Saint Andrew’s RC Secondary School
Faculty of Social Subjects
Higher History
ISSUE 1 – Why did Britain become more democratic between 1867 and 1928?
ISSUE 1 – Possible essay titles
- What was the most important reason for the growth of democracy?
- Explain why Parliament gave the vote to increasing numbers of people between 1867 and 1928.
- To what extent was the growth of democracy after 1860 due to social and economic change?
- What factors influenced the extension of the franchise up to 1918?
- How important was the role of pressure groups in Britain becoming more democratic between 1851 and 1928?
- URBANISATION / INDUSTRIALISATION
Industrial revolution changed where people lived, how they worked, and how they felt
about their position in society.
KU:Growth of towns and cities – living in poverty & slums, ignored by government as did not have vote.
A: Growing demand for working class vote in 1860s as first step in improving living conditions.
A: Easier to organise democratic movements in crowded towns & cities.
KU:Growth of towns and cities as people moved from the agricultural countryside to take employment in the factories. They found the HOURS LONG and the PAY LOW.
A:led to the formation of pressure groups (such as trade unions) to campaign for the vote
[5 in 6 men did not have the vote and no women]
the first step in improving working and living conditions.
KU:Growing numbers of middle-class men fortunes in the factories and from slum housing.
A:made Britain rich and paid the most taxes,
should have the vote, to have a greater say in running the country,
rather than only the landed aristocracy who they felt were lazy and corrupt.
- COMMUNICATIONS
KU:Growth of Railways
A:used to spread ideas and goods, allowed Postal System, carried speakers and propaganda, allowed NATIONAL ORGANISATIONS to be formed.
KU:Nationwide Postal System
A:helped spread ideas of democracy cheaply and quickly on a nationwide scale.
(The British Chartists were unsuccessful as they couldn’t co-ordinate and died out)
KU:Newspapers – cheap “penny dreadfuls”, aimed at working-class (new education)
A:appealed to working-class and attacked landlords. Politicians had to pay attention to working-class demands.
- EDUCATION
KU:1884 compulsory primary education
A:removed idea that working-class were too stupid to understand the vote.
KU:Working-class also supported the Union (North) during the American Civil War – greatly influenced by President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.
A:showed working-class interest and understanding of political matters.
- PRESSURE GROUPS: Their campaigns put pressure on government to give particular groups of society the vote
KU:National Reform Union - vote for male artisans & Reform League- vote for mainly unskilled male workers
A:Both successfully got the vote for most men 1867 & 1884
KU:Suffragists/NUWSS & Suffragettes WSPU -1/3rd men + all women not vote – example of what did
A: Gained votes for women in 1918 and equality of voting with men 1928
- POLITICAL PARTIES – saw political advantage in giving some groups the vote
KU: Conservatives voted in favour of giving vote to skilled working-class men (1867 Reform Act)
A: Anticipated new voters would support them as a result, Liberals did the same in 1884 unskilled
- RELIGION
KU:Growth of Religion e.g. Methodism and the Temperance Movement
A:Gave the poor a better reputation removed idea that the working-class was immoral and
did not deserve the vote
Model Answer: To what extent was the growth of democracy between 1867 and 1918 the result of better transportation and communication?
“Democracy is when the indigent, and not the men of property, are the rulers.” Aristotle.
Between 1867 and 1918, governments passed several pieces of legislation resulting in Britain becoming more democratic, as political power was no longer solely in the hands of the rich. Better transportation and communication were important factors in prompting this growth of democracy. Improvements in transportation led to the growth of national newspapers, an effective postal system and enabled speakers to travel throughout the country spreading democratic ideas. However, better transportation and communication only resulted in the growth of democracy to a certain extent, as there were many other contributing factors. In the first place, urbanisation and industrialisation were vital to the demand for increased democracy, as people sought better representation to improve their living and working conditions. Also, throughout this period, attitudes towards the working class changed in favour of them deserving the right to vote, as they became better educated and more religious. In addition, although political parties originally did not want to pass a lot of legislation to make Britain more democratic – they realised that there were to be important gains from doing so. Furthermore, a number of pressure groups campaigned to increase support for democratic change and put pressure on governments to do so.
The growth of democracy was massively influenced by the expanding railway system and the ability to communicate with other areas, in the past political pressure groups like the Chartists had failed to spread their message as they lacked cheap and efficient communication systems. The growing railway system not only allowed goods to move quicker but it allowed national newspapers to grow and an efficient postal system which aided the growth of national political movements. Numerous public speakers were able to travel from each city and gain more support, the women’s suffrage movements sent trained speakers all over Britain as well as regular postal communication to make them truly nationwide movements.
