Was fairer representation of the new industrial cities the main consequence of the Great Reform Act in the years 1832-52? Flashcards
What are the four consequences of the Great Reform Act 1832-52?
1) Fairer représentation of new industrial cities
2) Increased electoral size
3) Two party system and the decline of the Tories
4) Rise of the chartists and protest groups
How many boroughs disenfranchised that led to fairer representation of the new cities?
56
What size boroughs were disenfranchised?
If they had fewer than 2 000 voters
How many boroughs lost one of their MPs?
30
What was the property qualification in boroughs?
adult men who owned or rented property worth £10/year
How many new boroughs were created?
42
As the electorate grew to around 650 000, what did this mean for representation of the new cities?
Because these people became represented, key figures sought to appeal to their vote, and started issue based campaigning on affairs such as Education and Public Health.
Of the 42 new boroughs created, how many new 2 member constituencies were created for new towns such as?
22 Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham
How many seats did Scotland and Ireland receive?
Scotland Received 8 new seats and Ireland 5
Why could most middle class men not become an MP, meaning that Parliament remained an unrepresentative body?
Most middle class men could not afford to become an MP due to its full time nature and its lack of salary
What happened to the composition of parliament following 1832?
Not much, there was no immediate influx of MPs
due to the fact that it only gave franchise to men who owned land worth £10/ year, what was the change in the electorate in Leeds, showing the weakness of fairer representation of the New Cities?
5 000 out of a population of 125 000
What percentage of the male population could vote after the 1832 reform act?
about 18%
What was the property qualification in counties?
Property qualification for voting in counties reduced to men in counties to owned land worth £10/year or rented land worth £50/year.
What was the property qualification in boroughs?
men who owned or rented property worth £10/year provided they had owned it for a year and paid taxes
What suggests that the act’s intention was not to extend the franchise?
The Whigs, however, made no attempt to conceal the fact that the £10/year property qualification was there to exclude the lower classes from voting, suggesting that the new reform’s act principal intention was not to genuinely increase the electoral size but instead to bring the middle classes on side.
The whigs did not really want reform, so what was the 1832 reform act?
More an attempt to stabilise an increasingly dangerous and precarious situation than it was to increase the electorate size
What does the existence of the Chartists from 1836 suggest about the extension of the franchise?
That it cannot be considered the main factor when so many groups were arguing that it had not gone far enough
How can the “Poor Man’s Guardian” be described?
The mouthpiece of working class radicalism
What did the “Poor Man’s Guardian” say that epitomised the working class sense of betrayal?
claimed that the “millions will not stop at the shadows”
How were the Chartists born?
Born out of the ashes of the 1832 reform act
What kind of discipline started to increase after the 1832 reform act?
Party discipline and partisanship
As a result of the 1832 reform act, what did voters have to be and what id this mean for the behaviour of a party?
Voters had to be registered and this meant that members of each of the parties had to encouraged their supporters to register to vote in order to win seats, so they would stand more chance of winning the election.
As a result of the need for voters to be registered following then 1832 reform act, what tory and whigs clubs emerged to persuade people?
Tory-leaning Carlton Club and the Whig-Sponsored Reform Club
Despite the rise of the national party identity, what did campaigns tend to be run on?
Local issues rather than any national party cohesion
Of the twenty years between which two dates, the Tories and Conservatives were in power for fewer than how many years?
7
What was one of the Whig’s motives for passing the bill, other than the aversion of revolution?
One of the Whig’s motives for passing the bill in 1832 was to gain support from the middle classes.
Between which two dates were the whigs in power for 6 years?
1835-41
During the 6 years that the whigs were in power for between 1835-41, what did Peel do with the Tories?
Peel spent this time trying to reform the party and demonstrate to the electorate that they weren’t divided and stuck in the past. The fact that he had to do this implies that there was great reason to do so, suggesting that the party was truly divided.
After what did the tories become known as the Conservatives?
Tamworth Manifesto
Between which dates was Peel in charge and why did he resign?
in power between 1841 and 1846, he resigned following his 1846 repeal of the Corn Laws
Why did Peel need Whig support to pass the repeal of the Corn Laws?
Many Tory MPs, as landowners, benefitted directly from it and so Peel passed it only thanks to the support of the Whigs,
Peel only passed the 1846 repeal of the Corn Laws because of Whig support as well as outside pressure from which two things?
Anti-Corn Law league and the Irish Famine
From when was there pressure from the Anti-Corn Law league and the Irish Famine?
October 1845
Who was Peel’s main internal party political opponent?
Benjamin Disraeli
Who were Peel’s supporters?
Peelites
The division between Peelites and the rest meant that there were major divisions within the party for decades and they were unable to secure an overall majority between which two dates?
1846-74
How were the Whigs power increased by the 1832 reform act, apart from by the gratitude of the newly enfranchised?
The increased enfranchisement of Scotland, Ireland and Wales increased the Whig’s power as any elections in these areas tended to be won by the whigs.
How did the contemporary author George Elliot describe the mood following the 1832 reform act?
Hope was mighty that further reform could be made
What did the 1832 reform act do for further change?
Opens the door on new calls for change
What were many Chartists?
Those who had directly suffered the disappointment of the 1832 reform act, workers who thought they would get the vote then didn’t, and were frustrated that whilst middle class men could vote, they still couldn’t.
How was the people’s Charter drawn up?
London Working Men’s Association (LWMA), founded by William Lovett in 1836, aimed to gain representation for all men and drew up the People’s Charter in 1837 to push for more radical reform.
What were the 6 provisions on the people’s charter?
1) Universal suffrage for all over 21
2) Secret ballot
3) Abolition of property qualifications for MPs allowing everyone to stand
4) Annual parliaments to ensure MPs kept in touch with constituent’s needs
5) Payments to MPs to allow men to give up jobs and focus on helping constituents
6) Constituencies of equal size to deal with under-representation not dealt with in 1832.
Lovett’s 1836 LWMA attracted reformists such as which two people?
Henry Hetherington and Thomas Attwood
When were the three Chartist petitions?
1839, 1842 and 1848
What are the two uses of Chartist violence?
1839 Newport Risings and 1842 Plug Riots
