power and the people - chapter 7

Question 1

in the early 19th century, who controlled the country

Answer 1

the king and those who owned land and titles
-> they made decisions about how the country should be run and what should happen to everyone else in society

Question 2

why did only people who owned land and titles controlling country become a problem during the industrial revolution

Answer 2

• the population increased
• many factory owners became very wealthy, but they, and their workers, had no political power

Question 3

what was one of the main complaints

Answer 3

rotten boroughs

Question 4

what were rotten boroughs

Answer 4

areas that sent two MPs to parliament, even though no one lived there

in one case, there was a mound of grass, called Old Sarum, where a village used to be: still, two MPs went to parliament to represent it

Question 5

why were rotten boroughs such as issue

Answer 5

they got representatives but fast growing towns, like Birmingham, didn’t get representatives

Question 6

what were pocket boroughs

Answer 6

boroughs that were controlled by rich individuals who did not represent the needs of everyone

Question 7

what was a problem with people who could vote

Answer 7

there was no secret ballot
this meant people had to say in public who they were voting for

Question 8

why was there not being a secret ballot a bad thing

Answer 8

it meant people could be easily bribed, and in some cases people were sacked if they did not vote for the ‘right’ candidate
this was not true representation and the same corrupt people continued to hold power

Question 9

what were potwalloper boroughs

Answer 9

• where some people were allowed to vote purely because they had a fireplace and a locked door
• in order to prove their assets, the men would rattle their keys in a large cooking pot
• women did not have the vote

Question 10

what event made british people of both rich and poor think

Answer 10

the French revolution
it was an event in which the ordinary people of france rebelled violently against the ruling class

Question 11

what did the french revolution coincide with

Answer 11

the end of the Battle of Waterloo, when many soldiers were returning home and needing work

Question 12

what meant that people were starving

Answer 12

the introduction of Corn Laws and a poor harvest

Question 13

what happened in 1819

Answer 13

• there was a gathering in St Peter Fields, in Manchester, of people demanding the vote
• was a peaceful protest
• 60,000 protestors listened to speeches by radicals such as Henry Hunt
• Hunt inspired the crowds with his speech that called for the reform of parliament

Question 14

how did the local magistrate respond to the protest in St Peter’s Fields

Answer 14

• the panicked when they heard how many people had gathered, and called the local militia in
• it is reported that they were drunk so events escalated quickly
• within 10 minutes, 600 people had been wounded and 15 had been killed
  -> these included women and children
• the event became known as the Peterloo Massacre

Question 15

what did the gov do after the Peterloo Massacre

Answer 15

introduced the Six Acts
-> these states that any meeting of more than 50 people for radical reform was an act of treason

Question 16

how did the working and middle class decide to try for change instead of protesting

Answer 16

through legislation

Question 17

what political party was in charge at the beginning of the 19th century

Answer 17

tory party

Question 18

were the tory party for or against reform

Answer 18

against

Question 19

when were the tory party voted out and who were they replaced by

Answer 19

voted out in 1830
replaced by the Whig party, led by Earl Grey

Question 20

why’s as the death of King George IV a good thing for reform

Answer 20

• he had been considered insane and had not been running the country well
• he was extravagant and was not interested in making life better for ordinary people
• george was replaced by King William IV in 1830, who was more open to reform and improving society

Question 21

what did Thomas Attwood do

Answer 21

formed the Birmingham Political Union of the Lower and Middle Classes of People in 1829

Question 22

what did the Birmingham Political Union do for reform and how did the government react

Answer 22

• attwood, along with 8000 others, sent a petition to parliament for reform
• they wanted shorter parliaments, the end of property qualifications and a vote for all men who contributed to local or national taxes
• the gov rejected the petition

Question 23

what did the Birmingham Political Union (BPU) do to avoid getting banned

Answer 23

vowed to cooperate with the law

Question 24

what happened to the BPU model and what did this mean

Answer 24

it was copied around the country, so when attwood called for people not to pay their taxes, the king and the gov started to worry

Question 25

why could a reform act not get passed even though the Whig government was trying to pass it

Answer 25

- the whig gov tried to pass laws for a reform act - they tried three times to even get a reform act through - however the system doesn’t work like that: -> when the gov wants to pass a law, they have to send it through the house of Lords -> the house of lords is the part of parliament that is not elected -> in the first parliament - the Great Council - there were barons and nobles - the house of lords did not want to pass an act that would give more power to the ordinary whole by have them represented in parliament

Question 26

what did earl grey do as a result of the reform act not getting passed

Answer 26

- went to king and requested that lords be appointed who were whigs, or at least sympathetic to reform - the existing lords were horrified at the idea, because it would mean that tory lords would lose some of their power to the whigs, so they passed the reform act in 1832

Question 27

was the great reform act actually good

Answer 27

- the middle class benefited - merchants and industrialists gained more representation and were happier that their interests were being considered - rotten boroughs were removed - new towns, such as birmingham, were allowed to elect MPs - the working class were unhappy at the reform act being called ‘great’ - they had not been given the vote, as most only earned £50 a year - there was no secret ballot until 1872 -> the working class who were lucky to be able to vote were effectively forced to vote for their factory or landowner, rather than their chosen candidate - the act meant only 1 in 7 men could vote - didn’t represent all of britain - did not change things for working class people in short term - however it had proven that change was possible - it reduced the power of king and landowners - middle class had joined the electorate: they now had influence and this could only mean more change

