Reforms, Revolutions, and War
Section 1
Reforms, Revolutions, and War
Section 1
Reforms in the British Empire
Preview
• Starting Points Map: European Possessions
• Main Idea / Reading Focus
• Social and Political Reforms
• Victorian Era Voting Reforms
• Quick Facts: British Reforms
• Changes in the British Empire
Reforms, Revolutions, and War
Click the icon to play
Listen to History
audio.
Click the icon below
to connect to the
Interactive Maps.
Section 1
Reforms, Revolutions, and War
Section 1
Reforms in the British Empire
Main Idea
During the 1800s Great Britain passed many democratic reforms
that changed the way people lived and worked.
Reading Focus
• How did social and political reforms change life in Britain
during the early 1800s?
• What reforms helped to shape the Victorian Era?
• What changes transformed the British Empire?
Reforms, Revolutions, and War
Section 1
Social and Political Reforms
During the 1830s industrialization led to rapid changes in British
society, and some began to call for social and political reform.
Industrial Revolution
Reform Act of 1832
• Growing prosperity of working,
middle classes led to greater
demands for political reform
• 1830s, demands for reform too
strong to ignore
• 1800, landowning aristocrats
made up most of Parliament
• Some industrial cities had no
representatives at all
• Only wealthy male property
owners could vote; public office
restricted to men of wealth
• Liberals challenged old
aristocratic, conservative order
• Reform Act of 1832 gave
industrial cities representation
• Also gave voting rights to
middle-class men who owned
certain amount of property
• Women excluded from voting
Reforms, Revolutions, and War
Section 1
Sadler and the Factory Act
• While Parliament debated Reform Act, one member investigated
treatment of children in Britain’s textile factories
• Michael Sadler showed harmful conditions endured by child workers
• Report noted physical mistreatment, long hours, low wages
Reaction to Report
• As result of Sadler’s report, Parliament passed Factory Act, 1833
• Act limited working hours of children in textile factories, made it illegal
for teenagers to work more than 12 hours per day
• Children between ages 9 and 13 had to receive two hours schooling
per day
Reforms, Revolutions, and War
Section 1
Other Reforms
New Laws
• 1833, Parliament abolished slavery in Great Britain, all British Empire
• Government compensated slave owners depending on how many they freed
• Parliament also passed new public health and crime laws
Chartism
• 1839, group called Chartists worked for voting rights for all men
• Name from People’s Charter, petition sent to Parliament demanding voting
rights, secret ballot, annual elections, pay for representatives in Parliament
Parliamentary Reaction
• People’s Charter rejected; Chartists gained wide popular support, staged
uprisings; large revolt, 1848
• Chartists did not see immediate results but many reforms passed eventually
Reforms, Revolutions, and War
Section 1
Compare
How did the demands of Chartism compare
to the voting reforms passed in 1832?
Answer(s): 1832 voting reforms redrew borough lines,
extended vote to many middle-class property owners, gave
parliamentary representation to many industrial towns, but
not to industrial workers; Chartists called for additional
reforms, extending the vote to all men, vote by secret
ballot, annual elections, payment of representatives in
Parliament
Reforms, Revolutions, and War
Section 1
Victorian Era Voting Reforms
In 1837 Queen Victoria became the ruler of Great Britain. The
Victorian Era lasted until 1901. It was a time of great change,
including voting reforms that made the country more democratic.
Disraeli and
Gladstone
• 1868–1885, two
influential prime
ministers, William
Gladstone,
Benjamin Disraeli,
elected several
times
Liberal vs.
