UGH GB PRIOR TO WWI Flashcards
Tory Party
- Before, the Tory party was the only political party (monopoly)
- they were conservative, of the Landed Class, Anglican
- When a Tory left, they were called Whigs
- 1859 Tory→ Liberals
William Gladstone
- Early Tory/Conservative who became a Liberal.
- A Peelite!
Liberal Party Beliefs?
- working class
- reform! (more open)
- laissez-faire
- business focused
Benjamin Disraeli
- Early liberal who became a champion of the Conservative Party (Tory)
- Jewish!
conservative party beliefs?
- Tory→ conservative
- Church of England
- represented landed class
parliament prior to 1832
parliament had continued to only be represented in a nominal sense (existing in name only)
Population of Britain had more than doubled but representation in the House of Commons had remained the same
Representation based on place instead of population
New cities had emerged with no representation
Old communities whose population was decreasing immensely due to economic migration still enjoyed parliamentary representation disproportionate to their population
so!! Reform act of 1832 was introduced!
Reform Act of 1832
The Reform Act of 1832 enlarged the electorate by 60%
Representation was redistributed to more accurately reflect the changes wrought by the industrial revolution.
Results of Reform Act 1832
Long-established political alignments began to shift
Political battles of 1688 left GB with a two-party system, Whigs and Tories, with Tory ruling in the years leading up to the Reform Act
The Tory party was, however, sort of breaking apart due to the differences between young liberal Tories and the more traditional Tories
Peelite Tories
- Tories who are in support of Sir Roberts Peel
advocates moderate reform and free trade
The pressures of Chartism and the fight over the repeal of the Corn Laws (1839 – 1846) pushed them further from their traditional base and closer to Reformers, Whigs, Radicals, and Liberals.
corn laws
A set of protectionist tariffs on imported grain
Formation of the Liberal Party (this may be wrong i will have to double check)
June 1859
Peelite Tories agreed to work with Liberals, Radicals, and Whigs in the formation of the Liberal Party under the leadership of Lord Palmerston
Results of the National Party structure (IS THIS THE SAME THING AS THE LIBERAL PARTY??? I GUESS WE’LL NEVER KNOW)
made the spread of liberal ideals and gathering of support more efficient.
- Local Liberal party organizations, clubs, and associations spread throughout both urban and rural areas of England
this helped solidify a firmly recognizable liberal ideology.
Liberalism was supported by
it emerged as the ideology of the “new” Britain, and they were supported by:
Non-conformists, laissez faire capitalists
Small urban shopkeepers, artisans
Professionals, anti-slavery reformers, free-trader supporters
conservatives supported?
- The Established Church of England
- Landed Aristocracy and the Independence of the House of the Lords
- The Monarchy
- Squirearchy
- Paternalistic view of society
Why Benjamin Disraeli’s 1867 Reform Act happen yes?
There has been pressure for more reformation since the 1832 Reform Act:
The Chartist movement flourished between 1838 – 1848
The anti-corn law event had also signified an interest in the kind of mass politics that the new political parties were developing
There were also working-class organizations, such as Friendly Societies, moving beyond local roots to become national organizations
These experiments in the mass organization helped keep the issue of parliamentary reform close to the surface of English political life.
arguments against the 1867 reform act
“Stake in society” theory
- popular with laissez-faire capitalists
- Only those with a stake(property) in society should have a say in how it’s governed. Only those with something to lose should have a say in its governance.
“Lower classes did not have the intelligence or requisite experience to understand the complex matters of the state.”
the 1867 reform act
- It expanded the franchise from less than 1 million voters to over 2 million voters
Male householders in cities and renters who paid 10 euros could vote
- It redistributed seats in the House of Commons
- It transformed mass politics in Britain as now the voters are of a more diverse class and population
William Gladstone’s 1884 Reform Act
Extended the voting qualifications from the boroughs to the countryside
Bill was passed through the House of Commons in 1883 but failed bc of the conservative lords in the House of Lords
This time, it was accepted in return for a bill that would further the concept of single-member constituencies while giving rural constituencies more representation
The poorest of the working class and women could still not vote
Labour union/factory reform that happened in 1872 idk the name its not on my notes ha ha ha
Coalmines were required to provide safety measures (ventilators and safety lamps)
Ten Hours Act
- limited the work of women and young persons (aged 13–18) in textile mills to ten hours a day for five days in the week and eight hours on Saturday
- Extended to all workers in 1874
- By 1878, holidays and shorter working weeks were more common
what happened to trade unions by 1871?
Trade Unions were recognized as legal bodies
Could hold funds and own property and have representation at law
6 years later, Trade Unions were given the same rights as individuals before the law
health care acts
1871 — Local Government Act made government control of Public Health issues more efficient
1875 — tasked local governments with duty to Provide clean water, Police the food supply, Report cases of infectious disease
factors contributing to national union creation
Gas and dock workers organized a strike for shorter workdays
in 1888 London match girls won an end to an unfair system of fines
Organized labour had increased drastically in both numbers and respectability in trade unions of skilled workers
the Unskilled labourers were also organizing in the period at 1879 and were more willing than the skilled workers to take collective action
Economic instability, which caused people to publish reports on the condiitons of Britain’s poor
GLOw Under Everything
or!
