The Old Order Challenged:From Repression To Reform Flashcards
Situation before 1832: The government saw their job as
They were not involved in -providing education-providing health services - or deal with poverty, unemployment or housing
Situation before 1832: Crown’s influence
Crown selected ministers of state -massive influence on government policies
Situation before 1832: how many MPs owed their seat in commons to influence of aristocracy?
111
Situation before 1832: counties and boroughs
All counties regardless of size sent two MPs to commonsAll boroughs also sent two MPs
Example of rotten borough
Old Sarum had been important to Normans in 14th century. So it remained a borough. It had 11 voters and still sent two MPs to commons.
Situation before 1832: Franchise
Had to be maleIn counties- had to own freehold property worth at least £2 a yearIn boroughs - varied greatly since it depended on the customs of the borough
Situation before 1832: elections
Meant to happen every 7 yearsAlthough many didn’t bother because There was only 1 candidate to choose And in pocket boroughs the vote was controlled by wealthy landowner
Situation before 1832: how many counties/ boroughs actually had general elections
11 counties and 82 boroughs
Situation before 1832: elections 2
Candidate hosted parties and banquetsCandidate paid for everythingNo secret ballot, voting done on Hustings, also poll book was made public
Early reform movements:Spa fields
1816- textile workers hosted v. large meeting in manchester. Lead by Henry Hunt and called for parliamentary reform (nationalise land and abolish all taxes except income tax).Part of crowd rioted and many were arrestedGovernment suspends Habeaus Corpus Act.
Early reform movements: Blanketeers
1817 - unemployed weavers planned a march from Manchester to London to present a petition that called for parliamentary reform and for restoration of Habeaus corpus act.Failed, marchers were arrested and thrown into prison without trial.
Early reform movements:Peterloo
1819- many people gathered n Manchester to hear Henry Hunt speak about reform. Midway through his speech police decided it was kicking off and tried to arrest all the speakers. Resulted in a riot. Police had to call help of military. 11 dead and hundreds injured.
Early reform movements: Six Acts
Not a reform movement. But after Peterloo government were sick of people hosting mass meetings about reform. They made many laws which made legal peaceful protest pretty much impossible. Such as stamp duty and meeting for the purpose of a presentation were limited to inhabitants of the parish where it was hosted.
What also happened in 1830? (think Europe)What affect did this have?
French Revolution began. This heightened political interest and made politicians very nervous that something similar was going to happen in the UK.
Birmingham Political Union (BPU)
Founded in 1829 by Thomas Attwood. Caused lots of other political unions to start popping up all over the country.
What did the political unions do with the public opinion on reform?
They helped create it, focus it and keep it going. Not all unions wanted the same kind of reform. But they showed how the opinion could be expressed without breaking the law.
Why was there a general election in 1830?
There was a general election in 1830 because King George IV ( the monarch) had died.
General attitude to reform in 1830People, press and unions
People - many in union. However most wanted some kind of reform. Unions - nearly all wanted some kind of reformPress - most of the leading papers were in favour. They also helped report on MPs and parliamentary debates.
Attitudes of Whigs and Tories to reform in 1830?
Both wanted to preserve power and status of landowning classes. Both wanted to prevent revolution. Whigs recognised the best means of retaining these was to enact a substantial amount of reform. The Tories had not.
1830 election
Tories won. Duke of Wellington in power.
Catholic Emancipation: situation
Catholics couldn’t voteCatholics could not become MPs
Catholic Emancipation: David O’Connell
Started Catholic association in 1823 (was banned by parliament in 1825) Stood for a bi election (Clare County) in 1828 and won.Began to push for Catholic Emancipation
Catholic Emancipation: Wellington and Peel considering
For: Ireland might start a civil war if we don’t give catholics the vote(we couldn’t defend a civil war)Against: if we give them the chance to become MPs. Some of them will and they will push for Irish independence.
Catholic Emancipation: The bill
Catholic emancipation bill introduced into parliament in march 1829. Got through commons in 1 month.Was more difficult to get through lords (only made it by two votes).
Catholic Emancipation: the bill and king George’s role
The monarch has to give his assent before the bill can be passed. King George delayed his assent and so the cabinet resigned. This meant that for a day the UK was without government.This forced the King to give in and recall wellington.
Catholic Emancipation results for tory party
It caused a big split. Liberal tories were already opposed to wellington over reform and the ultra Tories felt betrayed by their leader. The liberals began to support moves for reform to parliament.
Wellington’s speech. 2nd November 1830
Defended the Parliamentary system (went against what all the political unions, press and majority of people were saying)
What had the Duke of Wellington hoped to accomplish with his speech on 2nd November 1830
He had hoped to rally his supporters (who were against reform)
What actually happened after Wellington’s speech?
Drove commons into state of panic. The Tories who were nervous but still supported Wellington joined the Whigs. Tories now outnumbered in commons.
What happened a few weeks after Wellington’s speech?
The Tory government was defeated in a minor financial matter. Duke of Wellington’s government was now defeated.
What did King William do in response to Wellington’s defeat?
He appointed Earl Grey, Whig leader, to form a new government. Ironically this government had more aristocrats than the Tory one.
First reform Bill: when was it proposed?
31st of March 1831 by Lord John Russell
First reform Bill: what was proposed?
