Essential
Question:
How “democratic”
did Britain become
by the beginning
of the 20c?
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?
1
Reforming Parliament
In 1815, Britain was a constitutional monarchy. Yet,
it was far from democratic:
• Less than five percent of the people had the
right to vote.
• Wealthy nobles and squires dominated politics.
• The House of Lords could veto any bill passed
by the House of Commons.
• Catholics and non-Anglican Protestants could
not vote or serve in Parliament.
• Populous new cities had no seats in Parliament,
while rural towns with few or no voters still
sent members to Parliament.
• In 1832, Parliament finally passed the Great
Reform Act.
• It redistributed seats in the House of
Commons.
• It enlarged the electorate by granting suffrage
to more men.
2
Social and Economic Reforms
During the early and mid-1800s, Parliament
passed a wide variety of important new laws.
 In 1807, Britain became the first leading European
power to outlaw the slave trade.
 In 1833, Parliament passed a law banning slavery in all
British colonies.
 Laws were passed to reduce the number of capital
offenses and end public hanging.
 Additional reforms improved prison conditions and
outlawed imprisonment for debt.
 Some British tariffs were repealed in the 1820s.
 In 1846, Parliament finally agreed to repeal the Corn
Laws, which imposed high tariffs on imported grain.
1
The Victorian Age
From 1837 to 1901, the greatest symbol in British life
was Queen Victoria.
Although she exercised little real political power, she set
the tone for what is now called the Victorian age.
 Victoria embodied the values of duty, thrift,
honesty, hard work, and respectability.
 She embraced a strict code of morals and manners.
 Under Victoria, the British middle class — and
growing numbers of the working class — felt great
confidence in the future.
 That confidence grew as Britain expanded its
already huge empire.
Victorian
England
A place in the Cabinet
 in 1812 Robert Peel became MP for
Chippenham, in Cambridgeshire. He
represented many constituencies during
his political career.
 In 1822 Peel became a Cabinet minister
in Lord Liverpool’s Tory government. He
was given the post of Home Secretary.
He also served in the Duke of
Wellingtons Government.
 Robert Peel became Prime Minister of
Great Britain in1834, this time for just
four months. He became Prime Minister
again in1841, he resigned in from
government in 1847.
What Robert Peel did.
 1810 formed Royal Irish Constabulary, which proved
a great success.
 1822 reformed the gaols and reduced the amount of
offences that carried the death penalty.
 1829 passed the Metropolitan Police act, the first
thousand uniformed police force began to patrol the
streets of London.
 1846 repealed the Corn Laws (which kept food at a
high price) and encouraged free trade.
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
• Growing prosperity of working,
middle classes led to greater
demands for political reform
• 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
Reform Act of 1832
• 1830s, demands for reform too
strong to ignore
• Liberals challenged old
aristocratic, conservative order
• Reform Act of 1832 gave
industrial cities representation
• Also gave voting rights to middleclass men who owned certain
amount of property
• Women excluded from voting
Draft Reform Bill
• 50 boroughs lost franchise; 54 lost 1
MP; 6 towns given 2 MPs & 22 towns 1
MP; 6 more seats given to London; 22
counties were to have 2 extra seats;
7 1 extra seat;
• Was in favour of the secret ballot
• Recommended higher qualification of
£20 to mitigate effects of ballot
• Five year parliaments to be
introduced.
• Non residents lost their right to
vote;
• More polling places & voter
registration Ideas of responsible
citizenship accepted but concepts of
universal rights rejected.
From Bill to Act
•
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24 January 1831 cabinet amended the committee's draft - striking
out the proposal for the secret ballot and lowering the franchise
again to £10 householders.
1 March 1831 bill was introduced to the Commons by Russell.
22 March at the second reading the Bill was passed by only 302
votes to 301.
18 April bill defeated at its third reading by 299 votes to 291.
May 1831 general election with Whig landslide.
Second Reform bill introduced and won its second reading by 367
votes to 231
In committee stages Marquis of Chandos won amendment that fifty
pound tenants at will could enjoy the franchise in the counties
21 September bill defeated in Lords by 41 votes.
Grey introduced slightly amended third bill.
