Chapter 11 section 1 and 2 By Alexander Bonilla

Setting the scene In the 1800’s Disraeli and other political

leaders slowly worked to bridge Britain's “two nations” and to extend democratic rights.

Britain generally achieved change through reform than revolution.

Reforming Parliament By 1815 Britain was a constitutional

monarchy with a parliament and two political parties.

Although members of the house of commons were elected, less than 5 percent of the population could vote.

Pleasure for change Long standing laws kept many people

from vote. In the 1820’s reformers pushed to end

religious restrictions. Parliament finally granted Catholics and non Anglican Protestant equal political rights.

An even greater battle soon erupted over making parliament more representative.

Reform act of 1832 The great reform act of 1832

redistributed seats in the house of commons giving representation to larger towns and cities and eliminating rotten borough.

By 1830 Whigs and tories were battling over a bill to reform parliament.

The at also enlarged the electorate by granting suffrage to more men.

Reform act of 1832 Electorate: body of people allowed

to vote. The act set a property requirement for

voting The reform act did not bring full

democracy but it gave a greater political voice to the middle class

The chartist movement The reform bill did not help the rural

workers. In the 1830’s protestors called the

Chartists drew up the people’s charter it demanded universal male suffrage, annual parliamentary elections and salaries for members of parliament.

The chartist movement Cont. The chartists presented the petition to

parliament with 1 million signatures and they were ignored

Secret ballot: casting votes without announcing them publicly.

Victorian age From 1837-1901 the great in British life

was Queen Victoria. Her reign was the longest in British

history.

Symbol of a nation’s values. Queen Victoria came to embody the

values of her age. Victorian ideals: duty, thrift, honesty,

hard working and respectability. Today, we associate those qualities with

the Victorian middle class. She herself embraced a strict cde of

morals and manners.

Symbol of a nation’s values As a young woman she married a

German prince, Albert. Albert held a lower rank but she treated

him with the devotion of a dutiful wife should.

When he died she went into deep mourning and dressed in black for the rest of her reign

A confident age Under Victoria, the British middle class,

and the working class, felt great confidence in the future.

As the Victoria era went on, the reformers continued the push toward greater social and economic justice.

New era in British politics In the 1860’s a new era dawned in

British politics. He old political parties regrouped under new leadership.

Expanding suffrage The Disraeli and conservative party

pushed through the reform bill of 1867. By giving the vote to many working

class neb the new law almost doubled the size of the electorate.

Limiting the lords In the early 1900’s, Liberals in the house

of commons pressed ahead with social reforms though they met their death at the hands of the House of lords.

In 1911 a liberal government passed measures to restrict the powers of the lords including their powers to veto tax bills.

Section 2

Setting the scene Lady Constance Lytton was arrested for

taking part in a woman’s suffrage protest.

She also refused to eat while in the prison cell and her hunger strike would last until the British government granted the vote to women.

In the end she was force-fed food.

Setting the scene Cont. In the end parliament respond to the

widespread discontent with a series of social and economic reforms.

Social and economic reforms One of the most controversal measures

made was: Free trade: trade between

countries without quotas. Tariffs or other restrictions

Free trade and the Corn laws. In the early 1800’s Britain, like other

European nations taxed foreign imports in order to protect local economics

Free traders demanded an end to a such protective tariff. The free traders agreed and believed that Adam Smith’s Laissez faire would increase prosperity for all.

If there were no tariffs merchants would have larger markets to sell there things in.

Free trade and the corn laws Cont. Some British Tariffs were repealed in the

1820’s. However fierce debates broke out over the corn laws. They imposed high tariffs on imported grain.

Repeal: cancel In 1846 parliament repealed the corn laws. However, economic hard time s led Britain

and othe European countries to impose protective tariffs on many goods again

Campaign against slavery During the 1700’s enlightenment

thinkers had turned the spotlight on the evils of the slave trade.

Under pressure from middle class reformers the campaign against slave trade.

In 1807 Britain was the first European power to abolish slavery

Though, the ban did not end slavery.

Crime and punishment Capital offenses: murder,

shoplifting , sheep stealing and impersonating a army veteran.

Executions were public and a hanging of a well known murder was a very publicly attended event.

Penal colonies: special settlements for convicts

Victories for the working class By the early 1900’s parliament passed a

series of reforms designed to help the men, women and children whose labor supported the new industrial society

Working conditions Working conditions were grim and

dangerous. Parliament passed laws to regulate

conditions in factories and mines People were limited to working 10 hours

a day max. They sent inspectors to check If the laws

were being enforced.

Labor unions Early in the industrial revolution labor

unions were outlawed. Under pleasure, government and business

leaders accepted workers organizations. Trade unions were made legal in 1825

while strikes remained illegal. Despite restrictions unions spread and

won higher wages and shorter hours for workers.

Later reforms During the late 1800’s and early 1900’s

both parties enacted social reforms to benefit the working class.

Another force for reform was the Fabian society, socialist organization founded in 1883. they promoted gradual change through legal means rather than by violence

Votes for women Women at the time struggled for the

right to vote. The Women were torn some of them

supported it and some didn’t like it.

Suffragist Revolt By the early 1900’s Emmeline Pankhurst

had become convinced that only aggressive tactics would bring victory.

New mass meeting sand other peaceful efforts failed some people turned to violence

They were arrested and jailed.

A belated victory At 1918 parliament granted suffrage to

women over 50. Young women couldn’t vote for another decade.

The Irish question Absentee landlords: people who

owned land but did not live there

Irish nationalism Irish nationalists campaigned vigorously

for freedom and justice in the 1800’s. Britain slowly moved to improve

conditions in Ireland. Parliament passed the catholic

emancipation act which allowed Irish Catholics to vote and hold political office