GLUE-O
Kier Hardie
a coal miner
union organizer and first independent labour Member of Parliament
- cobbled together the Independent Labour party from union supporters and socialists and some Lib-Lab Members of Parliament
Suffragette movement!
activist woman’s organization who wanted to get the vote!!
Starts the Woman’s Social and Political Union
Organized by Emmeline Pankhurst
Emmeline Pankhurst
organizer of the Suffragette movement!
She advocates violence, hunger strikes!
Emily Davison (I feel like there’s more to her story)
she got run over by a horse and died
became a martyr
Emmeline’s bestie
Budget of 1909/war budget
legislation that included old-age pensions, right to strike, workers compensation, minimum wages.
also introduced new taxes to pay for the new social welfare programs
how did they pay for teh Budget of 1909
Liberals PM’s Hebert Asquith and David Lloyd George proposed a “PROGRESSIVE INCOME TAX”.
This lead to the Act of Parliament – 1911 which further “democratized” govt. in England.
what happened as a result of the Budget of 1909?
- The House of Lords (controlled by Conservatives-landed class) refused to pass the “Budget”
- led to a constitutional battle between those appointed and those elected.
Also led to the Parliament Act of 1911!
Parliament Act of 1911
said that the Senate could not alter $$$ bills or stall any bill for more than TWO YEARS
also included an amendment that would for the first time pay MP’s a salary.
Now House of Lords can’t stop legislation!
what happened as a result of the Parliament Act of 1911 and the Budget of 1909?
- This opened up politics to ALL classes of British society.
- Now the urban workers, rural farmers, etc. could afford to participate in a practical way in trying to shape govt. legislation
- would benefit not just the upper classes
the Penal Laws
of the 18th century
oppressed the Catholic majority
What did Ireland want?
independence!!
The act of Union (1800)
deprived the Irish of home rule, but granted them representation in both houses of the British parliament
What happened to Catholics after 1829?
Catholics were allowed to vote and hold most offices
although! they paid rents to absentee landlords and tithes to an established protestant church
Tithes
compulsory dues paid to a church
Irish Land Act — 1870
- attempted to protect tenants from eviction
- required them to be paid compensation in certain cases and providing limited loans to those who wished to purchase their land
Charles Pernell
Protestant Irish politician
united the Irish Home Rule League and the Irish Land League in the Irish Lobby
- after the 1880 general election his nationalist party held 62 seats
- By 1885 he was able to use the seats he controlled in parliament to bring down Gladstone’s second ministry
Irish Home Rule
establish an Irish Parliament in Dublin under a similar structure that had governed CANADA
Irish Home Rule failures
was defeated when members of Gladstone’s own party failed to support him.
- It failed to pass again in 1893.
split his liberal party, driving the liberal unionists away
because of this, the conservatives were able to control parliament
During his 4th and final ministry, Gladstone tried again to push Irish Home Rule but it failed
why were there disagreements in Ireland and Great Britain due to the Catholics and Protestants?
- Ireland was 90% Catholic and 10% Protestant (Ulster)
The Protestants living in the northern part of the nation were concerned that they would be a minority if they were incorporated into a larger independent nation.
when was Home Rule FINALLY given?
- Home Rule (autonomy) was given in 1914, but suspended until 1922 when Ireland was granted “Dominion” status.
the Government of Ireland Act (1920)
created two moderately self-governing units
one was the 9 protestant counties of Ulster (later becoming Northern Ireland)
The others combined with the 23 other counties became IRELAND!
Problem with Ireland, even despite all these acts and reforms?
Catholic minority in N. Ireland felt alienated and discontented with being cut off from the rest of Catholic Ireland
would breed violence!!!!
Ballot Act of 1872
- eliminated “oral” voting
- greatly reduced intimidation, bribery, corruption in elections.
Reform act of 1918
all property and resident qualifications removed from vote.
when did Universal suffrage come into existence?
1918!!
women over 30 yrs of age
1870 Forster Education Act
made public elementary education accessible to all.
multilateralism
Gladstone’s approach to foreign policy!
“when i get involved with something, I want other people to be with me”
Gladstone and colonies?
he no like
when did Ireland become part of England?
1801
Who is the first labour leader?
Ramsay McDonald
prior to public schools in England, they had private schools named?
either Sunday schools or National Schools
what was the very first piece of legislation
1832 REFORM BILL
Putney debates
back in the 1600s… who gets a stake in society? should it be based on $$, land? what should the qualifications be
military commissions
Gladstone got rid of them
“we can’t just appoint people just from the landed class!! must be based on talent!!”
forward policy
emphasis is placed on securing control of targeted territories by invasion and annexation or by the political creation of compliant buffer states
