Power and the people - The extention of the franchise

Question 1

What was the industrial revolution?

Answer 1

• The Industrial Revolution saw changes in working and living conditions that began in the countryside
• During this time Britain moved from being a country based on a rural and agrarian economy to being the world’s first industrial giant

Question 2

What is a rotten borough?

Answer 2

Areas that were sent two members of parliament even though nobody lived there
- E.g. Despite only 7 people living in Old Sarum, two MPs went to represent it. Birmingham, on the other hand, was one of the fastest and largest growing towns, yet it had no MPs to represent its people in parliament

Question 3

What is a pocket borough?

Answer 3

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

Question 4

What were the problems surrounding the secret ballot?

Answer 4

Since there was no secret ballot, people could easily be bribed
-> therefore this was not seen as true representation

Question 5

What is a pot walloper?

Answer 5

• in order to be allowed to vote, men had to have a locked door and a fireplace

Question 6

What occurred during the Peterloo Massacre?

Answer 6

• In 1819, 60,000 people visited St. Peter’s Field in Manchester to listen to speeches by radicals such as Henry Hunt
• The Local Magistrate panicked and called the militia in - the soldiers were drunk and 600 people were wounded within 10 minutes
• 15 people died

Question 7

How did the government respond to the Peterloo incident?

Answer 7

Six Acts were introduced, which included more than 50 people meeting for radical reform was an act of treason

Question 8

What does suffrage/franchise/borough mean?

Answer 8

the right to vote

Question 9

Who were the whig party?

Answer 9

• they were against absolute monarchy
• they wanted to reform
• became the liberal party today

Question 10

Who were the Tory party?

Answer 10

• they supported the king
• they were against reform
• they became the conservative party

Question 11

Who led the Whig party?

Answer 11

Earl grey

Question 12

What was the 1829 Birmingham political union?

Answer 12

• Thomas Attwood formed a union which united the lower and middle classes
• 8000 people signed this petition
• They wanted shorter parliaments, an end to all property qualifications and a vote for all men who paid taxes
• The group vowed to cooperate with the law which made it difficult to be banned
• However, the petition was eventually rejected

Question 13

How many times did Earl Grey try to pass the Great Reform Act through the House of Lords?

Answer 13

three times

Question 14

How did Earl Grey pass the Great Reform Act on the third attempt?

Answer 14

• George III was replaced by William IV, who was more open to reforming and improving society
• Earl grey requested William IV to appoint liberals to the house of Lords
• The House of Lords were so appalled that they agreed to pass the reforms
• because it took so long it was called the Great Reform Act

Question 15

What were the positive impacts of the Great Reform Act?

Answer 15

• The middle class could vote
• Merchants and Industrialists gained more representation
• Rotten boroughs were removed
• New towns were allowed to elect MPs
• The Act reduced the power of the King and landowners

Question 16

What were the negative impacts of the Great Reform Act?

Answer 16

• The working class were not given the vote as most only earnt £50 not £150
• Only one in seven people could vote
• There was no secret ballot until 1872`

Question 17

Why was the working class dissatisfied with the Great Reform Act?

Answer 17

They still did not have representation

Question 18

What was the Chartist movement?

Answer 18

• In 1836, the Chartist movement was created by a Christian man called William Lovett.
• Thomas Attwood and the BPU joined with the movement.
• The Chartists set out their aims in a petition which was known as the People’s Charter.

Question 19

What did the People’s Charter state?

Answer 19

• Votes for all men
• Equal sized constituencies
• Voting in secret
• Wages in MPs
• No property qualifications to be able to vote
• An election every year

Question 20

What occurred during the Newport Rising, in 1839?

Answer 20

• When the Peoples Charter was put before Parliament in 1839, it was rejected and laughed out of Parliament
• Chartists in South Wales were furious with Parliaments’ reaction and decided to march on Newport in November 1839. Their leader was arrested and the rest decided to break him out of prison. The soldiers opened fire, killing 22 people

Question 21

When did a new leader emerge during the chartist movement?

Answer 21

In 1842, Fergus O’Connor emerged as another leader.

Question 22

What were William Lovett’s aims?

Answer 22

• committed to education reform
• peaceful protests only
• Supported the trade union movement for better workers’ rights
• Supported the temperance movement as he believed this would help make the government take the workers seriously

Question 23

What were Fergus O’Connor’s aims?

Answer 23

• He wanted full land reform
• Encouraged people to strike and vandalise equipment in factories
• suggested that Britain should be a republic as the elite had all the power and were the problem

Question 24

What was the Governments response to the Chartists?

Answer 24

• the government feared the Chartists as they were evidently able to mobilise thousands of people.
• They were so concerned they moved Queen Victoria to the Isle of Wight for her safety
• The government put up posters in towns asking people not to attend Chartist meetings

Question 25

How did the Chartist movement end?

Answer 25

• O’Connor claimed the petition had over 5 million signatures: in fact, it had fewer than two million
• the petition was read it out in parliament and it transpired that thousands of signatures were forged
• O’Connor claimed that workers were under pressure to hide their identity but Parliament rejected the third petition and the movement came to an end

Question 26

Why did Chartism fail?

Answer 26

role of individuals - the leadership was divided
economic factors - the rising standard of living in the 1850s
Government actions - there were strong parliamentary opposition and effective government suppression
Class tension - Limited support from middle classes because many wanted to maintain power