Essentially the proposals were an attempt to shift the balance of power from the landowners towards the middle classes. 61 boroughs to lose their MPs. 46 seats given to industrial towns in the northOnly one voting qualification owning or renting a house worth at least £10 a year. (and of course, being a man)
First reform Bill: how was it met outside the commons?
Proposals met with great enthusiasm.Henry Hetherington (editor of poor mans guardian) urged people to oppose the proposals, he saw that the voting qualification actually didn’t give many working men the privilege to vote. However working class leaders such as John Doherty believed it was the first step to electoral reform.
First reform Bill: what happened inside the commons?
It was passed by 1 vote, essentially not a majority. This made Earl Grey uneasy.
First reform Bill: what did this result in the commons mean?
It meant that amendments would be made in the lords, these amendments would wreck the bill and destroy its purpose(make it uneffective)
What did Earl Greg do in response to this?
He persuaded King William to hold a general election.So that he could get a bigger majority in the commons.
1831 general election: result
Whigs won, they got a majority of 130 seats.
Second Reform Bill: when was it proposed?
July 1831
Second Reform Bill: what happened in the commons?
It was passed without any difficulty due to the large Whig majority
Second Reform Bill: what happened in the lords?
After 5 days of debating they voted against it by 41 votes.
Second Reform Bill: what was the result of it being discarded by lords? (5)
-riots in Bristol, Nottingham and Derby - Duke of Wellington’s house was vandalised (windows broken)- Political unions across the country gained strength (more people joined)- Church of England was attacked in the press- there were lots of protest marches across the country
Third Reform Bill: when was it proposed?
December 1831
Third Reform Bill: what happened in the commons?
It was passed through the commons very easily
Third Reform Bill: what happened in the lords?
The lords didn’t want to reject it because what happened last timeSo they started to employ delaying tactics.
Third Reform Bill: what was the solution to the lord’s tactics?
The solution which Grey proposed to the king, and which was rejected, was to create new peers in the house of lords who were in favor of reform.
Third Reform Bill: what happened when the king rejected Grey’s proposal?
Earl Grey’s Whig government resigned in April 1832
Third Reform Bill: what was the kings response to Grey’s resignation? And what happened?
King William asked the Duke of Wellington to form a new government.Peel refused to serve under WellingtonIt was impossible for Wellington to make a new government without peel.So Wellington could not create one.
Third Reform Bill: What did the King do after Wellington refused?
-The King gave in and asked Grey to make a new gov (he had never accepted Grey’s resignation in the first place)-He also promised Grey that he would appoint as many peers as needed to pass the Reform Bill
Third Reform Bill: what did the lords do when the king said this? Why?
The threat alone was enough, the lords gave in and passed the bill.- there was a Tory majority in the Lords.- if the king appointed new peers, there would be a Whig majority in the lords- unlike the commons, peers in the House of Lords are not elected in/out, once they are appointed they stay in the lords - Tories wanted to keep this majority (so they gave in instead of losing their majority They passed the bill 106 votes to 22
Third Reform Bill: when was it passed?
Signed by the King 7 June 1832
Causes of the 1832 Reform Act (10)
-Downturn in Economy-Emergence of Political Unions -Radical Press -Government’s fear of revolution-Death of king George IV-Sudden weakening of anti reform majority between 1827 and 1831-Wellington’s hardline stance on reform-Passing of Catholic Emancipation Act 1829-Whigs becoming more united -Earl Grey and Lord John Russell’s decisions
Causes of the 1832 Reform Act: Downturn in economy
Years 1829/1830 were bad harvests, there was a rise in unemployment and failure of businesses. People blamed the government.
Causes of the 1832 Reform Act: Emergence of Political Unions
They drew public’s attention to reform, helped direct it and helped to keep it going. They made public aware of reform and as a result they were more interested in it and campaigned harder for it.
Causes of the 1832 Reform Act: Radical Press
Spread word of radicals and influenced public opinion
Causes of the 1832 Reform Act: Governments fear of revolution
After what had happened in France, the government were scared that the same thing was going to happen to After rejection of second bill, there were riots in Derby, Nottingham and Bristol So they pushed harder for a reform bill that would calm the public down.
Causes of the 1832 Reform Act: Death of King George IV
His successor, William IV, was arguably more open to reform than George and this is one of the reasons why the bill was able to get through.
Causes of the 1832 Reform Act: sudden weakening of anti-reform majority between 1827 and 1831
The tory party stopped being so anti reform since they were divided on so many issues after the split of the catholic emancipation.
Causes of the 1832 Reform Act: Wellington’s hardline stance on reform
Divided Tory party even more since many thought he was either too liberal or too hardcore
Causes of the 1832 Reform Act: Passing of the Catholic Emacipation
Dived Tory party.Right Wing Ultras swung round and actually started to support reform.
Causes of the 1832 Reform Act: Whigs became more united
The divided tories meant that support by a united Whigs party was more likely pass the bill. They were not unanimous on the terms but it helped get the bill through
Causes of the 1832 Reform Act: Earl Grey and Lord John Russel’s decisions
They had to secure a majority and get the king to agree for the bill to become an Act. William would not appoint new peers however the following month he accepted, this was largely down to Grey.
