The Great Reform Act 1832 passage and impact Flashcards
Were there formal parties before 1832?
What was there instead?
No
Groups of MPs called Whigs and Tories, which were formed based on family an friends or by a general sharing of ideas and attitudes.
Who were the Blanketeers? Give a date
What did they try to do?
They were unemployed workers from Manchester.
In 1817 they tried to march into London and present a petition to the Prince Regent demanding the reform of parliament.
Why was the Peterloo uprising significant?
It became a violent uprising and so made the 6 Acts come about which tried to end all possibilities of peaceful protests.
On 16th August 1819 around 60,000 men, women and Children gathered in St Peter’s field in Manchester to listen to Henry Hunt criticise the government and demand for parliamentary reform.
400 constables and the Yeomanry were called but they were untrained and poorly skilled so the military was called in to help the Yeomanry but it become very violent.
11 people died and many others were injured.
What happened in the 19th century which changed the class system?
Britain industrialised which created the middle class (factory owners)
Which social class had all the power in the 19th century?
Upper class, landed gentry
What was the main argument against political reform?
The upper classes didn’t want ‘uneducated men’ because they believed there was no other class capable of ruling.
What were the 3 political groups in the 19th century? How much reform to did each group want?
Tories= NO reform Whigs= Some reform Radicals= Huge reform
Give 4 examples of political unions before 1832 and give the name if the leaders
- Birmingham Political Union- Thomas Attwood
- Leeds Association- Edward Baines
- Leeds Political Union- Joshua Bowers
- Leeds Radical Political Union- Mann and Frost
What were the Newspapers attitude to reform before 1832?
By 1830 many leading London newspapers were in favour of some kind of reform. 'The Times' 'The Globe' 'The Examiner' 'Westmister Review' ALL in favour of reform
The Provincial newspapers were effective at getting local opinions on the side of reform, they also had connections with political unions.
Who led a campaign for parliamentary reform in the lat 1820s?
Lord John Russell
Which party was in parliament in the 1820s?
The Tories
Why was there a general election in 1830?
King George IV died in the summer of 1830
Who got into power after the 1830 general election?
The Duke of Wellington.
the Tory Government stayed in power.
What happened to the Tory Government in November 1830?
Wellington made a speech and declared he will always defend the current political system and is against any political reform. He was completely ignoring the political unions and press and his own party.
Most of the Tory government joined the whigs and the Tory government was defeated.
What did the new King, William IV, request after Wellingtons speech in 1830?
William IV asked the Whig Leader, Earl Grey, to become Prime Minister and form a new government.
What happened on 31st March 1831?
Lord John Russell introduced the first reform bill, attempting to shift the representation away from the landowners and towards the middle classes.
What were the proposals of the first reform bill in 1831?
- 61 boroughs were to lose both their MPs
- 47 boroughs were to lose one MP
- MPs were reduced from 658 to 596
- 46 seats were to be given to the large industrial towns of the midlands and the North
What was the proposal for the voting qualification in the 1831 reform bill?
Owning or renting a house worth more that £10 a year
Have to be a MAN
When was the Catholic Emancipation Act passed?
Who was it passed by?
What happens to the tories?
April 1829
by Wellingtons government (the Tories)
The Ultra Tories resist it and are angry when it is passed. It looses much of it support.
What happens in society in 1829?
Economic recession
How was the first reform bill received by the government?
Many debates took place and it passed through the commons with a majority of one vote, the bill moved to the committee stage, where MPs would recumbent changes.
What was Earl Grey worried about happening to the bill during the committee stage? 1831
What did Grey do to stop this from happening?
He was afraid the bills would get amendments made and completely wreck the bill.
He persuaded the King to dissolve parliament and hold a general election.
What was the result of the 1831 general election?
The Whigs won the election by 130 seats in the newly elected houses of commons and Earl Grey stayed as Prime Minister.
When was the second reform bill introduced?
July 1831
What happened to the second reform bill in the commons?
It passed through all the stages very quickly and got to its 3rd reading in the commons by 109 votes.
What happened to the Bill in the Houses of Lords?
The majority of the members of the Lords was against reform and after a 5 day debate they threw out the Reform Bill by 41 votes.
How did the country react to not rejection of the Reform Bill in 1831?
There were riots in the Bristol, Derby, Nottingham, Dorset and Devon
New political unions were formed
Protest marches
Property owned by anti- reformers war attacked
Was there a 3rd reform bill?
Yes there was, the 3rd reform bill was presented a third time to the Houses of Commons, it passed smoothly through all the necessary stages.
What did ministers want the King to do to help the reform bill pass through the Lords?
did the King help? give date
Wanted the King to create new pro-refrom peers.
No he just suggested they altered the reform Bill. 14 april 1832
What happened to the 3rd reform bill in the end?
The 3rd reform bill was defeated in the Houses of Lords in May 1832 by tories.
What happened to the whig government after the King refused to create 50 more peers?
The Whig government resigned
What was the reaction from outside Parliament?
The country erupted into riots and rallies.
The Birmingham Political Union announced that 200,000 men would march on london and stay there until the Bill became Law
What did Francis Place suggest should happen to pass the Bill?
The investors withdraw all their money from the banks creating an enormous financial crisis.
Who did the King ask first to form a government during the days of May?
Did he accept?
He asked Wellington to form an administration that would pledge to limit the prospect of reform.
Robert Peel, the tory leader, refused to serve under Wellington.
What did the King then do after Peel to serve under Wellington? What did he promise?
The King asked Grey to take over agin and promised to create as many reforming peers as grey needed to pass the bill.
After Grey accepted to become Prime Minster again what happened?
The king made new peers in the houses of Lords, making the Houses of Lords a whig majority.
How many votes passed the Reform Bill in 1832 making the Reform Bill and Act?
106 votes to 22
what date was the Reform Bill made an Act?
7th June 1832
give 5 examples of the effect the 1832 reform act had on England and Wales?
- 18% adult males entitled to vote
- corrupt boroughs disenfranchised
- seats redistributed
- men who owned freehold property worth at least £10 a year were given the vote
- the was a 49% increase in electrode
Were the elections still corrupt?
Elections were no longer contested but treating still happened and were still vital
