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39 Cards in this Set

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What attitude had been taken to reform after 1832?

There was to be no more; revolution had been avoided and the system was now final.

What nicknamed had been given to a former champion of reform?

Lord John Russell, a Liberal PM in the 1850s, had earned the nickname "Finality Jack" for his stance that the Great Reform Act was the final necessary reform to the system.

When were the three 1850s Reform Bills? Who introduced them and why did they fail?

- 1852 Reform Bill; Lord John Russell's Liberal government; some said it went too far, others that it didn't go far enough; withdrawn due to lack of support



- 1853 Reform Bill; Lord John Russell and the Liberals again; fell on the outbreak of the Crimean War



- 1859 Reform Bill; the Earl of Derby's Conservative government; a minority government - the bill was defeated in the Commons by 39 votes

When and how did attitudes toward reform in the public begin to change?

In the 1850s, people started to modernise in their attitudes and felt that the old Parliament of interest and property was not reflecting this.

What types of factors kick started reform in the 1860s?

- organisations


- politicians


- international events and economic factors

What organisations created pressure for reform in the 1860s?

- the National Reform Union: founded 1864; wanted household suffrage, evenly distributed seats and secret ballot; led by merchants, industrialists and radical MPs; supported by middle class Liberals; had 150 branches across Britain by 1867



- the Reform League: founded 1865; wanted manhood suffrage; operated out of pubs and working men's clubs; attracted trade unionists and ex-Chartists; mainly working class organisation; 400 branches by 1867



The Union had the money, the League had the members. By 1867, they worked together.

How did politicians cause reform to be an issue again in the 1860s?

- Palmerston's death in 1865: as PM, his popular foreign policy meant he could block things he didn't like; big on social reform but not reform for its own sake; saw no need for political reform (said democracy would "bring the scum to the top"; when he died, Russell became PM again and there was no longer the obstacle to reform.



- Gladstone had become converted to reform: he had visited Lancashire cotton mills during the 1860s cotton famine and was impressed by the solidarity of the working classes; he then began spring extending the franchise to the 'respectable' working classes.



- Disraeli's desire to win: he wanted to break the Liberals' domination of politics, which would be possible if the Conservatives delivered reform when it was traditionally the policy of the Liberals; passing reform would be good for the Party and for him, particularly in his rivalry with Gladstone

What international and economic factors played a role in the reemergence of reform?

- Movements for unification in Italy and the American Civil War greatly interested people; they seemed to be fights for democracy; the visit by the Italian radical Garibaldi to London was very popular



- There was a poor harvest in 1865, putting many on poor relief



- There was a cholera epidemic in 1866-67, killing 14000 people.



- The Limited Liability Act 1862 had led to inside speculation and, in 1866, Overend and Gurney, a legendary financial house in London, collapsed leading to financial implications.



- The new model trade unions for skilled working people made them look more organised and respectable.

What was the first major reform proposal in the 1860s?

The Representation of the People Bill 1866 was brought forward by Gladstone. It would have lowered the voting qualifications to include about 400000 skilled working class people.

Why would the Liberals gain politically from their 1866 Bill?

They had seen through poll books that those working class people who could vote already tended to vote for them. They would likely gain voters from the Bill.

How was the 1866 Bill received?

Poorly; some thought it wasn't enough, others thought it went too far.

What did the Bill do to the Liberal Party?

It split the Party between the majority and the anti-reform Robert Lowe and his 40 or so followers, who were appalled by the reforming nature of the bill. They became known as the Adullamites and worked against their own party's bill.

What happened to the 1866 Bill and what happened as a result?

The Conservatives took the opportunity to hit at the Liberals and allied with the Adullamites to defeat the bill.



Russell then resigned and the Queen was forced to appoint Derby as the Prime Minister, putting the Conservatives back into office after a period of Liberal domination.

What was the public reaction to the failure of the Bill?

Pressure was nothing like what was around 1832, but what did happen is the Reform League, the Reform Union and radical MPs organised meetings and rallies in support of reform.

What was the biggest example of outside pressure in 1866?

The Hyde Park Riots, July 1866. Protesters got out of hand and tore down some railings and violence continued for a couple of days.



Though it was not the sign off a violent revolution, it convinced Disraeli and Derby to the side of reform, and condoned to table a reform bill.

What dilemmas were there for a Conservative reform bill?

As the government was a minority, they needed to get extra support from elsewhere to pass the bill, as well as convince their own backbenchers.



- they could have gone for a moderate bill to attract the backbenchers and the Adullamites


- or they could go for a more radical bill to attract John Bright and his wing of the Liberals but alienate the Conservative backbenchers

What was the Conservatives's first attempt at reform?

An emergency bill that was thrown together amidst threats of resignation, the Hyde Park Riots and the Queen's anxiety. It was called the Ten Minute Bill and it simply change the qualifications. No one liked it: the Conservatives would have preferred something bolder.



