Twenty-Four Flashcards
What were the arguments of the landowning classes against the extension of the franchise?
Cannot trust the illiterate workers with political power, and reform of Parliament would lead to demands of reform in other areas.
Did not want to share pol power with pushy, clever mc manufacturers.
Abolishing rotten and pocket boroughs= confiscation of property without compensation
House of Commons would be at the mercy of public opinion
But these arguments denied the fact of Industrialisation and that it had caused social and economic upheaval on a scale never before experienced.
What reform acts were there?
1867- extended the franchise to the skilled artisan class. Parties realised if they were going to win an election on their own merits they needed policies and party organisation to persuade public opinion in their favour.
1884- extended to include unskilled workers. No longer the untrustworthy ‘illiterate masses’ as their children were now compelled to attend elementary school to learn to read and write and perform basic arithmetic. For the first time in Britain the majority of adult males could vote. Electorate doubled from about 3 million to 6 million out of a total population of 35 million.
What was the National Liberation Federation? What act did they bring about?
Formed 1877
Radical wing of the Liberal Party. Pressure to extend the franchise to the working men in the countryside, and it was this that brought about the 1884 Franchise Act. Agricultural labourers and miners in rural areas were brought into the voting system.
What was the Redistribution of Seats Act?
1885
Attempted to equalise the size of constituencies in terms of numbers of population.
Brought bureaucratic logic, a tidying up of such anomalies and discrepancies as the distinction between county and borough seats and franchises. End to over-representation of rural areas and under-representation of the Industiral towns and cities.
What was the status of working classes in politics?
A general desire for an independent working class political party had not yet manifested itself- although the situation was changing. 1874 election, for the first time two working class candidates had become MPs. 1872 Secret Ballot Act had increased working class voters' confidence as they were no longer subject to pressure or intimidation and could vote freely for their candidate. 1884 Franchise Act strengthened the political status of wc and Liberal and Cons party realised they could no longer ignore wc social needs or pass hostile trade union legislation. But voting still linked to complex property-related qualifications and therefore there were significant groups who didn't qualify for a vote, apart from women.
What was the status of women in politics?
If the women were included in statistics, approximately 70% of the adult population were without a vote. Up until this point there had been little debate about female emancipation.
What laws regarding women and politics had Gladstone’s liberal government passed?
Passed laws allowing single female householders to vote in local elections, propertied women to serve on school boards set up in 1870, and, from 1875, women could be Poor Law Guardians.
What was an issue for unskilled workers who were entitled to vote?
They were unable to vote because they had no documentation to prove their qualification and so could not get onto the electoral register.
What was the status of working classes and their voting power by 1885?
By 1885, most of the working classes were enfranchised- influence of landed classes was substantially reduced and Britain was more democratic than it had been in 1832 but fact remained that the simple democratic principle of universal suffrage had not yet been achieved.
What was the situation regarding Britain’s economy?
Britain was suffering from a long-term depression, which started in 1873 and appeared to continue into the 1890s.
During that time there were periods of marked cyclical downturns e.g 1882-1886
Britain had dominated export markets for years but began to face competition from foreign markets and there was a fall in demand for British goods. Prices and profits tumbled in both Industry and agriculture and confidence in Britain was falling.
What did the Government set up in 1885 as a result of anxieties regarding the economy?
Set up a Royal Commission to inquire about the Depression of Industry and Trade. Majority of the report concluded that agricultural prices had been falling since 1873 and that the downturn trend continued. Noted that supply outstripped demand. Led to reduced profits, fall in prices and lower rates of interest on invested competition.
What was the difference in social class of the Conservatives and the Liberals?
Social differences were developing within the political parties and by 1885, Conservatives tended to come from the landowning classes, while Liberals tended to come from the professions, commerce and industry.
But there was little difference in the classes of the supporters- mc voters evenly split between the parties.
What was the position of women in the late 19th century?
Paradoxical in that the monarch was a woman. Distinct roles for the sexes and the exclusion of the women from the political sphere and male dominance with regard to divorce and property.
Women’s position in the home as a wife and mother was regarded as the epitome of stability, respectability and virtuousness.
But many women regarded attitudes towards them as condescending and restrictive and wished to participate in the opportunities of education and employment.
What was the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies?
Launched in 1887, an important step in the movement for female emancipation and democracy.
What did Charles Booth’s survey of London in 1886 reveal?
Shocked the comfortable, confident Victorians with conclusion that 30% of London’s population lived in poverty. The booming economy evidently had not removed poverty.
