BRITISH REFORM ACTS OF 1832 & 1867.   Term Paper ID:25505 Click to get this paper

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Paper Abstract: Background, causes & consequences, provisions, politics & economics, domestic & foreign issues. Paper Introduction: BRITISH REFORM ACTS OF 1832 AND 1867 This research paper discusses the causes and consequences of the Reform Act of 1832 and the Reform Act of 1867 which were enacted by the Parliament of Great Britain. The passage of the Reform Act of 1832 came about because of a combination of fundamental long-term political, economic and social changes related to the effects of the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars and the Industrial Revolution on the expectations and structure of British society, the inability of postwar Tory governments to readjust political institutions to those effects, including rising social unrest, and an unusual set of immediate circumstances, some fortuitous, which enabled the Whigs to assume power in 1832 and to generate a strong political consensus for Parliamentary reform. The Reform Act of 1832 did Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. . Aristocratic rule continuedin the House of Commons under the Whigs in the 183 s and the Conservatives(1841-1846) under Peel. Advances in science andengineering helped revolutionize transport and communications in the early19th century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1971.MacDonagh, Oliver T. Almost allindustrial and farm laborers remained disenfranchised. Whiggery and Reform 183 -1841. The185 s and 186 s were times of rising prosperity. Demands for political reform werelargely ignored. Themovement largely faded into insignificance in the 185 s. The Reform Act of 1832 did not eliminate thepolitical control of the established order, but by bringing the middleclass into the governing process enabled Britain to avoid more violentchange and set the stage for more extensive reforms later. Those reforms were also incomplete, but together with laterreforms, they made British government reasonably democratic, revolutionizedparty politics and made possible other economic and social reforms. Despite numerous attempts, by the younger William Pitt amongothers, no important changes had been made in the British constitutionalframework since the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Wellington A Political Biography. Ward, Chartism (London: B. A similar fate doomed a Reform Bill introducedby Conservatives Lord Derby and Benjamin Disraeli in 1859. The Act of 1867 doubled the electorate, an increase ofover two million new voters. The movement was weakened by divisionsamong its leaders between moderates and more militant elements. . The Reform Act of 1867 was caused by rising prosperity and thegrowing power of the working classes and their trade unions, which weresufficiently strong to persuade centrist political leaders, especiallyBenjamin Disraeli, that they could safely and must politically broadensuffrage further and enact other reforms to make Parliament morerepresentative. The wholesale rejection of Chartism and its democraticdemands reflected these upper-class and middle-class attitudes."[xiii]Modest Parliamentary Reform bills introduced by Whig Sir John Russell in1852 and 1854 went nowhere. New York: Penguin Books, 1993.Wood, Anthony. Another factor which inhibited fundamental political reform duringthis period was the instability of governing coalitions incident to thedecline of the Whigs, split among aristocrats, radicals and Irishnationalists, and divisions within the Tories over trade issues. However, the Napoleonic Wars had strained the Britisheconomy, increased the national debt to record levels, lowered the pricesof British farm exports and led to a postwar depression. British Politics in the Nineteenth Century. London: B. the workers naturally redoubled their demand forenfranchisement."[xvii]The Conservatives had been returned to power with a narrow margin. New York: Harper & Row, 1969.Blake, Robert. More than three decades were to pass before conditions wereripe for another round of Parliamentary reform. New York: David McKay, 196 .Woodward, E. D. The Chartist movement followed upon earlier failures in tradeunion organization and of Robert Owen's utopian anti-capitalist experimentwith national cooperatives. It revived after the death of Palmerston; the reform act of 1867 was the result of exigencies in the House of Commons, and of the accidents of debate, but was none the less desired by the country.[xvi] Two other factors were the trade union crisis of 1867 brought on bylegal rulings which threw into question the legality of union organizingactivities such as picketing, which Ward said made "the situation lookbleak for the unions . The falteringeconomy and the dislocations caused by the factory system and the enclosureof farmland incident to the mechanization of agriculture had displaced manysmall farmers and artisans such as handloom weavers, producing outbreaks ofurban riots in 1816-1819 and the spread of radical protest movements,including the anti-industrial Luddites. Husseysaid that after 1832, "neither Whigs nor Tories believed in the principleof full democratic representation" and "the middle classes . The Twentieth Century A World History. Reform Act of 1832 Causes. . Black (Ed.), British Politics in the NineteenthCentury (New York: Harper & Row, 1969), 59.Oliver T. Consequences. (Ed.). Disraeli. . . Luck played a role in the Whigs' success in pushing their finalReform bill through Parliament. Grey and his associates wereable to manipulate the new King, William IV, whose instincts werereactionary, but who was inexperienced and who eventually helped convinceTory 'Waverers' in the House of Lords to vote for the final Reform bill. Outbreaks of disorder were repressed. Other consequences included the emergence of mass political partieswhich required mass marketing and strong local party organization. . Wellington was not an adroit political leader. . Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1938. In the late 183 s, Chartism sprang up in response to thedisenchantment of the working class with the limited reform of 1832, thedisplacement of workers by machines and dislike of many provisions of thefactory laws. Therenewed agitation for Parliamentary reform,, what Blake described as "thegrowing strength of the Reform movement," left the government little choicebut to introduce a reform bill.[xviii] Once he started down the road ofreform, and even though he preferred a milder version than what finallypassed, Disraeli, according to Weintraub, "knew that the Conservative Partywas dead unless he brought in real reform."[xix] He did so with an amazingdisplay of parliamentary skill. Parliamentrejected the Chartists' demands. New York: St. T. Chartism. In the electionof 183 , the Whig magnates had begun, said Newbold, "to doubt the value ofa system that was giving way to uncontrollable anarchy."[vi] Fearful ofdemocracy, they supported reform insofar as it might "strengthen . T. MacDonagh, Early Victorian Government (New York:Holmes & Meier, 1977), 1.Newbold, 78.Hussey, 15 .Stanley Weintraub, Disraeli A Biography (New York: PenguinBooks, 1993), 451-452.Woodward, 156.Woodward, 156.Anthony Ward, Nineteenth Century Britain 1815-1914 (New York:David McKay, 196 ), 267.Robert Blake, Disraeli (New York: St. T. New York: Henry Holt, 1998.Ward, J. Hussey, British History 1815-1939 (Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press, 1971), 2.Hussey, 23.Hussey, 75.Christopher Hibbert, Wellington A Personal History (Reading, MA:Addison-Wesley, 1997), 299.Ian Newbold, Whiggery and Reform 183 -1841 (Stanford: StanfordUniversity Press, 199 ), 48.Newbold, 8.Woodward, 82.J. Thenewly enfranchised electorate demanded, and eventually got, a rash ofsocial legislation to respond to their perceived needs, as politicians wereforced to redeem their campaign promises. T. Some minor political reforms were enacted, such asthe Municipal Reform Act (1835) which increased democratic representationin local city and town government. Early Victorian Government 183 -187 . Conclusion The Reform Acts of 1832 and 1867 were prompted by the enormouschanges which took place in the British economy and society after the 18thcentury and which could no longer be accommodated well by an antiquatedParliamentary system. The net effects of these changes, which flowed from the 1867 Act ifnot incorporated entirely in it, was to democratize the franchise andgreatly reduce the influence of the landed classes. secured or were provided with a body ofremedial legislation," which made government cheaper, more comprehensibleand more workable.[xi] This included freer trade, the factory acts whichimproved working conditions, mine safety reforms, etc. Political realities filtered public sentiment whichwas in both decades in favor of reform and helped determine both the timingand final content of the legislation involved. Consequences. Thespread of the ideals of the French Revolution had encouraged middle-classadvocates of Parliamentary reform, who had formed a Union for ParliamentaryReform in 1812, but the practices of the French Revolution, according toWoodward, "produced among most propertied Englishmen a peculiar fear of mobviolence."[i] The Industrial Revolution which had begun in the late 18thcentury had transformed the English economy, as it adopted methods of massproduction in its textiles and other industries. The ballot, however, was still not secret until1872. Disraelihad toyed with the idea since his days as a Young Englander with the notionof forming an alliance between the aristocracy and the working class. Theelectorate was increased even further in 1884 and more seats wereredistributed in 1885. Woodward, The Age of Reform 1815-187 (Oxford: ClarendonPress, 1938), 18.W. According toHussey, "lacking property, education, and the vote, the working massesfound it an impossible task to influence a government of rich men based onan undemocratic and unrepresentative House of Commons which, in an age ofgreat social misery, ignored the views and feelings of the commonpeople."[ii] In domestic affairs, the Tory governments of the 182 s had morepressing priorities than Parliamentary Reform, including currencystabilization, the debate over protectionist Corn Laws vs. D. . Newbold said "reformhad allowed the English industrial achievement to provide for prosperityuntrammeled by the constitutional uncertainties of its continentalcounterparts."[xii] Reform Act of 1867 Causes. Nineteenth Century Britain 1815-1914. Thedispute over Catholic Emancipation produced a revolt by the Ultra-Tory wingwhich effectively drove the Tories from power. I think England is safe inthe race of men who inhabit her."[xiv] The English public school education was still way behind that of theContinent, but, nevertheless, more and more people were literate, and thegreat expansion of the press meant that their expectations for a greatershare in public life were increasing and were broadly disseminated.Woodward said "the mismanagement of the [Crimean] war discreditedaristocratic government," one of whose last holdovers and an opponent ofmass suffrage, Lord Palmerston, died in 1865.[xv] Woodward summarized theconditions which led to the introduction of the Reform Bill of 1867 by LordDerby and Disraeli: the rise in prices due to war, and the consequent check in the improvement in the standard of living led to a renewal in the agitation for a wider franchise; this agitation died down with the return of prosperity. The Act increased the voterrolls by 217, , of from one in a 1 to one in 32 adult males. Improvements in public health ledto a decline in infant mortality and control of diseases such as smallpox,which produced large population increases and migration from rural to urbanareas where municipal services were unable to keep up with rising demandfor basic services such as sanitation and running water. Batsford, 1973), 64.Eugene C. and the demands of various political unions," such as themiddle-class supported Birmingham Political Union.