13 April 1832 Lords rejected the third Reform bill by 184 votes to
175.
May days: Britain close to revolution.
Wellington attempted to form a minority ministry but failed
Grey used the creation of peers as a threat and in September 1832
the bill got through the Lords with a majority of 9.
The first election to be held on the new franchise was December
1832.
Electoral effects
 Over 40 pocket boroughs survived +
12 which regularly returned same
families
 8 English boroughs with electorates
less than 200
 Southern rural bias continued. London
under-represented
Positive electoral changes
 Registration: boosted party
organisation and canvassing;
candidates could locate voters
accurately; encouraged people to see
themselves as voters
 Number of voters participating
increased dramatically after 1832
 Partisan voting is the norm (97% of
Newark’s electorate cast straight
party votes in 1841)
Election
No. of Voters
1826
106,397
1830
88,216
1831
74,638
1832
390,700
1835
272,946
Summary
 Participation increases
 Organisation of elections
 Public more politicised
 2 main political parties benefited
 National politics increases
 1832 was an opportunity
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
Pauper Palaces
Why did people disagree about the New Poor Law?
Glossary
Poverty
Outdoor Relief
Not earning enough for food, clothing and housing.
Poor people were given relief (from poverty) while they still lived in
their own homes.
Workhouse
A place where poor people were given food and shelter in return for
work.
Master and Matron The people in charge of a workhouse, often husband and wife.
Board of Guardians Local people elected to supervise the running of a workhouse.
Less eligibility
Conditions inside a Workhouse had to be worse than conditions for
the lowest paid labourer outside.
Living wage
When workers are paid a wage that is sufficient to live in.
Poor Rate
Money collected from local property owners to support the poor.
Monotonous
Dull and boring.
Pauper Palaces
Why did people disagree about the New Poor Law?
Step One – The New Poor Law
Critic
I am against the New Poor Law because it has ended
outdoor relief for poor people. This helped them because
they could get money for short periods when they might
be unemployed and they could still live in their own
homes.
There has been a lot of unemployment because of the
growth of factories and changes to farming. Factory
workers would not have any pay if there was no work at
the factory. Farm labourers are being put out of work by
machinery.
On top of this the cost of bread is going up, so many poor
people need help to feed their families.
The New Poor Law says that the only way that the poor
can get help is by going into a Workhouse. This has got
to be a more expensive way of helping them!
Pauper Palaces
Why did people disagree about the New Poor Law?
Step One – The New Poor Law
Supporter
I am in favour of the New Poor Law because it will save money and
encourage the poor to work harder.
The new law will save money because the Workhouse will be “less eligible”.
This means that the poor will be less likely to choose to go there, rather than
to take the lowest paid job and to live at home. To do this, families will be
broken up, inmates will have to wear a uniform and they will be put to work.
The food they eat will be the cheapest and most basic and they will have their
lives organised for them.
Less eligibility means that the Workhouse will be worse than conditions for the
lowest paid labourer outside its walls. This will stop those lazy idlers from
scrounging money by asking for poor relief.
Pauper Palaces
Why did people disagree about the New Poor Law?
Step One – The New Poor Law
Critic
By ending outdoor relief the poor will be unfairly
punished for their poverty.
The real causes of their poverty is not laziness, but
low wages, high food prices and under-employment.
If the poor were paid a living-wage then they would not
have to ask for help. No matter how hard a man works
he still never earns enough to support his family. This
has been made worse by the very high prices of bread.
Sometimes the poor do not have regular work. When
there is no work, factory workers are laid-off, but they
will not be paid. Farm labourers have been put out of
work by the new threshing machines.
The poor cannot do anything about their low wages or
their unemployment.
The New Poor Law punishes them for their poverty.
This can’t be right.
Pauper Palaces
Why did people disagree about the New Poor Law?
Step One – The New Poor Law
Supporter
I am in favour of the New Poor Law because it will
encourage employers to pay a living wage and to help
workers during periods of unemployment.
The old system of poor relief made up a man’s wages so
that he had enough money to feed his family. This
encouraged employers to pay the worker less than a livingwage. It also meant that employers could lay workers off for
short periods, without having to pay them. It also kept a lot
of farm labourers in areas where there was not enough
work for them.
