Britain in 1851

the political system

who were the two main political parties by 1851?

• Whigs

• Tories

the political system

1. when did the Tory party split?

2. what did they split over?

1. 1846

2. the repeal of the Corn Laws

the political system

1. what did the Corn Laws do?

2. why did Peel decide to repeal the laws?

1. protected landowners + farmers from competition form cheap foreign corn coming into Britain

2. to alleviate Irish suffering after the Potato Blight

the political system

1. what was the name of the party that broke away from the Conservative Party to support Peel?

2. who did this upset? (2)

1. Peelites

2. upset aristocrats + landowners

the political system

what are the problems with the split of the Tory party? (4)

• harder to pass legislation

• harder to keep governments from collapsing

• decrease in support for government from voters who were mainly aristocrats

• more difficult for Conservatives to win a majority

British democracy

1. which party passed the first reform act?

2. when was it passed?

1. Whigs

2. 1832

British democracy

1. how did the First Reform Act make the government appear? (2)

2. how? (2)

1. representative + more democratic

2. it weakened the political power of the monarch + aristocracy

British democracy

1. who did the 1832 Reform Act extend the franchise to?

2. what did some become?

1. middle-class men

2. MPs

British democracy

how djd the First Reform Act make politics more democratic?

it weakened the political power of the monarch + aristocracy

British democracy

1. what was gradually increasing the size of the franchise?

2. why?

1. creation of new money + prosperity

2. more men met the property requirements of the 1832 Reform Act to qualify

Constitutional monarchy

1. who was the head of state?

2. who still made and passed laws despite this?

3. what could the monarch not do?

1. monarch

2. Parliament

3. they could not impose their will directly

Democracy

who was having an increasing influence over the House of Lords?

House of Commons

Democracy

1. how were members of the House of Commons chosen?

2. who was the Prime Minister?

1. through elections held at least every 7 years

2. leader of the party with the majority of seats in the Commons

Democracy

1. what did the PM rely on their party for? (2)

2. what did the Commons still reflect despite this?

3. why?

1. their party to maintain his position and carry out business of government

2. dominance of House of Lords

3. most MPs were sons/relatives/friends of Lords

Democracy

1. what were the middle-class happy to accept before industrialisation? (2)

2. how did this change after industrialisation? (2)

1. that political power was in aristocracy + they mainly acted in their own interest

2. they enjoyed their new wealth + prosperity + believed they had a right to share power

Democracy

1. what were constituencies divided into?

2. who were these controlled by before 1832 reform act?

3. how many MPs did each constituency have?

1. boroughs + counties

2. controlled by landed elites

3. 2 MPs

Democracy

what were the problems with the constituencies before the 1832 reform act? (3)

• disadvantaged middle + working classes

  → uneven in size

  → large industrial towns (Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool) were severely under-represented

Democracy

1. how many voters were there in the UK after the 1832 reform act?

2. what did the redistribution of seats do?

3. how many new constituencies were created?

1. 800,000 voters

2. represented large industrial towns

3. 67 new constituencies

Democracy

1. what is an example of a rotten borough that the 1832 reform act tackled?

2. how many MPs + voters did it have?

3. what did this mean for the aristocracy?

1. Old Sarum

2. 2 MPs + 11 voters

3. they no longer held all political power + had to share it with middle class

Democracy

1. how much were running costs to be an MP despite MPs not being paid?

2. what did this mean being an MP was more of?

1. around £500 a year

2. being an MP was still a hobby for gentlemen

Role of elites + class system

1. who mainly made up the figures in parliament?

2. what enabled them to control nominations for majority of seats in House of Commons until the 1832 Reform Act?

3. where did these things come from?

1. aristocrats with hereditary titles, old money + wealth

2. political power, wealth + social dominance

3. came from ownership of vast tracts of land

Role of elites + class system

1. why were most aristocrats in parliament? (2)

2. where did they have lots of influence?

1. for their own interests + to seek political advancement

2. in counties

Role of elites + class system

1. where was voting carried out?

2. what were they?

3. what could the elites do?

4. what was this regarded as?

1. on the hustings

2. raised area in public place

3. evict/pay off people who didn’t vote for their preferred candidate

4. regarded as privilege rather than abuse of power

Role of elites + class system

what were successful middle class men slowly doing?

being integrated into the political system + becoming part of the ruling elites

Regional divisions

which country was the dominant social, economic and political centre of the United Kingdom of Great Britain + Ireland?

England

Regional divisions

what were the two divisions?

• industrial north

• agricultural south

Regional divisions

1. what are 2 cities part of the industrial north?

2. what did they have?

3. what did they lack?

1. Manchester + Birmingham

2. had growing economic power

3. lacked political representation

Regional divisions

1. how did the south retain political control? (2)

2. what did this lead to?

1. through Parliament + outdated constituencies

2. tensions on who should govern Britain

Regional divisions

what did rotten boroughs fuel demands for?

reform + redistribution of seats

Regional divisions

1. who supported free trade + economic liberalism? (2)

2. what did this lead to the rise of?

1. factory owners + merchants

2. liberalism

Regional divisions

1. what did the repeal of the corn laws mark?

2. what did landowners do in response to this?

1. marked shift from landlord protectionism to free trade

2. increased conservative resistance to reform in fear of losing influence

what were the 2 threats to the political system by 1851?

• impact of industrialisation

• impact of the repeal of the Corn Laws

Threats to the political system by 1851 - impact of industrialisation

what pressured parliament for wider political participation? (4)

• new under-represented cities

• new industrial middle class

• urban working class

• expansion of newspapers + literacy

Threats to the political system by 1851 - impact of industrialisation

what did the new urban working class want? (3)

• better wages

• better conditions

• better representation

Threats to the political system by 1851 - impact of repeal of the corn laws

1. how did the corn laws divide the conservatives?

2. what did this make clear about parliament? (2)

1. divided them into the Peelites + Protectionists

2. it had to reflect economic changes + increasing demands for reform of the electorate