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Poor Laws

1834, law that reformed England's poverty relief system

Benjamin Disraeli

A conservative Tory, believed in paternalistic legislation to protect the weak and alleviate class antagonism, lead the Conservative ministry in the House of Commons, he introduced his own reform bill in 1867 and soon Disraeli accepted one amendment after another and expanded the electorate well beyond the limits proposed earlier by the Liberals, Disraeli hoped that by sponsoring the measure, the Conservatives would receive the gratitude of the new voters, Disraeli believed that soon a large amount of the working class would support Conservative candidates who were responsive to social issues and he thought the growing a suburban middle class would become more conservative and he was correct, The Conservative Party dominated British politics in the 20th century

Chartism

By the late 1830's a significant number of people in the British working class linked the solution of their economic plight to a program of political reform called Chartism, Chartism : a working class movement that was established in 1836, the aim of Chartists was to gain political rights and to make an influence for the working class, the name chartism comes from the The Charter which was about the 6 aims of the movement which were male suffrage, annual election of the House of Commons, the secret ballot, equal electoral districts, abolition of property qualifications for members of the House of Commons, and payment salaries to members of the House of Commons

Contagious Disease Act 1864

English prostitutes were subject to Contagious Disease Acts, the police in certain cities with naval or military bases could require any woman identified as, or suspected of being a prostitute to undergo immediate internal medical examination for venereal disease, those who had a disease could have been locked in a hospital for many months and this law took no action against their male customers, the law was intended to protect men, middle class women were angered by this because they said the harsh conditions of work caused women to go into prostitution, this law proved women to be inferior to men... the Ladies' national Association for the Repeal of Contagious Disease Acts, lead by Josephine Butler, began to actively oppose the law and soon this law was repealed

Equal Franchise Act 1928

In 1918, women over the age of 30 were allowed to vote which meant they were still not considered equal to men, 10 years later, on July 2 1928 women became the majority of the electorate because they got full equality

Irish Home Rule Bill 1914

Irish wanted control of local government, Gladstone disestablished the Church of Ireland and Irish branch of Anglican Church so Irish Roman catholics would not pay taxes to support the hated Protestant Church, Land was the main reason for aggravation among the Irish, Gladstone announced his support of home rule for Ireland, Gladstone called for a new election but the Liberals were already defeated and Ireland remained under English Administration, the new Conservative ministry attempted to reconcile the Irish through public works and administration reform, this was not fully successful and soon Gladstone returned to power, the third passage of the Irish Homerule Bill occurred in the summer of 1914 but the implementation of home rule was suspended for the duration of WWI.

Corn Laws

Laws that put tariffs on foreign grain to protect English domestic producers; its repeal signified the end of the dominance of the English landed aristocracy and led to more availability of grain

Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskel

Story set in Manchester (harsh factories, hygiene, overcrowding). She was a muckraker.

Public Health Act 1848

The Act established a Central Board of Health, but this had limited powers and no money. Those boroughs that had already formed a Corporation, such as Sunderland, were to assume responsibility for drainage, water supplies, removal of nuisances and paving. Loans could be made for public health infrastructure which were paid back from the rates. Where the death rate was above 23 per 1000, local Boards of Health had to be set up.

William Gladstone

a liberal whig, believed in individualism, free trade and competition to solve social problems, after the new election Disraeli's hopes were gone, William Gladstone became the new Prime Minister, Gladstone began his political life as a Tory but over his rule he became more liberal, he supported Robert Pel, free trade, repeal of the Corn Laws, and efficient administration, as finance minister he had lowered taxes and government expenditures and had championed Italian nationalism, he opposed the new reform bill until 1860's, he became Russell's spokesperson in the House of Commons for the unsuccessful Liberal reform bill...his ministry witnessed the culmination of classical British liberalism, his reforms were normally liberal and they sought to remove abuses without destroying institutions and to allow all citizens to compete for jobs based on ability and merit

Reform Bill 1867

act of Parliament that enfranchised the urban male working class

Reform Bill 1832

act of Parliament that transferred voting privileges from small rotten boroughs controlled by nobility and gentry to large industrial towns controlled by middle class

Emancipation of Religious Sects Act

allowed Catholic Universities to hold government jobs and to enter Oxford and Cambridge Universities

Charles Dickens

author in England during the 19th century, he was a realist and social critic. Known as one of the greatest authors of the Victorian Era.

Factory Act 1844

is extremely important one in the history of family legislation. The Act reduced the hours of work for children between 8 and 13 to six and a half hours a day, no child being allowed to work in both the morning and afternoon on the same day, except on alternate days, and then only for ten hours. Young people, and women were to have the same hours, who were being included for the first time

Education Act 1870

made by Gladstone, for the first time in British history, the government assumed the responsibility for establishing and running elementary schools, previously education was a responsibility of the religious denominations which received small amounts of state support for the purpose

Whigs

political party in Britain that supported commercial and manufacturing interests and reform (middle class)

Tories

political party in britain that supported traditional political and social institutions against the forces of reform (nobles/gentry)

Factory Act 1833

the Government passed a Factory Act to improve conditions for children working in factories. Young children were working very long hours in workplaces where conditions were often terrible. The basic act was as follows: no child workers under nine years of age.

Abolition of Slavery Act 1833 (UK)

was an 1833 Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom abolishing slavery throughout the British Empire. The Act was repealed in 1998 as part of a wider rationalization of English statute law, but later anti-slavery legislation remains in force

Act of 1918

was an Act of Parliament passed to reform the electoral system in the United Kingdom. It is sometimes known as the Fourth Reform Act. This act was the first to include practically all men in the political system and began the inclusion of women

Trade Union Act

was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which legalized trade unions for the first time in the United Kingdom. This was one of the founding pieces of legislation in UK labor law, though it has today been superseded by the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1992.

Redistribution Act 1855

was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, it was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equally populated constituencies, in an attempt to equalize representation across the UK and it was associated with, but not part of, the Reform Act 1884

County and Borough Police Act 1856

was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was one of the Police Acts 1839 to 1893.The Act made it compulsory for a police force to be established in any county which had not previously formed a police force. The Act required that in any county where a police force had not already been established for all or part of the county, then the Justices of the Peace for the county should at the next General or Quarter Sessions held after December 1, 1856, proceed to establish a sufficient police force.Where the Secretary of State received certified notice that an efficient police force had been established in any county or borough, than one quarter of the costs of pay and clothing for constables would be met by the Treasury.However, boroughs maintaining a separate police force and having a population of 5,000 people or less were to receive no financial support, thereby encouraging smaller forces to consolidate with the county police.Finally the Act provided that the Cheshire Constabulary, which had been established by a private Act of Parliament in 1852 , would be replaced by a force under the terms of the new Act.

Muckrakers

were reporters, authors, and critics who sought to expose the evils and injustices of society, hoping to expose such social ills before they strangled democracy