The New Poor Law means that the Poor will get back their
self-respect, because it will force employers will have to pay
a living wage and a man will be able to support his family
without having to beg for charity.
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
The Chartist Challenge
What did different people think about Chartism?
Charter The Peoples Charter – a list of six demands that if they were granted
improve living and working conditions for ordinary people.
Chartist
A supporter of the People’s Charter.
Petition
Another name for the Charter – or to request something.
Vote
Make a choice to elect a representative in Parliament.
Bias
Favouring a particular point of view.
Parliament
Where new laws are discussed and made.
Ballot
Another name for voting.
Constituency
The area that elects on person to Parliament.
Moral Force Chartist
Used peaceful methods to support the Charter.
Physical Force Chartist
Used threats of violence to support the Charter.
Transported
Sent to Australia as a punishment for breaking the law.
Prejudice
To have a one-sided, or biased opinion.
24
would
Chartism : 1836-48
1. A vote for
every man over 21
2. Secret Ballots
3. Abolition of
property
qualifications for MPs
4. MPs to be paid
5. Equal size
constituencies
6. Annual elections
 Working class not
given vote in 1832
 1834 New Poor Law
splitting families
up
 High level of
unemployment
 Chartism set up to
get vote for the
poorer
people
The Chartist Challenge
What did different people think about Chartism?
The Six Points of the PEOPLE'S CHARTER
1. A VOTE for every man twenty-one years of age, of sound mind, and not undergoing
punishment for crime.
2. THE (Secret) BALLOT to protect the elector in the exercise of his vote.
3. NO PROPERTY QUALIFICATION for Members of Parliament-thus enabling the
constituencies to return the man of their choice, be he rich or poor.
4. PAYMENT OF MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT thus enabling an honest tradesman,
working man, or other person, to serve a constituency, when taken from his
business to attend the interests of the country.
5. EQUAL CONSTITUENCIES, securing the same amount of representation for the
same number of electors, instead of allowing small constituencies to swamp the
votes of large ones.
6. ANNUAL PARLIAMENTS, thus presenting the most effectual check to bribery and
intimidation, since though a constituency might be bought once in seven years (even
with the ballot), no purse could buy a constituency (under a system of universal
suffrage) in each ensuing twelvemonth; and since members, when elected for a year
only, would not be able to defy and betray their constituents as now.
26
The Chartist Challenge
What did different people think about Chartism?
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The Causes of Chartism
Most people did not have any political power.
They had no say in the laws made in Parliament.
People wanted the political power to pass
laws that would help working people.
They were very disappointed not to have got
the vote in 1832.
There was great poverty caused by
unemployment and low wages.
Food prices were very high.
People were starving.
The Workhouses were the only places to get
help and they were like prisons, punishing
people for their poverty.
Parliament only passed laws that helped
rich people.
27
The Chartist Challenge
What did different people think about Chartism?
Three Chartist Petitions
There were three petitions, in 1839, 1842 and 1848.
1839:
1.25 million signatures, led by moral force chartists.
Rejected causing a Chartist rising in Newport.
1842:
3.25 million signatures due to poverty and hunger
caused by unemployment. Rejected, causing
strikes, riots and the Plug Plots.
1848: led by Physical Force Chartists. Caused by
hunger and poverty and by revolutions in France,
Italy and Germany and the American Civil War.
Massive meeting planned with a march from
Kennington Common to Parliament. Rejected.
Chartism collapsed.
28
The Chartist Challenge
What did different people think about Chartism?
Different types of Chartist
Moral Force Chartists
were led by William Lovett.
Physical Force Chartists
were led by Feargus O’Connor.
They wanted to change things through
writing, speaking, better education and the
“moral force of peaceful persuasion”.
This meant that if an argument was
“moral” (correct) then it would eventually
win, if it was argued peacefully.
They were prepared to use force to
persuade the government to change
things. Chartism was a “moral force”
idea, but when it was rejected twice,
O’Connor gained control. Kennington
Common was a threatened revolution.
29
What happened to the
Chartists?
