Protest, agitation and parliamentary reform in Britain, c1780-1928. Flashcards
In the 18th century, what the regulations for voting?
People had to be over 21 and male before they were allowed a vote in general elections.
What were some of the other regulations?
- In order to qualify for a vote in a county, adult men had to own a substantial amount of property.
- To qualify for a vote in a borough, a whole range of various different regulations applied.
- Thus, from a total estimated population of around 8 million people, about 439,000 people were entitled to vote in general elections.
What happened at the end of the 19th century?
This changed. The only qualification apart from being male, was that a person had to be a householder or to have occupied their house or lodgings.
When did women get the universal vote?
1928.
When was the General Strike?
1926.
When was Peterloo?
1819.
When was the first Chartist petition?
1839.
When was the Liberal Party formed?
1859.
When was the Contagious diseases Act passed?
1864.
When was the Labour Party formed?
1900.
When was the WSPU formed?
1903.
What did the French Revolution act as?
It acted as inspiration to some people who wanted radical change.
Who has power in Britain at this time?
The upper classes and the aristocrats had the majority of the power.
Which groups do not have power but are starting to ask for it?
Women wanted to have power and they wanted to be equal to men. The suffrage campaign arose. They wanted the vote.
What was representation?
- Many constituencies returned more than 1 MP.
- The allocation of MP’s to different parts of the country was not updated.
- There was a very strong bias towards the South of England - other areas were underrepresented.
- MP’s were not paid.
- MP’s also had to pay their own electoral expenses.
What was the Crown at that time?
- The principle of a monarchy with limited powers.
- The glorious revolution established the supremacy of parliament over the monarch.
- The Bill of Rights forced the monarch to consult regularly with Parliament.
- The monarch retains powers but is limited in key ways .
What was the House of Commons at that time?
The House of Commons consisted entirely of men, mostly of substantial property and since 1688, entirely of Anglicans. Virtually, all members representing county seats were landed gentry.
What was the House of Lords at that time?
It was more powerful than today. Unelected, the Lords would pass their titles on to their eldest son. Frequently, Prime Ministers were selected from the House of Lords rather than the Commons.
What were Whigs?
They were more likely to question power of the monarch and defend power of Parliament. Generally more sympathetic to reform. Many landowners came from industrial backgrounds.
What were Tories?
Tories were particularly keen to defend the power of the monarch and Church of England. Protective of the church’s privileges. Resistant to change/reform. Nearly all Tories came from landowners, aristocratic backgrounds.
What were Radicals?
Radicals was the name given to supporters of Parliamentary reform in late 18th century.
What were voters like at the time?
- In 1780, there were 214,000 voters out of a total population of around eight million.
- Eligibility depended on where you lived - it almost always depended on property ownership.
- Huge inconsistencies - there was one system for rural areas but there were many different systems in towns within and across regions.
- People with lots of land or who owned land in different parts were often entitled to multiple votes.
What happened at the end of the Napoleonic war?
Britain emerged from the war victorious. Britain was firmly established as the greatest of the Great Powers, with the largest navy, the biggest share of world trade, the most developed industry and London was the financial capital of the world. However, this was tempered by relief and trepidation. The war had been by far the longest and the costliest war since the 15th century. The national debt had vastly increased. Troops were seeking employment. This had a negative impact on the economy.
What happened in terms of recession and unemployment?
30,000 troops returned from the battlefield looking for work. There were no pensions or allowances - they needed employment to survive. At the same time, many industries were laying off workers. Demand was falling in key areas such as textiles and coal, iron and engineering.
What about the national budget?
National Debt had grown to £861 million. This meant that the government would have to raise money in tax in order to pay the interest. During the war, part of these costs had been met by the introduction of income tax and Liverpool’s government had promised would only be in place for as the war continued. They introduced taxation on everyday items. This raised the price of these items and had a disproportionate impact on the poor.
What were the Corn laws?
During the war, Britain had to rely on home grown production of wheat to meet the demand for bread. When the war ended, the landowners demanded a ban on imports of foreign wheat. The result was the corn laws which imposed tariffs on foreign wheat and effectively banned imports until the price of wheat reached 80 shillings a quarter.
What does political radicalism mean?
