What Happened After the Passing of the First Reform Bill of 1832?
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What Happened After the Passing of the First Reform Bill of 1832?
Queen Victoria accession to the throne took place in 1837. That was an unhappy period in England. Although Prime Minister Melbourne taught the 18 year old queen the duties of a constitutional sovereign, the queen still faced a great challenge amidst poverty, misery, hunger, child labour in coal mines. (Dickens, Pickwick Papers)
The reforming zeal of the Whigs decreased and the government was afraid of growing trade unions. They prosecuted 6 labourers who formed a lodge in Dorset on a charge of sedition.
1-The working classes were infuriated by this injustice + the inhumanity of poor laws.(Oliver Twist is a protest against workhouses)
2-The working class lost faith in the (Whigs and middle class allies) and wanted more radical reform as a means to redress the injustice they were subjected to.
3-A Peoples Charter was drawn up demanding Universal Suffrage (the right to vote in national elections) + the workers presented a petition to the Parliament and was rejected. The rejection led to riots at Newport. The chartist leaders were imprisoned and by 1840, the movement was defeated.
In the colonies, the policies were more enlightened. There were rebellions* in Canada and by 1846, the colonies were completely self governing.
*In Australia, they were given internal self government.
*In India, more liberal policies were adopted (No native shall be disabled from holding any place, office or employment by reason of his religion, place of birth or colour or descent). English was to become the official language.
*In South Africa, however, Boer farmers were angry because inadequate compensation for slaves and inadequate protection from native tribes.
The hungry 30s passed into the hungry 40s .
*Melbournes ministry fell because Poor laws and Factory Act lost them radical support of liberal manufacturers.
*The manufacturing conditions of workers were appalling:
Agricultural wages 10 shilling/week
Cotton factories 10 shilling/week
City dwellers 1 shilling/week (price of a loaf of bread)
The Chartist Movement was revived:
Cobden & Bright (2 cotton manufacturers) founded Anti Corn Law League and free trade arguments
Peel wanted to make England a cheap place for living. He abolished hundreds of important duties and income tax aiming at financial reform.
Ireland was threatened with starvation therefore Peel abolished the Corn Laws:
Broke conservative party
Saved England from revolution.
5-New policy of free trade instead of protection was employed:
*there was cheap food
*more exports
* improved mines and working conditions
* Development of railways and industrial revolution gave
employment to thousands of inland navigators.
In spite of Mid Victorian prosperity (resulting from Peels reforms), social problems were forgotten and the main interest was in foreign policy.
Starvation in Ireland continued and thousands sailed to USA carrying detestation to England in their hearts.
Now the condition is as follows:
Irish misery + Working classes anger
50s&60s:
1-Famous literary production: Tennyson, Browning, Carlyle, David Copper Field, Vanity Fair, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Ruskins Stones of Venice
2- The Whig party split and the conservative split too. Neither could command a majority without the help of Peels followers (conservative free traders).
3- In 1854, England went to war with Russia in support of Turkish Empire to stop Russian expansion. In this war, England fought with France and lost lives of thousands of wounded citizens. In 1856 the war ended victoriously but the real victory was to Florence Nightingale who was devoted to wounded men, reduced deaths in hospitals and inspired a new conception of the capacity of women which led finally to their emancipation.
4-In 1859, Italy struggled for unity and England encouraged Italian nationalists and prevented interference by reactionary power.
5-In 1861-65, The American Civil War took place and slave owning Southern states broke away from the North. British working classes never wavered in their support of Lincoln and the North and the upper class favoured