 1839 Newport Rising – direct action
taken by authorities – 20 Chartists
killed
 Between 1839-48 100 Chartists
transported
 Chartists collected 3 petitions
outlining their demands – each
rejected by Parliament
 1848 Mass demo planned in London
 Govt brought in troops & police
 Event was failure for the Chartists
Britain: 1850-1870s
* The most prosperous period in
British history.
 Unprecedented economic growth.
 Heyday of free trade.
 New fields of expansion 
shipbuilding from wood to iron.
 By 1870, Britain’s carrying trade
enjoyed a virtual monopoly.
 Br. engineers were building RRs all
over the world.
 Br.’s foreign holdings nearly doubled.
* BUT, Britain’s prosperity didn’t do
away with political discontent!
1
A New Era in British Politics
In the 1860s, the old political parties regrouped under
new leadership:
• The Tories became the Conservative party,
led by Benjamin Disraeli.
• The Whigs evolved into the Liberal party, led
by William Gladstone.
In the late 1800s, these two parties pushed little by
little for suffrage to be extended. By century’s end,
almost-universal male suffrage had been achieved.
In 1911, a Liberal government passed measures to limit
the power of the House of Lords. In time, the House of
Lords would become a largely ceremonial body, while
the elected House of Commons would reign supreme.
The “Victorian Compromise”
* Both Tories and Whigs had considered
the 1832 Reform Bill as the FINAL
political reform.
* Therefore, the aims of the two political
parties seemed indistinguishable.
* But, by the 1860s, the middle class and
working class had grown  they wanted
the franchise expanded!
* This era saw the realignment of political
parties in the House of Commons:
 Tory Party  Conservative Party
under Benjamin Disraeli.
 Whig Party  Liberal Party under
William Gladstone.
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
Liberal vs.
Conservative
• 1868–1885, two
influential prime
ministers, William
Gladstone, Benjamin
Disraeli, elected
several times
• 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
The Two “Great Men”
* Benjamin Disraeli,
Conservative Prime
Minister
 1868
 1874-1880
* William Gladstone,
Liberal Prime
Minister
 1868-1874
 1880-1885
 1886
 1892-1894
The 2nd Reform Bill - 1867
* In 1866,
Gladstone
introduced a
moderate reform
bill that was
defeated by the
Conservatives.
* A more radical
reform bill was
introduced by
Disraeli in 1867,
passed largely
with some
Liberal support.
The 2nd Reform Bill - 1867
* Disraeli’s Goals:
 Give the Conservative Party control over
the reform process.
 Labor would be grateful and vote
Conservative.
* Components of the Bill:
 Extended the franchise by 938,427  an
increase of 88%.
 Vote given to male householders and male
lodgers paying at least £10 for room.
 Eliminated rotten boroughs with fewer
than 10,000 inhabitants.
 Extra representation in Parliament to
larger cities like Liverpool & Manchester.
* This ended the “Victorian Compromise.”
The 2nd Reform Bill - 1867
Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881)
* A dandy and a
*
*
*
*
romance novelist.
A brilliant debater.
Baptized by his
father into the
Anglican Church.
BUT, he was the
first & only Prime
Minister of Jewish
parentage.
A strong imperialist.
 “Greater England”
foreign policy.
* Respected by Queen
Victoria.
William Gladstone (1809-1898)
* An active
*
*
*
*
*
legislator and
reformer.
Known for his
populist speeches.
Could be preachy.
Queen Victoria
couldn’t stand him.
Tried to deal with
the “Irish
Question.”
Supported a
“Little England”
foreign policy.
Gladstone’s 1st Ministry
 Goals: [“Gladstonianism”]
1. Decrease public spending.
2. Reform laws that prevented people
from acting freely to improve
themselves.
 He’s against privilege & supports
a meritocracy.
 Protect democracy through
education.
3. Promote peace abroad to help
reduce spending and taxation, and
to help enhance trade.
 Low tariffs.
 All political questions are moral
questions!
Gladstone’s 1st Ministry
 Accomplishments:
 1868: Army reform  peacetime




flogging was illegal.
1869: Disestablishment Act  Irish
Catholics did not have to pay taxes to
support the Anglican Church in Ireland.
1870: Education Act  elementary
education made available to Welsh &
English children between 5-13 years.