The term political radicalism means political principles focused on altering social structures through revolutionary means.
What were the key ideas behind the French revolution?
- The early part of the revolution was motivated by political concepts such as sovereignty and constitutionalism.
- Another key revolutionary idea was the codification and legal protection of natural rights.
- Another key revolutionary idea was anti-clericalism which sought to reform the Catholic Church reducing political influence and corruption.
Who was Edmund Burke?
Edmund Burke was an Irish statesman. He aligned himself with the Whigs but the conservative faction. He was alarmed by the reaction to the French revolution. His most important work was Reflections on the Revolution in France.
What were the key ideas of the book?
- Revolutionary change is always accompanied by violence.
- Government derives its authority from custom and tradition.
- Liberty needs to be restrained in order to preserve the contract between government and the governed.
- Britain’s government is ‘stable and wise’
Who was Thomas Paine?
- In 1774, Thomas Paine sailed to Philadelphia.
- He spent 13 years in America alongside the other ‘founding fathers’.
- In 1787, he travelled to France where he witnessed the drama of the revolution. Again he supported he supported the French citizens.
- His most famous work, The Rights of Man was written as a reply to Burke and a defence of Richard Burke.
What were the key ideas of the book?
- Tradition is not always a good thing.
- The decisions of previous generations should not be able to bind those that follow.
- Government should protect all citizens equally.
- Paine argued the French revolution emerged from reason and rational thought.
- Paine advocated a range of civil rights including universal male suffrage and free education.
Who were the London Corresponding Society?
- 1792-93.
- Thomas Hardy and John Horne Tooke.
- Artisans and small tradesmen. 3,000 members at its peak. 6,000 signed a petition in 1793 saying they supported the society.
Aims:
- Democratic reform.
- Universal male suffrage.
- Annual parliaments.
Methods:
- Published pamphlets promoting their view.
- Made it clear that their methods would be peaceful.
- Passed a series of resolutions.
What were the Spa fields meetings?
- Henry Hunt.
- 10,000 people attended.
Aims:
- Show support for a petition about parliamentary reform.
- Universal male suffrage, annual general elections and secret ballots.
Methods:
- Two public meetings at Spa Fields, London.
- Peaceful.
- After the second meeting, a group of radical members of the audience marched to the tower of London.
What happened?:
- The rioters were dispersed and leaders arrested and put on trial.
- The trials exposed the role of government informers and spies at Spa fields.
- The defense was able to prove that it was a government informer who had encouraged the riot.
- The jury therefore acquitted those on trial.
What was the Pentridge rising?
- William Oliver.
- Jeremiah Brandreth.
- 300 unemployed laborers from rural villages.
Aims:
- To get workers’ rights.
- Stronger right to vote.
- To overthrow the Tory government.
Methods:
- Marching with pikes, forks and a few guns to Nottingham.
What happened?:
- Soldiers intercepted the rebels. 80 were arrested.
- Newspapers reported the agent provocateurs role in the uprising and blamed the government rather than the protesters for the affair.
- 45 men were tried for treason, 14 men were transported and three leaders, including Brandreth were hanged and beheaded in public.
What was the Peterloo massacre?
- Henry Hunt.
- Samuel Bamford.
- 50-60,000 people.
Aims:
- Universal male suffrage.
- Annual parliament.
Methods:
- Played patriotic tunes such as Rule Britannia.
- Waved banners.
What happened:
- Local magistrates panicked and the local yeomanry were sent into the crow to arrest Hunt.
- Stones were allegedly thrown and the troops reacted by hacking at the crowd with their sabres.
- Between 11-15 people were killed and over 400 were injured.
- There was a huge backlash against the government and Peterloo became a symbol of savage repression of working class people by an authoritarian government.
What was the response to the London Corresponding society?
- The government suspended habeas corpus twice in 1794. This allowed the government to a arrest potential threats without having to give them a trial..
- In 1794, 13 members of the London Corresponding Society were tried for treason - charges ranged from inciting revolutionary plans to attempts to attack the king. The jury refused to accept the evidence and acquitted all defendants.
What did the Treason act do?
1} Extend the idea of treason to include ideas that were intended to intimidate the House of Parliament even if no action was taken. This law was used to outlaw works of Thomas Paine and restrict publication of protest pamphlets.
