What was the most significant cause of the 1832 reform act Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in What was the most significant cause of the 1832 reform act Deck (115)
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1
Q

What four factors need to be discussed?

A
  • Unreformed political system
  • Growth and demands of middle classes
  • Economic unrest and riots
  • Actions of tories and whigs
2
Q

How many boroughs had fewer than 40 voters?

A

50

3
Q

How many MPs per borough?

A

2

4
Q

What was Lancashire’s population?

A

1.3 million

5
Q

How many MPs did Lancashire have?

A

14 MPs

6
Q

What was Cornwall’s population?

A

300 000

7
Q

How many MPs did Cornwall have?

A

42

8
Q

What would be the judgement for the unreformed political system?

A

It could be considered the this fairly archaic system was the most important cause, as there was gross misrepresentation as well as distinct geographical misrepresentation. However Britain currently had the largest empire and the biggest economy in the world, achieved under this system, benefitting those in power most, suggesting that this may not be as significant as unrest and middle classes.

9
Q

What were increased to reduce the national debt but lead to economic unrest?

A

Taxes

10
Q

When did Napoleon blockade the UK?

A

1806

11
Q

When were the corn laws introduced?

A

1815

12
Q

What did the 1815 Corn Laws do?

A

wheat could not be imported until the prices reached 10s/ bushel. This forced prices up.

13
Q

What is the impact of the Corn Laws?

A

As wheat was used for beer, used instead of water, this caused an increased degree of political awareness in the working masses, as the price of their food and drink was rising, leading to unrest which helped to cause the 1832 reform act. It seemed that the government were looking after their own kind, the people who owned the land from which the corn was grown and sold.

14
Q

When was Habeas Corpus suspended?

A

1817

15
Q

When were the Spa Field Riots?

A

1817

16
Q

What happened at the 1817 Spa Field Riots?

A

A crowd attacked the Prince Regent’s coach in the Spa Field Riots at the opening of Parliament.

17
Q

When was Peterloo?

A

1819

18
Q

How many killed in Peterloo 1819?

A

11

19
Q

Who was speaking at Peterloo?

A

Henry Hunt, a wealthy landowner but prominent reformist

20
Q

How many wounded at Peterloo?

A

400-600 wounded

21
Q

When were the swing riots?

A

1830

22
Q

Where did the swing riots break out?

A

Kent

23
Q

How many counties did the swing riots spread to?

A

20

24
Q

Who were in the London Corresponding society

A

skilled artisans and tradesmen in addition to booksellers, printers and authors

25
Q

When was the London Corresponding society founded?

A

1792

26
Q

Who founded the London Corresponding Society?

A

Thomas Hardy

27
Q

How much didi the London Corresponding Society cost a week to join?

A

1 penny

28
Q

What did many of the commercial middle classes hate?

A

The aristocratic nepotism of the government

29
Q

Why did the middle classes believe that they should be allowed to vote?

A

They had generated immense wealth for the country and paid significant taxes.

30
Q

When was the BPU set up?

A

1830

31
Q

Who set up the Birmingham Political Union in 1830?

A

Thomas Attwood

32
Q

What was the BPU?

A

A political union between the lower AND middler classes

33
Q

How many people would the BPU attract at rallies?

A

100 000

34
Q

How many people did the BPU attract at rallies during the ‘days of may’?

A

200 000

35
Q

What about Lord Liverpool’s administration caused resentment from the workers?

A

self-interested individualist economic politics and their heavy handed approach to workers’ protests

36
Q

Who resigned in 1827 after 15 years of stable government?

A

Lord Liverpool

37
Q

Who replaced Lord Liverpool in 1828?

A

Duke of Wellington

38
Q

Who split the tory Party?

A

Duke of Wellington

39
Q

Which king invited Earl Grey to form a new government in November 1830?

A

William IV

40
Q

Who did Earl Grey want to give the franchise to?

A

“Men of Property”

41
Q

Who did Earl Grey win support form?

A

Both the Canningites and the ultras

42
Q

In the old system, how many had the rights to vote?

A

366 000

43
Q

What was a rotten borough?

A

Ancient constituencies that had become so depopulated since the royal charter where MPs were elected by a very small number of people. Old Sarum in Wiltshire had just one landowner and no inhabitants, but returned 2 MPs.