1870: Irish Land Act  curtailed
absentee Protestant landowners from
evicting their Irish Catholic tenants
without compensation.
1871: University Test Act  nonAnglicans could attend Br. universities.
Gladstone’s 1st Ministry
 Accomplishments (con’t.):
 1872: Ballot Act  secret ballot



for local and general elections.
1872: The settlement of the CSS
Alabama claims [from the American
Civil War] in America’s favor.
1873: Legislation was passed that
restructured the High Courts.
Civil service exams introduced for
many government positions.
Disraeli’s 2nd Ministry
 Accomplishments:
 Domestic Policy
 1875: Artisans Dwelling Act  govt.
would define minimum housing
standards.
 1875: Public Health Act  govt. to
create a modern sewer system in the
big cities & establish a sanitary code.
 1875: Pure Food & Drug Act.
 1875: Climbing Boys Act  licenses
only given to adult chimney sweeps.
 1875: Conspiracy & Protection of
Property Act  allowed peaceful
picketing.
Disraeli’s 2nd Ministry
 Accomplishments:
 Domestic Policy
 1876: Education Act
 1878: Employers & Workmen Act 
allowed workers to sue employers in
civil courts if they
broke legal contracts.
Gladstone’s 2nd Ministry
 Accomplishments:
 Domestic Policy
 1884 Reform Bill
 Extended the franchise to
agricultural laborers.
 Gave the counties the same
franchise as the boroughs.
 Added 6,000,000 to the total
number who could vote in
parliamentary elections.
 1885: Redistribution of Seats
Act  changes M.P. seats in
Commons to reflect new
demographic changes.
2
Reforms for the Working Class
By the early 1900s, Parliament gradually passed a
series of reforms designed to help the workers
whose labor supported the new industrial society.
 Parliament passed laws to regulate the conditions in
factories and mines.
 Government and business leaders slowly accepted
worker organizations.
 Workers won higher wages and shorter hours.
 Social reforms were enacted to benefit the working
class.
 These included improved public health and housing
for workers, free elementary education for all
children, and protection for the poor and
disadvantaged.
2
The Irish Question
The Irish never accepted English rule:

They resented English settlers, especially absentee landlords.

Many Irish peasants lived in poverty while paying high rents to
landlords living in England.

The Irish, most of whom were Catholic, were forced to pay
tithes to the Church of England.
Irish nationalists campaigned for freedom and justice.
In 1845, a disease destroyed the potato crop, causing a
terrible famine called the “Great Hunger.”
At least one million Irish died while the British continued to
ship healthy crops outside Ireland.
The Great Hunger left a legacy of Irish bitterness that still
exists today.
The Irish struggled for years to achieve home rule, or local
self-government.
However, Parliament did not pass a home rule bill until 1914.
It then delayed putting the new law into effect until after
World War I.
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.
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
Gladstone’s Last Ministries
 3rd Ministry: 1886
 First introduced an Irish Home
Rule Bill.
 This issue split the Liberal Party.
 Gladstone lost his position in a few
months.
 4th Ministry: 1892-1894
 1893: Reintroduced a Home Rule
Bill.
 Provided for an Irish Parliament.
 Did NOT offer Ireland
independence!
 Passed by the Commons, but
rejected in the House of Lords.
Home Rule for Ireland??
Gladstone debates Home Rule in Commons.
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
OH! Canada
 Canada begins the move for self government in the
1830’s
 Great Britain looks to avoid mistakes of the
revolutionary war and unites upper and lower
Canada
 Great Britain gives self-governance to Canada by
creating Four Provinces in upper and lower Canada
 Britain eventually gives Canada more
independence as Gold is discovered in the
northwest and as its territory continues to grow
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
G’Day Mate
 Settlers from Asia begin move to Australia
40,000 years ago
 Australia begins as a prison colony of Great
Britain but settlers and convicts begin to settle
the land
 Colonists, convicts, and aborigines begin to
clash over land with the aborigines being
killed by disease and racial conflict
 Great Britain makes Australia a
commonwealth giving Australia more
independence
 As Australian economies grew, social programs
begin to expand
New Zealand
 New Zealand is claimed by Great Britain in the
1840’s when they sign a treaty with the Maori
 New Zealand gained self-governance again in 1852
 Original Maori and the new inhabitants clash over
land with many Maori Dying in warfare and
because of Disease
 Women get right to vote in 1893, the first country
to allow women to vote
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
• Tried to add women’s suffrage to
1867 reform bill but did not
succeed
• Queen Victoria against women’s
suffrage, called it “mad, wicked
folly”
• Suffragists tried but made little
progress for nearly 40 years;
lobbied, signed petitions, educated
public
Women’s Social & Political
Union [W.S.P.U.]