Seditious meetings act:
- Banned public meetings of over 50 people.
- Made it illegal to rent a hall for lecturing and debating without a magistrate’s licence.
What was control of the media?
In 1797, Stamp Tax, a tax on printed media was increased to make newspapers harder to afford and prevent the less well off from buying them.
In 1798, the Newspaper Regulation Act was passed to force newspapers to register with the aim of limiting their ability to publish critical articles.
What were the gagging acts?
- Made the temporary Treason and seditious meetings act permanent and added more restrictions. Banned any society that required public meetings and limitations on public meetings.
What were the six acts?
- The Training Prevention Act: stopped civilians learning how to use weapons.
- The seizure of Arms act: Allowed magistrates the right to seize weapons.
- Seditious meetings act: Extended 1817 Act to require notice to be given to magistrates for any public meetings.
- Misdemeanours Act: This sped up the process of charging people and getting a trial.
- The Newspaper and Stamp Duties Act: This raised the stamp duty to 4d. on any publication which was at least monthly and cost less than 6d.
Use of Agent Provocateurs and Spies.
Government made use of agent provocateurs, individuals who went undercover within reformist groups to gather evidence of illegal activity. For example, Spa fields and Pentridge.
When did radical agitation begin?
It began in the early 1800s in the press.
Who was the ‘father’ of newspaper agitation?
Major John Cartwright.
What did Cartwright remain an ardent supporter of?
Parliamentary reform.
Who was William Cobbett?
He was a highly influential radical who became an MP later in 1832. He travelled around the country to learn about living and working conditions. He was a strong defender of rural ways. He was a strong critic of the government because he felt they abused their privileged position and could not justify the inequality that existed in British society.
What happened to the radical press?
The radical press grew in these years. Through this medium, radical ideas were shared, news was conveyed from one region to another.
What did Cobbett publish?
The Weekly political register in 1802. Cobbett started to embrace radical views and the weekly political register was sold for 2d and was read by thousands.
What did placemen mean?
Those who received incomes paid for by taxation for the ‘places’ they held in government.
Who were pensioners?
Those who received money when they retired from government.
Who were fund holders?
Those who lent money to the government and lived off the income they received in interest.
Who were parasites?
Other words used to describe all of the above.
What was the Hampden Club?
It was a club that was most popular in the industrial heartlands of Lancashire, Yorkshire, and the Midlands and in Central Scotland. Any man could join on payment of 1d per week.
What were the aims of this club?
- To win over ‘respectable support for reform.
- Achieve manhood suffrage.
- Abolition of the Corn Laws.
What were some of the activities they did?
- Produced pamphlets.
- Petitions.
Who was Henry Hunt?
Henry Hunt was most famous for his rousing speeches and was distinguished by his appearance in the way that he always wore a white top hat.
Who was he a hero to?
The working classes. His method was mass platform which was mass demonstrations and collections of signatures and petitions.
How did the unreformed political system work?
Crown: Royal assent for laws. Able to exert influence by using powers to appoint and dismiss ministers.
Parliament: Finance{ tax, spend}, law and order, foreign policy.
What was the House of Lords like at the time?
- Contains most government ministers.
- All Church of England bishops, leaders of the army and civil service.
- Aristocratic: i.e: wealthy landowners.
- Veto power: often side with monarch to defy the commons.
What was the House of Commons like at the time?
- 658 elected MPs.
- Independent: parties were loose groups, not united, controlled/disciplined.
- Unpaid, property qualification.
- Over 100 placemen depend on the Crown for their seats.
- Over 100 other MPs owed their seats to the influence of the aristocracy.
What were the three types of constituency?
University: 2 MPS were allocated to Cambridge university, a further 2 to Oxford university and was elected by the University of Dublin.
Counties: 188 MPs: Every county in England and Wales had 2 MPS regardless of size or population. There were 41 counties in England and 6 in Wales. A further 94 MPs were elected from Scottish and Irish counties.
Boroughs: These were towns which were, or had historically been an important port or market and had therefore been made a parliamentary borough. Most could elect 3 members of Parliament. Over 85% of Borough seats were in England and the vast majority of these were located in the South.
