democracy

• what is a democracy


  in a democracy system the adult populatin chooses who rules the country snd makes the laws. In a democracy, people also have the right to protest against things that they think are wrong and should be changed
• features of a democracy (7)

  1. universal suffrage (the right to vote)

  2. free choice of political parties

  3. human rights (limits on government power)

  4. secret ballot (no bribery or intimidation)

  5. anyone can be an m.p (no property qualification)

  6. regular elections

  7. equal constituencies
• to become a law a bill must be passed by

  House of Commons, House of Lords, the king
• how were the House of Lords elected

  inherited their sears by family members, appointed by the king, supporters of the king that were against further change
• how were the House of Commons elected

  were elected but there was no single election system. They were elected by each county and borough
• tories


  House of Lords, against further change
• constituency


  an area represented by an m.p
• why was Britain not a democracy in 1760

  no women, most men, power was in the lands of rich male landowners, protests were not allowed as they were thought to be dangerous
• who could vote in 1760?


  rich wealthy men who owned a property worth a certain amount of money
• rotten boroughs


  depopulated areas of england that nevertheless sent representatives to Parliament in 1760
• pocket boroughs


  voting controlled by the landlord
• why was their pressure for reform

  1. growth of middle class that had economic power but no political power. Wanted to change laws to represent the interests of their businesses

  2. influence of other countries, the USA and the French Revolution

  3. growth of the working class who had economic power but no political power. Striking from their jobs

  4. the influence of the new ideas, democracy, socialism, the idea of people as 'citizens', people,e as members of a political community

  5. when the Napoleonic wars ended soldiers returned home in large numbers without jobs so protests began to spread due to unemployment and food prices rising
• what was a radical

  wanted a fairer society and a change in how Britain was run. They supported reform such as giving the right of voting to all men over 21. Radicals hoped the government would listen about living and employment conditions
• why was government against reform?

  scared a revolution would be possible like the French Revolution in 1789 where landowners and monarchy were killed. So they took strong action against the radicals
• the spa fields riot 1816


  Took place in December where Henry hunt spoke for reform. Trouble broke out, mobs carried guns and spikes. Spies were implanted by lord sidmouth and declared that a general rising had been threatened. Army was sent into to break up the crowd and it was enough to convince the government that the protests were dangerous and should be stopped
• suspension of haebus corpus snd the soy system

  was suspended, individuals could be detained and imprisoned without being taken to trial. Suspension was only a year and was renewed in 1818
• the blanketeers 1817


  few months after the spa fields riot, spinners and weavers organised a march from London to Manchester. They walked in groups of 10 mins blankets with a petition about the new steam powered looms in factories that were destroying their jobs. Many were arrested and only one made it to show his petition
• the peeterloo massacre 1819


  took place in Manchester in St Peter's fields actually a inclosed space where Henry hunt spoke and the news spread like wildfire. It was meant to be peaceful and nonviolent. Men, women and children arrived from all over protesting for liberty and universal suffrage. Magistrates watched from windows and believing they were dangerous, sent in the yeomanry who killed multiple protesters. The field was cleared in 10 mins. 11 killed, 140 injured. It was named Peterloo after Waterloo
• the radical war Scotland 1820

  happened due to an economic downturn. Unemployment increased and food prices went up rapidly. Only around 250 people had the right to vote. A group of men planned to set up a new government and were going to use force if necessary. Posters were out up and sheets were sent to working class people to prepare for an armed uprising. In April 1820, around 60,000 workers went on strike in Glasgow and marched into the city to attack government forces. Marched at the iron works at carron, Falkirk. Met by the Yeomanry and leaders of radicals were arrested but were freed by the crowd.
• what happened to the radicals after 1820

  the radicals causes seemed to be dead. Economy improved, new jobs weee found and there was less desperate cries of protest from people. However, ideas of political reform did not die out
• when was a Whig government set up

  1831 and reform became a possibility
• who was lord grey and what did he do


  he was a prime minister who was a Whig and supported reform. After the lords blocked reform he called for an election. The whigs won but the lords still blocked the act. So he said he would ask the king to add 50 new lords. The lords then passed the reform bill
• terms of the 1832 reform act

  1. changed the distribution of seats. 67 new constituencies were added and spread among large industrial towns like Manchester

  2. rotten boroughs lost the right to send an m.p to parliament. 50 were abolished and 30 could only send 1 m.p instead of 2

  3. vote now includes small landowners, tenant farmers and shopkeepers who paid a yearly rent of £10 or more

  4. upper middle class got the vote
• what did the 1832 reform act not change


  working class could still not vote, lower middle class couldn't vote, no women, no secret ballot, no equal constituencies, no regular elections, m.ps still unpaid, no universal suffrage
• who were the Chartists

  a mass working class movement who were disappointed at the @832 reform act snd wanted political reform
• there was different types of chartists

  1. moral force led by William Lovett through peaceful protests

  2. physical force led by feargus O'Connor who felt like violence was needed. This alarmed the government
• the six points of the people's charter

  1. all men over 21

  2. secret ballot

  3. m.ps don't have to own property/ have a property qualification

  4. m.ps paid

  5. equal constituencies

  6. an election every year for parliament
• the chartists were drawn to it for many reasons

  disappointed with the 1832 reform act, factory legislation was a disappointment (1833), bitterness towards the poor law act 1834, unemployed men treated harshly, poverty was a crime, new workhouses built, high unemployment, stopping trade unionism, existed but had little power, problems with trade and employment
• why did Chartism fail

  1. british economic and social situations improved during the mid 1840s, employment increased, food prices decreased and there was higher wages

  2. people who still wanted to change British politics joined new movements, anti-corn law league where they wanted reduced tax on corn and kats, ten hour movement where they wanted a limit of working hours
• problems in the Chartist movement included

  1. lack of single leadership, disagreed over peaceful and violent tactics

  2. poor coordination, chartists groups were spread out in small groups which made it difficult to communicate and have meetings

  3. different aims, they all agreed on the 6 points but couldn't agree on other things like what they wanted from parliament. Some wanted improved education and working conditions

  4. different classes and poor funding, middle class withdrew their support after violence became linked meaning there was less money to fund the movement
• what happened to the chartists petitions

  the chartists sent 3 petitions to parliament. 1839, 1842, 1848, all were rejected for containing fake names and parliament didn't have to worry as the working class couldn't vote
• physical force chartists


  rising in Newport, the flag plot in 1842 where charities destroyed boilers in factories which hurt the profits of the factory owners
• the chartist land plan

  some chartists felt the industrial revolution was the cause of all their problems and wanted to return to the domestic system. They launched a national lottery and raised huge sums of money. They set up villages around England and whoever won would live there
• why was the chartist land plan a disaster

  corruption, theft of money, the people who won hated it, no skills and unrealistic
• house of commons


  whigs who were for reform
• most whigs felt that the 1832 act


  was enough change
• radical Whigs


  were known as "liberals"
• conservative Party


  tories who believed change could happen but only if it was absolutely necessary "to conserve the system"
• political pressure in the 1860s

  1. two pressure groups were set up the reform league and the reform union founded in 1864 and increased pressure for reform

  2. the American civil war. Working class supported the north and middle and upper class supported the south. When the north won the working class believed it was a victory for democracy

  3. the conservatives and liberals both realised reform was likely to happen, they believed if they gave more men the vote then they would vote for them
• who was Benjamin Disraeli

  conservative leader who passed off the 1867 reform act as his own, stealing it from the liberals. It was even more radical than the liberals wanted