the strengths of the conservatives?
no longer divided - dropped policy of protection
disraeli gave more people the vote
what were the weaknesses of the conservatives?
lacked experienced politicians
out of office for 20 years, seen to be in the political wilderness
strength of parliament
economy doing well
protectionist policies still remembered, worry that policies would change if they were elected
what was the 1867 reform act?
changes to who could vote
boroughs
-all male householders over the age of 21
-male lodgers who paid £10 a year in rent
counties
-men who owned property worth £5/ year
- men who rented property worth £12/year in England and £14/year in Scotland
what were the changes caused by the 1876 Reform Act?
the size of the electorate nearly doubled from 1.36 million to 2.46 million
most of the new voters were industrial workers in town- something like democracy was being approached in the boroughs.
what remain undemocratic about voting after the 1867 reform act?
agricultural workers still couldn’t vote - majority of the rural population, preserving the power of wealthy farmers and landowners, as the rich were losing power in the boroughs
voting was still help in public - persuaded by employers and landlords
many small towns still had two MPs eg Tiverton with 10,000 people whereas Glasgow only had one MP with a population of 500,000 people
householder franchise had many restrictions eg one year residency requirement
HoC was still dominated by landowners.
what changes did politicians have to make due to the 1867 reform act?
too many voters to bribe- had to explain and justify policies
party organisation developed to whip up support at election time and nurse the voters between elections
what were the hyde park riots 1866?
riots after the government failed to politically reform
how important were the hyde park riots in passing the 1867 reform act?
not that important because many of them were lower-class and didn’t know what the riot was about, but just joined in for fun.
Disraeli used the riots to persuade conservatives who were against the reform act.
what are the examples of pressure reasons why the 1867 reform act was passed?
x5
radicals kept up constant pressure for reform eg John Bright wanted democracy as in USA Australia and Canada
New Model Unions campaigned led by George Howell and Robert Applegarth wanted to improve standards for workers through parliament not revolution
American Civil War, abolishing slavery, impressed politicians
Gusippe Garibaldi: important figure in the reunification of Italy gave publicity ot ideas of liberal reform, his admirers formed the reform league
further reform seemed inevitable
what are the examples of principle reasons why the 1867 reform act was passed?
x3
only 1/5 of adult males had the vote
Russel and Gladstone led the Liberal Party who were committed to the principal of reform
Disraeli thought that the working class deserved the vote
why did disraeli accept changes to his bill that made it more radical?
knew that he would get the radical’s vote and split the liberals vote making them weaker - Whigs didn’t want political reform
what were the radical amendments that Disraeli accepted to the reform bill?
dont have to pay rates meaning more of the working class can vote
what are the three main reasons why the reform act was passed in 1867?
pressure
principle
party politics
what are the examples of party politics reasons why the 1867 reform act was passed?
death of anti-reform Palmerston removed a massive obstacle
Disraeli realised that he could exploit the reform issue to inflame divisions in the Liberal party
Disraeli saw opportunity to wrest power from the Whigs, as they had been in the wilderness after repeal of the corn laws
passing the reform would allow disraeli to control the terms of the act as be could manipulate both the terms of the franchise and the redistribution of seats in favour of the Conservatives
What was the Secret Ballot Act 1872?
aimed to reduce electoral malpractice
what were the strengths of the Secret Ballot Act 1872
reduced corruption
voters had complete privacy
bribery and blackmail were significantly reduces
What was the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Act 1883?
investigated electoral practises
limited amount of money spent on electoral campaigns
candidated had to justify expenses
what were the weaknesses of the Secret Ballot Act 1872?
Bribery still existed
difficult to police
what were the strengths of the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Act 1883?
bribery banned
reduced allegations of illegality during elections
what were the weaknesses of the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Act 1883?
bribery still existed as it was difficult to police
what was the Third Reform Act - the Franchise 1884?
created uniform franchise for county and borough in the whole UK to ensure that voters and counties were equally represented
what were the strengths of Third Reform Act - the Franchise 1884?
enfranchised significant number of votes
2 in 3 men could vote
what were the weaknesses of Third Reform Act - the Franchise 1884?
plural voting permitted
women didnt have the vote
MPs not given a salary
what was the Third Reform Act - the Redistribution 1885?
established one-member constituencies which were more equal sized
new constituency boundaries drawn up depending on classes
what were the strengths of the Third Reform Act - the Redistribution 1885?
small conservative areas weren’t over represented
62 seats to counties, 42 to boroughs
North and South were equally represented
equal sized
what were the weaknesses of the Third Reform Act - the Redistribution 1885?
no working class party
what were the liberals united over?
free trade
wanted to repeal the corn law
what was the problem with Gladstone’s cabinet in his 2nd ministry?
one sided
Chamberlain was the only radical
when was Gladstone’s first ministry?
1868-1874
when was Disraeli’s first ministry?
1874-1880
when was Gladstone’s 2nd ministry?
1880-1885