Conservative
• Gladstone, Liberal
party, took more
progressive
approach to solving
society’s problems
• Disraeli,
Conservative party,
wanted to preserve
traditions of past
Male Suffrage
• Disraeli put forth
new reform bill to
extend voting rights
to more working
men; passed 1867
• Another law
created the secret
ballot; discouraged
bribery, intimidation
Section 1
Reforms, Revolutions, and War
Women’s Suffrage
Question of Rights
1867 Reform Bill
• 1800s, women not seen as
equals to men; could not own
property, not legal guardians of
their children
• Disraeli argued that if a woman
could be queen, she should be
able to vote
• Many women thought right to
vote would increase power in
society
• Queen Victoria against
women’s suffrage, called it
“mad, wicked folly”
• Tried to add women’s suffrage
to 1867 reform bill but did not
succeed
• Suffragists tried but made little
progress for nearly 40 years;
lobbied, signed petitions,
educated public
Reforms, Revolutions, and War
Section 1
Women’s Social and Political Union
Early 1900s, women grew more frustrated with slow pace of
suffrage movement
• Emmeline Pankhurst, founder of Women’s Social and
Political Union (WSPU) said, “You have to make more noise
than anybody else.”
• Government continued to ignore issue of women’s suffrage
– WSPU adopted destructive tactics
– Many suffragists went to prison
• 1918, Parliament granted vote to women over age 30
– By 1928 voting rights for British women were on the same basis
as British men.
Reforms, Revolutions, and War
Section 1
Reforms, Revolutions, and War
Section 1
Summarize
What reforms were passed during the late
1800s?
Answer(s): voting rights expanded for men,
secret ballot created
Reforms, Revolutions, and War
Section 1
Changes in the British Empire
Beyond Britain, people living in other parts of the British Empire were
also moved by the spirit of reform. In the mid-1800s people in Ireland,
Canada, Australia, and New Zealand took steps to rule themselves.
Ireland
• 1801, Ireland joined United
Kingdom
• Some Irish hated British rulers,
particularly British landlords who
had power to evict Irish farmers
• Policies created to help British
industry hurt Irish agriculture
Potato Famine
• Mid-1800s, potato crop failed
several times, left many with no
food, no income
• Potatoes Irish peasants’ main food
source; famine swept Ireland
• Without money to pay rent, many
evicted from homes
During the years of the famine, about 1 million people starved, and
about 1.5 million others emigrated—many to the United States.
Reforms, Revolutions, and War
Section 1
Ireland
Exports
• Ireland continued to export food through famine years
• Shipments left Irish ports for England under heavy guard by British soldiers
• British officials believed interfering with trade would harm British economy
Resentful of British Rule
• Famine left many Irish more resentful of British rule than ever
• 1860s, many Irish began to fight for change
• Some wanted independence, others home rule within United Kingdom
Self-Government
• Parliament debated several bills to grant home rule to Ireland, 1800s
• None of them passed
• Ireland did not receive limited self-government until 1920
Reforms, Revolutions, and War
Section 1
Canada
Colonies
Rebellions
• Britain’s colonies in Canada
very different
• Diversity created lack of unity,
led to calls for reform
• Some mainly French-speaking,
others mainly English-speaking
• 1837, rebellions in Canadian
colonies convinced British
reform necessary
Unity
Dominion
• 1838, Lord Durham sent as
governor-general to Canada
• 1867, Parliament granted
colonies power to govern selves
• Wanted colonies to unite, form
“great and powerful people”
• Canada become dominion, selfgoverning colony; continued to
expand westward
Reforms, Revolutions, and War
Section 1
Australia
• Since 1700s, Britain had used Australia as place to send criminals
• Mid-1800s, other colonists began to settle there, attracted by copper,
gold deposits
• 1901, Britain granted self-rule to Commonwealth of Australia;
established own parliament but remained part of British empire
New Zealand
• British government made agreement with local Maori people, land in
exchange for self-rule
• New Zealand became a dominion of Great Britain
• 1893, New Zealand became first country to give women the vote
Reforms, Revolutions, and War
Section 1
Compare and Contrast
How did self-rule come about in Ireland,
Canada, Australia, and New Zealand?
Answer(s): potato famine left Irish resentful,
1920: limited self-rule; 1867: British granted some
Canadian colonies self-rule; Australia granted selfrule; Maoris in New Zealand exchanged land for
self-rule