The Political System

Question 1

What is protected trade?

Answer 1

Protected trade is when a government imposes a tax on imported goods to support home production.

Question 2

What is free trade?

Answer 2

The economic policy that promotes a free exchange of goods between nations.

Question 3

Who was Sir Robert Peel?

Answer 3

A conservative minister who introduced free trade

Question 4

What did the Corn laws do?

Answer 4

The Corn laws protected landowners and farmers from competition from cheap foreign corn coming into Britain.

Question 5

What was a disadvantage of the Corn laws?

Answer 5

In 1845 , potato blight caused a famine in Ireland. Peel felt morally obliged to repeal the corn laws to alleviate Irish suffering. However he faced major opposition from his party and Peel resigned in December 1845. This caused the Conservative party to split into two. Those who left the party and joined him were called peelites.

Question 6

What is a representative government?

Answer 6

A democratic form of government which politicians are chosen in a free election to represent a particular group of people.

Question 7

Franchise

Answer 7

The right to vote which was generally based on a property qualification.

Question 8

What is a constitutional monarchy?

Answer 8

When the monarch is head of state but leaves the decision of making and passing laws to Parliament and could not impose his or her will.

Question 9

Define constitution

Answer 9

The basic principles and laws of a nation

Question 10

When was the Parliamentary reform act and what did it entail?

Answer 10

1832 and it meant that the franchise was extended to middle class men.

Question 11

What House of Parliament had more dominance and why?

Answer 11

The House of Commons has more dominance over the House of Lords because the prime minister was the leader of the party which held the most seats in the House of Commons.

Question 12

What is a constituency?

Answer 12

A district represented by a member of Parliament

Question 13

What divided groups of people into class?

Answer 13

Their status and economic influence

Question 14

Who made up the upper class?

Answer 14

Aristocracy and landowning gentry

Question 15

Who made up the middle class?

Answer 15

Merchants, manufacturers, professionals, service providers, shopkeepers etc

Question 16

Who made up the working class?

Answer 16

Those who laboured their hands to make a living eg factory operatives, miners

Question 17

What was the population size of these three classes?

Answer 17

Upper= 1.2%
Middle= 20.1 %
Working= 79.1%

Question 18

What type of property did the upper and middle classes own and how was this an advantage?

Answer 18

Land. This maintained their economic superiority and allowed the perpetuation of a land based political system which they were able to control.

Question 19

What are land politics?

Answer 19

Land politics determine who controls what land for how long and for what purposes.

Question 20

What was the population of the middle class in the 1850’s ?

Answer 20

Between a fifth and a quarter of the population

Question 21

What are the characteristics of the middle class?

Answer 21

• An annual income of £100 was the cut off between middle and working class.
• They laboured with their minds rather than their hands.
• Those who could afford the keep a domestic servant?

Question 22

What was the population of the working classes?

Answer 22

Four fifths of the population

Question 23

Define homogeneity

Answer 23

A comparability or a uniformity

Question 24

Why do historians refer to the working class as the working classes?

Answer 24

Because there was a lack of homogeneity

Question 25

What are the characteristics of the working classes?

Answer 25

This who labour with their hands.

Question 26

What is the difference between the working class and the poor?

Answer 26

The working class worked regularly and were able to maintain themselves however the poor had no work or occasional work and couldn’t keep themselves or their families.