vi
Arti Desai
Period 1
Question #7, 1984­
Describe the steps taken between 1832 and 1918 to extend the suffrage in England. What
groups and movements contributed to the extension of the vote?
~.'Iovements for
democratic reform and universal suffrage went on in England from
1832 to 1918. The Chartist movement of the 1830's and 1840's came to nothing, and
suffrage was only expanded by the government for reasons of their own. Suffrage was
extended to the working and middle classes. The two great political parties prior to the
1850's, the Whigs and the Tories, gave forth to 'two new political parties, the Liberals and
Conservatives. Liberals tended to favor commercial and industrial interests~ while
Conservatives favored the landed aristocracy. William E. Gladstone served four ministries
as Prime Minister of England, and was a dominant leader in the Liberal party. Benjamin
Disraeli, the leader of the Conservative party, served two tenns as Prime !vlinister. Both of
these men contributed immensely to the extension of the vote in England. 'Iltere were
three major refonn bills that helped to accomplish universal suffrage: the Refonn Bills of
1832, 1867, and 1884-1885. Universal suffrage was reached with women gaining the vote
in 1918. The reforms established by both parties resulted in salaries being paid to members
of the House of Commons, th~~ Budget of 1909, as well as the Parliamcmlaty Act of 1911.
1. Refomt Bill of 1832
1. the first of many bills extending the vote
2. vindicated that the House of Lords could not block legislation on which favorable
public opinion had been expressed strongly, since the Bill had on1ybeen adopted to
prevent a rebellion
3., granted votes to 1/3 of the adult. male population
4. refonned the electoral system in three main particulars:
a. abolished rotten boroughs
i.) less populated areas sent only one representative instead of the customary two,
some areas lost both representatives; the seats gained were redistributed
throughout the classes
b. property qualifications to vote were established
i.) residents of boroughs had to pay 10 pounds annually if they owned land
ii.) residents of counties had to pay 10 pounds annually if they had it long-tcnn
lease
iii.) residents of counties had to pay 50 pounds annually if they had a short-teon
lease
c. conduct of the elections was improved by the establishment of a better system of
registration
i.) reduction of expenses at elections
ii. )reduction of voting days from 15 to 2
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5. stopped far shOli of univtrsal manhood sum'age; after 1832. only lout of 30
persons had the right Lo vote
II, Beniamin Disraeli (1804-1881)
1.
2.
3.
4.
lessened regulation of trade unions
Food and Drug Act of 1875-regulated sale of items from trade unions
Public Health Act of 1875-specified government standards for sanitation
enacted safety measures to protect sailors
5. Second Reform Bill of 1867
a. expanded on the Refonn Bill of 1832
b. extended the vote 1rom 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 voters (113 of the aduh male
population)
i.) included homeowners, renters, most workers in the cities, and enfranchised
many urban landowners
c. all adult male citizens of boroughs who paid 10 pounds rent annually, and adult
male citizens of counties who were 12 pound tenants or 5 pound lease-holders
could vote
d. resulted in the enfranchisement of almost all men over the age of 21 who
resided in urban centers
m. WilliamE.Gladstone(1809-18981
p.M·
1<Z~' . . 7~, 1<1$()"'/!~fl
1. Forster Education Act of 1870-state-supported public education
2. Ballot Act of 1872-secret ballots (long-time goal of Chartists)
3. Civil Services Refonn of 1870-introduced system of competitive examinations for
govenunent positions
4. University Act of 1870-abolished religious tests which enabled persons not of the
church of England to graduate from Oxford and Cambrigde
5. lcgalizedlaboruluons
6. reoIganized the upper judiciary
7. eliminated the sale of army commissions
8. compensatioJ;l. for work-related injuries
9. Refonn Bill of 1884-1885
a. 1884
..(
i.) suffrage was broadened in rural areas and COWl ties, adding 2,000,000
additional voters (3/4 of the adult male population)
ii.) gave votes to agricultural laborers. who were the only large group still
excluded
iii.) ratio of voters increased to 1 in 6 of the population
b. 1885
i.) redistnbution of the seats in the House of Commons was approved on the ratio
of one seat for every 50,000 citizens
IV. Politics after 1900
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A. Labor