2
Votes for Women
In Britain, as elsewhere, women struggled for the
right to vote against strong opposition.
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Suffragists led by Emmeline Pankhurst used
aggressive tactics and sometimes resorted to
violent protest.
Many middle-class women disapproved of such
radical actions. Yet they, too, spoke up in
increasing numbers.
Some women, including Queen Victoria,
opposed suffrage altogether.
Despite these protests, Parliament refused to
grant women’s suffrage.
Not until 1918 did Parliament finally grant
suffrage to women over age 30.
Younger women did not win the right to vote
for another decade.
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.
Emmeline Pankhurst
* 1858-1928.
* Her husband & children were all involved
in the suffrage movement.
* They became militants & were arrested
and imprisoned.
* 1917: She and her
daughter, Christabel,
formed the Women’s
Party in 1917:
 Equal pay for equal work.
 Equal marriage & divorce
laws.
 Equality of rights &
opportunities in public service.
 A national system of maternity benefits.
Representation of the
People Act (1918)
* Women over 30 got
the right to vote.
* All men gained
suffrage.
 Property
qualifications were
completely
eliminated!
* Reform Act of 1928
 Women over 21
years of age gained
the right to vote at
last!
England’s Economic Decline?
(1870s-1914)
 Germany & the U. S. became England’s
chief economic rivals.
 Influx of cheap agricultural products from
overseas caused a rapid decline in British
farming.
 Germany & U. S. overtake Britain in basic
iron & steel production.
 England’s share of world trade fell from
23% in 1876 to 15% in 1913.
 British science & technological education
lagged behind Germany.
 England is slow to modernize her aging
industrial infrastructure.
 England clings to free trade while everyone
else is erecting tariff walls.
Fabianism
 A British socialist intellectual movement
founded in the mid-1880s.
 Purpose  advance socialism by working
through the political system, not through
revolution.
 Laid the foundations for the British
Labour Party.
 Famous Fabian Society
members:
 George Bernard Shaw.
 H. G. Wells.
 Sidney & Beatrice
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Webb.
Emmeline Pankhurst.
Bertram Russell.
John Maynard Keynes.
The British Labour Party
* Founded in 1900 by
the Scotsman,
Keir Hardie.
 The growth of labor
unions gave voice to
socialism in Britain.
 By 1906, it won 26
seats in Commons.
 Had to form a political coalition with
the Liberal Party.
 By the 1920s, Labour would replace the
Liberals as on of the two major British
political parties.
The Beginnings of the
“Welfare State”?
* Labour’s Political Agenda:
 Gradual socialization of key
industries & utilities.
 Workman’s Compensation Act.
 State employment bureaus.
 Minimum wage set.
 Aid to dependent children & the
elderly.
 Old age pension to all over 70.
 National Insurance Act.
How to pay for all of this??
The “People’s Budget”
* The Liberals
dominated government
from 1906 to 1924.
* The Liberal Chancellor
of the Exchequer,
David Lloyd George,
presented a “People’s
Budget” in 1911.
 Increase income

taxes for those in
the higher brackets.
Raise the
inheritance tax.
* The House of Lords
rejected this budget.
The Parliament Act of 1911
* A political crisis.
 WHY?  Lords had traditionally approved
all revenue bills passed by the Commons in
the past.
 By threatening to create
enough new Liberal peer
to control that chamber,
King George V forced the
House of Lords to pass
this bill!!
* Also known as the 4th Reform Bill.
* Provisions:
 Lords could not defeat a bill passed three
times by Commons.
 Lords can’t hold up revenue bills for more
than one month.
 Members of Commons would be paid a salary.