democracy

example of patronage

in 1761 111 members of the commons were financed by 55 peers

what was a pocket borough

a small borough which was easily manipulated by the prominent landowner or family of the area

what was a potwalloper

households which had a big enough fireplace could vote

what percentage of the population could vote in 1780s

11%

examples of pocket boroughs

old sarum- almost no population yet still sent 2 mps

dunwich- 14 voters and 32 dwellings, still sent 2 mps

two cities which were not recognised as parliamentary boroughs in 1830s

manchester- 182,000

birmingham- 144,000

who was thomas paine

a writer inspired by the events in france

wrote ‘the rights of man’ and sold over 200,000 copies by 1793

called for radial reform

when did lord liverpool become pm

1812

when were the corn laws introduced

1815

what were the six acts

passed in december 1819

banned any meeting of more than 50 people

gave magistrates more power to search for weapons

increased penalties for writing material which could encourage rebellion

laissez faire

government should have no control over economic matters and markets should be free

who was the leader of the BPU

Thomas Atwood

which Tory leader died which caused a power vacuum in the tories

Lord Liverpool

what were the combination acts of 1799

made joining a trade union illegal which sent a clear message to workers that their voices would not be listened to

when was the secret ballot introduced

1872

how many seats in parliament were actually contested

around 100 out of 650 as most were automatically won by the candidate chosen by the local landowner

examples of action taken against protests

1795 Treason Act

1817 Gag Act

what percentage of the population in Birmingham lived in back to backs in 1801

2/3

population increase between 1700 and 1800

almost doubled

5.5 million to 9.5 million

life expectancy among working classes

30-35

typical working hours

14-16 hours a day

6 days a week

Cato Street conspiracy 1820

-led by Arthur Thistlewood

-attempt to overthrow the government by assassinating the entire cabinet while they dined at a politicians house

-government spy within the group meant that the plot was stopped by officials

-all members involved were executed

swing riots 1830

-led by ‘captain swing’ who was fictional

-threat letters would be delivered to landowners and if these were ignored then agricultural machinery would be destroyed

-bread or blood (slogan)

-riots caused around 120,000 pounds of damage

what happened at peterloo

-happened at st peters fields in manchester on 16 august

-around 60,000 people attended

-crowds were forcibly dispersed by yeomanry

-18 killed and 400 wounded

significance of the peter loo massacre

-created martyrs for reform

-led to more oppression from government such as the six acts

-drove middle class members away from the cause

-some people became more determined to challenge the political regime

3 reasons why early protests failed

-lack of support

-not having the same aims

-no large gatherings allowed

what were the corn laws

tax on imported wheat

where could peterloo be seen as a turning point

-direct attack on the people by the government

-symbol of the fight for democracy

the franchise in 1780

-right to vote mostly had to do with ownership of land

-in some boroughs only 1 in 100 men had the right to vote

-some voting rights depended on ancient customs

roughly how many people could vote in 1831

less than half a million (out of a population of 24 million)

distribution of seats in 1780

-in 1801 1/3 of mps came from counties which bordered the english channel yet only 15% of the population lived there

-large northern towns had no representative

-most scottish boroughs only had 1 mp

the election 1780

-had to be a general election every seven years

-candidates had to have a private income

-no secret ballot

-many voters supported the same candidate as their landlord

representativeness of mps 1780

-house of commons consisted of 658 mps

-the king could control a section of the commons because over 100 mps were dependant on him for their seats (placemen)

-many wealthy landowners sat in the house of lords

impacts of the french revolution

-encouraged radicalism

-boosted campaign for reform in britain

-awareness of aristocratic privilege

-government became fearful of revolution

democracy in the 1780s

-manipulation of voting

-favours upper classes

-unrepresentative of public

corrupt

4 reasons why the great reform act could be considered great

-42 new borough constituencies were created in industrial areas e.g. birmingham

-voters were now required to register

-electorate rose to 18% (roughly doubled)

-56 rotten and pocket boroughs were disenfranchised

2 reasons why the great reform act was not great

-most of those enfranchised were from towns and cities (skilled middle classes)

-majority of seats (370 mps) were in the south of england

when was the first major chartist meeting

1838

mass crowds of 30,000 in manchester and 100,000 in glasgow

clear divide between direct action vs more lawful chartists

how did declining tory hegemony lead to the passing of the great reform act

-tory party dividing over the issue of catholic emancipation

-party was only held together by lord liverpool

-robert peel (anti emancipation) vs george canning (pro emancipation)

how did the resignation of lord liverpool lead to the passing of the great reform act

-his resignation caused a brief power vacuum

-vulnerability in tory party due to divisions over catholic emancipation

-split party reduced public confidence

who were the liberals in the tory party

supporters of catholic emancipation

who were the ultras in the tory party

against catholic emancipation

how did middle class pressure lead to the passing of the great reform act

-their use of speeches and persuasion made it more difficult to apply traditional force to stop protests

-the middle class were vital for economic growth

-the government were aware of their importance and so didnt want to alienate its members

when was the first reform bill presented to parliament

march 1831

what happened when earl grey called an election following the failure of the first reform bill

