Universal suffrage Flashcards
Topic sentence
One major feature of democracy is universal suffrage, meaning the vote is given to all.
Background
In 1851 only 1 in 5 men could vote, meaning that there was a lack of universal suffrage.
Evidence 1
The 2nd Reform Act 1867 which was known as a “leap in the dark” gave the vote to male adult householders living in boroughs.
Analysis 1
This led to Britain becoming more democratic because it increased the electorate, for example the number of people who could vote in Glasgow increased to 47 000.
Evidence 2
A further reform that moved Britain towards universal suffrage was the Representation of the People’s Act 1918 which gave all men over the age of 21 the right to vote. Additionally women over 30 who were householders, paid rent of £5 or uni graduates the right to vote.
Analysis 2
This improved the level of democracy in Britain as all men over 21 had the vote and also some women were enfranchised, which led to this reform increasing the electorate to 21 million.
Counter analysis 1 (1867)
However, it could be argued that some men still didn’t have the vote as the right to vote still depended on value of property you owned or rented therefore working class men were still excluded from this Act.
Evidence 3
Additionally, the 1884 Third Reform Act increased the electorate to 5 million and in England and Wales 2 out of 3 men could now vote.
Analysis 3
This increased democracy in Britain as it meant that more people had a say in how the country was run.
Evaluation
To evaluate it appears that the issue of universal suffrage was successfully improved by 1918 as universal manhood suffrage had been reached. However Britain wasn’t fully democratised until 1928 Representation of the People’s Act was passed by the Baldwin Conservative Party which gave suffrage to women on equal terms as men.