44
Q

What was a pocket borough?

A

Wealthy land owners owned all the land and buildings which provided the occupiers with the right to vote. The landowners then nominated candidates and bribed or pressurised voters into voting for their favoured candidate.

45
Q

What was a scot and lot borough?

A

All men could vote if they paid local taxes such as the poor rate, such as Preston in Lancashire.

46
Q

What was a potwalloper borough?

A

Men qualified to vote if they occupied a house which had a fireplace large enough to boil a pot in, such as Taunton in Somerset.

47
Q

What was a corporation borough?

A

only members of the local town council (‘the corporation’) could vote.

48
Q

What percentage of cooperation boroughs had fewer than 50 voters?

A

More than 90%

49
Q

What percentage of elections were uncontested?

A

two thirds

50
Q

What was there instead of a secret ballot?

A

Hustings

51
Q

What was treating?

A

‘Treating’ was where candidates would pay for their supporters’ food, drink and lodgings during the election.

52
Q

What was cooping?

A

‘Lambs’ were groups of armed thugs who intimidated voters

53
Q

What were lambs?

A

‘Cooping’ was kidnapping rivals’ supporters until the end of the election.

54
Q

What are the two categories of unrest that need to be talked about?

A

Unrest due to the passage of the bills

Unrest due to other political concerns, economic problems and riots

55
Q

What are the two bits of unrest due to the failure of bills?

A

Riots following the second bill’s failure and the days of may

56
Q

When was the second reform bill’s failure?

A

july 1831

57
Q

How did the second reform bill fail?

A

Rejected by the Tory Dominated Lords after having passed in commons due to the April 1831 election which gave a majority of 130 to Earl Grey.

58
Q

The second reform bill passed by how many in commons and failed by how many in the lords?

A

Passed by 136 votes in commons and lost by 46 votes in the Lords

59
Q

What castle was burned as a response to the lords’ failure of the first reform bill?

A

Nottingham Castle, home of Ultra tory, the Duke of Newcastle

60
Q

As a result of the failure of the second reform bill in July 1831, what city was controlled by rioters for three days?

A

Bristol

61
Q

When troops were sent in to control Bristol after it was controlled by rioters for three days following the failure of the July 1831 second reform bill, how many were killed and how many were injured?

A

12 rioters were killed and over 100 were injured

62
Q

When was the third reform bill?

A

December 1831

63
Q

How did the third reform bill pass commons?

A

The whig majority of 162

64
Q

How did the third reform bill fail at the lords?

A

9 lords stopped it from passing

65
Q

How did Early grey seek to break the impasse of the failure of the third reform bill?

A

Earl Grey asked William IV to create 50 Whig peers in the Lords

66
Q

What happened when Earl Grey asked William IV to create 50 Whig peers in the Lords to break the impasse of the third reform bill?

A

William IV refused, Early Grey resigned in May 1832.

67
Q

What triggered the days of may?

A

Wellignton was asked to form a new government following Early grey’s may 1832 resignation

68
Q

What led to the return of Grey as PM?

A

Wellington was unable to get commons support

69
Q

When Grey returned as PM, what did the kings agree to do?

A

Create new peers

70
Q

What about the agreement from the King to create more peers shows the power of popular protest?

A

It wasn’t necessary, the lords were already scared into passing the bill

71
Q

Complete the sentence: the days of may shows….

A

…the power of radical action over even the most conservative institutions

72
Q

What was the plan to create a banking crisis as a part of the days of may?

A

Francis Place’s plan for middle classes to withdraw money simultaneously from banks

73
Q

What was Francis Place’s quote for the days of may banking crash?

A

“to stop the Duke go for gold”

74
Q

How many did the BPU attract at its days of May rally?

A

200 000

75
Q

As a result of the Napoleonic wars, what did national debt increase from and to?

A

£238m to £902m

76
Q

When did Napoleon blockade the UK?

A

1906

77
Q

When was Habeus Corpus suspended?

A

1817

78
Q

When were the two Spa Fields riots?

A

15 November and 2 December 1816

79
Q

How many at the first spa field riot?

A

10 000

80
Q

How many at the second spa field riot?