-gained a majority of nearly 140

-the second reform bill passed through the commons

-the house of lords was still tory dominated

what happened when the second reform bill was blocked by the lords

-3 days of rioting and roughly 130 people killed in bristol

-riots in nottingham and derby

what changes were made to the third reform bill

-reduction in the number of boroughs which would lose 1 of 2 mps (from 41 to 30)

-ten new boroughsto be given 2 mps

why did earl grey resign

the house of lords was tory dominated which meant the third bill wouldn’t pass through

the king refused his request for 50 new whig lords

events of the days of may

-middle class began to withdraw their savings and investments from banks (1.8 million in 10 days)

-get the duke, go for gold

how was the great reform act able to pass

-duke of wellington was unable to form a government

-opposition to the act collapsed due to public pressure

-whig lords didnt turn up to the vote on the bill

what were terms of the great reform act

-56 boroughs were completely disenfranchised

-42 new constituencies created

-vote given to those who rented or owned property worth £10 a year

significance of the great reform act

-18% of the population able to vote

-more people living in towns and cities could vote

-power still remained with the aristocratic landowners

-only 120 mps came from the industrial north

what were the six terms of the peoples charter

-equal representation

-universal male suffrage over 21

-annual parliaments

-no property qualification for mps

-secret ballot

-payment of mps

typical chartist members

-craftsmen and skilled workers

-middle class reformers

what was physical force chartism

-led by o’connor

-direct challenge to the government

-use of violent means to achieve their goal

what was moral force chartism

-Atwood and Lovett

-pamphlets and petitions

-tried to win the favour of the government through respectful behaviour

newport uprising

-occurred after the government voted against the first peoples charter

-chartists vs government

-5000 miners clashed with troops

-20 chartists dead

-chartist leaders arrested and 500 held in prison

what was the kennington common rally

-massive chartist demonstration on 10 april 1848

-the government declared the meeting illegal and sent 150,000 special constables

-attended by working class men and women

-third petition driven in a carriage to parliament

why did chartism fail

-defeated three times by government votes

-loss of public support

-improved economy meant that there was less discontent (hunger politics)

when was the corn law repealed

1846

when did the great exhibition take place in london

1851

when was the reform union founded

1864

when was the reform league founded

1865

when were the hyde park riots

1866

when was the second reform act passed

1867

population change between 1821 and 1861

24 million to 31 million

when did the liberals return to power

1859

impact of the us civil war

-cotton famine as cotton stopped being farmed and imported into england

-cotton industry in lancashire provided work for 355,000 people

-thousands of workers laid off

-raised opinions of the working class and their support of anti slavery despite their loss of work

what was the reform union

-primarily liberal middle class employers

-wanted to extend the franchise to all male ratepayers, promote equal distribution of seats and secret ballot

-had government influence

reform union vs reform league methods

reform union = peaceful

reform league = violent

strengths of the reform union

-the discipline of their march showed they were worthy of being granted reform

-more influential due to middle class support

-use of lobbying

weaknesses of the reform union

-less influential as they were not perceived as a threat

-much smaller than the reform league

-easy to ignore

what was the reform league

-working class members

-universal manhood suffrage and a secret ballot

-attracted many ex chartists and trade unionists

-viewed as a radical organisation

strengths of the reform league

-perceived as a threat by the establishment

-gained attention from the guardian

-helped to keep reform on the political agenda

weaknesses of the reform league

-working classes not seen as worthy of the vote

-perceived as a threat meant they lost respect from the government

what were the terms of gladstone’s reform bill 1866

-reducing borough franchise to 7 pounds per year (would enfranchise over 200,000 skilled workers)

-reduced rental qualification

-(hoped to attract many liberal voters)

who were the adullamites

a label to describe those who disliked the reform proposals of gladstone

what were the hyde park riots 1866

The Reform League held a meeting in Hyde Park on 23 July 1866 to discuss future action in the campaign for reform.

The meeting was declared illegal which led to the gates of the park being chained

The large crowd which attended the meeting clashed with police and caused large scale destruction of property

how many hyde park protesters were there

30,000

what was the role of benjamin disraeli

-sought to introduce his own reform bill in march 1867

-bill passed in august 1867 although not as progressive as original liberal bill

-political success was more important to him than the final shape of the bill

what were the key terms of the second reform act

-45 seats taken from pocket boroughs (7 fully disenfranchised)

-6 existing boroughs gained an extra seat

-one seat reserved for the university of london

who was the franchise extended to (second reform act)

-owners or leaseholders of land worth at least 5 pounds per year

-lodgers who occupied property worth at least ten pounds for at least one year

what was the impact of the second reform act

-became almost impossible to use corrupt means due to amount of voters

-parties started to use campaigning

-British parties became more representative of public interest

how many working class were enfranchised by the second reform act

over 1 million

(1/3 of adult male population)

how many voted for the last chartist petition

only 14

repeal of the corn law 1846

made bread cheaper and helped to improve living standards

caused a decline in support for the chartists