Question 28

what were the main points of the great reform act

Answer 28

- 56 very small locations lose the right to elect their own MPs - 30 other smaller towns lose 1 MP - london and other large towns and cities are given more MPs - people who earn £150 a year can vote - votes increase from 435,000 to 652,000

Question 29

why were working class people becoming more and more disgruntled

Answer 29

due to their poor living and working class conditions

Question 30

why did working class find it hard to find work

Answer 30

- because of the new machines being invented - one machine could do the work of 10 men, and faster - this meant most jobs required no skill; even children could do them

Question 31

what did the gov do to help people struggling financially in the new industrial society

Answer 31

reformed the poor law in 1834

Question 32

what did the reformed poor law state

Answer 32

people who needed poor law assistance would be sent to the workhouse

Question 33

what added to the struggles of the poor in the 1830s

Answer 33

bad harvests

Question 34

when and why was the chartist movement born

Answer 34

in 1836, the chartist movement was born when William Lovett, from the London Working Men’s association, started a campaign that was quickly adopted around the country

Question 35

who joined the chartists movement

Answer 35

thomas attwood and the BPU

Question 36

when and where was a national chartist convention held

Answer 36

birmingham 1839

Question 37

why was the chartist movement peaceful

Answer 37

becuase of Lovett’s christian faith

Question 38

what did the chartists organise

Answer 38

the mass signing of petitions to be sent to parliament

Question 39

what were the six main aims of the chartists

Answer 39

- votes for all men - equal-sized constituencies - wages for MPs - voting in secret - no property qualifications to be able to vote - an election every year

Question 40

why did the chartists want wages for MPs

Answer 40

it would mean working class people could become MPs -> better representation

Question 41

when was the first chartist petition sent to parliament and what happened to it

Answer 41

1839 it was rejected

Question 42

after the first chartist petition got rejected, what did some supporters decide

Answer 42

decided that peaceful methods of protest were not enough for example: - chartists in south wales were particularly angered because unemployment there was higher than average and people were starving - they decided to march on Newport in November 1839 - one of their leaders had been imprisoned and many planned to attack the prison and free him - however, when they reached newport the authorities were waiting for them and had soldiers guarding the prison - the soldiers opened fie and 22 men were killed

Question 43

when was the second chartist petition sent and what was the outcome

Answer 43

1842 rejected

Question 44

who became the undisputed leader when the second petition was rejected

Answer 44

Fergus O’Connor

Question 45

what did O’Connor call for when the second petition was rejected

Answer 45

called for violent actions to pressurise parliament into agreeing to the demands -> many workers in factories in the north of england started to vandalise machinery -> these actions became known as the ‘plug plot’

Question 46

what else did O’connor call for after the plug plot

Answer 46

called for a general strike of all workers and even went as far as calling for a british republic

Question 47

by 1847 why was there a surge in support for the chartists

Answer 47

the economic and agricultural depression had returned to britain

Question 48

what were the chartist divided between

Answer 48

those who believed in moral force and those who believed in physical force

Question 49

what were the other areas of reform the chartists were committed to

Answer 49

- lovett was committed to education and reform though the cooperative movement - this movement was inspired by Robert Owen and helped bring a better standard of living to working class communities - many chartists became heavily involved in the trade union movements that would become important in the latter half of the century - lovett and other leaders promoted temperance - this is zero tolerance of alcohol and was popular in the early 19th century - they believed parliament would have to take them seriously if they were sober - would show working class people are disciplined and worthy of the vote - O’Conner was interested in land reform - he felt everyone was entitled to land and if they had land, they could leave the factory towns and the problems they faced there - there were several sites where this type of reform took place -> one of the most significant was named ‘O’Connorville’ - worked for a while but land was poorly farmed by the settlers an the scheme failed

Question 50

why did the gov fear the chartists

Answer 50

they were able to mobilise large groups from all classes

Question 51

what newspaper did the Chartists have

Answer 51

the Northern Star, which they could use to promote their agenda

Question 52

what did the gov do to combat the chartists

Answer 52

- rejected their petitions - put up oysters asking people not to attend their meetings - freely arrested chartists -> Lovett and O’Connor got arrested on more than one occasion

Question 53

what was one tool the gov used to deter people from chartism

Answer 53

transportation - they decided the death penalty was too harsh - therefore people were transported to other countries, such as australia, as punishment - this threat was enough to dissuade people from joining the movement

Question 54

when was the 3rd petition taken to parliament

Answer 54

1848

Question 55

what happened on 10th april 1848

Answer 55

- o’connor and fewer than 50,000 supporters met on kennington common in london - expecting more, the duke of wellington had prepared troops and pro;lice - some 85,000 special constables were enrolled for the day - wellington stopped the crowd entering the city - o’connor was forced to take the petition into london himself - petition was said to have other 5 million signatures: it actually had fewer than 2 million - thousands of signatures were forged -> many were seemingly from queen victoria herself - o’connor argued that it was becuase workers had to keep their identity safe from their employers

Question 56

why did the chartist movement fail in the short term

Answer 56

- strong parliamentary opposition, with clear strategies being used; mainly gov suppression of local meetings and gatherings - standard of living started to increase during the 1850s and there were many alternative working-class movements such as trade unionism and cooperatives - the divided leadership of Lovett and O’Connor - without one clear message, and with too many fringe groups, the movement was doomed to failure

Question 57

did the chartist movement fail

Answer 57

no in the end, 5 out of 6 aims were achieved -> all except the election every year one