The growing popular press, after the 1850s spread the idea that many of their skilled working class readers deserved the vote; the unskilled working class could not afford newspapers and so were largely ignored. However, the development of the “penny dreadfuls” – newspapers aimed at the unskilled working class as they became better paid and educated. They focussed on improving working and living conditions but they also helped put pressure on the government to introduce democratic change. Therefore, better transportation and communication was important in spreading the growth of democracy as it enabled democratic ideas to be spread throughout the country. Trains allowed the movement of speakers, letters and national newspapers which spread ideas of democracy nationwide and put pressure on governments to make changes.
However, on the other hand, the growth of democracy was not just the result of better transportation and communication. Social and economic changes resulting from industrialisation and urbanisation, as the historian DG Wright argues were crucial to the growth of democracy. Industrialisation had created or expanded new classes like the middle class who were well educated and politically motivated to demand a greater share in political power. The middle class saw themselves as wealth generators in Britain as it was their factories that made the country rich. In turn, they now felt they should have a say in running the country as well. The 1832 Reform Act had given the middle class the vote but they now wanted to be elected to positions of power as city councillors or even MPs. The best example of this was the Chamberlains in Birmingham who dominate the growing city’s local politics before Joseph Chamberlain later became MP and then a member of the cabinet.
Industrialisation also resulted in the growing working class campaigning for Britain to become more democratic. Working in the new factories resulted in working long hours, receiving low pay and enduring dangerous conditions. The government had ignored working class problems because they did not have the vote. But as the working class had an interest to improve their poor working conditions – they first formed trade unions and then demanded the vote.
Likewise, urbanisation led the working class to demand the vote. As the population moved from the countryside to the industrial cities like, Paisley, Glasgow and Manchester – they endured terrible living conditions. Houses were overcrowded, disease ridden and had poor sanitation. Therefore, the working class sought the vote to try and force the government to improve these conditions – they were fed up with their circumstances being ignored. The concentration of large groups of the working class in cities also made it easier to organise pressure groups like the National Reform League to campaign for greater democracy.
Furthermore, urbanisation also changed the political map of Britain as the new industrial towns had little or no representatives. MPs still mainly represented rural areas. In turn, the nineteenth century saw a great demand for equal votes. For example, the Scottish Highlands had 8 MPs and a few thousand inhabitants at this time yet a city like Glasgow had only 3 MPs yet half a million inhabitants. Fewer people elected more MPs in the Highlands than in cities like Glasgow which was clearly unfair. This led for a demand for the redistribution of MPs to make voting more equal. By having equal sized constituencies (voting areas) all votes should be equal in strength. Therefore, better transportation and communication were not the only reasons for the growth of democracy, as industrialisation and urbanisation resulted in both the middle and working classes demanding fairer representation. The significance of industrialisation and urbanisation to the growth of democracy is highlighted by DG Wright when he states “Parliamentary reform was largely a reflection of changes in the economic and social structure of the country”.
Changing attitudes towards the working class also contributed to the growth of democracy between 1867 and 1914. The working class had previously been viewed as illiterate and too stupid to vote – therefore, undeserving of the important responsibility of voting. However, due to compulsory primary education being introduced – for example, in England in 1870 - more unskilled workers were able to learn the basics required to read and write and now seemed more deserving of the vote. This also aided their ability to become successful campaigners, as they could produce pamphlets and organise meetings.
Moreover, the nineteenth century witnessed a great religious and moral revival, for example, with Methodism and the Temperance movement. Previously the working class had been viewed as immoral, lazy, drunken etc. Like education, the growth of working class religion and self help groups like the Temperance Movement or cooperatives helped the working class to be viewed in a better light as the concept of the ‘deserving poor’ emerged. Therefore, attitudes towards the working class had changed resulting in them seeming more deserving of the vote and therefore the growth of democracy is clearly not just the direct result of better transport and communication.
A further factor in contributing to the growth of democracy was the changing attitudes of political parties towards increased demands for democracy. Both the Liberal and Conservative parties had not wanted to give the vote to the working classes however both parties realised that there were advantages to be gained from widening the franchise, despite having reservations. In 1867 the Conservative government passed the Reform Act which enfranchised skilled working class men and in 1884 the Liberal government passed the Representation of the People Act that enfranchised most working class men. They did this as they wanted to stop potential unrest from the working class. Secondly, they believed that the party who did give the working class the vote would be rewarded with their loyalty. Without political parties changing their attitudes towards increasing democracy – legislation would not have been passed to do so it is evident that better transportation was not the sole reason for the growth of democracy, as political parties wanted to make Britain more democratic to maintain peace and maximise their votes.
