History - Britain - The Growth of Parlimentary Democracy

What were the two types of constituency in Britain?

Counties and Boroughs

What were counties and how did they decide who could vote?

They were rural shires of Britain, elected two MP’s, and if you owned property worth more than 40 shillings a year, you could vote.

What was the problem with county franchise?

Every county elected two MP’s no matter their size (e.g. a county with 2000 people has the same degree of influence as a county with 20,000 people).

What were boroughs and how did they decide who could vote?

The more urban areas which had been granted administrative rights in the Middle Ages. They elected two MP’s like counties, but the criteria to vote was very broad .

What was the criteria to vote in different kinds of boroughs?

Corporation: only town council members could vote

Freemen: only ‘freemen’ (people who had received an honour from the corporation or served as an apprentice) could vote

Scot and Lot: only people who paid poor rates could vote

Burgage: only people who owned land where burgage rent was applied could vote

Potwalloper: only people who had a hearth big enough to boil a pot of water could vote

Freeholder: similar franchise to counties (property worth over 40 shillings a year)

What was the problem with the lack of a secret ballot?

People were exposed as to who they voted for and could be intimidated or shunned by rich families/the landed gentry, who controlled who their tenants voted for.

What were pocket boroughs and why were they so bad for representation?

Boroughs that had a very small voting population but still were able to elect two MP’s to parliament. This meant that rich people in the borough could bribe people to express their political interests for them easily (e.g. the borough of Gatton was bought at auction so that the ‘owner’ did not have to stand against a rival in election).

Why was the British electoral system outdated?

It was made in the medieval times and adjusted to how important boroughs and constituencies were back then, and did not adjust for the Industrial Revolution/other developments.

What were rotten boroughs and why were they bad for representation?

Boroughs with a very small population that still returned two MP’s, which therefore did not represent the interests of the people according to population. In comparison, newer towns like Birmingham with large populations weren’t even recognised and had no voting power.

Was the idea of reform popular in the late 18th century? Why/why not?

No - there were some efforts to spread the idea of reform (the Society for Constitutional Information spread awareness via pamphleteering), but these were overshadowed by the anti-Catholic Gordon Riots, and the disenfranchisement of smaller boroughs was rejected by the House of Commons.

What was the effect of the French Revolution on the demands for reform?

• People started to question the British system as being ‘ruled by the rich’ after the Aristocracy was overthrown

• Thomas Paine wrote ‘The Rights of Man’ inspired by the French Revolution, condemning the inequality in the British system in comparison with France, and this book was insanely popular, creating more demand for reform.

• New organisations like the Sheffield Society for Constitutional Information (est. 1791) and the London Corresponding Society (est. 1792) were formed as a result of ‘The Rights of Man’, and were extremely well known.

Why were the effects of the French Revolution overshadowed?

• The government quickly started an anti-smear campaign defending the current system, with politician Edmund Burke’s ‘Reflections on the French Revolution’ correctly predicting the outbreak of violence in France after the revolution.

• War broke out between Britain and France in 1793, and people were too patriotic to follow after them politically.

• This patriotism gave the government the opportunity to pass the Treason Act of 1795, allowing the death penalty for sedition and political meetings.

Why did demands for reform drastically increase in 1815?

Extreme economic distress:

• Wages fell because of the large supply of labour provided by returning soldiers.

• Bad harvests increased food prices

• This struggle highlighted the difference between rich and poor, and returned the idea of being ‘ruled by the rich’.

• Reform newspapers like Cobbett’s Political Register and Thomas Wooler’s ‘Black Dwarf’ were made easily available.

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What happened at the Peterloo Massacre, what were the consequences and what else contributed to the decline of demand for reform?

• Four political rallies were held, with the last attracting 60,000+ people

• The crowd was dispersed by the authorities and 18 people were killed, with 400+ people injured

• This prompted the government to pass the ‘Six Acts’, which gave the death penalty for sedition and banned meetings of more than 50 people in an attempt to quiet demands for reform

• As a result, more of the middle class supporters were driven away from the cause to protect their position in society and out of fear

• The economy was also drastically improving by 1820, so people were now content with the current system.

How did the political demands of the manufacturing interest change?

At first, they wanted to conserve the current political system to protect their prosperity, but later they developed a more laissez-faire (the belief that the government should not have any say over economy) way of thinking as a result of the government attempting to restrict trade.

How did the Corn Law influence the manufacturing population’s view on the government?

The Corn Law banned the import of foreign corn until the price of domestic corn reached 10 shillings. This was seen as the goverment’s attempt of protecting landowners, which angered the manufacturing population’s and led the to believe that they should have more of a say in how the country is run, as they were forced to rise wages due to the lack of healthy workers from the increase of corn prices.

Why did demands for reform decrease after 1820?

• Trade with Europe started up again which improved the economy

• The GNP rose by 16.8% and manufacturing grew by approx. 25%

• Radicals such as Henry Hunt were released from prison showing the government was moving to a more liberal stance

• Voices of political radicals were still muted however, so reform ideas didn’t spread

Why did the demands for reform increase at the end of the 1820s?

• The economy fell again due to poor harvests, thrusting people into poverty

• Violent demonstrations such as the Swing Riots and other protests inspire people to adopt more reformist thinking

• The manufacturing interest and the middle class were now visibly giving the reform effort support, establishing the Birmingham Political Union which made the reform effort more intellectual and organised

What were the main reasons for the passing of the Great Reform Act in 1832?

