Learning Curve
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The Great Reform Act
The Great Reform Act
Why did the government change the political system in 1832?
In 1832, Parliament passed a law changing the British electoral
system. It was known as the Great Reform Act.
This was a response to many years of people criticising the
electoral system as unfair. For example, there were constituencies
with only a handful of voters that elected two MPs to Parliament. In
these rotten boroughs, with few voters and no secret ballot, it was easy for candidates to buy
votes. Yet towns like Manchester that had grown during the previous 80 years had no MPs to
represent them.
Many people of the middle and working classes wanted change. Political unions like the
Birmingham Political Union were formed in towns across the country, organised mainly by
moderate supporters of reform. In 1830, a Whig government was elected. The Whigs were
more in favour of change than the Tory government had been.
In 1831, the House of Commons passed a Reform Bill, but the House of Lords, dominated by
Tories, defeated it. There followed riots and serious disturbances in London, Birmingham,
Derby, Nottingham, Leicester, Yeovil, Sherborne, Exeter and Bristol.
The riots in Bristol were some of the worst seen in England in the 19th century. They began
when Sir Charles Weatherall, who was opposed to the Reform Bill, came to open the Assize
Court. Public buildings and houses were set on fire, there was more than £300,000 of damage
and twelve people died. Of 102 people arrested and tried, 31 were sentenced to death.
Lieutenant-Colonel Brereton, the commander of the army in Bristol, was court-marshalled.
There was a fear in government that unless there was some reform there might be a revolution
instead. They looked to the July 1830 revolution in France, which overthrew King Charles X
and replaced him with the more moderate King Louis-Philippe who agreed to a constitutional
monarchy.
In Britain, King William IV lost popularity for standing in the way of reform. Eventually he
agreed to create new Whig peers, and when the House of Lords heard this, they agreed to
pass the Reform Act. Rotten boroughs were removed and the new towns given the right to
elect MPs, although constituencies were still of uneven size. However, only men who owned
property worth at least £10 could vote, which cut out most of the working classes, and only
men who could afford to pay to stand for election could be MPs. This reform did not go far
enough to silence all protest.
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Learning Curve
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The Great Reform Act
Find out more from these original sources:
Reform poster from
South Shields, 1830
Celebration of revolution
in France, 1830
Extract on a riot in
Bristol, 1831
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The Great Reform Act
Source 1
A reform poster from South Shields in County Durham, 31 August 1830
(Catalogue ref: HO 44/24)
As you study the source, ask yourself:
1. What reasons are given by the people of South Shields to persuade Parliament to pass the
reform bill?
2. What type of people supported the petition?
3. How do the petitioners try and show their goodwill to Parliament while making this request
for reform?
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The Great Reform Act
Source 1
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The Great Reform Act
Source 2
Advertisement for a dinner in Gateshead in August 1830 to celebrate the July 1830
revolution in France
(Catalogue ref: HO 44/21)
As you study the source, ask yourself:
1. What type of people might have attended this dinner?
2. Why would they want to celebrate this particular event?
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The Great Reform Act
Source 2
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The Great Reform Act
Source 3
Extracts from The Bristol Gazette on a riot in Bristol, 3 November 1831
(Catalogue ref: HO 40/28)
3a
3b
3c
3d
3e
3f
As you study the source, ask yourself:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
In summary, what happened during the riot at Bristol?
Does this source suggest that the riot could have been prevented in any way?
How does this source describe the rioters? Who are they?
How does this source describe the special constables? Who are they?
What is the newspaper's attitude towards a) the rioters b) the authorities c) Sir Charles
Wetherell?
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The Great Reform Act
Source 3a
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The Great Reform Act
Source 3b
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Source 3c
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Source 3d
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Source 3e
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The Great Reform Act
Source 3f
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