Finally, pressure groups also contributed to the growth of democracy. The National Reform Union (1864) and The Reform League (1864) campaigned for male suffrage and it can be argued that they contributed in the extension of the male suffrage in 1867 & 1884. Trade Unions were very influential in the growth of democracy and the TUC was formed in 1868 to pressurise governments into further change. Trade Unions sponsored the Labour Party in Parliament after 1906 and this certainly helped the 1911 Parliament Act to be passed. The Suffragists and Suffragettes campaigned for women to get the vote from the late nineteenth century. The Suffragists used peaceful campaign methods like lobbying, marches & petitions, whereas the Suffragettes were more militant and used methods like arson, smashing windows etc. The early pressure groups like the Chartists failed to change attitudes however, well organised groups like the National Reform Union, the Reform League, Trade Unions, the Suffragists and Suffragettes did put pressure on governments to change. This was evident when working class men got the vote in 1867 and 1884 and women in 1918. However, it is important to note that better transportation and communication were important to the success of the pressure groups as it enabled them to spread their ideas throughout the country.
In conclusion, the growth of democracy between 1867 and 1918 was aided by better transportation and communication to a certain extent. On the one hand, improvements in transportation led to the growth of national newspapers, an effective postal system and enabled speakers to travel throughout the country spreading democratic ideas. However, on the other hand, there were many other contributing factors in prompting Britain to become more democratic. Historians stress the impact of urbanisation and industrialisation in leading to the demand for increased democracy, as people sought better representation to improve their living and working conditions. Also, throughout this period, attitudes towards the working class changed in favour of them deserving the right to vote, as they became better educated and more religious. In addition, political parties realised that there were to be important gains in passing legislation to improve democracy, as they hoped it would lead to more support for their party in the future and would help prevent a possible revolution. Furthermore, a number of pressure groups campaigned to increase support for democratic change and put pressure on governments to do so. Overall, better transportation and communication were only important to an extent in resulting in the growth of democracy in Britain between 1867 and 1918, as a number of factors contributed.
ISSUE 2 – In what ways did Britain become more democratic between 1867 and 1928?
ISSUE 5 – Possible essay titles
- How far did Britain become more democratic between 1867 and 1918?
- “By 1928, Britain was a fully democratic country.” How accurate is this view?
- To what extent did Britain make progress towards democracy between 1850 and 1918?
- Discuss the view that by 1914 Britain was not yet a democratic country.
- How democratic had Britain become by 1928?
- How democratic was Britain by 1911?
UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE – everyone treated equally, regardless of class, wealth or gender
KU:Prior to 1832 only the landed-class and aristocrats could vote.
1832 Great Reform Act – granted vote to middle-class men owning property
A:this was a very small step towards democracy, as it only enfranchised 1/6 of British men.
In 1832, a very small number actually owned their own property.
KU:1867 Second Reform Act – granted all skilled male householders
A:doubling the number of men able to vote.
A:However, this enfranchisement still only included the better off and most of the population still could not vote e.g. most men and all women.
KU:1884 Representation of the People Act – granted the vote to unskilled working-class men (5 million of the adult population, particularly in those living in the countryside)
A:However, by 1914, many groups of society still could not vote – poorer men, lodgers, sons living at home, as well as women – proving that Britain still had far to go before becoming a democratic nation.
KU: 1918 most men over 21 / married women over 30, or who owned property
A: Britain was still not a democracy due to the bias in numbers/ages in favour of
male voters.
KU: 1928 ALL men / women over 21
A: For the first time the suffrage of Britain could be considered democratic.
FAIR ELECTIONS – FREE of bribery or intimidation
KU:Prior to 1872 voting was not private, one had to PUBLICALLY declare their support for a particular party, which in turn led to voters being intimidated or blackmailed into voting for a certain party.
KU: 1872 Secret Ballot Act ended this – vote in secret
A:by making voting private by means of a BALLOT BOX, a step toward a fairer democracy.
KU: Prior to 1883, elections were fairly corrupt. Promises of food, alcohol or even money were used to persuade voters towards a certain candidate or party.
KU: 1883 Corrupt & Illegal Practices Act prohibited this and made it a criminal offence.
A:This made the country, by far, more democratic, as voters could pick their representatives entirely by choice, not due to bribery..
VOTES OF EQUAL STRENGTH – one person, one vote
KU:Over the 19th century the population moved to industrial cities, most MPs still represented rural areas with small populations, large sections of population underrepresented = undemocratic
KU: Shrinking populations, like the Highlands, had 8 MPs growing populations, like Glasgow, had 3 MPs
So were very under-represented.
KU: Before 1867 “rotten boroughs” which lacked sufficient populations to merit an MP.
KU: 1885 Redistribution of Seats Act – re-allocated MPs (Glasgow 7, Highlands remained 8)
A:More democratic as the number of people per MP was accurate, cities gained, countryside lost out.