The bill was withdrawn.

Who resigned from the government amidst reform?

Viscount Cranborne, later known as Lord Salisbury.

What was the Conservatives' better thought out attempt at reform?

The Representation of the People Bill, 1867.



- Household suffrage in boroughs (having lived there for at least two years and paying rates separately from rent)


- extra votes for graduates, professional people and people with lots of savings. These were called "fancy fancies".


- the occupancy qualification would be reduced from £50 to £15


- fifteen seats redistributed

How was the bill described by Derby and why?

He called it a "leap in the dark"; because Disraeli accepted radical amendment after radical amendment in order to keep the bill alive and moving through the Commons eg the fancy franchises were removed; therefore, no one knew what the finished bill would look like

What was the irony of the Adullamites?

They had helped kick the Liberals out of office over reform and put the Conservatives in, but now the Conservatives were siding with the radical Liberals to pass reform.

What was the most notable radical amendment accepted into the 1867 Bill?

Hodgkinson's amendment which removed the 'rates separate from rent' part of the bill, allowing compounders to vote. They were not considered respectable and this was very radical. Disraeli initially opposed it but later accepted it.

How did the provisions of the bill actually benefit the Conservatives' position?

The few changes made to boundaries served to secure the Conservatives' landed interests in the counties.



Boroughs often already voted Liberal so there was little lost there by the Conservative Party.

What did the 1867 Reform Act do to qualifications in the boroughs?

You could vote if:



- you owned or lived in a house and paid rates


- you were a lodger in a house worth at least £10 a year

What were the qualifications in the counties from 1867?

- owning/leasing land worth at least £5 per year


- occupying land with a rateable value of at least £12 a year, as long as you paid the rates

How were seats redistributed?

- 45 seats were removed from boroughs with under 100000 inhabitants


- counties gained 25 seats


- 20 seats went to new boroughs


- 6 boroughs got extra seats

What significant event occurred regarding the enfranchisement of women?

Though women still couldn't vote, an amendment to make the qualifications of the Bill apply to women too, though it was defeated.

What effect did the 1867 Act have on the electorate?

- In total, the electorate almost double, going from 1/5 to 1/3. The 1866 total of 1.4 million grew by another 1.12 million.



- In the boroughs, the voting population grew by 830000. In Birmingham, the franchise went from 8000 to 43000. The working classes now dominated the boroughs.



- In the counties, the electorate increased by 45%. The voters remained largely middle class and the absence of the secret ballot meant that the upper class still had a lot of influence.

What impact did the 1867 Act have on education?

The enfranchisement of the largely unrespectable working classes was a cause of the passage of the Elementary Education Act 1870 which set up school boards to provide education to 5 to 13 year olds, filling the gaps in the existing voluntary system. Though it was not obligatory until 1880 or free until 1891, this education of working class children, particularly those who would grow up disenfranchised, would make them more respectable and make expansion of the franchise inevitable.

What was the first political reform following the 1867 Reform Act?

The Ballot Act of 1872. It was believed that a system could not be truly representative unless people could vote in secret without employers knowing how they voted.

Why did people oppose the Ballot Act?

Voting in secret was seen as non-English and cowardly.



Also, for the Conservatives, a lack of a secret ballot meant that landlords could pressure tenants into voting for them.

What caused the Ballot Act to be passed in 1872?

- Gladstone wanted to pass reform of his own after the Conservatives did on 1867; he was further pressured by John Bright and the radicals in the Party



- in 1870, a report on the 1868 election in Blackburn was published. It detailed the violence of the affair, bringing it to government attention, recommending the secret ballot.

What was the impact of the Ballot Act?

It reduced the rowdiness of elections. However, some voters in counties particularly feared that their landlords could still find out so still voted according to their landlords' wishes. But, many working class voters believed in the system, leading to the rise of radical movements like Irish Home Rule.

How did the secret ballot lead to further reform?

As people voted in secret, expenditure by candidates on bribery of voters increased, which the politicians wished to avoid.

What was the dilemma for the Liberals in tacking electoral corruption?

The Conservatives tended to be wealthier, therefore a reduction in expenses would hurt them less than the Liberals. However, Gladstone decided to act against electoral corruption.

What reform act followed the Ballot Act?

The Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Act 1883. It put a cap on how much money a candidate could spend, based on the size of the constituency, and banned booking up all methods of transport to the polls by one party.

What was the impact of the 1883 Act?

Electoral expenses fell by three quarters in the 1885 election.

What was the loophole in the 1883 Act?

It only applied to periods when elections has been called; they did not prevent bribery in between elections.

What issues did the Third Reform Act aim to rectify?

- the urban skilled workers had been enfranchised by 1867, it seemed logical to expand that right to the rural workers, who had been made my respectable by the 1870 Elementary Education Act.


- seats were still over saturated in the South, with the North underrepresented, and the 1867 Act's redistribution measures were limited