What was the most significant cause of the 1832 reform act Flashcards
What four factors need to be discussed?
- Unreformed political system
- Growth and demands of middle classes
- Economic unrest and riots
- Actions of tories and whigs
How many boroughs had fewer than 40 voters?
50
How many MPs per borough?
2
What was Lancashire’s population?
1.3 million
How many MPs did Lancashire have?
14 MPs
What was Cornwall’s population?
300 000
How many MPs did Cornwall have?
42
What would be the judgement for the unreformed political system?
It could be considered the this fairly archaic system was the most important cause, as there was gross misrepresentation as well as distinct geographical misrepresentation. However Britain currently had the largest empire and the biggest economy in the world, achieved under this system, benefitting those in power most, suggesting that this may not be as significant as unrest and middle classes.
What were increased to reduce the national debt but lead to economic unrest?
Taxes
When did Napoleon blockade the UK?
1806
When were the corn laws introduced?
1815
What did the 1815 Corn Laws do?
wheat could not be imported until the prices reached 10s/ bushel. This forced prices up.
What is the impact of the Corn Laws?
As wheat was used for beer, used instead of water, this caused an increased degree of political awareness in the working masses, as the price of their food and drink was rising, leading to unrest which helped to cause the 1832 reform act. It seemed that the government were looking after their own kind, the people who owned the land from which the corn was grown and sold.
When was Habeas Corpus suspended?
1817
When were the Spa Field Riots?
1817
What happened at the 1817 Spa Field Riots?
A crowd attacked the Prince Regent’s coach in the Spa Field Riots at the opening of Parliament.
When was Peterloo?
1819
How many killed in Peterloo 1819?
11
Who was speaking at Peterloo?
Henry Hunt, a wealthy landowner but prominent reformist
How many wounded at Peterloo?
400-600 wounded
When were the swing riots?
1830
Where did the swing riots break out?
Kent
How many counties did the swing riots spread to?
20
Who were in the London Corresponding society
skilled artisans and tradesmen in addition to booksellers, printers and authors
When was the London Corresponding society founded?
1792
Who founded the London Corresponding Society?
Thomas Hardy
How much didi the London Corresponding Society cost a week to join?
1 penny
What did many of the commercial middle classes hate?
The aristocratic nepotism of the government
Why did the middle classes believe that they should be allowed to vote?
They had generated immense wealth for the country and paid significant taxes.
When was the BPU set up?
1830
Who set up the Birmingham Political Union in 1830?
Thomas Attwood
What was the BPU?
A political union between the lower AND middler classes
How many people would the BPU attract at rallies?
100 000
How many people did the BPU attract at rallies during the ‘days of may’?
200 000
What about Lord Liverpool’s administration caused resentment from the workers?
self-interested individualist economic politics and their heavy handed approach to workers’ protests
Who resigned in 1827 after 15 years of stable government?
Lord Liverpool
Who replaced Lord Liverpool in 1828?
Duke of Wellington
Who split the tory Party?
Duke of Wellington
Which king invited Earl Grey to form a new government in November 1830?
William IV
Who did Earl Grey want to give the franchise to?
“Men of Property”
Who did Earl Grey win support form?
Both the Canningites and the ultras
In the old system, how many had the rights to vote?
366 000
What was a rotten borough?
Ancient constituencies that had become so depopulated since the royal charter where MPs were elected by a very small number of people. Old Sarum in Wiltshire had just one landowner and no inhabitants, but returned 2 MPs.
What was a pocket borough?
Wealthy land owners owned all the land and buildings which provided the occupiers with the right to vote. The landowners then nominated candidates and bribed or pressurised voters into voting for their favoured candidate.
What was a scot and lot borough?
All men could vote if they paid local taxes such as the poor rate, such as Preston in Lancashire.
What was a potwalloper borough?
Men qualified to vote if they occupied a house which had a fireplace large enough to boil a pot in, such as Taunton in Somerset.
What was a corporation borough?
only members of the local town council (‘the corporation’) could vote.
What percentage of cooperation boroughs had fewer than 50 voters?
More than 90%
What percentage of elections were uncontested?
two thirds
What was there instead of a secret ballot?
Hustings
What was treating?
‘Treating’ was where candidates would pay for their supporters’ food, drink and lodgings during the election.
What was cooping?
‘Lambs’ were groups of armed thugs who intimidated voters
What were lambs?
‘Cooping’ was kidnapping rivals’ supporters until the end of the election.
What are the two categories of unrest that need to be talked about?
Unrest due to the passage of the bills
Unrest due to other political concerns, economic problems and riots
What are the two bits of unrest due to the failure of bills?
Riots following the second bill’s failure and the days of may
When was the second reform bill’s failure?
july 1831
How did the second reform bill fail?
Rejected by the Tory Dominated Lords after having passed in commons due to the April 1831 election which gave a majority of 130 to Earl Grey.
The second reform bill passed by how many in commons and failed by how many in the lords?
Passed by 136 votes in commons and lost by 46 votes in the Lords
What castle was burned as a response to the lords’ failure of the first reform bill?
Nottingham Castle, home of Ultra tory, the Duke of Newcastle
As a result of the failure of the second reform bill in July 1831, what city was controlled by rioters for three days?