[iii] The abdication of the French Bourbon King Charles XI in 183 , saidWoodward, "caused immense excitement in England and brought a revival ofinterest in parliamentary reform."[iv] According to Hibbert, Wellingtonopposed it, because it "would destroy the country."[v] Most Tories agreed,even more progressive elements, such as Sir Robert Peel, who opposed themoderate Parliamentary Reform proposal advanced by Lord Charles Grey, thenew Whig Prime Minister, in 1831. The Whigs at first approached the subject gingerly. Change was gradual butpeaceful and helped Britain move into the modern world. L. New York: Holmes & Meier, 1977.Newbold, Ian. the middle classes . L. . Endnotes BibliographyBlack, Eugene C. -----------------------E. freer trade, andCatholic Emancipation, criminal law and police reform, the removal ofloyalty oaths for Non Conformists as a condition for holding public officeand allowing Irish Catholic M.P.s to stand for election to Parliament,which the last Tory government headed by the Duke of Wellington passed inorder to avoid civil war in Ireland. . . Its goals as set forth in its Charter of May1838 included universal male suffrage and Parliamentary Reform. The passage of the Reform Act of 1832 came about because of acombination of fundamental long-term political, economic and social changesrelated to the effects of the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars andthe Industrial Revolution on the expectations and structure of Britishsociety, the inability of postwar Tory governments to readjust politicalinstitutions to those effects, including rising social unrest, and anunusual set of immediate circumstances, some fortuitous, which enabled theWhigs to assume power in 1832 and to generate a strong political consensusfor Parliamentary reform. The major focus of the reform movement,led by intellectuals such as Jeremy Bentham, shifted to the amelioration ofsocial and economic conditions, which remained miserable for the massesduring these two decades, especially in Ireland during the great famines ofthe 184 s. The Age of Reform 1815-187 . The representation of the larger cities wasincreased, as towns with less than 1 , inhabitants lost their seats. Disraeli A Biography. BRITISH REFORM ACTS OF 1832 AND 1867 This research paper discusses the causes and consequences of theReform Act of 1832 and the Reform Act of 1867 which were enacted by theParliament of Great Britain. The final Reform Act of 1832 lowered propertyqualifications for voting, the basic feature being the enfranchisement ofall householders in boroughs whose premises were assessed for a rentalvalue of at least 1 pounds a year, which included primarily middle classvoters, took representation rights away from unpopulated areas andincreased representation in crowded cities. In 1867 in the debates on the Reform Bill of 1867, Disraeliwas able to use that moderation to his advantage when he said, according toWeintraub, "I do not think England is in danger. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 199 .Ponting, Clive. The Conservatives were weakened by thedeath of one of their most experienced leaders, George Canning in 1826, andby the stroke which Lord Livermore, the former Tory Prime Minister,suffered in 1827. Representative government inBritain was far from perfect but it had few peers around the world. Martin's Press, 1967.Hibbert, Christopher. .agitation . It alone in Europe avoided revolution in 1848.According to MacDonagh, "the reform act of 1832 shifted the balance ofpower in society; and, especially in the years 1833-1949, the beneficiaries. After Wellington'slast ministry fell, Hussey said that in 1929-183 , "political activityworking for parliamentary reform intensified and showed itself in . Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1997.Hussey, W. weregenerally unwilling to share their newly-gained privilege with the workingclasses below them. For centuries, politicalcontrol of Parliament lay in the hands of the landed aristocracy. Ward says that"elections remained expensive, sometimes corrupt, often violent and stillsubject to considerable influence by patrons."[ix] Black said "the newdevice of registration became a source of new or dubious practices" and"the gentry-aristocracy continued to dominate both principal politicalparties."[x] On the other hand, Great Britain had effected a modest constitutionalrevolution peacefully. Trade unionism also grew,but its leaders had become more pragmatic and less ideological and theirorientation. British History 1815-1939. Martin's Press, 1967),45 .Weintraub, 453.Clive Ponting, The Twentieth Century A World History (New York:Henry Holt, 1998), 394.----------------------- 1 A number of factors led to the passage of the Reform Act of 1867. . .rank, property, and authority."[vii] When the public rallied behind theReform Bill through mass demonstrations, Woodward said that "the countrywould not have the tories, or anything less than the whole reformbill."[viii] The Whigs saw the Bill as a means of enlisting middle classsupport and thereby preserving their own political influence. . Batsford, 1973.Weintraub, Sidney. Still, Ponting pointedout that as late as 19 , only four out of ten men were entitled tovote.[xx] The Midlands and other northern cities remained underrepresented.There were still rotten boroughs. Queen Victoria gave him her support. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.