A

20 000

81
Q

What group organised the Spa Fields riots?

A

Spencean

82
Q

What was the third of the Spa Fields riots and when was it?

A

1817 a crowd attacked the Prince Regent’s coach in the Spa Field Riots at the opening of Parliament.

83
Q

How many at Peterloo?

A

60 000

84
Q

What happened as a result of Peterloo?

A

6 acts were passed

85
Q

When were the 6 acts passed?

A

December 1819

86
Q

Give an example of one of the 6 acts

A

Seditious Meetings Prevention Act

87
Q

What does the Seditious Meetings Prevention Act, as well as others in the 6 acts, suggest?

A

That the radicalism was effective because government felt threatened

88
Q

As a part of the swing riots, between February and March 1830, how many petitions were sent to Parliament demanding new tax reductions in rural areas?

A

200

89
Q

What 5 things did the swing riots involve?

A

1) machine breaking
2) Assaults on landlords
3) Strikes
4) Demands for higher wages
5) Arson

90
Q

What did the Swing riots make parliament worried about?

A

That the previous order of hierarchical paternalism was breaking down.

91
Q

What did many in the commercial middle classes hate?

A

The aristocratic nepotism of the government

92
Q

Why were the new middle classes motivated by a strong sense of purpose?

A

made their fortunes through their own hard work and determination

93
Q

What epitomised the resentment that the middle classes had for government?

A

The corn laws of 1815

94
Q

Why did the corn laws of 1815 epitomise the resentment that the middle classes had for government?

A

It seemed that the government was looking after their own

95
Q

How many members did Thomas Hardy claim his 1792 London Corresponding Society had and how many did it probably actually have?

A

Founder Thomas Hardy claimed there were 5000 members in the early 1790s but it was probably closer to 1000.

96
Q

In october 1785, how many did the London Corresponding Society attract to its demonstration on copenhagen fields?

A

100 000

97
Q

From what did Hardy’s LCS distance themselves from?

A

Radical works such as Paine’s 1792 Rights of Man

98
Q

Who established the BPU and when was it founded?

A

Thomas Attwood December 1829

99
Q

What did the Duke of Wellington do when he replaced Lord Liverpool in 1828?

A

split the Tory Party into opposing factions by alienating the Canningite faction by refusing to consider the redistribution of parliamentary seats and angering the protestant ‘ultras’ by supporting the 1829 Catholic emancipation act

100
Q

When was the Catholic Emancipation act, supported by the Duke of Wellington that angered the ultras ?

A

1829

101
Q

Which king died who opposed the whigs?

A

Georeg IV

102
Q

When was there an inconclusive general election following the death of George IV?

A

June 1830

103
Q

What king replaced George IV?

A

William IV

104
Q

What PM did William IV invite to form a government?

A

Earl Grey

105
Q

What kind of People did Earl Grey want to included in the running of the country?

A

men of property

106
Q

How did Earl grey see himself?

A

A safe half way house between radical extremism and the current system

107
Q

Who did Earl Grey manage to win support from?

A

The Canningites and the Ultras

108
Q

What was the role of the unreformed old system?

A

Provided ammunition for rational middle class arguments in favour of reform.

109
Q

What two factors, particularly in the latter stages of the time leading up to 1832 caused the passage of the acts?

A

the actions of the Tories and Whigs, combined with the radical protest and unrest that ultimately provided for the act’s passage

110
Q

What did the working classes provide?

A

The most potent threat to government

111
Q

Though the working classes provided the most potent threat to government, what about them shows that the unreformed system was not the most important factor?

A

The working classes, those who proved the most potent threat to the government, were not, as the middle classes were, motivated by the unreformed old system, but instead by economic discontent.

112
Q

What is the rotten borough that flooded and how many MPs were returned by it?

A

Dunwich in Suffolk had been submerged by the sea after its royal charter had been given, but still returned 2 MPs

113
Q

Name a pocket borough and the family who controlled it?

A

Appleby Cumbria controlled by the Lowther family

114
Q

what are the two principal effects of the 1778 USA independence and the 1789 French revolution?

A

1) Inspirational for radicals

2) Generated fear for government

115
Q

What did EP Thompson call the days of may?

A

The closest that Britain ever came to revolution

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