The Whig and Peel Ministries 1830-46 Flashcards
when was the Great Reform Act passed?
1832
evidence of the pre-reformed system being unrepresentative in the county seats
Lancashire (pop. 1,337,000) and Rutland (pop. 19,000) both sent 2 county MPs to Westminster
who qualified to vote in county seats in the pre-reformed system?
since 1430 men who owned freehold land or property valued at at least forty shillings (£2) had the right to vote
what impact had inflation had on the qualification to vote pre-reform?
made it much easier to achieve (men who owned as little as a cabbage patch qualified)
when were the 203 parliamentary boroughs (pre-reform) created?
13th and 14th centuries (most had subsequently declined)
what were the three types of boroughs?
1) county towns (e.g. London and Bristol)
2) smaller towns with populations of 5,000 to 10,000 (e.g. Bedford and Stafford)
2) rotten boroughs
examples of rotten boroughs pre-reform act
1) Dunwich had only 44 houses remaining by 1831 and 32 electors for its 2 MPs
2) Old Sarum had only 11 electors who had last been called up to vote in 1715
evidence for the strong southern bias pre-reform
a. At the beginning of the 19th century Cornwall (pop. 192,000) sent 44 members to parliament and Lancashire (pop. 1,337,000) sent 14
what were the 5 voting systems in boroughs pre-reform?
1) ‘scot and lot’ boroughs
2) ‘potwalloper boroughs’
3) ‘burage boroughs’
4) ‘corporation boroughs’
5) ‘freemen boroughs’
who had the right to vote in ‘scot and lot’ boroughs?
any adult male
who had the right to vote in ‘potwalloper boroughs’?
every resident male of at least 6 months standing who was not a pauper
who had the right to vote in ‘burage boroughs’?
voting rights were inherited
who had the right to vote in ‘corporation boroughs’?
member of the local corporation
who had the right to vote in ‘freemen boroughs’?
those qualified in various ways to be considered freemen
what could be send to defend the old parliamentary system pre-reform?
1) analysis of 32 borough constituencies found that 14% of electors were gentlemen vs. 60% of electors who were craftsmen or retailers
2) By the beginning of the 19th century only 180 MPs were directly nominated by a borough patron
what had population growth and industrialisation done in the pre-reformed system?
made the unrepresentativeness of the system glaringly obvious as populations had been concentrated in industrial centres in the North
why was the GRA able to be passed?
reform movement previously blocked by the anti-reform coalition but had collapsed in 1827
what were the Whig aims in passing the GRA?
1) placate revolutionary sentiment
2) garner support of the middle classes
3) preserve aristocratic government
what did Grey say the principle of his reform was?
“the principle of my reform is to prevent the necessity for revolution”
what was the nickname of Lord Russel (one of the four who drew up the 1st reform bill)?
‘finality Jack’
what did Russel say the GRA would be?
‘final solution to a great constitutional question’
what were the instructions given to the Cabinet Committee for drawing up the first reform proposals?
“a measure…large enough to satisfy public opinion and yet to afford sure ground of resistance to further innovation”
what did Grey say of the middle classes?
“the real and effective mass of public opinion…without whom the power of the gentry is nothing”
what did Lord Brougham say of the middle classes?
“the wealth and intelligence of the country, the glory of the British name”
what did Grey say about his stance on reform in 1831?
“there is no one more dedicated against annual parliaments, universal suffrage, and the ballot than I am”
what did Grey say on the impact of the GRA on aristocracy in 1831?
“I am indeed convinced that the more the Bill is considered the less it will be found to prejudice the real interests of the aristocracy”
what was the Chandos Clause of the GRA?
£50 tenants-at-will clause that gave tenants staying in property valued at £50 or more the right to vote
what did the Chandos Clause do?
a. Strengthened power of landed classes as landlords could force tenants to vote in accordance with them or be evicted as not secret ballot
what did the GRA do psychologically?
Broke psychological barrier to reform by establishing a precedent that the constitution could, and should, be amended at periodic intervals
what did John Bright say of the GRA and what did he imply?
‘not a good bill…[though] a great bill when it passed’ (suggest that the fact that the bill got through parliament is more significant than its actual contents)
what did Gladstone say the GRA did?
brought the middle class into the ‘privileged pale of the constitution’
how did the GRA preserve aristocratic governance?
1) left the same social groups at Westminster (no salary for MPs meant people from working class background could not afford to enter parliament)
2) Chandos Clause supported landed dominance
when was the first working class MP elected to parliament and how?
1874 through the backing of trade unions as still no salary
evidence for the GRA transforming politics into a more professional game
1) Debate polarised opinion and hence meant there were less MPs not taking a stance
2) Voters increasingly loyal to one party (1832-1865: 30% decrease in votes split between parties)
evidence against the GRA making politics more professional
MPs continued to act fairly independently (1835-41 over 70% of Whig, Liberal, and Radical MPs voted against Melbourne’s gov. in up to 10% of divisions)
what was the electorate in
a) 1832
b) 1833
a) 440,000
b) 653,000
how much did the GRA increase the electorate by?
nearly 50%
how much did Scotland’s electorate increase by as a result of the GRA?
from 4,500 to 63,000
how many adult males were enfranchised after the GRA?
18%
what happened to the electorate of Lancaster after the GRA?
decreased by 72%
how many boroughs were reduced to returning 1 MP due to the GRA?
30
how many boroughs lost the right to return 2 MPs due to the GRA?
56 (e.g. Old Sarum)
how many new boroughs were added due to the GRA?
63
evidence for the GRA decreasing the influence of the monarch
A PM candidate backed by the monarch lost an election for the first time (Peel in 1835)
how many rotten boroughs were there after the GRA?
70
what percentage of constituencies were contested
a) before the GRA
b) after the GRA
a) 40%
b) 60%
what did the Registration Act mean?
voters had to register to vote, encouraging the organisation of parties at a grassroots level
what impact did the Registration Act have?
laid the groundwork for Peel’s 1841 election majority as Tories were better at exploiting the clause
when was the ‘May Days’ crisis?
1832
what did mobs chant during the ‘May Days’ crisis?
‘the bill, the whole bill, and nothing but the bill’
when was slavery abolished throughout the British Empire?
1833
when was the salve trade abolished?
1807
how much were slave owners compensated by after the abolishment of the salve trade in 1833?
£20 million
what provision did the abolishment of slavery have for current slaves?
Delayed full emancipation of slaves until a period (up to seven years) of apprenticeship in limited freedom has been served
when did the Whigs implement a factory act?
1833
what were the terms of the 1833 factory act?
1) No child under the age of nine could be employed in a factory
2) Those children between the ages of 9 and 13 were restricted to an eight-hour day, two of which had to be given to education
3) Older children were restricted to a 12 hour day
4) 4 permanent inspectors were appointed to oversee implementation
what have some criticised the factory act of 1833 as?
A cosmetic exercise that merely tinkered with the worst excesses of the factory system
what were the limitations of the 1833 factory act?
1) not sufficient number of commissioners to ensure regulations were maintained (only 1 commissioner in the North)
2) exclusively affected the textile industry
3) parents could lie about the age of their children
when was the Poor Law Amendment Act implemented?
1834
what were the proposals of the PLAA?
1) Outdoor relief would no longer be provided for able-bodies poor
2) Expansion in the workhouse system for those unable to help themselves
3) Parishes to be grouped into Poor Law Unions to create larger units, allowing each of the individual categories of poor to be given their own individual workhouse
4) Poor Law Department established to regulate central control (3 paid commissioners would regulate local provision and local paid officials would help administer locally)