• The Tory Party were divided over Catholic Emancipation and the prime minister, Lord Liverpool, was the one holding it together. He later resigned and this gave the Whig opposition a chance to step into power, showing people that reform was now a possibility.

• The middle class were becoming extremely agitated with the lack of enfranchisement within their class, and increased popular pressure towards reform by creating societies that were more difficult for the authorities to quiet. The government were also aware of their importance to the economy.

• Reform riots broke out after the second attempt to pass a reform bill, with riots in Bristol killing 130 people, showing that there was more popular pressure and frustration that threatened the government.

• The Days of May (arguably the most important reason) showed the government not only that the middle class were important (their run on the banks cost the economy 1.8 million pounds), but they needed Earl Grey a prime minister, causing 50 new Whig peers to be added to parliament.

• The Tory’s in the Lords had adopted a ‘Reform to Preserve’ mindset, as they wanted to keep their power without a revolution (perhaps inspired by the 1830 French Revolution)

What changed as part of the Great Reform Act 1832?

• 56 boroughs were disenfranchised completely

• Scotland received 8 extra seats and Ireland received 5

• Men who lived in counties were given the vote if they owned land worth £10 a year

• Voters were required to be registered

• Still NO SECRET BALLOT

• Electorate rose from approx 366,000 to 650,000

What were the six points of the People’s Charter?

1. Universal suffrage for men above 21

2. Parliaments should be elected yearly

3. Equal constituency voting

4. MP’s should be paid

5. Secret ballot

6. MP’s should not have property qualifications

What was the difference between moral force and physical force chartists?

Moral force chartists tried to spread Chartism by pamphleteering and getting signatures on petitions and physical force chartists gave a more direct challenge to the government by protesting.

What was the nature of Chartists membership?

The majority of the members were working class but some activists like Henry Heatherington and William Lovett were middle class. The number of members of the chartist movement decreased when the economy was prospering and increased when the economy suffered.

What happened at the Newport Rising?

5000 miners clashed with soldiers at the Westgate Hotel to protest. 20 chartists died and 500 more chartist leaders were imprisoned.

Why did the Chartist movement fail?

• Three petitions were brought to parliament and were ignored, as the government did not fear the Chartists movement and they did not have any desire to reform further.

• The Chartist movement was more of a knife and fork question - people became disinterested when their finances improved

• Feargus O’Connor set up the Land Plan (a plan to give working class families a rural life) which was more popular than urban Chartism.

• Government passed legislation like the Ten Hours Act of 1847 and the 1846 Corn Law that reduced working class discontent, and therefore chartist support

• Parliament was determined to prevent any challenge, so they used troops to keep the chartists in line

• The Chartist movement was divided between moral and physical force Chartists who didn’t work together.

What were the three reasons the second Reform Act was passed in 1967?

• Extra-parliamentary pressure

• Changing nature of British politics

• British modernisation

How did extra-parliamentary pressure contribute to the passing of the second Reform Act?

• Middle class were becoming more willing to work with the working class for economic stability

• National Reform Union and the Reform League were formed

• Working class switched to more moderate methods of asking for reform

• Lobbying with politicians became more common

How did the changing nature of politics contribute to the passing of the second Reform Act?

• The 1832 reform act said all voters needed to be registered, and this made politics more professional and organised as groups were created to try and get people to register

• The American Civil War created a cotton famine that caused thousands of workers to be laid off, but the workers backed anti-slavery in the USA despite it being the reason the southern cotton ports were blockaded

• This gave the working class the respect of William Gladstone, who thought they were competent enough to vote

How did the modernisation of Britain contribute to the passing of the second Reform Act?

• The population increased from 24 to 31 million from 1821 to 1861, mainly in industrial towns, meaning more and more people did not have the vote

• Mechanisation of Britain was also developing, with the Great Exhibition in 1851 displaying new inventions that were made by the working class

• The government realised that they had to keep the working class happy if they wanted to keep growing and making new things, so they were more inclined to give them the vote

What is party politics and how did it contribute to the passing of the second Great Reform Act?

Party politics is when two parties actively campaign to try and get votes. In the case of the second Reform Act, this created a sort of race to pass the act, as both the conservatives and liberals knew that whoever passed the act would be more popular. In turn, this also made the act far too radical than what the government was planning, as Disraeli (the MP who championed the passing) accepted all sorts of amendments to please other MP’s who would vote for the act to be passed.

What was the significance of the National Reform Union and the Reform League?

The NRU was a middle class effort that mainly consisted of employers that wanted an equal distribution of seats, slight extension of the franchise and a secret ballot. The fact that its membership was made up of prominent employers made their demands hard to ignore and they lobbied with politicians. The Reform League was a more radical working class movement who used ‘respectable’ methods like demonstrations and attracted many trade unionists and ex-Chartists.

Who was Benjamin Disraeli and how was he significant?

He was the leader of the Conservative Party and championed the passing of the second Reform Act. The act was against conservative principles and many conservatives resigned in protest, but he believed that the passing of the act would make his party popular and secure.

What was the impact of the second Reform Act?

• Disraeli lost the next general election, as the liberals campaigned whilst Disraeli didn’t do much

• British politics became more honest and professional because the electorate was so large

• Parties became more interested in the public’s needs

• A more diverse electorate with working class

• Seat redistribution caused more power in larger areas

What were the drawbacks of the second Reform Act?

• Area in the midlands and the north were underrepresented and southern areas were overrepresented

• Property still determined franchise in counties

• Residency clause of one year excluded many of the working class, who moved to towns for work

• Plural voting was an issue with people voting in both counties and boroughs