Bristol
When troops were sent in to control Bristol after it was controlled by rioters for three days following the failure of the July 1831 second reform bill, how many were killed and how many were injured?
12 rioters were killed and over 100 were injured
When was the third reform bill?
December 1831
How did the third reform bill pass commons?
The whig majority of 162
How did the third reform bill fail at the lords?
9 lords stopped it from passing
How did Early grey seek to break the impasse of the failure of the third reform bill?
Earl Grey asked William IV to create 50 Whig peers in the Lords
What happened when Earl Grey asked William IV to create 50 Whig peers in the Lords to break the impasse of the third reform bill?
William IV refused, Early Grey resigned in May 1832.
What triggered the days of may?
Wellignton was asked to form a new government following Early grey’s may 1832 resignation
What led to the return of Grey as PM?
Wellington was unable to get commons support
When Grey returned as PM, what did the kings agree to do?
Create new peers
What about the agreement from the King to create more peers shows the power of popular protest?
It wasn’t necessary, the lords were already scared into passing the bill
Complete the sentence: the days of may shows….
…the power of radical action over even the most conservative institutions
What was the plan to create a banking crisis as a part of the days of may?
Francis Place’s plan for middle classes to withdraw money simultaneously from banks
What was Francis Place’s quote for the days of may banking crash?
“to stop the Duke go for gold”
How many did the BPU attract at its days of May rally?
200 000
As a result of the Napoleonic wars, what did national debt increase from and to?
£238m to £902m
When did Napoleon blockade the UK?
1906
When was Habeus Corpus suspended?
1817
When were the two Spa Fields riots?
15 November and 2 December 1816
How many at the first spa field riot?
10 000
How many at the second spa field riot?
20 000
What group organised the Spa Fields riots?
Spencean
What was the third of the Spa Fields riots and when was it?
1817 a crowd attacked the Prince Regent’s coach in the Spa Field Riots at the opening of Parliament.
How many at Peterloo?
60 000
What happened as a result of Peterloo?
6 acts were passed
When were the 6 acts passed?
December 1819
Give an example of one of the 6 acts
Seditious Meetings Prevention Act
What does the Seditious Meetings Prevention Act, as well as others in the 6 acts, suggest?
That the radicalism was effective because government felt threatened
As a part of the swing riots, between February and March 1830, how many petitions were sent to Parliament demanding new tax reductions in rural areas?
200
What 5 things did the swing riots involve?
1) machine breaking
2) Assaults on landlords
3) Strikes
4) Demands for higher wages
5) Arson
What did the Swing riots make parliament worried about?
That the previous order of hierarchical paternalism was breaking down.
What did many in the commercial middle classes hate?
The aristocratic nepotism of the government
Why were the new middle classes motivated by a strong sense of purpose?
made their fortunes through their own hard work and determination
What epitomised the resentment that the middle classes had for government?
The corn laws of 1815
Why did the corn laws of 1815 epitomise the resentment that the middle classes had for government?
It seemed that the government was looking after their own
How many members did Thomas Hardy claim his 1792 London Corresponding Society had and how many did it probably actually have?
Founder Thomas Hardy claimed there were 5000 members in the early 1790s but it was probably closer to 1000.
In october 1785, how many did the London Corresponding Society attract to its demonstration on copenhagen fields?
100 000
From what did Hardy’s LCS distance themselves from?
Radical works such as Paine’s 1792 Rights of Man
Who established the BPU and when was it founded?
Thomas Attwood December 1829
What did the Duke of Wellington do when he replaced Lord Liverpool in 1828?
split the Tory Party into opposing factions by alienating the Canningite faction by refusing to consider the redistribution of parliamentary seats and angering the protestant ‘ultras’ by supporting the 1829 Catholic emancipation act
When was the Catholic Emancipation act, supported by the Duke of Wellington that angered the ultras ?
1829
Which king died who opposed the whigs?
Georeg IV
When was there an inconclusive general election following the death of George IV?
June 1830
What king replaced George IV?
William IV
What PM did William IV invite to form a government?
Earl Grey
What kind of People did Earl Grey want to included in the running of the country?
men of property
How did Earl grey see himself?
A safe half way house between radical extremism and the current system
Who did Earl Grey manage to win support from?
The Canningites and the Ultras
What was the role of the unreformed old system?
Provided ammunition for rational middle class arguments in favour of reform.
What two factors, particularly in the latter stages of the time leading up to 1832 caused the passage of the acts?
the actions of the Tories and Whigs, combined with the radical protest and unrest that ultimately provided for the act’s passage
What did the working classes provide?
The most potent threat to government
Though the working classes provided the most potent threat to government, what about them shows that the unreformed system was not the most important factor?
The working classes, those who proved the most potent threat to the government, were not, as the middle classes were, motivated by the unreformed old system, but instead by economic discontent.
What is the rotten borough that flooded and how many MPs were returned by it?
Dunwich in Suffolk had been submerged by the sea after its royal charter had been given, but still returned 2 MPs
Name a pocket borough and the family who controlled it?
Appleby Cumbria controlled by the Lowther family
what are the two principal effects of the 1778 USA independence and the 1789 French revolution?
1) Inspirational for radicals
2) Generated fear for government
What did EP Thompson call the days of may?
The closest that Britain ever came to revolution
