To what extent does the emergence of an industrial middle class explain the increasing demand for parliamentary reform in the years 1785-1832? Flashcards
What four factors need to be discussed?
1) Emergence of an industrial middle class
2) Corrupt old system
3) External factors
4) Unrest/protest
Who were the new middle class?
Educated, self made factory owners who had reaped huge economic benefits from the industrial revolution and employed many thousands of workers
With whom had the industrial middle class previously sided with to maintain their prosperity?
The establishment
Name two notable industrialists
Richard Arkwright and Samuel Crompton
Instead of siding with the establishment, what did the new middle class’s wide business interest mean?
they demanded a more laissez faire approach to economics
What did the fact that they employed so many mean for their desire for representation?
They wanted political influence equivalent to their economic influence
What did the 1815 corn laws do?
mean theta foreign grain could not be imported until the price of a bushel of wheat reached 10 shillings
Was the 1815 corn laws designed to do?
protect the domestic markets in the economic slump following the 1815 war
How did the middle classes see the 1815 corn law?
saw it as the government looking after their own, prioritising the interests of landowners
What Wass the implication of the corn laws for the middle classes?
It forced up the price of bread, so the middle classes had to pay workers more in order to sustain a healthy workforce
What did the middle class accuse the government of?
Aristocratic nepotism
The aristocratic nepotism of the government, which prevented the middle classes getting involved, was - to them - an abject waste of what?
talent
By 1831 what was lancashire’s population and how many MPs did it have?
By 1831 Lancashire had a population of 1.3 million and had 14 MPs
By 1831 what was Cornwall’s population and how many MPs did it have?
Cornwall had a population of 300 000 but 42 MPs.
How many boroughs had fewer than 40 voters
> 50
How many MPs represented a borough, even if only one person voted in it?
2
What was interesting about old sarum?
had a single landowner and no inhabitants, but still returned 2 MPs to parliament
How did Rotten Boroughs come about?
They were towns that had been important in the 17th century, but had since been depopulated
Why did New towns such as Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield did not return any MPs?
They did not exist in the 17th century
Name two types of borough to indicate the discrepancies between voting qualifications in boroughs
1) pot walloper
2) Scot and Lot Borough
Give an example of a pot walloper borough
Taunton
What happened in a pot walloper borough?
A man would be qualified to vote if he had a fireplace big enough to boil a pot in
What happened in a Scot and Lot borough?
all men who paid taxes such as the poor rate could vote
Give an example of a Scot and Lot borough
Preston
What proportion of elections were uncontested?
2/3
How long could a general election take?
up to 2 months- the result not being known until the end of it
What existed in place of a secret ballot?
Hustings
What was common in the hustings?
Open bribery
What was Treating?
When candidates would pay their supproter’s food and drink and accommodation throughout the election
What were lambs?
‘Lambs’ were groups of armed thugs who intimidated rival supporters
What was cooping?
kidnapping rival supporters until the end of the election
In 1831 what proportion of the male population had the right to vote?
5%
When did Thomas Hardy open his London corresponding society?
1792
How much did Hardy’s LCS cost a week to join?
1 penny
How many people came to Thomas Hardy’s 1795 demonstration on copenhagen fields?
Over 100 000
What was significant about the low cost of Hardy’s LCS?
Accessible ways of displaying demand were rising for the working class.
Why would the government be concerned about organisations such as Hardy’s LCS?
They were a union between working and middle class that proved dangerous in the french revolution
Why would the government’s concern about organisations such as Hardy’s LCS translate into giving the middle class the vote?
They wanted the middle class on their side not the side of the worker
What did Paine’s rights of man do?
questioned monarch, nobility and Church and called for a fundamental reassessment of the British Political system.
By 1793, how many copies of Paine’s rights of man had been sold?
200 000
What does the 200 000 copies of Paine’s rights of man show?
That there was both support for reform form the literate, and an underlying threat of radicalism
What shows how concerned the British government were about Paine’s rights of man?
he was charged with treason in 1792 and fled to France
What kind of press emerged after 1815?
Radical and cheap press
Give three examples of newspapers that were radical and cheap
1) Cobbett’s political register
2) William Sherwin’s “Weekly Political Register”
3) Edward Baines’ “Leeds Mercury”
How much did Cobbett’s Political Register cost in November 1816?
2d
What suggests that the government viewed the press to be dangerous, and suggests that in the late 1810s, they were an effective means of co-ordinating people into demanding the vote?
The 6 acts imposed a 4d tax on all newspapers
by 1821 what percentage of Britons were under 15?
48%
Who spoke at the Spa Fields riots?
henry hunt
Who spoke at the peterloo massacre?
henry hunt
When was peterloo?
August 1819
How many gathered to hear Hunt speak August 1819?
60 000
What was the intention of the Peterloo massacre?
To promote a violent response from the government
When did a crowd attack the Prince Regent’s carriage?
1817
How many killed at Peterloo?
11
How many wounded at Peterloo?
400-600
What was cato street?
A plot to kill Lord Liverpool’s government
When was Cato street?
February 1820
What did Cato street precipitate?
A flurry of short term revolutionary activity such as in huddersfield and glasgow where weavers attempted to take over the town
When were the 6 acts passed?
1817
What would the 6 acts passage indicate?
indicate that the government perceived revolutionary activities to be a tangible threat to government
When was the combination act repealed?
1824
What did the repeal of the combination act do?
Gave rise to much union activity
Give an example of a unionist newspaper that attacked capitalism and the establishment
Hodgskin’s Trades Newspaper
How did Unionism create pressure for electoral reform/
This provided a structure to the workforce that would have worried the government substantially.
Give an example of a political union?
Birmingham Political Union
When was the BPU established?
1830
How many did the BPU attract over the course of the days of may?
200 000
What did the BPU create?
A union between upper and lower classes
What did the Napoleonic wars allow the government to do?
successfully link domestic radicalism to the revolution in France
What did the end of the Napoleonic precipitate?
return of radical activity, the driving force for parliamentary reform.
How could the 1815 corn laws be described?
A protectionist legacy from the Napoleonic wars
Following the Napoleonic wars and the war with the US in 1812, what did national debt increase from and go to?
increased from £238 million to £902 million
When was income tax repealed?
1816
How was the gap in tax caused by the 1816 income tax repeal filled?
indirect taxes were raised on items such as beer and sugar which fuelled hunger politics
Following the end of the Napoleonic wars and the war with the US in 1812, how many soldier returned home?
400 000
Following the end of the Napoleonic wars and the war with the US in 1812, how many iron workers lost their jobs in shropshire?
7 000
Average earnings were lower 1815-19 than they were when?
1780s
What did low wages do?
Increase the sources of working class discontent that lead to radical action
What did the threat of revolution do within parliament?
Increased the support for reform from within parliament