1. the Labour Party \vas fonned shortly aitcr 1900. with labor becoming an
independent political force
2. Liberals went from their position of laissez faire and became advocates of the
working class
a. advocated workers for humanitarian reasons~ and because of fear that the
workers might transfer their votes to the newly fonned Labour Patty
3. Conservatives replaced Liberals and became champions of economic liberalism and
laissez faire, became the party of industry and landed wealth
4. After World War 1, Liberals were left behind by the Labour Party, while the
Conservatives remained one of the two major parties in England
B. Herbert Asquith and David Lloyd George
1. Asquith was Ptime ivfinster from 1906-1916; Da"id Lloyd George was chancellor of
the exchequer
2. put through a program of social welfare
a. sickness, accident, old age, and unemployment insurance
b. minimum wage was ena(;ted
c. employment bureau.~ were set up
d. restrictions on strikes and trade union activities were removed
C. Budget of 1909
1. Lloyd George called for ongoing income and inheritance taxes to pay for the cost of
the new program, as well as the policy of a greater na\y, which had resulted in a deficit
of over 16,000,000 pounds
2. the wealthier the taxpayer, the:: higher the rate at which he is taxed; the new budget
was virtually higher taxation of the rich to support the poor
3. directed primarily at the landed aristocracy
4. aroused great opposition with the landed aristocracy and the House of Lords (who
rejected the budget at first)
D. ParliaQlent Act of 1911
1. caused by the conflict betwe<m the House of Lords and the Budget of 1909
2. deprived the Lords of aU veto power in financial matters
3. authorized th~ House of Commons to decide what were money bills
4. the lords could only delay legislation, but could not stop anything on which the
lJouse of Commons insisted
E. House of Commons
1. members of the House of Commons were not paid salaries, so members were
usually people who could support themselves. such as gentlemen with fixed incomes
2. the leadership of the COWltry was still in the hands of wealthier classes
3. in 1911, the government votc~d to pay salaries to members of the Commons (major
demand of the Chartists)
4. made it possible for workers and others without fLxed incomes to take seats in
Parliament
5. distributed parliamentary power throughout the classes
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6. this act, combined with the Parliam~ntaty Act of 1911, served to make the House of
Commons more powerful than t.he House of Lords
F. Rcpresenlalion of the People Act of 1918
1. extended the vote to women over 30 years of age, as long as they or their husbands
occupied property worth 5 pounds per year
2. also gave the vote to domestic servanlCJ, and people such as unmarried children living
with their parents
3. restricted plural voting (meant that a person could not vote in two or more
constituencies), increased the electorate two and a half times
4. with this act, universal manhood suffrage had almost been reached
By establishing universal manhood suffrage, England escaped from a potentially
violent revolution, such as those of 1848. TIle events leading to the extension of the vote
led to the emergence of the Labour Party, which became one of the two major parties in
England after World War 1. Universal manhood suffrage also meant the creation of mass
political parties for the ftrst time, as well as the need for politicians to petition to a wide
electorate. As a result of the many reforms of this time, the power of the House of
Commons was affitmed to be superior to that of the House of Lords. The aristocracy and
the weahhier classes had basically ruled England, but the Act of 19] 1 caused the
aristocracy to lose much of their influence in the government. Governments also took
responsibility for the social and economic problems of the working class which were
consequences of induc;trialism. A state of weUare in its modem form was taking shape.
Bibliography
Pahner, R.R. and Colton, Joel. A History of the Modern World, 7th edition. New York:
~'1cGraw-I-lill, Inc., 1992.
.
Loot, W.E. History of En&Jand. 4th edition. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1956.
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CampbeJ~
M., Holt, N., and Walker, W. The Best Test Preparation for the Advanced
PlacemenfExamination in European History. Piscataway, New Jersey: Research
& Education Association, 1996.
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