The Reform Acts - Impact On Democarcy Flashcards
What is a pocket Borough
A borough where wealthy lords bribe everyone . In many
constituencies voters are controlled by the wealthy Lord .
What is a rotten borough
consistencies where there are hardly any voters, sometimes only one
Why did working-class radicals want a reform before 1832
They felt all men who work deserved the vote .and wanted to change the voting system so that more is done to improve the voters in the workers. at the moments bad laws were being made which increased the suffering of the working man. They felt they were suffering again because of bad harvests and a slump in trade meaning many people were being cut out of work and starving . no one was looking after them , not the government who only looked after rich land owners .they wanted to be given to vote so that they could elected government you will pass reforms to help them live decent life
Why did middle-class industrialists want to reform
They felt that over the last 100 years Britain had been transformed. Cotton mills, I aron foundries and the factories had popped up. Britain wealth now came from industry and trade, not from farming. Yet large towns like Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool with hundreds of people did not have their own MPs . But rotten boroughs like dunwich and old Sarum had no people at all but had 2 MPs . They believed the House of Commons was full of land owners who knew nothing about the industry . They thought that they needed to elect industrialist and the manufactures is empty so that Britain’s industrial future could be planned properly. They wanted some of the prosperous middle-class to be allowed to be MPs and for rotten boroughs to have Their MPs taken away and given to more highly populated towns
How did the 1832 reform act positively affect the people of England
I the vote was given to every man occupying property worth £10 a year . As a result of this An extra 250,000 men had the vote. In 1831 only 2.7% of the population could vote. Just a year later, the amounts of voters had almost doubled, with 4.4% of the population being able to vote. In Bath over 38,000 more men voted in January 1833 than in October 1812
When was the 1832 reform act passed
4th June 1832
What did the 1832 reform act do
Introduced new voting laws , decreased the amount of rotten boroughs and created new consistencies .
What did the 1832 reform act have an affect on the rotten boroughs
56 rotten boroughs Lost their MPs; this would use the large amount of corruption in Parliament. Furthermore, 30 boroughs had their representatives in Parliament reduced from two MPs to 1 MP such as hythe and Wilton , to reduce biased opinions and create spaces for boroughs that had no MPs . 19 new boroughs were enfranchised , many of these were industrial towns such as tynemouth in Northumberland and Whitehaven in Cumberland . This allowed the middle class buisnessmen, who had recently become very powerful due to the industrial revolution in 1790 yo have their say in the running of the country
Why is The amount of voters increasing good
It’s good because more people were able to have a say on how their country was run and made Parliament there’re as there was a wider range of voters making bribery more difficult
Was the 1832 reform act is the first reform act
Yes. It showed change was possible. Consequently many reform acts followed after, shaping the political system into the great and fair political system we have today .
Why was reform needs before 1832
Nobody under 21 could vote. No women at all were allowed to vote. In counties any man who owns a property worth 40 shillings a year can vote In the booroughs the right to vote varies from place to place. In some boroughs such as Westminster nearly all the men could vote in others very few could . Voting is not secret in fact they’re just have to announce to everyone who they are voting for. The Country is divided into consistencies. There are two types of consistency: counties and boroughs . Most counties send two MPs to Parliament. Within the County is there are boroughs ( towns and village) which are allowed to elect their own MPs . Most boroughs send two MPs to parliament . Only men can become MPs and they have to own a lot of property to be allowed to stand. Most candidates belong to one of the two main parties, the Whigs and the Tories. In many constituencies there is no contest. The local landlord is so influential ( because the voters are his tenants ) that he is able to control the election and no one bothers to stand against his candidates. In constituencies where there is a contest threats and bribery are often used on voters. The candidate to get the most votes becomes an MP in the House of Commons, MPs are not paid a salary. There has to be a general election at least every seven years.
What was left wrong with the 1832 reform act
There was still 73 rotten borrowers and there was a lot of bribery still taking place. The MP John hob house spent £2000 bribing voters in Nottingham for the election that took place in 1832 and a description of The 1835 election in Wolverhampton tells us how voters who voted for sir goodricke had dead rocks, missiles and horse manure thrown at them . The government failed to introduce the secret ballot, which was only introduced 14 years later. The 1832 reform act did not reduce enough corruption in the government.
Who didn’t have a say in the running of the country after the 1832 reform act
Many people still did not have a say in how the country was run and could not vote : Such as all the working class and a lot of the middle class. The reform was very unsatisfactory to a lot of citizens. This led to the chartist movement, which began in 1838, who received over 6 million signatures on the petition asking to allow all people over the age of 21 the vote , Except for criminals and people who are mentally unstable. They also wanted to make it possible for any man to be an MP, insisting that mPs should be paid a salary and that any man should be allowed to stand as a candidate to be M P. The 1832 reform act simply did not benefit the working class and was a disappointment to them all
What major changes to the political system took place after the 1832 reform act
The next reform acts took place over 30 years later in 1867 and many great reform act followed shortly after. Such as: the 1872 ballot at an 1885 redistribution of seat act. In 1928 a major change was made allowing all people over the age of 21 the right to vote. Shouldn’t the reform act which allowed all citizens the right to vote to be known as great
What were The overall results of the 1832 reform act
I believe the 1832 reform act did not deserve to be known is great. The results of the reform act had little effect on controlling corruption in the government and failed to represent the working class and the government and give them a say in how their country was run. It was unsatisfactory and caused pro testers like the Chartists . I did not spot change as the next reform was over 30 years later. Between 1867 reform act and the 1928 representation of the people at, democratic reform grew a faster pace than any other time. The 1867 frefirm act sparked change. The 1832 reform act fixed none of the problems that were wring with the Political system
