11.1 Flashcards
(24 cards)
What is a rotten borough?
Rural towns in England that sent members to Parliament despite having few or no voters.
What is an electorate?
The body of people allowed to vote.
What is a secret ballot?
A voting method where votes are cast without announcing them publicly.
What is a parliamentary democracy?
A form of government where ministers are chosen by, responsible to, and members of an elected legislature or parliament.
Who was Queen Victoria?
The longest-reigning monarch in British history who symbolized values like duty, thrift, honesty, hard work, and respectability.
Who was Benjamin Disraeli?
Leader of the Conservative Party (formerly Tories); pushed the Reform Bill of 1867 to give working-class men the vote.
Who was William Gladstone?
Leader of the Liberal Party (formerly Whigs); worked to give the vote to farm workers and most other men.
How did Britain achieve political change in the 1800s compared to other European nations?
Through reform rather than revolution.
What was the government system in Britain in 1815?
A constitutional monarchy with a Parliament and two political parties, but only 5% of the population could vote.
What was the power of the House of Lords in 1815?
They could veto bills passed by the House of Commons.
Why was Parliament undemocratic in the early 1800s?
Most people couldn’t vote, Catholics and non-Anglican Protestants were excluded, and rotten boroughs gave power to empty rural towns while growing cities had no representation.
Who did the Whig Party represent?
Businessmen and the middle class seeking reform.
Who did the Tory Party represent?
Landowners and nobles resistant to change.
What did the Great Reform Act of 1832 accomplish?
Enlarged the electorate and eliminated rotten boroughs—but still limited voting to property-owning men.
Who were the Chartists and what did they want?
Reformers who demanded universal male suffrage and secret ballot voting via the People’s Charter.
What happened to the Chartists’ efforts at first?
Their petitions were ignored and their marches banned in 1848, but most of their reforms were eventually passed.
What were Victorian values?
Thrift, honesty, duty, hard work, respectability, and morals.
What happened to the Whig and Tory parties in the 1860s?
They evolved into the Liberal (Whigs) and Conservative (Tories) Parties.
What voting reforms did the Conservatives and Liberals pass in the late 1800s?
1867 (Conservatives): Working-class men got the vote.
1884–85 (Liberals): Farm workers got the vote.
Secret ballot passed by 1900.
What did the House of Lords do in the early 1900s?
Rejected many House of Commons bills, but backed down after Commons threatened to appoint more lords.
What happened to the House of Lords in 1911?
Most of its power was removed, making it largely ceremonial today.
What kind of government did Britain become by the early 1900s?
A parliamentary democracy, where ministers were elected by, responsible to, and members of Parliament.
Which Chartist goals were achieved by the early 1900s?
Universal male suffrage (mostly) and secret ballot.
When did British women start to get the vote?
In 1918, women over age 30 were given the vote.
